I am going to discuss the 5×5 workout which could possibly be the best workout to gain muscle and strength. I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before that when it comes to toning, you should lift light weights and do high reps. I’m sure you’ve also heard that you need to lift heavy weights to gain big muscles. I’m going to tell you, forget everything you think you know about fitness and listen to what I have to say. These two tips are utter nonsense. The idea behind light weights and high reps for toning is that with decreased rest time, the workout becomes almost cardiovascular in nature. This is true and yes, the inevitable pump that is just blood rushing to the muscle can make you look very toned in the mirror, but this is only temporary. Although this exercise is cardiovascular in nature, I do not recommend it for toning. I actually recommend the opposite. The other piece of advice is that to gain weight you need to lift heavy objects, and while this is partly true, it’s not the whole truth. Actually, lifting lighter weights for higher reps will make your muscles bigger, not very big, but bigger nonetheless. Before I further explain muscle mass vs. strength reps, I need to explain the different types of muscles and the 5×5 training that will be our go-between.

The two types of muscle are sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar. Sarcoplasmic muscle growth is where the volume of sarcoplasmic fluid in the muscle cell increases without increasing muscle strength. You can think of this like a balloon being filled with water. Myofibrillar muscle growth is when the cells within the muscle actually multiply and make the muscle denser, dense being the key word I’ll come back to later. You can think of the myofibrillar muscle growth as a balloon and add more and more rubber to it to make it denser.

muscle mass repetitions

To gain muscle mass, which is just sarcoplasmic growth, you should focus on a rep range of 6-15 reps using a pyramid scheme with the weight getting heavier. Rest should be kept to a minimum of 30 to 60 seconds to really fatigue the muscle. This will increase the fluid inside the muscle and make it bigger. This type of growth gives off the smooth bodybuilder look.

Strength repetitions

To gain strength, you need to avoid missing out and lift as heavy as possible in the 1-4 rep range. Lifting in this rep range is what builds muscle tone. Lifting in this range is what will give you myofibrillar growth, it won’t make your muscles bigger, but it will make them strong and really dense, and this is what gives the real tone. Being toned is more than just having a low level of body fat. Having low body fat and dense muscles is what produces that really nice looking effect.

5×5 training

This is where 5×5 training as a broker comes in. It’s in the middle of strength reps and muscle mass reps. So if you want to gain strength as well as size, strategically performing a 5×5 workout is the right way to go. I hope you have now learned that lifting light weights for high repetitions will not tone you up and that lifting weights will not give you much muscle mass.

Personally, I would not just use the 5×5 workout, but use all three to build an amazing physique. It’s a bit like shampoo and conditioner, is it better to use combination shampoo and conditioner? Or better to shampoo the hair and then condition it? The answer is first shampoo and then condition. To build an impressive physique, build a foundation by building sarcoplasmic muscle, then start to harden the muscle using a 5×5 workout and then use strength reps to really bring out true muscle tone while focusing on burning body fat.