It's quite common that I come across people who want to know exactly how many reps are going to work the best when it comes to creating lean muscle mass.
The answer I usually give them is that it's best to focus on how your muscles feel than how many reps you do.
I admit that it is true that doing less reps at a higher weight is more "power-based" weight training - it can even be classified as "plyometric" exercise.
When it comes down to it, you want to know - "Is it better to do less weight and more reps or more weight and less reps?"
My answer: Do at least one warm-up set (specific to the exercise you're doing e.g. bench press). Do at least 1 hard set (with a spotter) - This should be hard enough that you can't do more than 10. Do at least one medium set (about 50% of your 1 rep max) - approximately 20 - 30 reps.
When it comes down to it, don't get too caught up in the whole reps and sets fiasco. Just do the right types of exercises and fatigue the muscle as much as possible if you want to build lean muscle mass. This also helps to lose stomach fat and get abs.
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