Sets--which is better?

[Tayl405]

Does it matter if, when lifting, I do 3 sets of 12, or 2 sets of 18? The goal is to tone, not bulk up.

[paiger81]

To bulk up, you do Low reps with High weights.
To tone or lose weight, you do High reps with Low weights.

I work on toning & losing weight & I generally do 3 sets of 25 with 5 or 8 pounds weights.
Hope that helps.

[MetFanL]

I don't know that it matters for girls -- bulking up v. toning. I've been uping my weights and lowering my reps and I look better now and seen results faster then I did when I was just "toning." Of course, now I need a spotter, which has created other issues...

[Tayl405]

Hmmm...it might work better for me to up my weights and lower my reps because time is an issue. For upper body I usually only do 2 sets of 12 because it takes so long, and I guess I've noticed more of a progress than on lower. All this stuff confuses me...

[Tayl405]

I'm really not trying to lose much weight--I do plenty of cardio and I'm pretty much at my target weight. I'm just trying to get definition in my body.

[Tayl405]

Lol, I'm not a genetic freak (I hope!).

[paiger81]

The general rule of thumb is that for toning you want to do 16-20 reps per set. No more than 2 sets. Anyone can lift a 5lb dumbell all day, it's not going to do anything for you. Paiger, try using a 10lb weight and doing 16-20 reps.

My personal trainer begs to differ about the use of 5 pound weights as well as only doing 2 sets. Plus I lost some good weight & toned nicely with my 5 pound weights.

But on most arm exercises I do either 8 or 10 pounds, now, but when I started I was at 5.

[and1grad]

I think if you can easily do 15, its too little weight. I also like 2 sets, the third set is usually the one where your form turns to crap anyway. There's also no point in exhausting yourself on one exercise.