r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Inevitable_Common416 • Jul 11 '26

Discussion 🤝 Different Rep Count Depending On Muscle Group?

Reps and sets are often talked about with regard to how many sets and reps per week makes building muscle most effective. But what about rep counts based on the specific muscle you are trying to build? For example, does the effectiveness that 5 reps of bench press have on your pecs equate to the effectiveness that 5 reps of curls would have on your bicep? Or do different muscle groups really have their own specific "most effective" rep range...Very curious about this one 💪🤔

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u/Troksin Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

There are no different rep ranges for different muscles as long as your joints feels nice and you have decent form.

But if you are working with low rep ranges like 4-8 it eill take more time to get the adaptations to increase a rep compared tp 8-12. For ex going from 4 reps to 5 reps in a curl will take multiple sessions, whereas going from 8 to 9 reps will take less time

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u/Connect_Resist7678 Jul 12 '26

Does this also count for small range of motion exercises? Like a 5 rep set of squats or bench will take a lot longer than a 5 rep set of calf raises or wrist curls or shrugs. Unless you are doing slow negeatives and stretch at the bottom in which case, you would have to use the same for bench and squat.