And the Number of Reps You Should Do to Build Muscle Is…

Several. 💪🎸

Good news for lifters everywhere (cue the heavy metal riff): science just confirmed what the gym floor has quietly known all along. Whether you lift heavy for ~10 reps or go lighter for ~20 reps, your muscles don’t really care — as long as you push close to failure. A six-week study of healthy young men found that both approaches delivered similar gains in muscle size, strength, and even mitochondrial “engine power.” Translation: you can build muscle and improve muscle endurance without obsessing over a single magic rep number.

The takeaway? Consistency beats dogma. Effort beats counting. And there’s more than one road to gainsville. Train smart, recover well, and don’t crack under pressure — muscles adapt, egos shouldn’t. As always: exercise at your own risk, keep healthy habits, and maybe skip the cheese… unless you’re just trying to cheddar couple of pounds. 🧀😉

Carpe Diem: seize the reps — however many you choose.