So, it's week 4 of the Falconer Performance Blog and you're still here! Well done. This week is part 2 of my home workout builder blog series and in this riveting 6 minute read you can expect to learn what sort of sets/reps are appropriate for home workouts, the effect of rest length on adaptations and how to plan workout time effectively.
This weeks topic is split into 3 sections, same as last week.
1) Sets/Reps and exercise order
2) Using your rest wisely
3) Different workout structures for different adaptations
So buckle up and without further ado, let's begin.
Sets/Reps and exercise order
After you've navigated last week's minefield and have finally decided on what exercises to do, you are then faced with the problem of how much of each exercise to do and what order to do them in! Indeed, this is where a lot of people come unstuck, not just with home workouts but with exercise in general.
To keep it simple I'm going to start with exercise order.
The goal of any workout should always be to complete ALL of the assigned work in a way that stresses the body adequately. Now, the reason I highlight ALL is because sometimes it is easy to get carried away with one section and over-stress the body so that you then under-work in a subsequent section.
Additionally, some exercises require a huge amount of coordination and energy, therefore your ability to perform these exercises will be significantly reduced if you plan them to occur later on in the workout.
A general rule of thumb is to work down two scales, number/size of muscles used and complexity/difficulty. Generally, the more muscles used and the bigger those muscles are, the more energy is required to use them. Equally, the more complex or difficult an exercise is the more we need energy reserves to reduce risk of injury and ensure we are doing them properly!
Now, there are loads of different ways to order based on these criteria, but usually the best rule is:
a. To work from largest to smallest muscle size/number used.
b. To go from lower body to upper body to core.
Within these, you should then also break it down into the following order:
1. Unilateral (single leg/arm) variations
2. Bilateral (both legs/arms) variations
3. Closed chain isolation exercises (using one muscle at a time).
(Or in the case of core, go dynamic and then isometric).
Once you have your exercise order sorted out, it's time to decide on sets and reps.
You can do this one of two ways, select a) a certain number of reps or b) use defined working time periods.
Generally, body weight exercises are best suited to high rep ranges but depending on your level of fitness it may vary, I would say to stay between 6-15 reps for around 3-5 sets. However, that is a pretty wide range right? So how do you make sure that your working to the right number of reps and sets for each exercise?
I always use what we call the 'reps in the tank method'. Whatever reps you do an exercise for, you should only ever have 2 'reps in the tank' (i.e you could do two more reps but that would be your max!). So if you do 6 reps of something it should feel like 8 reps would be your max. If it doesn't feel like this then increase the exercise difficulty. Moreover the number of 'reps in the tank' that you have should decrease with each subsequent set so that by your final set your 6 reps with 2 reps in the tank should feel like 6 reps with 0 reps left in the tank!
The second method, picking a time period to work for, is a little harder to track intensity but keeps you honest on timings and helps maximise time under tension! In terms of how long to work for, I would always aim for 30s each side for unilateral work and 60s each side for bilateral. For isometric core holds, I always do 15s for dynamic work and 30s max for holds. Just make sure that you count your reps and ensure you're hitting roughly the same numbers with each set.
So to summarise:
1) Hard/big stuff first (lower body/unilateral)
2) Simpler/isolation/core work last
3) 6-15 reps, 3-5 rounds
4) Pick a variation with a maximum of '2 reps in the tank'
5) If using time periods, count your reps!
Using your rest wisely
When it comes to making body weight and home workouts effective, perhaps our biggest weapon in our arsenal is our rest period.
Think about it, if I asked you to do 5 sets of 10 reps of air squats separated by 1 minute rest, you'd probably be okay with that, in fact for most of us, it would probably be easy. However, if I asked to do the same with only 5 seconds rest in between, that's going to be tough no matter who you are or what fitness level you are at!
Taking shorter rest in between sets increases what we call metabolic stress in the muscle. Essentially the waste products from your body producing energy start to build up while you are doing a set. If you rest for long enough in between sets, your body manages to clear most of it out before you start working again. However, the shorter you rest, the less metabolic waste is removed and it starts to accumulate to higher and higher levels with each subsequent set.
Now, I have talked before about metabolic stress in week 2 (Escalating density training) and how it is a VERY important signal for muscle growth! Not only this, but shorter rest periods will also keep the heart rate high, increasing the cardiovascular stimulus for the workout, so a win win!
However, we must also remember to match the length of the rest to what you are trying to achieve with the workout.
For example, if you are working on improving form and technique in a single leg squat then you will want longer rest periods so you can ensure that you can still perform quality reps and aren't limited by being tired or having excess build up of metabolic waste. On the flip side, if you want to increase your capacity to do as many push-ups as possible without stopping then very short to no rest between sets is going to suit you better.
But, I hear you ask, what is "short" and what is "long" rest?
Well, typically rest periods would be defined as:
1) Long = 2-3 minutes between working sets.
2) Moderate = 1-2 minutes between working sets
3) Short = <30s between working sets
Now, things change slightly when we add super sets or giant sets to the equation (essentially more than one exercise directly after another). This is another way to make body weight workouts more challenging as it allows us to work a greater amount of muscle and place more stress on the system than we could achieve by just doing one exercise at a time.
So, the rest periods I gave you above are for between sets. When working with super-sets or giant sets we are looking at much smaller numbers. Again the same points as above apply BUT because we are doing different variations of exercises or even working different muscles we don't need as much rest in-between.
Within-set rest periods should be as follows:
1) Long = <30s
2) Moderate = <15s
3) Short = No rest
Finally, the last way that we can use rest to our advantage is through active rest. If you go back and read my piece on HIIT in week 1, I cover active rest and it's mechanisms in far greater detail, but for now I'll do my best to explain.
While less rest increases metabolic stress, active rest can actually have the alternative function of reducing it. By keeping moving and doing low level, low impact activity in between sets (air squats, in between sets of single leg squats) we actually help to keep a low level but increased blood flow to the working muscles. This means that more metabolic waste can be removed and it increases our capacity to do more work! Not only that, but it helps to keep our heart rate elevated for longer, increasing the cardiovascular benefits of the exercise.
So to summarise:
1) Less rest = harder work, better stimulus for muscle growth, increased cardiovascular strain
2) Within-set rest should be short to none (<30s) and between sets, it shouldn't exceed 3 minutes
3) Tailor your rest to your goals, form/strength = moderate to long, aerobic/capacity/muscle growth = short
4) To maximise muscle growth stimulus use low/no rest in between exercises/rounds
5) To maximise cardiovascular stress use active rest in place of passive rest.
Different workout structures for different adaptations
Now, I think I've talked enough up to this point so this next section will just give you some helpful workout templates that are designed to help you target certain areas.
Remember they are just templates and are not designed for you. Make sure you go back over this article and the previous one to help you put together a great session that is going to challenge you and help you keep moving during these tough times!
Strength
Muscle Growth
Aerobic Capacity
Flexibility
Hopefully, this article will have taken you one step further towards being able to create some great home workouts that suit your goals! Tune in next week for the final part of this series where I will talk about all the different ways you can progress your workouts to ensure you keep moving forward.
For now, adios, stay safe and I'll catch you next week!
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