One of the most frequently asked questions in bodybuilding is whether high reps are better for burning fat or low reps. The common belief is that high reps should be used for burning fat and low and moderate reps for increasing strength and muscle size. But this view needs to be corrected!
High reps vs. low reps for fat loss?
As we said in the article “Important tips to lose weight fast with weight training“, any type of exercise can help burn fat. Exercising usually helps burn fat in several ways:
- Increases calories burned
- Increases insulin sensitivity
- Increases metabolism
- Improves blood circulation
- Builds or protect muscles
- Increases lipolysis etc.
So physical activities that help the things mentioned above is effective for burning fat. So low or high reps will both help fat burning. Some people believe that training with higher repetitions can help burn fat, but this view needs to be corrected. Low and medium repetitions can also help burn fat because it has a positive effect in all the mentioned cases.
Which one helps burn fat more?
As we said in the previous part, both high and low reps help burn fat, but the question is “which one is more effective? Low reps or high reps?”
It seems that training to failure with low or high repetitions provides equal fat loss. So when your muscles reach complete failure, it doesn’t matter if you use high or low repetitions. This is completely correct in both fat burning and muscle building. So before you want to focus on comparing high or low reps, it’s best to focus on training to failure.
Next, we are going to talk about the benefits of high and low repetitions and which repetition range is best for you:
Using the high reps is a bit boring
Imagine you want to do 30 repetitions for all of the exercises of your workout routine. In this situation, the entire training duration becomes very long in terms of time, and each training set becomes boring. For this reason, we suggest that you do not perform all sets of a training program with high reps.
What is your secondary goal?
The second important issue regarding the comparison of low repetitions and high repetitions is the secondary goal. What is your secondary goal after burning fat? Want more emphasis on increasing endurance, muscle building or strength? In this situation, you can better choose your appropriate repetitions.
If your secondary goal is to increase endurance: in this situation, it is better to use medium (8 to 14) and high (+14) reps. You can still use low repetitions, but it is better to emphasize medium and high repetitions.
If your secondary goal is to build muscle: it is better to prioritize low (less than 8) and medium (8-14) repetitions. With these repetitions, you can increase the volume in weight training, which leads to more muscle building. High repetitions (+14) are also suitable for this purpose, but the emphasis should be on low and medium repetitions.
If your secondary goal is to increase strength: it is better to emphasize low repetitions.
But if you want to achieve more or less all of the above while burning fat, the best solution is to use high, low and medium repetitions together. Of course, it is better to emphasize on moderate repetitions. Because training to failure with moderate repetitions can increase the afterburn effect and this leads to an increase in metabolism and fat burning.
Those who are injured
Some people are injured and decide to experience fat burning by weight training. These people have special conditions and cannot train like healthy people. For this group of people, training with high repetitions and light weight is recommended. In this situation, they can experience both muscle building and fat burning.
Conclusion
As we said in this article, both high and low reps can be good for burning fat. In general, it is fine to use both high and low repetitions, but for a better decision, you can pay attention to secondary goals. For example, if you decide to experience significant muscle building in addition to burning fat, using more medium and low reps can be effective.
Or if your secondary goal is to increase strength, it is better to emphasize low repetitions. In any case, it’s best to use all repetition domains to get better results.
Along with proper exercise, you should also pay attention to diet. Basically, no repetition range of weight training can make you slim unless you eat lower than your needs.
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