Myth-Busting the Repetition and Load Continuum
What the research actually says about rep ranges, load, and the outcomes they produce.
The "rep continuum" — high reps for endurance, low reps for strength, middle reps for hypertrophy — is one of the most repeated heuristics in strength training, and one of the most quietly outdated. Modern research shows the picture is messier and, in some places, the opposite of what we were taught.
This piece walks through the literature on hypertrophy, strength, and endurance adaptations across rep ranges and loads, and lays out where the conventional wisdom holds up, where it breaks, and what to do about it as a coach.