WORKOUT TERMINOLOGY

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Terms Used

Training Advice

Tempo Guide

Terms Used

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AMRAP (As many reps as possible)

Denotes a set for as many reps as possible on the last set. For example if a workout has Squat+ and 4 sets of 5, that means that on the first 3 sets you will do 5 reps but on your last set you will do as many reps as you can with good form.

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RIR (Repetitions in reserve)

This refers to how close to failure a set should be taken. A failure set would have an RIR of 0. A set that is stopped 1 rep short of failure would be an RIR of 1. A set that is stopped 2 reps short of failure would be an RIR of 2, and so on.

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RM: (Rep Max)
 

Warm ups are individual but for the main compound lifts in general I recommend the following:

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• 30% of 1RM for 8 reps

• 40% of 1 RM for 6 reps

• 50% of 1 RM for 4 reps

• 60% of 1 RM for 2 reps

• 70% of 1RM for 1 rep

• 80% of 1 RM for 1 rep

 

 

Training Advice

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Warmup Sets

In general we recommend 3-6 warm up sets for main lifts in a progressive fashion. For a reasonable warm up template you can follow what we demonstrate for the 1 rep max warm up.

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Cardio

We do not provide cardio recommendations as that would depend upon your individual fat loss goals. For those interested in gaining as much muscle and strength as possible, in general, we recommend as little cardio as possible as cardio will have a negative interference with strength and hypertrophy adaptations.

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Rest Between Sets

The most important factors for hypertrophy and strength adaptations are:

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1. Volume

2. Training to near fatigue

3. Intensity (with intensity being more important than training to fatigue if strength is the primary goal).

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Rest times between sets do not seem to impact hypertrophy or strength so long as these other factors are met. In fact, there is data suggesting that strength and performance are impaired if not enough rest is taken between sets. As such, we recommend resting as long as is required to feel physically and mentally fresh for the following set and ready to give it your complete 100% focus. If time constraints are an issue then you can take shorter rests with the understanding that performance may suffer to a certain extent.

 

 

Tempo Guide

 

Tempo refers to the cadence with which you execute each phase of the lift. There are 4 distinct portions of each lift:

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• Eccentric – The lowering/negative portion of the lift. (Dropping down into a squat or bringing the bar back to the ground in a deadlift).

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• Isometric/Pause – This occurs between the completion of the eccentric and beginning of the concentric portion of the lift.

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• Concentric – The contraction against load to lift the load (Standing up in a deadlift, pulling the bar off the ground in a deadlift).

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• Isometric/Pause – This occurs between the completion of the concentric and the beginning of the eccentric portion of the lift.