What exactly makes lower reps harder to recover from than higher reps?

[marvelsferb7]

Just something I would like to know if anyone is familliar with the topic.

I have done periods of low repetitions as well as high repetitions and without fail low repetitions are always much harder to recover from mentally and physically if done at or close to failure which is how I train.

But given the volume should be bigger with high repetitions training if you equate the sets eg. 3 x 10 x 80 adds up to more weight than 3 x 4 x 90 I wonder why the higher reps don't seem to take as much of a toll on the body as lower ones at a high training intensity.

The CNS tall from low rep heavy weight is just incomparable to muscle exhaustion of higher reps and is just more difficult mentally in my experience.

Does anyone know why exactly this is the case and the mechanism behind it or even perhaps disagrees that low reps are infact more difficult to recover from?

 

[Rival]

Well IMO if you’re training for high volume, from what i see guys are doing reps of the same weight for many reps week in and week out without any progressive overload. Your body gets use to it, and the muscle tear/repair just isn’t happening at the level it was when that weight was “new to your body.” Low set work typically lets you lift heavier than you normally would. I have nothing to back that, just from my own experience/body.

 

[EazyE]

Just something I would like to know if anyone is familliar with the topic.

I have done periods of low repetitions as well as high repetitions and without fail low repetitions are always much harder to recover from mentally and physically if done at or close to failure which is how I train.

But given the volume should be bigger with high repetitions training if you equate the sets eg. 3 x 10 x 80 adds up to more weight than 3 x 4 x 90 I wonder why the higher reps don't seem to take as much of a toll on the body as lower ones at a high training intensity.

The CNS tall from low rep heavy weight is just incomparable to muscle exhaustion of higher reps and is just more difficult mentally in my experience.

Does anyone know why exactly this is the case and the mechanism behind it or even perhaps disagrees that low reps are infact more difficult to recover from?

You hit the nail on the head with the fact it is based on the load on your CNS. The increased amount of weight utilized in low-rep training taxes your body far more. As well, the negative stroke is slower with heavier weight, which causes more muscle fibre damage basically due to increased time under tension with a heavy load / failure reps.
This type of training effect is similar to a sprinter vs marathon runner. Who has the greater muscle mass development?

 

[Eman]

Higher volume doesn't mean that training is harder. Most warmup sets will actually be higher volume than work sets, but the relative volume is lower. True volume is dependent on how close to maximum effort you're working at.

Personally, I am more fatigued from higher volume lower, lower intensity but it's kind of relative because the volume math can work out to be the same. For instance, doing my 10 rep max feels more fatiguing to me than doing my 1 rep max, even though the math should come out to being about the same.

 

[EazyE]

Higher volume doesn't mean that training is harder. Most warmup sets will actually be higher volume than work sets, but the relative volume is lower. True volume is dependent on how close to maximum effort you're working at.

Personally, I am more fatigued from higher volume lower, lower intensity but it's kind of relative because the volume math can work out to be the same. For instance, doing my 10 rep max feels more fatiguing to me than doing my 1 rep max, even though the math should come out to being about the same.

And it is important to plan recovery into your training cycles accordingly. You can’t continually drain the battery and then only recharge it enough for the short term. Eventually there is not enough juice left in the battery to start the engine. Recovery is often overlooked in training cycles.

 

[Eman]

And it is important to plan recovery into your training cycles accordingly. You can’t continually drain the battery and then only recharge it enough for the short term. Eventually there is not enough juice left in the battery to start the engine. Recovery is often overlooked in training cycles.

*Plugs fingers into ears*

La La La La... Can't hear you!

 

[marvelsferb7]

Just something I would like to know if anyone is familliar with the topic.

I have done periods of low repetitions as well as high repetitions and without fail low repetitions are always much harder to recover from mentally and physically if done at or close to failure which is how I train.

But given the volume should be bigger with high repetitions training if you equate the sets eg. 3 x 10 x 80 adds up to more weight than 3 x 4 x 90 I wonder why the higher reps don't seem to take as much of a toll on the body as lower ones at a high training intensity.

The CNS tall from low rep heavy weight is just incomparable to muscle exhaustion of higher reps and is just more difficult mentally in my experience.word counter VidMate Mobdro


Does anyone know why exactly this is the case and the mechanism behind it or even perhaps disagrees that low reps are infact more difficult to recover from?

issue got solved!