A few weeks ago, I was training a client and had a funny interaction with my co-worker Steve. I was explaining to the client the difference in rep ranges for building strength and building muscle. “To build muscle,” I said, “you want to stick with high reps, like 8 to 12 per set.”
Steve guffawed and nearly dropped the bar in his hands loaded with 405 pounds. “What?!?” he bellowed. “You think eight is high reps?” He proceeded to bust out a set of 20 perfect deadlifts.
(crickets)
I guess you had to be there. But here’s the point – sometimes us powerlifters get so caught up in chasing maximal strength that we forget how to build muscle. I train my barbell lifts almost exclusively in the 3-5 rep range, which is just not enough time under tension to spark a lot of muscle growth.
Dave Tate put it best:
If you train for max strength, then size (much easier to say than “hypertrophy”) will be a side effect. In turn if you train for max size, then strength will be a side effect. If you train for both at the same time then you’ll have the results of two side effects instead of one full effect.
Steve, who trains mostly like a bodybuilder, helped remind me that whenever my strength gains start to stall, I know it’s time to add some extra muscle to keep the weights moving. Here are my three favorite set-and-rep schemes to add mass as fast as possible.
12-10-8-8-8
The 12-10-8-8-8 scheme is a fantastic approach for using the big barbell lifts for hypertrophy without risking injury. The squat, bench and deadlift are undoubtedly awesome for gaining muscle, but do them too heavy too often and you’ll just beat up your joints. This approach circumvents that issue nicely.
Even though you’ll do five sets, only the last three will be really challenging. Start with a weight you could do for about 15 reps and do 12. Rest, then bump the weight up to something you could hit for 12-13 reps, and do 10. Now the fun begins. Grab a weight you could normally knock out for 10 and do 3 sets of 8. Use the same weight for all three sets of 8.
Normally, you’d just jump in and do your 3 sets of 8-10 reps. But with the “warmup” sets of 12 and 10, those 8’s are gonna be a little harder than usual. Stop just shy of failure, with one rep in the tank the first two sets and a true 8-rep max the third set.
Normally, sets of 8 are pretty heavy. Most people can handle about 80 percent of their 1-rep max for about eight reps. And when the weight is that heavy, you’re just gonna move it from point A to point B, rather than focusing on the muscle moving the weight. This is less-than-optimal for building big muscles.
The fatigue created by the sets of 12 and 10 lets you “go heavy” with a weight that’s not that “heavy”. Make sense? This will keep your joints healthy in the long run.
Climbing 8’s with a Drop
With a nod to John Meadows, founder of the Mountain Dog Diet and the mastermind of most of Dave Tate’s workouts over the past few years, this approach has you climbing in weight every set until you hit a near-8-rep-max. Then, just when you think you’re toast, you cut the weight in half and do as many reps as possible.
There’s no specific number of sets here. Just start with a light weight – something you could do for 20-plus reps – and do a set of eight. Rest for a minute, add more weight, and do another eight reps. Repeat until you reach something pretty damn heavy. Whether it takes 3 sets or 10 sets, you should barely get eight reps on the last set.
Now, strip the weight to 50 percent of your heaviest set and get reppin’ til you’re out of gas. Make sure to have a spotter to help you on the last rep and to pick your lungs up off the floor.
This is nothing revolutionary. Bodybuilders use drop sets, strip sets and burnout sets all the time. The difference here is that climbing up in sets of eight lets you get a decent amount of volume while still reaching a heavy top set.
Dineen’s 8-12-15 Giant Set
I stole this one from Kevin Dineen of Structure Personal Fitness in New York City. When I need to blast a muscle group into oblivion in record time, I use the 8-12-15 giant set approach.
Here’s the deal:
- Pick three exercises for the same muscle group
- The exercises should be decreasingly difficult in execution (for example, a squat, a leg press and a leg extension)
- Do the first exercise for 8 reps, the second for 12 reps and the third for 15 reps
- No rest between exercises
- Perform 3 rounds, resting 1 minute between rounds
The key to this approach is using progressively easier exercises. Think big to small, heavy to light. This recruits all muscle fiber types, especially if you reach failure on the last rep. You’ll hit the muscle from multiple angles and get a ridiculous pump. Don’t be ashamed when you have to go really light on your set of 15.
SAMPLE WORKOUTS
Here are a few sample workouts using these methods to help you build some extra muscle. Have fun!
Upper Body
A1. Bench Press: 12/10/8/8/8
B1. Barbell Rows: Climbing 8’s with 50% drop
C1. Weighted Pushups: Climbing 8’s with 50% drop (use chains, plates or a weighted vest)
D1. Chin-Ups: 3×8
D2. Lat Pulldowns: 3×12
D3. Cable Facepulls: 3×15
Lower Body
A1. Squats: 12/10/8/8/8
B1. Leg Press: Climbing 8’s with 50% drop
C1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts: 3×8
C2. Glute/Ham Raises: 3×12
C3. Leg Curls: 3×15
Arms
A1. Close Grip Bench Press: 12/10/8/8/8
B1. EZ Bar Curls: Climbing 8’s with 50% drop
C1. Rolling Dumbbell Triceps Extensions: 3×8
C2. Incline Dumbbell Tate Presses: 3×12
C3. Cable Tricpes Pushdowns: 3×12
D1. EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 3×8
D2. Incline Dumbbell Curls: 3×12
D3. Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 3×15
