Aim for reps between 10-12 for each exercise. Concentrate on adding mass for longer than 3 weeks. Eat a ton of carbs and protein for six weeks. During these six do 10-12 reps for each exercise. Then after 6 weeks, eat half the amount of calories and drop down to 6-8 reps whilst doing cardio to get cut. good luck.
For definition, don't even keep track of reps, just do as many as you can for 3 sets. Also work on exercises that only work one muscle at a time, it will give you the best definition. Swimmers are probably one of the most defined athletes, so you could take that up as well.
I'm sure you know the basic rule in lifting - low reps, heavy weights for mass and high reps, moderate weights for definition - and it's good to vary your reps and sets once in a while so that your muscles won't stagnate and get into a plateau.
'm a guy who no matter what exercise I'm doing, aim for 6-8 reps, and 3 sets of that exercise. (not sure if this is important). My muscle split is day one- back and chest, day 2- biceps and triceps and shoulders, day 3- legs, then it repeats again and then the 7th day is a day of rest. I've tried this for 3 weeks to gain muscle size. Now for a week I want to use more reps and less way to create definition. How many reps and sets should I do, on average, for each exercise? (I tend to do a core exercise (ex. bench press) and a isolation exercise like flies, for each muscle).
