There are so many opinions about how many sets and reps you should do, how much you should rest in between sets and how much resistance you should use. One guy in the gym may swear by 6 – 10 sets of each exercise, another says 3 sets is all he needs to put on muscle. One trainer may tell you to rest for 30 seconds between exercises and another up to three minutes. So who is right?The answers to designing a program comes down to the persons goals. Lets take a look at four different training goals.
The first is for muscle endurance. This person may be a long distance runner or cycler who needs to improve the muscle endurance fibers. In this case, the person would choose 65% of their one repetition maximum to perform the exercises with. They will engage in more than 12 repetitions for 2 – 3 sets resting only 30 seconds between sets and exercises. The idea is to keep the resistance light, the reps high and the rest low. That regime keeps the endurance demand high with the lower intensity and longer duration routines. This type of strength routine is the best kind to enhance an endurance athletes performance.
The second goal is hypertrophy other wise known as increasing muscle size. This is the main goal of body builders. To increase muscle size, choose a resistance that is 65 – 85% of your one repetition maximum. Perform 6 – 12 reps for 3 – 6 sets, resting from 30 seconds up to 90 seconds. This high intensity, short duration training will increase the size of the muscle fibers.
Keep in mind that genetics is a large determining factor in the results we can expect to see. We are born with a certain amount of strength and endurance muscle fibers and one does not convert to the other regardless of how much we train. Some people like Arnold Schwarzenegger are genetically blessed with a majority of strength fibers. Someone like Lance Armstrong is blessed with a lot of endurance fibers. Most of us have a 50 / 50 mix of both. In addition to your genetics, your age, nutrition and the amount of sleep you get are going to have an effect on your training results. Typically as we get older, we lose muscle, but that can be reversed with regular and intense strength training. Your meals should include 30% protein, 30% fat and 40 – 50% carbohydrates. Finally, you should strive for 7 – 9 hours of sleep nightly. It’s when the muscles are resting that they will grow in size and strength. So, regardless of your training goal, be sure to get into the gym 2 – 3 timesweekly to experience the many benefits of strength training. These guidelines are provided by the American College of Sports Medicine. Exercise is both an art and a science and therefore leaves room for interpretation and variation. As long as you are challenging your muscles you will see results. What may have worked for you for the past 4 months may begin to taper off. If that is the case, it’s time to try a new routine.
Reps
– Reps are short for Repetition. One repetition is counted every time you move from a starting position to a mid point and back to a starting position. For example when using a bicep curl, you would start with your hands down by your legs, curl them up until your hands are at shoulder height and then return your hands towards your legs again. That would count as one rep. You should strive to reach momentary muscular failure in 10 – 15 repetitions of an exercise. Momentary muscular failure is the point where your muscles are temporarily fatigued and you can no longer contract your working muscle. Completing 10 – 15 repetitions is known as one set.
Sets
Sets are the number of times an exercise is repeated to failure. For example, one set of bicep curls would include lifting and lowering dumbbells for 10 – 15 repetitions. To perform a second set, rest for 30 – 90 seconds and repeat the bicep curl exercise again. Beginners should strive to perform one set to momentary muscular failure. Intermediate exercises may want to incorporate a second set and advanced exercisers up to three sets. Keep in mind that sets are only one way to increase the intensity of your strength training program. If you do increase sets, do so gradually by only adding a second set to every other exercise rather than every exercise.