Rep selection
. Productive routines can draw on many rep formats. e rep number is
not the most important factor—effort, form and progression are. You can
gain muscle and strength from low, medium and high reps. Some people
are more suited and responsive to one range than another, and this can vary
from exercise to exercise in the same person.. All rep ranges are dangerous if form is poor on a consistent basis, or is usu-
ally good but just occasionally breaks down in a serious way, especially at
the end of a set. Increasing reps as a response to hurting yourself with lower
reps is not addressing the root of the problem if your exercise technique is
flawed.. Here is the critical qualification to the “all rep counts should be safe if you
use very good technique” statement: Your body must be accustomed to the
rep count you are using before you start to push yourself very hard at it. is
especially applies to singles (one-rep sets) and very low rep work (sets of
– reps).. Singles and very low reps have more potential for causing injuries than
higher reps. is is because the per-rep stress on joints, muscles and con-
nective tissues is much greater from singles and very low rep work. Compar-
ing the same degree of form error, if you get out of the ideal groove during a
maximum single you are more likely to hurt yourself than if you get out of
the groove during a hard set of medium or high reps. But this does not mean
that high reps with reduced weights are guaranteed to be safe.. Even with high reps and reduced weights, if you use poor technique and /or
a jerky rep cadence, and train intensively, you will hurt yourself. During the
severe fatigue from intensive high-rep work you must be especially vigilant
not to let your form break down. An advantage of single-rep work is that
there is no accumulation of fatigue to contend with during the set. ere is
just one rep to do, and one rep to get right. But many people simply cannot
train on singles because their bodies are unable to tolerate the heavy weights
that are necessary, no matter how carefully they build up over several months.. I make no apology for harping on about the need for good exercise form. It
cannot be stressed enough. You must learn what good technique is, and put
it into practice.