All Hip Hop artists are not created equal. Some are built to last and some are built to hit hard and fizzle. Some are built to spit sick rhymes on topics that have meaning and others are built to use track time on the sounds cars make as they peel away. Say what you want about NWA vs (insert any new age artist), but they are not built the same!

Much like hip hop artists, all reps are not created equal. Chris Beardsley, a noted researcher in the field of fitness, performed a study on what types of reps actually contribute to muscle growth. Regardless of weight or rep range, the last 4 to 5 reps of a set taken to failure are your money reps, the actual muscle stimulating reps.

I don’t believe in using heavy intensities, 5 rep max and below, for building muscle. While you will get 5 money reps from a 5 rep max deadlift, these rep ranges should be used to build strength and it can be risky to push yourself to failure on too many 5 rep max attempts. For the purposes of this article, lets assume a rep range of 8-20.

Instead of pumping through 5 sets of 15 reps, lets assign a rep goal for each workout. 12 to 15 stimulating reps per day is a good place to start.

Lets say you are in your late 30s, early 40s training your upper body and you really want to improve your upper back and shoulders. After your heavy strength work we move on to dumbbell rows for the upper back and dumbbell lateral raises for the shoulders. Lets assume 80lbs is your 10 rep max for the rows, you would perform 3 sets of 9 reps, focusing on feeling the muscle and keeping your form tight. This would yield 4 money reps per set, for a workout total of 12. For the lateral raises, we would use a weight that would be your 15 rep max and perform 3 to 4 sets of 14 reps. This would also yield 4 money reps per set for a workout total of 12-16 reps.

For a second example, lets assume you are a 20-something little punk who likes to lift heavy. Pick a weight that is closer to an 8-rep max for the dumbbell rows and perform 2 sets of 8. Then, because who doesn’t like a good pump, we would drop down to a weight that is closer to a 15 rep max and perform an all out set to failure. This would give you 15-18ish money reps for the workout. For the lateral raises, we would perform 2 heavier sets at about an 8-rep max followed by 2 lighter sets at about a 15-rep max. Push yourself to failure on each set for a total of 20 something stimulating reps.

Training to failure too often can beat you up. When you are a young whippersnapper in your teens and 20s it is fairly easy to recover from high intensities or volumes but that is not the case in your 30s and beyond. If you find it difficult to rebound from these workouts, cut back on the all out sets to failure. There is nothing wrong with saving 2-3 reps per set and performing a few extra sets. You can still get 12 quality reps by performing 4 sets of 12-13 reps using a weight that would be closer to your 15-rep max. Know your body and figure out what works best. If you aren’t recovering, you wont see those gainz!