Low Reps Or High Reps To Build Muscle With Bodyweight Exercises?

For a long time I would have said you need to use lower rep ranges with harder exercises to build muscle with bodyweight training.

No doubt this strategy can work.

But it can also be hard on your joints.

Fortunately there is now a growing body of evidence which suggests this thinking may be outdated. Turns out you can build muscle with low rep and high rep bodyweight exercises.

So long as you put a really high degree of effort into each set.

This means taking each set to momentary-muscular-failure or at least close to it. With easier bodyweight exercises this will take you longer to achieve but the end result will be largely the same. In my opinion this is great news as it gives you more options with your training.

Prefer shorter sets with harder exercises - go for it.

Prefer longer sets with easier exercises - go for it

Prefer to mix and match shorter sets and longer sets - go for it.

Take home message - intensity of effort is the key training variable when it comes to building muscle with bodyweight exercises!