Login | October 05, 2026
What are you lifting for?
PETE GLADDEN
Published: October 5, 2026
Did you ever stop to think about just what it is you’re trying to accomplish with respect to your resistance training program?
I ask this because it’s important to understand the way in which you train - the sets, repetitions, volume, load, frequency, rest intervals, order of exercises - needs to be specific to the results you’re striving to obtain.
For instance, a strength training routine is going to have different training parameters than a muscle building routine, and for that matter different from a muscular endurance routine and a muscular power routine.
That’s why this is one of the principal tenants of resistance training: Training parameters should match training goals.
So let’s take a quick peek at matching up several of the key training parameters with these four specific training goals - muscular endurance, muscular hypertrophy (muscle building), muscular strength and muscular power.
1) Exercise Selection
Now regardless of your training goal you should be changing up your exercise selection menu on a regular basis, because even the most well-thought program can go south if the exercises never change.
Now with respect to the exercises, they should be appropriate for both your fitness level and your goals.
For example, if you’re training strength and/or power then leg curls and leg extensions might not be good exercise choices.
Instead choose squatting and deadlifting.
On the other hand, if you’re into muscular hypertrophy (bodybuilding) then those extensions and curls would be appropriate choices.
2) Exercise order
Current research tells us we can to do the most reps during the first few exercises, which means that you’re going to see the most gains - be it in strength, muscle size, power, etc. - for those muscle groups that are worked first.
For example, if you’re really gunning for bigger shoulders, then you’d want to start your workout with shoulder presses instead of front and side raises.
If it’s the chest you’re focusing on, then you begin with bench presses or pushups.
Conversely, if you’re focusing on power output then you begin with the exercises that require the most focus, attention and strength/speed skills.
Here we’re talking about power cleans and snatches.
3) Reps
This is a biggie.
Generally speaking, the 1-5 rep range produces improvements in strength; 6-8 reps produce gains in both strength and muscle mass; 8-12 reps produce increases in muscle mass and a 12+ rep range produces improvements in muscular endurance.
Now training for power is a bit tricky in that it involves ladder-type training, say workouts consisting of 4–5 sets of 3 reps, 5–6 sets of 1–2 reps, or up to 7–8 sets of a single rep.
And all of the above is based on a percentage of one’s 1RM (1 rep max)
4) Sets
Again, generally speaking the average workout should consists of one to three sets per exercise, though if you’re advanced you could bump above three sets per.
As you goals get more specific the rule of thumb is to do more reps and sets with lighter weights and less sets and reps with heavier weights.
Consequently, when we apply that rule to those four specific training goals, it looks like this: muscular endurance is in the three-four set/exercise range; muscle building is in the three-six set/exercise range; muscular strength is in the two-three set/exercise range and muscular power is in the three-five set/exercise range.
5) Recovery periods
This is yet another parameter that’s super contingent on the training goal.
Muscular strength and muscular power workouts for instance, generally require rest periods of three-five minutes between sets, while muscle building workouts require two-three minutes between sets.
Then those muscular endurance workouts need less than one-and-a-half minutes between sets.
6) Intensity (weight)
Our last parameter here, and it’s highly determined by your goals.
Muscular endurance requires a weight range of 50-65% of 1RM, while muscle building requires higher weights of 70-80% of 1RM.
Muscular strength clocks in at 80-90% of ones 1RM, and muscular power requires weights that are 30-70% of ones 1RM.
As you can see, even a meager understanding of the relationship between training parameters and training goals can be a big boost in getting you on the right track to achieving your lifting objectives.
Good luck.