3x8 reps or 5x5?

[Micha Trejgis]

Hello Mates! I was always wondering which rep/series choice is better - 3x8 or 5x5. Generaly before starting with gymnastics and all the way to this day I have used 5x5. What do you think about it?

[GoldenEagle]

With either rep/set scheme you are doing about the same amount of work volume (5 sets 5 reps = 25 reps altogether vs. 3 set 8 reps = 24 reps altogether)

 

For you specifically, you need to answer the question what are your goals. Muscle strength, muscle hypertrophy, and/or muscle endurance.

 

Conventional weight lifting "Science" advocates 15+ reps per set starts to develop  muscle endurance and 15 reps and under per set develops muscle hypertrophy

 

Coach Sommer, in most cases, will advocate for no more than 5-6 reps per set.

 

Personally speaking and at the moment, I use a pyramid scheme for most of my workouts: 6 sets: (15/12/10/10/8/5) = 60 reps altogether. Then again I am looking to build some muscle endurance and some hypertrophy.

[Micha Trejgis]

Thanks for your answear GoldenEagle. For me the strenght was always the most important and hypertrophy comes quite fast with it. The only thing i ever did for endurance was running with additional weight and I must say that it has grate influence on my training endurance.

[Murray Truelove]

Rippetoe et al use a 5x5 as do a lot of other strength trainers. Seems to work for a  lot of people.

[Micha Trejgis]

As well as Pavel Tsatsouline whose books i think most of training community should read or alredy had read.

[Mikkel Ravn]

Since you can lift a heavier weight for five reps than for eight, 5x5 allows you to perform more work, and thereby (theoretically) getting bigger gains, at least that's the idea. It probably requires, however, that you have a better Foundation (see what I did there?)

[Alan Tseng]

As well as Pavel Tsatsouline whose books i think most of training community should read or alredy had read.

Pavel does 2 sets though rather than 5

[Chris Hansen]

Pavel does 2 sets though rather than 5

That's true for one of his programs. He's promoted a number of different programs but he tends to stick to low reps for building strength.

[Micha Trejgis]

That's true for one of his programs. He's promoted a number of different programs but he tends to stick to low reps for building strength.

To tell the true, when comes to kettlebell training he promotes programs with 5 sets with 10 - 40 reps. But the main question was about a strenght training. For him, 5x5 is a maximum reps, and maximum series.

[Chris Hansen]

Kettlebell ballistics are a little different but Pavel's Bear program can be up to 20x5.