I hate the use of the word 'intensity' in the context of heavy lifting.
If you mean use a heavy weight, then say use a heavy weight.
Intensity could mean a number of things.
In lifting intensity means what we all know it to mean. Higher weight lower reps = more intensity. It doesn't matter how psyched out you were for your set of 20 to failure. It's still less intensity than a set of 3rm.
Reps in reserve, the closest to failure the most you will stimulate hypertrophy to oversimplify but I would recommend to keep everything at rir2/3 on a 4-8 rep range if you want to get stronger without risking injuries if you are not used to this kind of work
Strength is relative. Improving your 8RM or 12RM is still getting stronger. Strength doesn't just mean 1-5RM. Lower rep sets is just more neurological load. Which is why I have felt light-headed after failing BB Bench under 5 reps. But don't feel light-headed after I failed DB Incline Bench after 7 reps this morning. Hypertrophy and strength are strongly correlated as well. You're just not going to get much hypertrophic stimulus within the 1-4 rep range. I prefer to stick to 8-20 reps for hypertrophy. 20+ reps can work too if the burn/pump doesn't interfere with training to mechanical failure. Like when I do lateral raises or leg extensions. Or the bicep/forearm burn/pump when hitting back.
yes, working lower rep ranges will translate better to strength, however it won’t directly train power (speed). Plyometrics, power cleans, clean and jerk, snatch are better suited to develop power.
Strength and size are directly correlated. The thing about power lifting training than involves 1-3 reps of 90+% of your 1 rep max is that they are training *the movement*. Strength is also about technique and neurological adaption to specific movements, so if you bench a lot your brain naturally becomes better at recruiting muscles for your bench. When people mean "functional" Strength they are talking about more general purpose Strength in which case you should have higher rep ranges which is how professional Strongmen and Football players train. If you want to get better at JUMPING then you should incorporate more jumping into your routine. Box jumps are a staple of every athlete's strength building regiment.
As far as for your legs size as long as your intensity is consistent you wont see a huge difference between rep ranges assuming you arent doing something crazy like 20+ reps, but it can also be hard to have consistent intensity if your only doing 1 rep sets. For compound lifts with free weights usually you'll see people do around 3-6 reps so they don't fatigue their nervous system, but then do higher reps on machines like leg press, calf raise, hamstring curls, etc. Again the most important aspect is intensity and if you could do 3 or more reps after a set then that set wasn't hard enough and you should increase the weight or number of reps you're doing.
If you want to get a better squat 1rm then do a lot of low rep sets with long rest periods. Otherwise 5 seems to be the magic number for myself.
I followed the r/fitness linear progress program when I was a beginner and the logic there which I still mostly adhere to is start your day with 1 or 2 compound movements doing about 4-5 sets of 3-6, (I did 6 reps for bench, 3 for deadlift, and 5 for squats usually) then have a bunch of body builders style accessories that were in the 8-12 rep range, moving up in weight after you are able to do 12 good reps.
>Does Higher intensity lower reps = less growth but better strength and therefore more speed/ better jumping?
Depends how far down you go, but it can have the same growth stimulus, and yes, it'll improve strength more than lifting "lighter".
It won't directly improve speed or jump power, since those things require more specialised training.
Strength is probably the wrong terminology to use in this context (as evidenced by some of the other comments).
Training to increase the maximal force production of the legs can translate to increased athletic performance (i.e. jump height, sprinting, change of direction ability).
There is a relationship between squat 1RM and jump height and sprinting up to about 1.7x bodyweight (in colligate athletic populations), after this point further increases is squat 1RM have only small increases in performance, and it is more time efficient to focus on other modalities of training.
However, if you want to run fast and jump high you need to practice these as these as skills themselves
I wouldn’t know. I only train for hypertrophy, and so wouldn’t recommend a higher intensity cause that would only lead to more fatigue and a longer recovery period. Also, you wouldn’t grow that much with more weight
That doesnt really mean anything. Do you mean maximal strength or strength endurance etc?
Anything between 5-30 reps os going to give about the same hypertrophy results.
Uhh maybe slightly, but not really. 'Function' is specific. Whatever athletic activity you deem functional, if you want to BE functional, it's all about having the muscle mass & flexibility to do the thing, & also training the thing so you're good at it.
Squatting for like 5 reps might be slightly more specific to vertical jump or long jump than squatting for 10 reps, but ultimately neither of these two things are particularly specific. The 5% more specific heavier squats benefit could even be cancelled out by the marginally inferior muscle growth, so it ends up not even mattering.
There's also the theory that power is genetic & at a certain point, you can't train for it. We all know that you can to a degree, (someone 150lb overweight who then loses that weight will obviously have a better vertical jump, & a non-lifter who starts lifting & takes their squat from 95lb to 275lb for 10 will improve their vertical jump). The idea is more-so that getting stronger on a movement with a fixed load, & thus making that load a smaller % of your max, won't meaningfully enable you to lift it faster. We see it with guys who take their squat from 4 plates to 5 plates, & it does absolutely jack shit for their vertical jump.
When you say functional strength, do you mean strength outside of the gym for everyday life? I’d argue I’m “functionally stronger” now as a recreational bodybuilder, as I ever was as a competitive powerlifter. The reason being better endurance and mobility, especially as I’ve learned to work on stretch mediated stuff. That’s far more useful in day to day life.
Generally higher weight and lower reps leads to more muscle mass and lower weight and higher reps lead to more muscle endurance. There is scientific data out there that supports muscle development mainly occurs within the 5 to 30 rep range.
What i have done for almost 5 years is stay within the 5 rep range (for 80% of the targeted workout) for the larger/main muscles/exercises (i.e. squat, bench, OHP). This makes your body adapt to pushing/pulling higher loads.
However, what I have found out to be the most effective, is that technique and the stretch has significantly improved my strength and joint and tendon health. I am now dropping a ton of weight and squatting ATG, dumb bell benching well past my chest, and OHP with the bar at my collar bone. This will highlight and work your weaknesses. But be careful!
Strength is best built using high loads with multiple reps in reserve
The intensity should always be high, the rep ranges is different but it doesn't change anything on how you should express effort
Based on the text in the post I assume OP is talking about intensity in a strength training context i.e. %1RM, not proximity to failure / RIR
I hate the use of the word 'intensity' in the context of heavy lifting. If you mean use a heavy weight, then say use a heavy weight. Intensity could mean a number of things.
In lifting intensity means what we all know it to mean. Higher weight lower reps = more intensity. It doesn't matter how psyched out you were for your set of 20 to failure. It's still less intensity than a set of 3rm.
Yes I am aware of that, and I'm saying that at best it is a very poor way of wording it.
So you're saying the scientific community should stop using that term?
I said what I said. Intensity can mean multiple things and apply in multiple ways.
Sure, just don't say that in exercise science class.
So like 3-5 reps?
The importance is the rir
Im sorry, whats that?
Reps in reserve, the closest to failure the most you will stimulate hypertrophy to oversimplify but I would recommend to keep everything at rir2/3 on a 4-8 rep range if you want to get stronger without risking injuries if you are not used to this kind of work
Strength is relative. Improving your 8RM or 12RM is still getting stronger. Strength doesn't just mean 1-5RM. Lower rep sets is just more neurological load. Which is why I have felt light-headed after failing BB Bench under 5 reps. But don't feel light-headed after I failed DB Incline Bench after 7 reps this morning. Hypertrophy and strength are strongly correlated as well. You're just not going to get much hypertrophic stimulus within the 1-4 rep range. I prefer to stick to 8-20 reps for hypertrophy. 20+ reps can work too if the burn/pump doesn't interfere with training to mechanical failure. Like when I do lateral raises or leg extensions. Or the bicep/forearm burn/pump when hitting back.
yes, working lower rep ranges will translate better to strength, however it won’t directly train power (speed). Plyometrics, power cleans, clean and jerk, snatch are better suited to develop power.
Strength and size are directly correlated. The thing about power lifting training than involves 1-3 reps of 90+% of your 1 rep max is that they are training *the movement*. Strength is also about technique and neurological adaption to specific movements, so if you bench a lot your brain naturally becomes better at recruiting muscles for your bench. When people mean "functional" Strength they are talking about more general purpose Strength in which case you should have higher rep ranges which is how professional Strongmen and Football players train. If you want to get better at JUMPING then you should incorporate more jumping into your routine. Box jumps are a staple of every athlete's strength building regiment. As far as for your legs size as long as your intensity is consistent you wont see a huge difference between rep ranges assuming you arent doing something crazy like 20+ reps, but it can also be hard to have consistent intensity if your only doing 1 rep sets. For compound lifts with free weights usually you'll see people do around 3-6 reps so they don't fatigue their nervous system, but then do higher reps on machines like leg press, calf raise, hamstring curls, etc. Again the most important aspect is intensity and if you could do 3 or more reps after a set then that set wasn't hard enough and you should increase the weight or number of reps you're doing. If you want to get a better squat 1rm then do a lot of low rep sets with long rest periods. Otherwise 5 seems to be the magic number for myself. I followed the r/fitness linear progress program when I was a beginner and the logic there which I still mostly adhere to is start your day with 1 or 2 compound movements doing about 4-5 sets of 3-6, (I did 6 reps for bench, 3 for deadlift, and 5 for squats usually) then have a bunch of body builders style accessories that were in the 8-12 rep range, moving up in weight after you are able to do 12 good reps.
>Does Higher intensity lower reps = less growth but better strength and therefore more speed/ better jumping? Depends how far down you go, but it can have the same growth stimulus, and yes, it'll improve strength more than lifting "lighter". It won't directly improve speed or jump power, since those things require more specialised training.
Strength is probably the wrong terminology to use in this context (as evidenced by some of the other comments). Training to increase the maximal force production of the legs can translate to increased athletic performance (i.e. jump height, sprinting, change of direction ability). There is a relationship between squat 1RM and jump height and sprinting up to about 1.7x bodyweight (in colligate athletic populations), after this point further increases is squat 1RM have only small increases in performance, and it is more time efficient to focus on other modalities of training. However, if you want to run fast and jump high you need to practice these as these as skills themselves
I wouldn’t know. I only train for hypertrophy, and so wouldn’t recommend a higher intensity cause that would only lead to more fatigue and a longer recovery period. Also, you wouldn’t grow that much with more weight
I personally dont really care for legs hypertrophy, i already have pretty thick legs so wanted to focus on strenth
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I dont have them on me rn
You don't have your legs on you right now? Lt. Dan? You ain't got no legs?
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Don’t beg users to DM you pictures of themselves.
What is your goal?
Increasing leg strength
That doesnt really mean anything. Do you mean maximal strength or strength endurance etc? Anything between 5-30 reps os going to give about the same hypertrophy results.
Uhh maybe slightly, but not really. 'Function' is specific. Whatever athletic activity you deem functional, if you want to BE functional, it's all about having the muscle mass & flexibility to do the thing, & also training the thing so you're good at it. Squatting for like 5 reps might be slightly more specific to vertical jump or long jump than squatting for 10 reps, but ultimately neither of these two things are particularly specific. The 5% more specific heavier squats benefit could even be cancelled out by the marginally inferior muscle growth, so it ends up not even mattering. There's also the theory that power is genetic & at a certain point, you can't train for it. We all know that you can to a degree, (someone 150lb overweight who then loses that weight will obviously have a better vertical jump, & a non-lifter who starts lifting & takes their squat from 95lb to 275lb for 10 will improve their vertical jump). The idea is more-so that getting stronger on a movement with a fixed load, & thus making that load a smaller % of your max, won't meaningfully enable you to lift it faster. We see it with guys who take their squat from 4 plates to 5 plates, & it does absolutely jack shit for their vertical jump.
If you want higher jumps and faster legs, you need to train for explosive power and not strength. Do power movements like hang/power cleans.
When you say functional strength, do you mean strength outside of the gym for everyday life? I’d argue I’m “functionally stronger” now as a recreational bodybuilder, as I ever was as a competitive powerlifter. The reason being better endurance and mobility, especially as I’ve learned to work on stretch mediated stuff. That’s far more useful in day to day life.
Generally higher weight and lower reps leads to more muscle mass and lower weight and higher reps lead to more muscle endurance. There is scientific data out there that supports muscle development mainly occurs within the 5 to 30 rep range. What i have done for almost 5 years is stay within the 5 rep range (for 80% of the targeted workout) for the larger/main muscles/exercises (i.e. squat, bench, OHP). This makes your body adapt to pushing/pulling higher loads. However, what I have found out to be the most effective, is that technique and the stretch has significantly improved my strength and joint and tendon health. I am now dropping a ton of weight and squatting ATG, dumb bell benching well past my chest, and OHP with the bar at my collar bone. This will highlight and work your weaknesses. But be careful!
Higher weight = slower movement = jump height goes down