Aaron I think it also depends on the individual. Alot of people on the internet tend to say and think that only what they say and do is right. You're definitely right it's not clean cut.

There are alot of variables and different things work for different people. It's like diet, this diet works and that diet works best. But if you really break down why different people lost weight on different diets it all comes down to a calorie deficit. All diets work that way. There is always a different road to take to the same path but everyone likes different things.

Very interesting thread! I've been following alone.

It not clean cut and depends on goals. with bodybuilding muscle building i think time under tension is a factor and training density creating as much intramuscular stress in the shortest time. Bottom line focus on the movement 10 good reps go further than 50 with no focus, squuezing and applied tension.

My opinion the body needs rest. You can't beat it to death everyday. For me I train a movement or body part 2-3 times a week depending on what split I'm using. Gives the body plenty of time to recover.

Michael,

Yes, I did 15-20 reps x 2-4 sets up to muscle burning but with lower SR tension, 5-7 sessions/week. I kept this frequency of training because it helped me to feel better. However, after such regime for long time, I started to feel fatigue for 2-4 hours after training and did not see any muscle and strength gaining. I think it was over-training. I agree with some experts that correct training session should be resulted in the increase of energy in the body, not fatigue. The combination of low reps, max tension, and multiple sets works by this way according to Pavel Tsatsouline, the fitness instructor. I've posted the ink to his PDF book.

Pretty much agree with what's set forth above. The approaches are all interrelated - frequency and high reps are a perfect example, and I haven't done anything over 50 (and usually not that) - for a long time. Elbows, and esp. knees and shoulders didn't like high reps much. One interesting (to me) thing I did notice is that heavy low rep work between 1 and 3 RM (weights obviously) impacted my nervous system more than going to excess with bodyweight drills and reps. The latter left me with muscular soreness, but I could keep up the reps pretty consistently near my rep max on a day after day basis, whereas a heavy session with limit of near limit weight impacted my nervous system more than my musculature. Example would be sets of pushups BW squats etc. 3 or 4 straight days near max but weight max on Monday left me drained Tuesday and Wednesday. But - this is complicated somewhat in that down at the gym where all this went down we'd get into BW "challenges" with each other and looking back on it the reps weren't clean; there was a lot of momentum being used to pile up the rep count. So how close any of us really were to rep max is debateable. We had one guy there who I called "the balloon" because he had perfected bouncing off the floor on his pushups and squats (squats were all the way down - A to G) -, had very little muscular development but did real well with piling up the numbers on challenge day. Another complication is that in looking at all these variables in training you have to take account what someone has been doing in their training over time - you may get a guy who can crank out 2 or 3 reps with a lot of plates but that doesn't mean he trained with anything like that on a weekly basis. Or his brother comes in too and zips through 5 sets of 100 pushups, BW squats and ab work - but then you don't see him for three weeks, and who knows what he's been training with in the interim? Ok, enough out of me. Its a fascinating subject though.

Hey Bob do You always do the same amount of reps and sets? Have You ever tried higher reps?

Dynamic exercises with a stick, 6 reps with max self-resistance x 4 or 6 sets, 5-7 sessions/week, Good muscle pumping, gaining some muscle mass, no fatigue.

I like the 3 sets of 10, 8 & 6 sometimes. But I can't say I stick to one rep or set scheme. With bodyweight I do prefer to keep the reps 25 or below. I use light weights and cables sometimes. So sometimes I like higher reps with them. So I would say those reps would be 50 to below. If I do 50 reps with light weights or cables one set seems enough. Light weights I use tension. The stuff I do for abs range from 25 reps to 5 reps. I like more tension for the abs. I like to change up my rep and set scheme from time to time.

I like the old Delorme and Watson 3 sets of 10, 8 and six for self-resistance. With weights, as you go up with heavier weights, you'll need more sets to warm-up. 5x5 or 6x6 is always a good bet with the top set being the hard set. For bodyweight I prefer countdowns and reps of 25 or less. I've done sets in the 100's for push-ups and sit-ups, and 300's for knee bends, and from personal experience I don't think it is an effective way to train. There is too much wear on the joints and you train your form for reps as opposed to what builds the muscle.