After prescribing a strength exercise, one of the first questions I am asked is: “How many repetitions should I perform?”
The answer depends on the person, the exercise and the intended outcome. Repetition ranges can help guide a program, but they should not be treated as rigid rules.
What is a repetition maximum?
A repetition maximum, often written as RM, describes the greatest load a person can lift for a particular number of repetitions with appropriate technique.
For example, a 10RM is a load that can be lifted approximately 10 times before another repetition cannot be completed properly.
Testing a true maximum is not necessary or appropriate for everyone. Resistance can also be selected using technique, effort and the number of good-quality repetitions someone could still perform at the end of a set.
Different goals require different approaches
Strength
Improving maximal strength generally involves working with relatively heavier resistance and fewer repetitions. Longer recovery between sets allows greater force to be produced in the next set.
Muscle growth
Muscle growth, or hypertrophy, can occur across a broad range of repetitions when the exercise provides sufficient resistance and the working muscles are challenged. Moderate repetition ranges are often practical, but no single number is compulsory.
Muscular endurance
Muscular endurance describes the ability to repeat a movement or maintain effort without fatiguing quickly. Programs targeting endurance generally use lighter resistance and a greater number of repetitions.
Power
Power involves producing force quickly. Power exercises usually use fewer repetitions performed with controlled technique and an intention to move rapidly. They require appropriate exercise selection and are best introduced with professional guidance.
Consistency is more important than complexity
Current evidence emphasises that most adults gain substantial benefit simply by moving from no resistance training to regular resistance training.
Training all major muscle groups at least twice each week, using appropriate effort and progressively increasing the challenge, matters more than pursuing a supposedly perfect combination of sets and repetitions.
A program also needs to account for training experience, age, medical conditions, injury history, equipment and personal goals.
A practical starting point
For many generally healthy adults beginning resistance training, one to three sets of approximately 8 to 12 controlled repetitions can provide a practical starting point for major muscle groups. This range can then be adjusted according to the goal and the person's response.
The resistance should be challenging while still allowing good technique. If every repetition is very easy, the exercise may not provide enough stimulus. If technique breaks down early or pain develops, the resistance, exercise or number of repetitions may need to be changed.
The right program is one that is safe, sufficiently challenging and sustainable.
Reference
American College of Sports Medicine. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2026.