When I’m not writing, editing, and researching fitness, I’m teaching it to my personal training and group fitness clients. POV: You have 3 sets of 8 to 10 goblet squat reps. You’re feeling good today, so you pick up a weight heavier than your normal. You only manage to crank out 6 reps, falling short of the goal of 8—you feel defeated. Researchers tested all participants' muscle size, strength, and skeletal muscle oxidative capacity (or, how efficiently the muscle uses oxygen as fuel). Like in life, less can be more when it comes to strength training.