When it comes to building muscle, the intensity of your training matters more than the amount of weight you lift. One of the key factors in muscle growth is how close you get to fatigue or failure during your sets.
Training Load vs Effort
Research shows that if your working sets are taken to fatigue or near fatigue, there’s no significant difference in muscle growth between high or low repetition ranges. In studies comparing 8–19 reps versus 20–40 reps, both groups achieved similar hypertrophy as long as the sets were performed close to failure and training volume increased over time. This is particularly useful when you’re travelling or training without access to heavy weights. You can still make progress using lighter loads as long as you train close to fatigue.
However, it’s worth noting that compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench press and shoulder press can be very taxing when performed at high reps close to failure. These movements may not always be practical to push to fatigue, especially if recovery is limited. You might also find that using higher reps can fatigue your cardiovascular system before your muscles do, causing you to stop a set prematurely. In this case, your muscles aren’t actually being pushed to their full potential, which can reduce the effectiveness of the set. This is one reason why a rep range of 6–15 is often recommended for hypertrophy. Within this range, most people can train with enough intensity to reach fatigue without being limited by cardiovascular endurance. Where you land in that range doesn’t matter nearly as much as whether you’re training with proper effort — getting close to failure is what counts.
In summary:
It’s not just about how much you lift, it’s about how hard you work. Whether you’re using 5kg or 50kg, pushing yourself close to failure is what drives muscle growth.
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