Training Variables to Match Your Goals
In my workouts, you’ll see suggested reps and rounds for each circuit. Did you know you can shift these numbers to meet your own goals? We’ll break down all of the ranges based on your specific fitness intentions.
Here are some definitions first:
Set: How many rounds of an exercise or group of exercises you will do.
Rep: How many times you will perform an exercise during a set.
Intensity: 1-RM means 1 rep max but you don’t need to figure that out to have a great and effective workout. Let’s keep it simple: You should feel fatigued at the end of your set. The last couple of reps should feel very challenging. If they’re not, it’s time to increase your weight/resistance. You’ll notice that endurance goals suggest less weight (intensity) with more reps, while strength goals suggest lower reps and higher weight.
General Fitness
General Fitness will be your jam if you’re starting out on your fitness journey and want to build a great fitness routine to strengthen your bones and muscles and increase your ability to perform daily activities and prevent falls, or if you’re looking to increase your energy levels.
Sets: 1-2
Reps: 8-15
Rest between sets: 30-90 seconds
Intensity: Varies - do what feels good today!
Muscular Endurance
Endurance training is your lane if your goals are to maintain good posture and stability for longer periods, improve the aerobic capacity of your muscles, increase your energy throughout your day, and improve the ability to carry out daily functional activities such as lifting heavy items.
Sets: 2-3
Reps: 12+
Rest between sets: Less than 30 seconds
Intensity: 60-70% 1-RM
Muscular Hypertrophy
Muscular Hypertophy training is associated most with changing your body composition (gaining muscle and reducing fat) but its benefits extend a lot farther than aesthetics. Increased strength and power and increased symmetry (avoids muscular imbalance) to name a couple. This is an excellent middle ground between endurance and strength training.
Sets: 3-6
Reps: 6-12
Rest between sets: 30-90 seconds
Intensity: 70-80% 1-RM
Muscular Strength
Strength training targets increasing muscle mass and strength. I suggest starting out with general fitness, endurance training, or hypertrophy work first to build a solid base and then working directly with a trainer to prevent injury. Because of the high resistance (intensity), you really want your form to be on point.
Sets: 2-6
Reps: 6 or less
Rest between sets: 2-5 minutes
Intensity: 80-90% 1-RM
