Why We Use Different Set/Rep Ranges, Weights and Rest Periods for Different Fitness Goals_Par 5_Multiple Choice

WHY WE USE DIFFERENT SET/REP RANGES, WEIGHTS AND REST PERIODS FOR DIFFERENT FITNESS GOALS

PART 5-Multiple Choice

Ok, you don’t feel the need to be the strongest person in your gym or the biggest. You just want to be fit with some combination of strength, stamina and aesthetic benefits. That would probably be most of us.

You can do all at the same time. Just don’t expect to be great at any of them. The rules shown in the chart don’t change. They all still hold true. But you’ll have to make some compromises in both your workouts and your diet.

And there is that link between size and strength. If you get stronger you usually always get more muscular. And as you gain muscle you usually also get stronger. But you’ll have to make choices and establish priorities.

But sometime you can just take the middle ground. To build strength work at 85% or more of your 1RM for 3-5 reps. For size work at 60-80% of your 1RM for 9-12 reps. For a combination of strength and muscle just work at about 70-75% of your 1RM for 6-8 reps. Simple.

But throwing stamina in the mix gets a little trickier. Too much High Intensity Training (HIT) will cost you muscle and strength. You can do it. You just have to find the right balance by trial and error.

Decide on your priorities and carefully track you progress.

The best method to keep all this organized is a system called “Periodization”.

There's a previous article that I suggest you read carefully before trying to do it all by trial and error. There is also a simple periodization program in that article as a starting point. You can read the article HERE 

So now you know that trainers don’t just pull numbers out of thin air when it comes to sets and reps and weights and rest periods. And now you have a pretty good idea if you’re doing things wrong. Most of the people I see in the gym have no clue so they flounder about doing too may reps and not enough weight or five minute rest periods (if they have any idea at all of how long their rest periods are).

And generally wasting a lot of time and effort.

You don’t need to learn all this. Just stick a copy of the simple chart in your gym bag and remember what it’s all about.

SYSTEM	FUEL	DURATION	RECOVERY	ORDER	ADAPATIVE RESPONSE
ATP-CP	ATP STORED IN CELL	5-10 SEC	5 MIN	1	STRENGTH
GLYCOGEN	ATP CONVERTED FROM CARBS	1 MIN	1-2 MIN	2	GROWTH & FAT BURN IN RECOVERY
OXIDATIVE	OXYGEN & FAT	MIN TO HRS	VARIES	3	STAMINA & FAT BURN