The key to getting a good workout in less time is to be efficient at what you do when you're in the gym. Seems obvious, right? Well, don't be surprised when you see many knuckleheads in the gym who spend more time looking down at their smart phones rather than working out. What a BIG waste of time. If you want to get in a good workout in the gym, avoid the distraction of your iphone (other than programming your music) and spend more time focusing on your workout (i.e., exercises, sets, reps, etc.). Here are some tips to keep you on the right track to get in and get out of the gym in less time: - Keep your rest periods short between sets (e.g., 30 to 90s)--use a timer such as the Gymboss to stay honest on your rest intervals
- Avoid performing redundant exercises (e.g., do EITHER the T-bar rows or 1-arm dumbbell rows but NOT both)
- Step into the gym with your workout plan in hand to avoid time figuring what to do
- Avoid peak gym hours (i.e., 5-7 pm)--nothing worse than waiting for what seems like an eternity for someone to finish at the squat rack (!)
- Carry a water bottle with you while working out--avoid making trips to the water fountain
- Avoid chit-chat with others--wear headphones to convey the message that you're not in the gym for social hour
- Perform supersets--you can get a lot of work done in practically half the time
- Perform HIIT cardio--(e.g., alternate periods of 30s of high intensity with 1 min of lower intensity cardio)--this allows you to burn more calories in less time (e.g., 20 mins rather than 45 mins)
The speed with which you perform each repetition within a set is largely dependent on your fitness goal (i.e., gain endurance, gain muscle mass, gain strength, gain power). Why is this the case? Because your fitness goal determines the intensity (i.e., % 1-RM) as well as how many repetitions you perform (i.e., 8-12 reps). This, in turn, determines how fast or slow you should perform each repetition which will ultimately determine the duration of your set. For example, if your goal is to gain muscle mass, you should perform about 8 to 12 reps at a moderate speed so that your set lasts from about 30 to 40 seconds. The duration of the set is often referred to as time under tension (TUT). It is recommended the eccentric movement (i.e., downward stroke) of each rep should take at least two to four seconds duration (depending on intensity level) while the concentric movement (i.e., upward stroke) of each rep should take at least one to two seconds duration (depending on intensity level). For example, more time should be spent lowering the dumbbell (the eccentric movement) during a bicep curl compared to raising it (the concentric movement). The more repetitions that are expected to be performed, the faster the speed of movement to ensure muscle fatigue does not preempt your goal reps. The less repetitions that are expected to be performed, the slower the speed of movement to ensure muscle fatigue occurs within your goal reps. To summarize, here are the recommended parameters that should occur relative to your fitness goal: - Intensity: 30-45% 1-RM or 85-100% 1-RM
- Reps: More than 30 or less than 6
- Rep Speed: Fast or Slow
- Set duration (TUT): 10 seconds to 1 minute
- Rest duration: 1 to 5 minutes
- Intensity: 50-67% 1-RM
- Reps: More than 12
- Rep Speed: Moderately fast
- Set duration (TUT): 30 to 40 seconds
- Rest duration: Less than 30 seconds
- TRAINING FOR MUSCLE MASS:
- Intensity: 67-80% 1-RM
- Reps: 8 to 12
- Rep Speed: Moderate
- Set duration (TUT): 30 to 40 seconds
- Rest duration: 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes
- Intensity: 80-85% 1-RM
- Reps: 6 to 8
- Rep Speed: Moderately slow
- Set duration (TUT): 20 to 30 seconds
- Rest duration: 2 to 5 minutes
NOTE: Since rep speed (i.e., moderately slow) is largely ambiguous, set duration (i.e., 20 to 30 seconds) is a much better means to gauge how fast or slow you are performing each rep for the particular training goal (i.e., training for strength).
The answer is most likely due to a lack of recovery or inadequate rest after an intense exercise session. This is why you should "listen" to your body as it always "tells" you what you need to know. In this case, your body is telling you, "cease and desist with the hard training and please let me rest!" What many people fail to do is actually listen to the body and abide to what it says. You may have reached the stage referred to as "over-reaching" (short-term fatigue) and are in danger of getting to the stage called "over-training" (long-term fatigue) if you're not careful. If you've just experienced a feeling of sluggishness recently, all that's needed is to allow your body and mind to rest at least one but maybe two days. Failure to take time off from training will cause your body to regress into a state of longer-term fatigue which could require at least a week of rest!
Active recovery is an option if you cannot resist hitting the gym most days of the week. This simply refers to exercising at a low-intensity level (i.e., 50% loading with high repetitions) on days when you do not feel your best. In this way, you can enhance your recovery. Another option is to "periodize" your workout days--for instance, rotating your workouts with hard, medium and light intensities every other day (e.g., Monday is hard day, Wednesday is medium day, Friday is light day). "Periodization" refers to a concept wherein your training is broken down into chunks (e.g., hard, medium, light workouts) as a means to avoid overtraining and to keep your training "fresh". Training in this way is very practical and will enable you to get stronger, more powerful, and gain muscle mass while lessening the risk of injury. There are several factors which determine one's ability to recover from workouts. These factors include age, training intensity, nutrition, stress, and level of cardiovascular fitness. The most significant factor is age because younger people recover much faster from workouts than older people. Training intensity is the next significant factor because high-intensity training requires more recovery time. Nutrition should not be underestimated since a lack of nutrients will inevitably slow recovery. Of course, high stress slows the recovery process. A high level of cardiovascular fitness hastens the recovery process because the circulatory system is able to deliver more nutrients and remove metabolites more quickly.
Some of the markers of overtraining are the following:
- Elevated resting heart rate
- Decreased maximum heart rate
- Elevated blood pressure
- Elevated basal metabolic rate (BMR)
- Decreased appetite
- Change in menstrual cycle
- Lack of desire or enthusiasm to train
- Decreased muscle mass (i.e., caused by excessive catabolism due to cumulative microtrauma to the muscle fibers)
- Decreased bodyweight
- Decreased sleep or insomnia
- Diminished sex drive and sexual performance
- Increased irritability
- Increased moodiness
- Depression
- Increased chronic fatigue, aches, and pain
- Increased anxiety and/or stress
- Decreased performance
- Decreased strength
- Increased sickness or nausea
- Head cold
- Headaches
- Allergic reactions
- Decreased ability to concentrate
- Inability to complete workouts
- Lack of motivation
- Tender joints due to tendonitis (e.g., knee, elbow, shoulder, lower back)--apply an ice pack to the sore area ASAP for up to 20 minutes to reduce inflammation and to hasten the recovery process
- Chronic soreness (i.e., over two weeks) may require an anti-inflammatory medication--gradually stretch and strengthen the sore areas several days after having experienced pain
- Sore shins (AKA shin splints) is caused by muscular inflammation due to excessive running or improper posture--avoid running until the soreness subsides and do swimming or biking instead
Do some of these markers seem familiar and apply to yourself? If so, then you need to make a change in either your lifestyle, your training routine, or both. Regarding a change in your lifestyle, consider the following:
- Follow a sensible nutrition plan (e.g., eating every two hours)
- Consider taking supplements (e.g., whey protein to retain muscle mass; glutamine to increase your immune response; vitamins A and C for antioxidant protection)
- Get adequate sleep each and every day (e.g., at least seven hours)
- Take a midday nap (e.g., no more than 20 minutes)
- Get periodic massages
- Avoid the movement
- Dip your body into a whirlpool or bath regularly
Regarding a change in your training routine, consider the following:
- Take time off from training (e.g., depending on the severity of overtraining this may vary from a few days to several weeks)
- Reduce training frequency (e.g., take extra day off during week)
- Reduce training duration (e.g., 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes)
- Follow a periodization training program (e.g., hard, medium, light routine, upper-lower body split, etc.)
- Work around an overuse injured area by exercising the surrounding musculature
- Try crosstraining (e.g., exercise on stairstepper, bike, treadmill on alternate training days)
- Use good lifting technique
- Take adequate rest between sets (i.e., use your intuition for when you know you're ready to start the next set or simply use a stopwatch)
- Take a contrast shower post-workout to enhance blood flow (i.e., alternate between hot and cold water every 30s ending with cold water)
- Eat adequate carbs for energy
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Perform low-impact exercises (e.g., swimming, biking)
- Avoid the activity that may have caused the injury for at least several days
These are just some ideas you can do to lessen the risk of chronic fatigue and enhance the recovery process. Most importantly, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
The answer to this question largely depends on your anaerobic fitness goal (i.e., weight training goal). There are essentially four goals when it comes to weight training: - Maintain physique (endurance training)
- Gain muscle mass (mass training)
- Increase strength (strength training)
- Increase power (power training)
Whichever goal you choose will determine how much rest or recovery you should take between exercise sets. Each of these goals is unique with regard to the following parameters involved:- Load intensity (i.e., percentage of one-rep max)
- Number of reps (e.g., eight to twelve reps)
- Movement speed (e.g., slow, moderate, fast)
Let's take a closer look at the recommended parameters for each fitness training goal:- Endurance training
- Load: < 67% 1-RM
- Reps: > 12 reps
- Speed: Moderate
- Rest: 30 s
- Mass training
- Load: 67 - 80% 1-RM
- Reps: 8 - 12 reps
- Speed: Slow
- Rest: 30 - 90 s
- Strength training
- Load: 80 - 85% 1-RM
- Reps: 6 - 8 reps
- Speed: Moderate
- Rest: 2 - 5 mins
- Power training
- Load: < 45% or > 85% 1-RM
- Reps: > 30 reps or < 6 reps
- Speed: Fast or slow
- Rest: 2 - 5 mins
Rest periods may vary from 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on your fitness goal regardless of your weight training experience level. Generally, the lighter the weight lifted, the less the rest period and the heavier the weight lifted, the more the rest period. During resistance training the muscles fill up with blood as the body delivers nutrients and removes waste products. Active rest, in which the muscles continue to contract and relax while under low resistance, will allow this process to be more efficient and therefore enhance recovery. Thus, it's better to continue moving (e.g., standing and shifting your bodyweight from one foot to the other) between sets rather than just to sit still and allow blood pooling to occur.
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