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Thread: Toning or Bulking BS

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    Default Toning or Bulking BS

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    Recently I have came into a discussion with an individual who is training to become a personal trainer. We were talking about reps and they made a statement that seemed idiotic to me, but I actually want to explore the validity behind it. Here is what they said:

    "Higher reps (8 to 10) lead to toning, while lower reps (4-6) lead to bulking. By doing sets of 5 you are bulking."

    Now, I could care less about "toning" or "bulking" but the general statement irked me and I wanted to refute it.

    Do the number repetitions within your set legitimately change body composition in some way? I call bull. In my very limited knowledge and understanding- it seems as if the only thing that would lead to "toning" (I presume lose of body fat) and "bulking" (I presume muscle gain) is more related to nutrition.

  2. #2
    Brent Carter's Avatar
    Brent Carter is offline Owner, Starting Strength Dallas
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    Your friend is well on his way to becoming a top tier personal trainer where this kind of bullshit is the accepted norm.

    You, however, are better than that and have already figured out what most never will. "Toning" is body comp which is almost entirely dependent upon nutrition intervention.

  3. #3
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    Don't walk away from this person. Run. People this stupid are dangerous to be near and it might be contagious; we just don't know. Keep your distance from such volk.

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    You can choose your rep scheme to focus on hypertrophy or strength although it really doesn't make that much difference for a novice. Ironically, all these trainers that say high reps with short rest periods are best to avoid bulking seem to forget that high reps + short rests are what bodybuilders use to get as bulky and large as possible.

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    Brent Carter's Avatar
    Brent Carter is offline Owner, Starting Strength Dallas
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    Quote Originally Posted by KangaJoo View Post
    You can choose your rep scheme to focus on hypertrophy or strength although it really doesn't make that much difference for a novice.
    Exactly. Because if you aren't that strong then there is no point in doing a lighter weight for higher reps. If a guy can only squat 275 what are they going to be able to do for sets of 12? How effective as a training stimulus is 205x12 for this person vs someone that can squat 405? How much weight can that person do for sets of 12?

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