Reps, Sets, Rest- What is the Magic Number?

 

Reps, Sets, Rest- What is the Magic Number?

 

Don’t you feel lost in the gym sometimes? Have you ever looked around and everyone but you seemed to know exactly what to do?

 

Finding the right routine isn’t easy, especially for a newbie. The main question is: where do I start?

 

#Goal

 

Decide what you want. Goals like: I want to drop three dress sizes in one month will never work. It is impossible so forget it and be realistic. Small goals will lead you to greater results.

 

Once you decide what you want to achieve in long run (a year and six months) decide what you want to achieve in two weeks and a month. Those are short-term goals.

 

#how often to train

Again, that will depend on your goal and your fitness level.

I recommend for anyone who wants to get fitter, leaner and stronger to do;

 

Cardio; 3-5 times a week

Strength; 2-3 times a week

 

#intensity

 

To get result you are after, you need to work up to 60-80% of your Heart Rare. In other words, hard enough to get your body warm.

 

#reps

How many times to perform each move

 

Endurance- 12-25 reps

Strength +endurance- 8-12 reps

Strength – 1-5 reps

Gaining muscles- 6-12 reps

 

#sets

 

How many times to complete one round of exercise?

 

For example

 

Set 1- perform 12-15 reps

Set 2- perform 12-15 reps

Set 3- perform 12-15 reps

 

Endurance- 3 sets

Strength + endurance- 2-4 sets

Strength- 4-6 sets

Muscle gain- 3-5 sets

 

 

#rest

Rest time (brake time) is probably the most important factor in your workout. If you make it too short your muscles will not have enough time to recover and your workout will not be productive. If you will wait too long your body and muscles will cool down too much.

 

Breaks for:

Endurance- 90 seconds

Strength + endurance- 90 seconds

Strength- 3-5 minutes

Gaining muscles- 60 seconds

 

Resting time between endurance based training sets should be shorter to keep your muscles working.

 

Rest periods during strength training should be longer to allow maximum recovery between sets.

 

 

#weights

First of all do not jump straight into lifting heavy weights if you haven’t done it before.

 

Start with body weight exercises

 

Body weight exercises will give you opportunity to master the move, get used to its range and technique.

 

No matter what weighted exercise you are planning to do, always have “dry run” performing it with just body weight.

 

Ok, you are ready to use weights here is a few ways to figure out what to do.

 

Use weight 60-70% of RM

Endurance- 40-60 % of 1RM

Strength + endurance – 60-80 % of 1RM

Strength- 70 % of 1RM

Muscle growth- 80% of 1RM

 

Confused? Let’s break it down.

 

1 RM is weight that you can lift only 1 time and no more.

 

Example

 

Good advice;

 

Start with easy weights in order to master the move. If it feels too easy for next set grab heavier weights. Eventually you will find weights that are just perfect for you.

 

Rules;

 

Make sure you can perform each repetition properly with right technique.

 

Upgrade your weight after 2-3 weeks so you can progress.