The latest article from Stronger by Science showcasing a new meta-analysis on lifters self-selecting loads for their training.

The main conclusion of the review found that both trained and untrained lifters tend to select a load around 53% of their 1RM for sets in the 5-15 rep range.

The SBS article goes on to discuss the secondary analyses also performed that tease out what may (or may not) have influenced the decision making process.

In the end, the conclusion shows that most lifters tend to be very conservative in their weight selections, which leads to sets with several reps in the tank. This suggest that for strength and hypertrophy purposes, the way most people train is leaving a lot of gains on the table:

My main takeaway from this meta-analysis is that most people self-select loads that are probably too light to build much muscle. Selecting 50-55% 1RM loads for sets of (generally) 10 reps is likely to leave most people with at least 10 reps in reserve for most sets of most exercises, which is unlikely to produce much muscle growth.