To keep building growth in the gym, you must continue stimulating your body. The issue is that numerous lifters solely have two ways in for this: putting extra weight to the bar or modifying exercises. However, this is not the only way. You can also do the 40 reps method.

The 40 Reps Method

This method is something else that will cut you out of the workout routine. You should forget about the number of sets and rather, think about hitting a specific number of total reps for the exercise. A great amount to shoot for is 40 reps. So your aim is to do 40 reps for a singular exercise.

But How Does This Work?

The secret is in picking the weight you practice with. Load the bar or machine with a weight you can lift for 8 reps and that is the load you will use for the entire practice.

With your load chosen, you will now do 40 total reps for the workout, indifferent of how many sets it necessitates. As you fatigue, you won’t be capable to get the equal number of reps per round, and that is ok because we are exclusively interested with total reps. If you are looking for an example you can check the one below.

Workout:  Biceps Curl

Reps:  40 total

Load:  8RM

Sets:  Doesn’t matter

Rest:  45 seconds between sets

Set 1:  8 reps

Set 2:  8 reps

Set 3:  6 reps

Set 4:  5 reps

Set 5:  4 reps

Set 6:  4 reps

Set 7:  3 reps

Set 8:  2 reps

Total reps done:  40.

If compared with a normal 3×10, you will see that in this way you will achieve more reps with a heavier weight and at the same time developing work capacity.

The thing you need to keep in mind is that you are only pausing for 45 seconds between sets and you are beginning with your 8RM, so every set will be brought to failure. If you can make 8 reps on each set, then you either began too easy and sandbagged the first few sets, or you paused for an extended period between sets.

You can make your own variation if you want and finish the 40 reps in fewer steps. Or of course a higher number of sets. Regardless of the set number, it will work as long as you’re following the weight and pause guidelines.

The Hard Version

Fix your rep aim for the practice at 20. To pick your weight, load up the bar with your 4RM and pause for just 30 seconds between sets. The course can be similar to the one below, but again you can do it in your way.

Set 1:  4 reps

Set 2:  3 reps

Set 3:  3 reps

Set 4:  2 reps

Set 5:  2 reps

Set 6:  1 rep

Set 7:  1 rep

Set 8:  1 rep

Set 9:  1 rep

Set 10:  1 rep

Set 11:  1 rep

Total reps:  20