Christ. I meant to say, “It’s hard to see in the image, but it looks like you will be doing squats completely free, so that may be something to note.”
Thank you for the link to the study, I’ll have to scope it. Glad to see we are in agreement about HIIT (including the fact that she should not be doing it initially).
Is this a relatively recent change in what’s been the recommendation for years? I haven’t kept up with what the muscle mags have been saying lately, but in all the years I’ve read M&F and the like, the recommended rep range for maximal growth has been in the 8-12 range.
Most of what the muscle mags print can be politely described as fiction.
Sure, they’re not exactly scientific journals, but they seem to be a good source of anecdotal info for what has worked for bodybuilders. What’s the alternative?
Where did you get the info that “anything over about eight reps per set is of limited value from a strength/size standpoint?”
I don’t think I can even point to a single source. Somewhere on T-Nation you’ll find discussion that is scientifically-based.
I don’t know ultrafilter, I’ve spent a lot of years in gyms in my younger days and almost everyone I know that would be described as “built”, has put plenty of muscle on with the belief that at least 8 reps was optimal for putting on mass. I’m not sure what you meant by “limited value”, but if you meant anything close to “almost useless”, I can’t agree in the least.
I’m familiar with T-Nation. You’re under the impression that mags like M&F can be described as fiction but T-Nation isn’t? M&F also reports on weight lifting studies that are “scientifically-based”; I don’t see why you believe the info from T-Nation is to be any more believable than M&F.
The line of logic behind 8 reps being the upper limit is that if you can do too many reps in one set, you aren’t lifting enough to really make a difference. There is some flexibility, but if your primary goal is mass then I agree with ultrafilter.
As a general rule, I’d go with T-Nation over M&F. The biggest point of contention with T-Nation is that they do heavily push products they sell online (I believe they freely admit that); but if you take all that with a grain of salt, their articles normally have more substance.