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Strong Support

Lifting weights with fewer reps (3-11) builds more muscle than doing lots of reps (20-28) in young guys new to training, especially after 8 weeks.

32
Pro
0
Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

32

Community contributions welcome

32

Muscular adaptations in response to three different resistance-training regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones

Randomized Controlled Trial
Human
2002 Nov

The study tested the exact same workout methods and found that doing fewer reps with heavier weights built more muscle than doing many reps with lighter weights, just like the claim said.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Muscular adaptations in response to three different resistance-training regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones

Score: 32
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-002-0681-6

Similar Assertions

Lifting lighter weights many times in a row helps untrained young men build more muscle endurance than lifting heavier weights fewer times. After 8 weeks, they can do more reps before getting tired.

32
0
85%

Lifting heavy weights for just a few reps makes untrained young men much stronger than doing more reps with lighter weights, especially after 8 weeks of training.

32
0
84%

Lifting lighter weights can build just as much muscle as lifting heavy weights in beginners over 12 weeks, even if you do fewer total reps.

54
0
84%

Lifting weights until you can't do any more reps, whether with light or heavy weights, makes muscles grow bigger in fit young men after 8 weeks. It shows that pushing to your limit is what really matters for growth, not how heavy the weights are.

46
0
82%

Lifting weights many times in a row (20-28 reps) helps young men who don't exercise get better at cardio, making them able to breathe easier and last longer during workouts compared to lifting fewer reps.

32
0
82%