Alternative rep ranges for progressions

For most of the progressions I recommend the 6-12 rep range where you move up when you can do at least 12 good reps. This usually drops your reps down to 6 when you move up in progression. Sometimes this is 5 reps and sometimes less and you might need to build up to 15 reps with the previous exercise before proceeding. It really depends on how much the load increases when switching exercises. In some exercises the load difference is quite large making the next step difficult. For example going from assisted one arm push-up to one arm push-up you need to build reps relatively high before you have a chance of doing the one arm push-ups in a suitable rep range.

Working in a suitable rep range allows you to increase the overall rep count over time more efficiently. In this example the overall number of reps for 3 sets of pistol squats and 2 sets of elevated pistol squats in a single workout. Deload on week 6. Progress does not happen every week and some weeks the performance is not optimal due to external factors (poor sleep, flue etc.week 9)

If you like working with lower or higher rep ranges for progressions the following will usually work. 

• 4-10 reps if you enjoy low rep training and can maintain good form when performing reps below 6. 
• 6-12 reps is my go to rep range for progressions. A good compromise.
• 8-15 reps if you want to progress with a higher rep range making the transition easier when moving up in progression. 
• 10-20 rep range can work but the high reps above 15 reps don’t predict your strength performance well. So even if you work up to 20 reps you might only get 8 reps when you move up to harder progression.

I have excluded the low rep range below 4 reps since maintaining proper form can be difficult for most trainees. Also accumulating sufficient training volume to progress is difficult as you do more sets the overall movement quality is lowered. The more reps you do the better you get at doing the movement. That's why rep range 6-12 and 8-15 work well for most.

Personally I find higher rep training less enjoyable since it's easier to focus on doing quality work for fewer reps than for a high number of reps. Also overall fatigue and fatigue in assisting muscle groups increases since you have to hold the correct body position through a longer set. In general it is better to do a moderate amount of high quality reps in a workout than a low or high number of reps with poor form, range of motion and tempo.

Try out the lower rep ranges for progressions if you feel that you can do high quality work with lower reps also. Or try the higher rep ranges if the 6-12 rep range feels too difficult when moving up in progression.

Check out the calculator in the article “High Value of High rep training” [LINK]

It includes a calculator that lets you estimate the reps for harder progressions based on your current strength level! For example you can type in 20 reps of standard push-ups to the calculator and see how many reps you would get for the harder progressions. You immediately realize that you need to get significantly stronger to get the one arm push-up.