Which Rep Is Most Important?

Above: Bob Peoples (the first athlete to deadlift 700 lbs) knew the importance of a good rep.

This is a more involved question than it looks like at first glance.

One could argue that the first rep of a set is most important because your chance of injury is highest (since you’re capable of generating the most amount of force), and because the first rep sets the pace for the rest of the set.

One could argue that the intermediate reps are most important since they cause metabolic by-product build up, which is necessary for hormonal response to weight training (i.e., getting bigger muscles).Heck, one could even argue that your chance of injuring yourself on the last rep is greatest, so most attention should be paid to that one. Or that the last rep is the most important rep because it’s the trigger for the maximum amount of benefit that you can potentially reap from a single exercise bout.

So which rep is the most important one?

A: All of them.

Make each and every rep count. Perform them as perfectly as possible, with as much focus as you can muster. Hey, you never know; it might just be the last rep of the set!