Grab your air pods, we’re talking about VOLUME!
Bad jokes aside, volume is an incredibly important factor when it comes to strength training and building muscle. It can also be a stumbling block if not utilized properly.
For those just starting to strength train, it’s very common to do every exercise with the standard 3 sets, 15 reps mindset. It’s a bit cliched and has definitely been drilled into the mind via fitness influencers throughout the years.
Today, I want to look at three reasons why the universal ‘3 sets of 15’ mindset might be inhibiting your ability to reach your fitness goals and what can be done as an alternative to help us all reach our full potential in the fitness palace of love aka the gym.
As always, consult a healthcare professional before beginning any exercise program!
THE QUALITY OF YOUR REPS
Remember, when it comes to exercise, quality beats quantity.
Far too often, I’ve seen people walk into gyms, grab 3 or 5 pound dumbbells and crank out 20-30 reps as fast as humanly possible and with the worst form imaginable. This is a great example of ‘High quantity, low quality’ reps.
Our goal should always be to maximize the quality of each rep. That’s why I like to emphasize the eccentric and concentric portion of every exercise performed.
Eccentric refers to the muscle lengthening as resistance becomes greater than the force the muscle is producing. Think of it as the stretch portion of the exercise you are performing. Example: the lowering of your arm after a bicep curl.
Concentric refers to the shortening contraction when the muscle tension increases to meet resistance and remain stable. Example: the curl portion of the aforementioned bicep curl.
You want to perform both the E and C portion of every exercise with control to maximize the quality and value of every rep. You don’t want to swing weights with momentum, you want to build the strength to control them as you raise and lower, as you stretch and contract.
Focusing on the E and C portions of every exercise is a guaranteed way to instantly improve rep quality while likely limiting quantity.
THE WEIGHT USED FOR YOUR REPS
Using inappropriate weight is a very common fitness mistake, especially for beginners.
I’ve seen people grab very light dumbbells and swing them around carelessly and I’ve seen others grab the heaviest weight they can find and lift it overhead practically begging for a shoulder impingement. In this case, neither extreme is recommended.
What I do recommended is the idea of Progressive Overload. This means slowly increasing the amount of resistance per exercise as you build strength to make sure those final reps remain challenging and progress continues throughout your fitness timeline.
A great rule of thumb is the ’15 rep rule’. If you can perform a resistance exercise for 15 reps with ease, you are likely using too little weight. On the other hand, if you grab weights and struggle to reach 5-6 reps or can’t control the weights throughout the exercise, you might be going too heavy.
Personally, I set my first goal at the 8-10 rep range and experiment/adapt from there. It’s always good to be fluid with your mindset as each muscle/muscle group will require a different level of resistance.
REST TIME/ CARDIO
Cards on the table: I can’t do in-door cardio.
I hate it. It’s boring, monotonous, just plain evil.
And, most importantly, it directly limits your rep range for strength training when done together!
I see it almost every time I’m in a gym. Somebody does a resistance exercise then BAM! They break into a sprint then go back to the resistance exercise and guess what? They can’t do as many reps because their heart is pumping from the sprints.
This is a great way to injure yourself! Also, it limits the energy you have for strength training which limits your rep range/quality which limits your output which limits your ability to grow muscle!
In my always humble opinion, strength training and cardio need to be done separately in order to maximize output.
After any resistance exercise, don’t do anything! Give yourself a little break to regain some of your energy/strength so you can get the most high quality reps out of your next set. I usually take 90 seconds between exercises to help maximize my output.
Take a breather, you’ve earned it.
These are 3 concepts to keep in mind when considering the volume of each exercise. For more fitness tips, book a free consultation today!
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