HOW MANY REPS

2. HOW MANY REPS? There are three broad categories of rep ranges - one for building maximum muscle size, one for maximum strength, and one for general conditioning. There is no one rep range that will maximize all three catego- ries at once. You must decide what your primary goal is. Generally speaking, for maximum strength 3 to 6 reps seems to work best. Bodybuilders trying to gain muscle mass find sets in the 8 to 12 range most effec- tive. For general conditioning, 12 to 20 reps is normal.