Breaking Down the Basics: Workout Programming

Stepping in the gym can be intimidating, but if you know the basics of workout programming, it doesn’t have to be! This blog is going to teach you the meaning of the components of a structured workout.

To get stronger and build muscle, your workouts should use a principle called progressive overload.

Progressive overload basically just means that you are gradually stressing your muscles more and more over time in order to make them grow and get stronger. Here are a few ways you can do that:

1. Increase load: Increase the actual weight that you’re lifting as weeks go on in your program
2. Increase Reps: Once you hit the end of your rep range, try for more
3. Increase Sets: Add an additional set to your exercise from what you did the previous week
4. Increase Time Under Tension: Slow down your movement. The longer your muscles stay engaged, the more they will have to work. This is typically done during the eccentric contraction of an exercise.
5. Decrease Rest Periods: Generally, you should be resting 1-2 minutes (sometimes even longer) between each set. This allows your muscles to have the energy to perform their best for the following set. You can choose to decrease this rest period, but still lift the same weights for the same reps as previous sets. Doing so will fatigue your muscles and make the weight appear heavier than it is. Your body doesn’t know weight – only if something is hard – and this is sometimes enough to progressively overload an exercise.

But what do all these words even mean?

• Load: The number of pounds your are lifting
• Reps: Short for repetition. It means the single performance of an exercise. So 1 deadlift would be 1 rep. 5 deadlifts would be 5 reps.
• Sets: How many reps you do in a row – basically clustered reps. These are typically followed by a rest period before continuing with the next set.

Examples:

Most workouts have a 4-6 exercises, depending on your goals. Exercise are typically done for 3 sets each (again, this can change depending on your goals and injuries). Each of those 3 sets may have somewhere between 4-15 reps in them (again dependent on your goals).

For example, if I’m programming my deadlift, I would choose a load that is heavy – so for me, that would be around 195 pounds. I would probably be able to do 3 sets of these, with 4-6 reps per set. My rest period between each set would be between 2-3 minutes because this will be tiring for my muscles.

More Workout Programming Definitions…

• Eccentric Contraction: This is the part of an exercise that is fighting against gravity. Eccentrics are generally the harder contractions of an exercise. So for example, if you look at a squat, the eccentric contraction would be as you start to bend your knees. At this point you’re fighting gravity to have control as you lower. Another example would be during a bicep curl. As you straighten your arm you are fighting gravity. You’re trying to control the arm as gravity tries to pull it towards the ground.
• Superset: A superset is when you program 2 exercises back to back. The 2 exercises usually use completely different muscle groups. A superset generally does not have a rest period. This is because your muscles will be resting while the other exercise is being performed. This is a great way to shorten a workout because you take out the need for rest and can get more work done. Choosing to program superset into a workout will depend on their goals and injuries.

An example of a superset would be pairing a row (which uses your back muscles), with a pushup (which uses your chest). These are 2 different muscle groups that are being used, so while you’re performing one, the other muscles get to rest.

I hope that helps clear up programming lingo and what goes into creating a workout routine! If you have any questions feel free to drop them in the comments or shoot me an email at kateformanfitness@gmail.com