Boredom is any lifter’s worst enemy. Day after day doing three sets of 8-12 reps can get stale for both the body and mind. To help keep your workout fresh and keep your body guessing, use these methods to mix things up and improve muscle growth and conditioning.
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Minute-On-The-Minute Sets
This is a great way to get some high volume in a short amount of time. Using the deadlift as an example, you’d load the bar with your six-rep max. Set the timer for ten minutes, grab the bar and get to work. You’ll do three reps, then set the bar down and rest for the remainder of the minute.At the top of each minute, you’ll grab the bar and bang out another three reps. Again, you only rest for as many seconds as you have left in that minute. In a ten-minute window, you’re getting 30 total reps of a heavy, compound lift, while also boosting your overall conditioning.
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One Lift A Day
The one-lift-a-day workout was popularized by lifting coach Dan John. This is another great one that saves time and keeps you focused on the one goal for that day.Sometimes doing 3-4 exercises per body part can be mentally exhausting. If you only have one exercise to do that day, you can attack it with greater ferocity and focus. Since overall volume is low for the day, you can recover faster and increase frequency of training. I have had many clients break PRs on these days. Sets and reps can vary according to goals but here is an example of a program geared primarily towards strength.Day 1: Barbell Squat: 6 sets x 5 repsDay 2: Bench Press: 6 sets x 5 repsDay 3: Weighted Pull-Up: 5 sets x 8 repsDay 4: Deadlift: 5 sets x 6 repsDay 5: Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 5 sets x 8 repsDay 6: Bent-Over Row: 5 sets x 8 repsDay 7: REST–Perform at least three warm-up sets ahead of your first working set.
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Rep Ladders
Here’s a great way to pack a lot of work into a little time. The rep schemes can vary in many different ways – I like 5-1/1-5 rep ladders for heavy compound movements, and 10-1/1-10 rep ladders for less demanding movements. Here is how you perform a 5-1/1-5 rep ladder workout. Let’s do some squats. Grab a weight you can squat for 5-6 clean but challenging reps. Perform five reps, rack the weight and rest precisely 30 seconds. Then perform four reps, rest 30 seconds, and so on until you get to a single rep. Rest 30 seconds, then perform another single rep, and repeat until you get back up to five reps, and you’re done.
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Timed Sets
We often only think of our sets in terms of reps. Instead of always doing the same 8-12 reps, think time under tension instead. Research shows that for optimal muscle growth, we need to have a total muscular time under tension of about 60 seconds. So to take advantage of that, simply find your 10-rep max for a given exercise – you probably already know it – and perform as many reps as possible in 60 seconds. Here is an example chest routine. Incline Barbell Bench Press: 4 60-second sets. Rest two minutes between sets.Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press: 3 60-second sets. Rest 90 seconds between sets.Cable Crossover: 2 60-second sets. Rest 60 seconds between sets.Push-Up: 1 60-second set.
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AMRAP: As MAny Reps As Possible
This is a great way to burn some fat and increase your overall conditioning. Find a weight you can handle for 10 reps and set the clock for eight minutes. Perform as many reps as possible with good form, stopping just short of failure. Rest as much as you think you need to in order to get at least five reps on each successive set. (Note: Try to keep these mini “breaks” to no more than 30 seconds.) Repeat this as many times as possible in eight minutes.
Boredom is any lifter’s worst enemy. Day after day doing three sets of 8-12 reps can get stale for both the body and mind. To help keep your workout fresh and keep your body guessing, use these methods to mix things up and improve muscle growth and conditioning.
Minute-On-The-Minute Sets
This is a great way to get some high volume in a short amount of time. Using the deadlift as an example, you’d load the bar with your six-rep max. Set the timer for ten minutes, grab the bar and get to work. You’ll do three reps, then set the bar down and rest for the remainder of the minute.
At the top of each minute, you’ll grab the bar and bang out another three reps. Again, you only rest for as many seconds as you have left in that minute. In a ten-minute window, you’re getting 30 total reps of a heavy, compound lift, while also boosting your overall conditioning.
One Lift A Day
The one-lift-a-day workout was popularized by lifting coach Dan John. This is another great one that saves time and keeps you focused on the one goal for that day.
Sometimes doing 3-4 exercises per body part can be mentally exhausting. If you only have one exercise to do that day, you can attack it with greater ferocity and focus. Since overall volume is low for the day, you can recover faster and increase frequency of training. I have had many clients break PRs on these days. Sets and reps can vary according to goals but here is an example of a program geared primarily towards strength.
Day 1: Barbell Squat: 6 sets x 5 reps
Day 2: Bench Press: 6 sets x 5 reps
Day 3: Weighted Pull-Up: 5 sets x 8 reps
Day 4: Deadlift: 5 sets x 6 reps
Day 5: Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 5 sets x 8 reps
Day 6: Bent-Over Row: 5 sets x 8 reps
Day 7: REST
–Perform at least three warm-up sets ahead of your first working set.
Rep Ladders
Here’s a great way to pack a lot of work into a little time. The rep schemes can vary in many different ways – I like 5-1/1-5 rep ladders for heavy compound movements, and 10-1/1-10 rep ladders for less demanding movements. Here is how you perform a 5-1/1-5 rep ladder workout. Let’s do some squats.
Grab a weight you can squat for 5-6 clean but challenging reps. Perform five reps, rack the weight and rest precisely 30 seconds. Then perform four reps, rest 30 seconds, and so on until you get to a single rep. Rest 30 seconds, then perform another single rep, and repeat until you get back up to five reps, and you’re done.
Timed Sets
We often only think of our sets in terms of reps. Instead of always doing the same 8-12 reps, think time under tension instead. Research shows that for optimal muscle growth, we need to have a total muscular time under tension of about 60 seconds. So to take advantage of that, simply find your 10-rep max for a given exercise – you probably already know it – and perform as many reps as possible in 60 seconds. Here is an example chest routine.
Incline Barbell Bench Press: 4 60-second sets. Rest two minutes between sets.
Cable Crossover: 2 60-second sets. Rest 60 seconds between sets.
Push-Up: 1 60-second set.
AMRAP: As MAny Reps As Possible
This is a great way to burn some fat and increase your overall conditioning. Find a weight you can handle for 10 reps and set the clock for eight minutes. Perform as many reps as possible with good form, stopping just short of failure. Rest as much as you think you need to in order to get at least five reps on each successive set. (Note: Try to keep these mini “breaks” to no more than 30 seconds.) Repeat this as many times as possible in eight minutes.
