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This depends
greatly on your experience, the body part you are training
and what your goals are. If you are a beginner or if your
goal is to tone a muscle group without adding much mass to
it, stick to performing sets with a higher number of reps
and a lighter weight. Generally speaking, anything over 12
reps would (in most cases) be considered high-repetition
training.
If your goal is to add mass to your body, perform sets in
the six to eight rep range with moderate to heavy weights.
This range forces your muscles to become fatigued quickly
and using heavy weights will stress your muscles for
maximum growth. (Warm up with one to two higher rep sets
with lighter weights before using heavier weights in the
six to eight rep range.)
If your goal is to strictly increase strength (as in
power-lifting), most of your reps should stay between one
and five using near-maximum to maximum poundage. Again,
warm up with one or two higher rep sets with lighter
weights before using heavier weights in this low
rep-range. Remember that body parts such as calves and abs
may require higher rep sets to become fully fatigued.
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