Has anyone noticed that for them certain exercises for a particular body part seem better suited to one kind of rep and loading scheme while other exercises for that body part are better for others?

For example for my back, chins/pullups pump me a lot at reps of 10-12 with just bodyweight or a light plate on the belt, but don't grant as much growth as chins/pullups with more weight and reps around 4-6. On the other hand, any kind of row does more for me with higher reps than with heavier loads and lower reps. Not a case of exercise order either as it seems to work that way whatever the sequence.

Same with back squats and front squats - back squats seem to do more with reps of 10-20 while front squats work better with low reps.

Dtlv74 wrote:Has anyone noticed that for them certain exercises for a particular body part seem better suited to one kind of rep and loading scheme while other exercises for that body part are better for others?

For example for my back, chins/pullups pump me a lot at reps of 10-12 with just bodyweight or a light plate on the belt, but don't grant as much growth as chins/pullups with more weight and reps around 4-6. On the other hand, any kind of row does more for me with higher reps than with heavier loads and lower reps. Not a case of exercise order either as it seems to work that way whatever the sequence.

Same with back squats and front squats - back squats seem to do more with reps of 10-20 while front squats work better with low reps.

good post and defo mate

I find shoulders work really well to Heavy Cheat Reps and Legs for 20 reppers......

I find that arms require high reps 10 - 15, shoulders 8-10, chest and back 6 - 8 Legs 10+ as well.

I would also suggest that after a low rep set a drop set is a very good idea to get the blood through the muscles.

Arms for me need lots of sets and reps in the 8 -12 range . DC and HIT does nothing for them . All this small muscle crap means nothing to mine - they need a beating !!

Gym-pig wrote:Arms for me need lots of sets and reps in the 8 -12 range . DC and HIT does nothing for them . All this small muscle crap means nothing to mine - they need a beating !!

I find exactly the same - definitely my arms and also my quads (but not so much my hams) do far better with higher reps and also more volume. Muscles like chest, back delts I can kill in just a few sets.

Hmm, i think it's best to hit every muscle with a bit of everything. I personally havn't found that one muscle responds to more or less volume. I think some exercises are suited to certain rep ranges, but for developing a muscle a mix of low and high reps is best imo. Eg. I've added to my biceps with high rep curls, but weighted hammer chins (3x3) has also added a lot of thickness.

I hate training my arms which is why I hardly do it, but i agree, some exercises definitely need more volume than others. I had never thought about it until this thread. I'll think about it next time at the gym.

Ive thought that muscles need different rep ranges before but tbh i think a vairety for each part is the way forward.

iFor example...
*lowish rep squats followed up by highish rep leg ext
*Lowish reps bb rows followd up by highish rep pullups
*lowish rep db press followed by highish rep hammer str press
*moderate rep BB curls follwed by high rep hammers
*Heavy low rep deadlifts and highish rep leg curls

I think as long as you are training hard and eating well you will always get results of sorts and also that it is impossible to measure the difference between results from 6 weeks of low rep pullups (to use Dets example) to 6 weeks high rep pullups with the combo of other exercises probably changing and all the other variables

Karlos wrote:Hmm, i think it's best to hit every muscle with a bit of everything. I personally havn't found that one muscle responds to more or less volume. I think some exercises are suited to certain rep ranges, but for developing a muscle a mix of low and high reps is best imo. Eg. I've added to my biceps with high rep curls, but weighted hammer chins (3x3) has also added a lot of thickness.

i hit every muscle heavy and light now too... my observation comes really from when i haven't trained this way. can really become obvious if following an all low rep routine for a while or higher reps and volume how different certain muscles respond, especially to specific exercises.

Agree with Karlos mostly.

There is no ideal rep range for certain exercises that will fit everyone. Some may find better results with certain rep ranges that others for the same exercise. Variation is key to help shock the body into constant adaptation.

I slight variation on the topic, but I no longer do very low rep biceps exercises, nor dips. That is cos I've found it stresses my elbow joints too much. I also believe this to be the case for everyone (maybe not 100% of people), but many (esp younger people) don't get any issues as they haven't been training long enough (years I'm talking about) to reach the "limit" so to speak. Just a wee observation anyhow.

I managed to make a mess of both my elbows with DC training my biceps and couldnt agree more