Duration of Reps Doesn’t Affect Rate of Muscle Growth
Research says a wide variety of repetition speeds elicit a similar amount of muscle hypertrophy
True muscular hypertrophy training in the gym should create damage to our muscles causing the body to adapt, encouraging their physical size to increase. And when you consider that mechanical tension is one of the key drivers of hypertrophy, it’s important to consider just how fast — or slow — we should be completing our reps in the gym. Surely more time under tension means more muscular damage, which we know is a good thing. Research in this area appears to quell the idea that resistance training for muscle hypertrophy needs to be done more slowly in order to achieve maximum results.
Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
Muscle hypertrophy occurs when muscle protein synthesis — which is induced by resistance training — exceeds muscle protein breakdown. A net positive protein balance is then achieved, promoting a physical increase in the size of the muscle. The best practice for achieving muscle hypertrophy is to complete multiple sets (3–6) of 6 to 12 repetitions with short rest intervals (60 seconds) making sure to increase volume every week. It is suggested that all muscle groups are trained for 12–18 sets per week depending on where…