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My buddy at the gym in Tampa swore high reps were the only way, now I'm reading the total opposite and I don't know who to believe
About 3 years ago I listened to a trainer at a gym in Tampa who told me to do 20 rep sets on everything because low reps would wreck my joints. I did that for almost a year and my knees felt fine but my strength stalled at the same numbers, like 185 on squats for months. Now I see people claiming 5x5 is the holy grail and anything over 10 reps is junk volume. So which is the real bad take here? Was my Tampa guy wrong or is the low rep crowd just as bad? Drop your worst gym advice story below.
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emma_wells831h ago
Both camps are wrong when they talk in absolutes like that. I ran into the same thing back when I first started lifting, spent about a year bouncing between programs because some guy on YouTube said 10+ reps was pointless and another swore heavy singles would blow out my back. What actually worked was mixing it up: heavy sets of 5 on the big lifts to build strength, then higher rep stuff on the smaller moves for the pump and to give my joints a break. Your Tampa guy was not totally off since 20 rep squats will build some size, but they will not push your max up much, which is why you sat at 185 forever. The 5x5 crowd is just as bad when they act like 12 reps is a crime. Pick a plan, run it for 8 to 12 weeks, add a little weight each time, and stop switching every time some new guru pops up.
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