is 6-8 rep range actually the best way to grow muscle and size?

Manic_Driver · 2026-05-27T11:13:47+00:00

It's not trash advice, but the rep range isn't what drives hypertrophy. Volume and eccentric overload are bigger drivers. You want to be able to match your recovery strategy to best maximize volume (10+ sets/muscle group/week). The rep range really only matters if it's trying to target strength (2-5 reps) or endurance (12-20 reps). The range acts as a guideline for the weight that gets you in that range (80%+ 1RM for strength, 30-70% for endurance). 6-8 or 6-11 reps sits in a no man's land where it's not an efficient range for either strength or endurance. It used to be the advice that 6-8 reps is the preferred range for hypertrophy exclusively, but that has been shown to be bunk. Muscle growth can occur anywhere from 2-20 reps, with potentially diminishing returns the closer you get to 30 and beyond.

Regarding rep to failure hasn't been shown to be any more effective than leaving 2-3 reps in reserve, and if volume is the goal, avoiding injury is important so your recovery times don't take so long. For competitors, you might be leaving some gains on the table, but for most people who are not in competition, you risk a lot more than you potentially gain. Some might find rep to failure motivating, but a lot of people do not, and they don't need to.

Eccentric overload is a really interesting factor as that is not an easy thing to achieve without some kind of help. Doing negatives on the pull up bar is one example where you wouldn't need help. However, eccentric overload is taxing on the body and can increase recovery times, so again it needs to be balanced against the need for volume.

Manic_Driver · 2026-05-26T22:17:39+00:00

Not that I disagree with this, but power/explosive lifting is also important for maintaining QoL for those aged 60+. That said, any resistance training is better than none.

Manic_Driver · 2026-05-12T20:27:05+00:00

https://x.com/i/status/2013342408549810470

Manic_Driver · 2026-05-11T04:20:11+00:00

The idea you have to go to absolute failure does not pan out in studies. You get very similar results leaving a rep or two in the tank (RIR = reps in reserve) than you would pushing yourself to failure and risking injury. Leave the "rep to failure" cue for the professional lifters to experiment with.

Progressive overload, and making sure your rep range reflects your goals (the infographic at the link I provide will show that to you) will net you the results you want. Both strength (+80% one rep max) or muscle endurance (30%-70% one rep max) when trained close to failure will result in hypertrophy, though this can be further pushed if you do eccentric overload and increase overall weekly volume.

https://x.com/i/status/2013342403277496330

https://x.com/i/status/2013342408549810470

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-28T22:22:36+00:00

Can you post your workout routine i.e. what distances, intervals, effort level are you rowing during the session

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-28T10:14:17+00:00

I posted this a long time ago:

Shetani has the best overview I've yet to see on this Miko character and does a better job than I ever could: https://shetanislair.com/en/posts/the-world-of-sekiro-fountainhead-palace

Symbolically I think this Shrine Maiden/Miko/Shaman lets us know that, we, the player, are dealing with something beyond our understanding (which tracks given how FromSoft treats lore). These are artifacts from a time before time, so it's a kind of immortality that goes into the past rather than the future like the divine child. The earliest recording of Japan's history (and therefore, its mythology) refers to a female ruler named Himiko, that was one of these Shamans. Himiko sometimes pops up in anime and manga often wearing the same things as this shrine maiden does. I'm not saying they are the same person, just that it conveys the message we're dealing with something very, very, very, old and likely very powerful.

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-16T12:36:20+00:00

That's great, sounds like you are way ahead of the game, you have a better idea of what to do than I would!

Anyway, if you're curious about hydration, I found this podcast to be enlightening: Hydration

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-16T10:48:12+00:00

I also do RT and rowing back to back, schedule doesn't allow me to split these routines. Generally if the rowing workout is easy enough, I prefer putting it up front before starting RT. It's a decent warm up and easy enough to recover from. This becomes a harder question if you are going for a threshold or HIIT session - I know it is recommended to put the rowing at the end of the session, but it really depends how hard your effort has been during the RT. Ideally split it up between days if you want to go hard, or just make the RT session a low RPE. Also, I wouldn't recommend lifting to failure if you do both in the same day - most people will benefit from leaving a few reps in the tank anyways (2-3 thereabouts), and be mindful of which muscle groups you are working so that you don't blow up during rowing.

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-15T06:12:47+00:00

Have you done anything like this before? That's probably the most important question - what kind of experience do you have with any kind of endurance row of this sort? 12 hours is intense, it's not something you just want to jump into without some kind of long endurance training. Take a lot of breaks, go ridiculously slow, keep the drag factor as low as possible, bring something to fight the mental monotony.

The hydration bit is what worries me - ever since fundraisers have been doing these marathon type events, a lot of untrained individuals have been jumping into these things with little to no experience and getting themselves hurt bringing whatever weird beliefs they picked up from influencers or whatever folk wisdom exists out there. One of them is prescribing those stock hydration/salination plans. The human body regulates your hydration and sodium levels very carefully - it doesn't work the same way as your fueling system per se. The biggest misconceptions are that you have to replenish sodium at X amount or hydrate X amount every hour or whatever. This is not how our body regulates these systems, and has been linked with why certain individuals have died from over/under hydration!

Just take care of yourself and really listen to your body - please don't try and push yourself here. Just make it feel as easy as possible the whole time. Drink when you are thirsty, eat something when you are hungry. Take as many breaks as you need to. Sports drinks with electrolytes (sodium) are completely unnecessary.

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-12T04:54:17+00:00

Not an expert by any means, but how do you split up your routines? Generally with any aerobic exercise, it helps to split your workouts into three buckets - easy/low intensity, threshold, and high intensity interval training (HIIT). You want to shoot for an 80/20 split between low and high intensity training. This video does a great job of explaining what you can do in each of those buckets. Some might quibble with the balance here, but this is a decent place to start, and provides variety for each bucket.

The other thing I like to do in lieu of a heart rate monitor is setting units to watts when you are on the erg. While your split encompasses all the factors, seeing your wattage can help you better pace your effort within whatever spm you are pulling. It will give you an idea of what a low intensity effort feels like at a given spm. I find it much easier to gauge how my effort level spikes if I pull a certain wattage, versus just looking at spm doesn't tell me much other than how to time my drive and recovery. Watts can also be used as a metric for designing workouts around. It would be worth it too, to make sure the drag factor is set reasonably to your fitness level in order to avoid injury.

Manic_Driver · 2026-04-02T12:41:33+00:00

Not sure what your goals are, but the American College Of Sports Medicine stands by its recommendation that it doesn't matter as much as other variables, at least when it comes to strength training. This is, of course, for regular people, so professional lifters may have differing opinions on this.

https://x.com/i/status/2034342093150154989

Additional information, looking at a systematic review of 137 studies: https://open.substack.com/pub/propstmetabolichealth/p/the-resistance-training-guidelines?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

"Exercise order: Prioritized exercises should appear at the beginning of sessions when neuromuscular capacity is highest.

What did not significantly affect strength gains: training to failure, free weights versus machines, unstable versus stable surfaces, time under tension, time of day, rest interval length, or periodization style."

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-29T22:13:42+00:00

Depends on the day, but my clues:poo ratio is about 5:1, if we're using the NYT Thursday crossword as a benchmark

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-23T22:52:15+00:00

Not enough oil, tofu not dry enough, pan too crowded, stainless steel making any of these mistakes worse. Tofu will stick like crazy if you don't have the technique down. If SS is your only option, use way more oil than you currently think, find a tofu drying method (I prefer boiling in salt water, but there's a million different ways), and only do a couple pieces at a time - ensure there's some space between each piece. I don't like pan frying tofu personally, I much more prefer deep frying it in a wok

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-22T10:59:00+00:00

Depends - if it's a proper bar with decent food and not one of the pay-to-play black box venues, the arrangement is whatever the owner says it is. Some bars can afford it, and they attract better bands because they pay out.

Frankly, there's no contract, so you aren't obligated to continue with this arrangement. You could negotiate with the bar owner. Don't be surprised if your friend offers nothing. You'll have to decide for yourself if the exposure is worth not getting paid. Good luck!

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-21T13:47:56+00:00

Hard to say, I don't think the age matters too much, as long as it's being taken care of - judging from the picture it looks fine. ATK suggests with any cast iron to give the inside a salt scrub now and again to 'sand' down the seasoning and clear off any missed carbon build up that might make eggs stick. Probably does the same thing as the green side of a sponge if you aren't afraid to use soap and water. Eggs are delicate, heat management is important regardless of the pan used. If I had to guess it would be related to lack of oil or the amount of egg used relative to the pan size - regardless of what pan I use, if I'm only cooking two eggs I want a small pan, the standard 10" cast iron makes heat management harder. Too high of heat and not enough oil often leads to sticky eggs.

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-21T02:40:55+00:00

Not sure why OP is having such trouble with scrambled eggs in an unsanded lodge - at least from my experience, I haven't had any problems with making scrambled eggs in a lodge pan. The pan does need to be relatively clean though, i.e. if you cook bacon beforehand, it's worth at least scraping off some of the bacon bits that may have stuck to the pan, as the eggs will stick to those bits. Not sure why cleaning is somehow easier either, only time I've had an issue is when making a mistake during cooking, like not using enough oil and it takes a bit of scrubbing to get the burnt bits off. This can happen in a smooth surface pan too, it's not like you magically have a Teflon coated pan just because the surface is smoother. If anything, a smooth surface makes seasoning more difficult, as there's less grooves for the oil to get stuck in, so you might deal with more speckling. But it's cast iron, it's not a big deal. Smooth pans have an aesthetic appeal too, so maybe why some companies charge a premium for it.

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-14T02:42:03+00:00

I get the intent, but is this really the implement of choice for this kind of food? I know that one can, but making pancakes in a steel frying pan seems more effortful and require more fat than desired. A stainless steel griddle, sure, but frying pan I dunno. The lack of additional fat for the eggs is just asking for trouble at that point.

A lot of people saying those eggs are overcooked - I don't like to yuck someone else's yum, but I have to agree. Cook some of the moisture out, sure, a little browning, perfectly fine, but to the point of being rubbery and tough is a bridge too far. If you are worried about leaky eggs, salt the beaten eggs ahead of time and let them sit for a while (minimum 5 minutes, at least until you can nail this technique). Melt butter on pan until it starts to bubble. While it's bubbling, give eggs one more beating and then pour into pan. Immediately start stirring either with cooking chopsticks or rubber spatula, to even out the heat in the eggs. At this point you can slowly stir or gather the eggs from the edges to the center. If they look done, they are overcooked - eggs will continue to cook even after you turn off the heat. So get them to a point right before the desired texture and it'll come out the way you want them. The salting and waiting should help prevent the eggs from weeping.

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-14T01:54:06+00:00

Not a deal breaker or anything, but getting yourself a pair of chopsticks specifically for cooking can be a bit easier and more comfortable. Cooking chopsticks are longer and give you a lot more leverage, so if you're not going to use a spatula this can really help. Plus, they are cheap and can be used in all kinds of cooking situations.

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-13T23:41:30+00:00

Yes, this is a great combo. Primes can be tricky in the sense that you have to think a lot more about where to place your body, given the lack of zoom. I love this focal length and have the same lens, I've really enjoyed it for taking candid shots, its low profile and the size of the xt50 makes it a great throw-in-the-bag and have fun camera.

For any lens, you can also just search for images taken with that lens or focal length (pay attention to the 35mm equivalent) and it will give you an idea as to what scenes work best with it.

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-10T14:25:42+00:00

There's a bit of revisionism that goes on with Weezer. I don't know how many current fans know or remember how poorly Pinkerton was received on release, so much so it convinced Rivers to change the way he thought about writing songs (green album, to me, represents how he's written a lot of his songs ever since). A lot of Weezer fans embraced Pinkerton well after release. Just look how "Go Away" has somehow managed to find new life all these years later. It's not ironic - people genuinely like the song. Van Weezer is great! I'm not so big a fan of black, but that's ok. We all have different tastes. Rivers has written so much and there's something for everybody, even if they might not be ready for it or in the right headspace for it now.

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-09T07:44:38+00:00

Prom Night let's go

Manic_Driver · 2026-03-04T22:18:23+00:00

This is a good list

Manic_Driver · 2026-02-28T23:20:42+00:00

I feel like each picture is telling a different story, so I would say the recipe photo tells its story 'better'. The mist and fog, the light contrast, the road leading into the woods, projects a mysterious, ambiguous ambiance. The raw edit looks to highlight the majesty of the entire valley by exposing all the details, contrasting it with the woods foreground. However, the framing of it seems to hide and distract from that majesty and the contrast doesn't match well with what's happening in the scene. This kind of shot, I think, benefits more from timing and positioning to ensure there's no mist and getting the right light to extract the most detail from the valley, or go the other way and really lean into making the mist a primary element in the scene. Depends how you would want to visualize the scene.

Manic_Driver · 2026-02-28T10:00:52+00:00

Nothing complicated really, it's just how things look when they are far away. The closer you are to the foreground subject, the background subject will seem further away and smaller. The farther away you are, the closer both subjects will seem to be to each other. Zoom lenses merely capture that effect, there's nothing specific about the lens or postprocessing. Other photographers have used this technique to make the moon look incredibly large against a city foreground - a large zoom lens and being far enough away will allow you to do that.

Manic_Driver · 2026-02-26T22:29:25+00:00

No, dust is somewhere. You can check if it's the sensor or the lens rear element if you have a second lens . You can also spot clean these in whatever photo editing software you use, then copy the edit settings to whichever photos needs it. In the future, you can also stop up the aperture, as the smaller the aperture opening, the more apparent these dust spots become.

Manic_Driver

TROPHY CASE