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Dependence of workout effectiveness on the number of repetitions

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2016-10-19

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The eternal question: how many repetitions should I do for a particular effect? Naturally, the final effect depends not only on the repetitions but also on a host of other factors. However, in this article, I will discuss and clearly demonstrate only the dependence on repetitions.

So, I present to you a table that shows the relationship between the effect and the number of repetitions in exercises. Effectiveness is indicated as a percentage. Therefore, the sum of all three effects (strength, muscle mass, and fat burning) always equals 100%.

Number of reps	Strength	Mass	Fat Burning
1	90%	10%
2	85%	15%
3	80%	20%
4	75%	25%
5	70%	30%
6	60%	40%
7-8	50%	50%
9-10	40%	55%	5%
11-12	30%	50%	20%
13-15	20%	40%	40%
16-20	15%	25%	60%
20-25	10%	10%	80%
25+			100%

From the table, it is clear that:

The maximum effect for strength – 1 to 6 repetitions.
The maximum effect for fat burning – more than 15 repetitions.
The maximum effect for muscle mass – 7 to 12 repetitions.

I think this table clearly illustrates the relationships. However, these are average values, and it's essential to understand that there are basic exercises where a small number of repetitions is quite justified, and then there are isolation exercises (targeting only one muscle group), where doing 1 to 3 repetitions is not advisable at all. For example:

No one would think to perform just one repetition. So, use this table, but also think with your own head.

Please share your thoughts on this matter in the comments.