When you first start working you, you may be confused how to tackle the weight room or some bodyweight exercises [1]. Sure, you may know how to to a bicep curl or jump squat, but how many should you be doing to really feel the burn and see results?
Beachbody [2] super trainer Joel Freeman, who created the new workout program LIIFT4 [3], told POPSUGAR exactly how many reps and sets he prefers people to do.
"I like basic hypertrophy training, which is three sets of 10," he said. "[It's] what I tend to stick with just because that allows people to go a little bit heavier in weight and feel that soreness [5] the next day as well."
Although the exact sets and reps may change depending on the actual exercise (and how heavy your weights are), it's a formula he recommends for the majority of his workouts.
"The idea behind it is if you're doing three sets of 10, then usually by the eighth rep, you're starting to feel it, you feel it's getting a little heavy," he said. "And then as you get into the third set, you're really starting to fatigue to the point where once you get to that 30th rep of all three sets, you're very happy it's over."
Next time you're confused about how many sets and reps to do, remember Joel's formula and crush it at the gym!