—
What are your set counts? How many repetitions? Work thoughts, singing along with the songs that are being played on their earphones, or the sets and reps count swirl inside the minds of gym-goers.
The first two are pretty common, but our concern today is about the last one: Counting the sets and reps.
How many should you perform a day? What sets and reps you should do? If you are confused, scroll down because this article will help you determine the number you should complete and make a structure of your routine.
1. Determining Your Strengths (and of course, weaknesses)
There’s always the antiquated concept of burning fat, doing four to five sets of 10 to 12 reps, and doing the same exercises but with a slightly heavier weight for muscle gain. However, truth be told, life is not always the breezy run you’d prefer.
At times, there would be that stressful college assignment which you would have to complete by midnight, a double shift you have to pull off, or even just a crying baby. Or some days, you just won’t be enthused.
On days like these, following the usual, archaic routines might prove to be detrimental, and chances are, they’ll backfire.
According to the circumstances put forth, you’ll have to find out what’s best for you and follow them instead. You’ll induce better results if you observe your strengths and weaknesses carefully enough.
2. The General Routine for Strength
Usually, perform three to six sets of six to 12 reps at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum effort for gaining muscle mass and two to six sets of five or fewer reps at 80 to 90 percent to acquire muscular strength.
Two to three sets of 12 reps are optimum for muscular endurance. However, for absolutely conventional fitness, do one to two sets of up to 15 reps at 65 to 80 percent of your max effort.
3. Realize Your Training Methodology
The aforementioned instructions might help, but we didn’t consider the most significant element yet: yourself. Starting from sets and reps, every aspect of your training depends on your psyche.
Based on your mindset, you might be the old fashioned, ‘by the book’ person or the explorer, who’s always wandering around and ends up doing new stuff. Or, you might be both and can have a completely customized training schedule according to your convenience.
Whatever it is, you need to prioritize yourself above everything and everyone else and set the tone accordingly. At the end of the day, it’s you that you’re doing all these for!
4. Select a Comfortable Rep Range for the Exercise
You need to ensure you’re comfortable with your exercises, at first. For lower reps, bench presses and squats may be apt, while isolation exercises are suitable for higher rep ranges.
Then, judge the range according to your level of skill and try to pull the exercise off. If you’ve nailed it already, kudos! Opt for lower reps and heavier weights subsequently.
5. Alter Rep Ranges
Changing rep ranges is not necessary per se, but if done wisely, it may be fruitful to a satisfying extent. For example, enabling lifting heavier weights by shifting from 13-15 reps per set to 7-10 reps per set only helps to increase your overall training volume.
6. Focus on Working Sets
There are sets where you will be firing on all cylinders, and they’re justifiably named ‘working’ sets. You’ll only need to execute 1-2 of them per exercise. Concentrate entirely on pulling off working sets because these are the effective ones.
Do as many sets as necessary to reach the apex!
7. Stabilize Your Set Volumes
This is the last and the most personalized of all the guidelines put forth. Not only do you need to nail your exercises, but you also have to recuperate correspondingly. And there’s a catch: you have to find a way yourself.
Try out different routines and determine what’s best for you. Adjust, make improvisations, and adapt to situations with perfection, and you’re good to go.
8. Comprehending Your Skill Level
It’s essential to plan your training schedule in accordance with your skills. If you’re comfortable with what you’re doing, keep going with the flow and don’t let anything interfere with you and your exercises.
But if you’re not, vary your exercises, maybe lessen a few reps here and there, and then arrange your sets. Maybe a step backward is the step forward in such cases.
Always remember to give yourself a break every now and then because you should not overwhelm yourself with extra pressure. Emphasize on your levels more and more.
There’s always the added joy of utmost satisfaction when everything in your training falls into place. Well, you have all the instructions necessary. We’ve done our bit, and it’s your turn now! Train hard and steadily morph into the physique you’ve always dreamt of.
Finally, Evolve Your Thinking
Do not take this as a burden and feel it while lifting the exercising tools. Numbers are just numbers in the end, not the end of the world.
Instead, try out new techniques and research to find the perfect set and rep style for you.
Best of luck!
—
This content is brought to you by Shawn Richard.
Photo: Shutterstock