I believe that success in strength training and bodybuilding is far more about finding the right feel and physiological state than it is about counting predetermined numbers for your sets and reps. Finding the right feel and the right state will eventually play out in the number of sets and reps you perform, but if you base your training on numbers that do not correspond to the proper feel and training state, your numbers will not be nearly as effective.
For years I tried to figure out the ideal training program on paper. I wanted to know the right percentages for each set, the total workload for the workout, and the right number of sets, reps and training days per week. It eventually dawned on me that my body doesn’t understand training from a numerical and mathematical point of view nearly as much as it understands a physiological state and what it feels.
My body understands when it is fresh and energized, and it understands when it is tired and fatigued. It understands when the weight feels heavy and when the weight feels light. It understands when my muscles are lifting with a strong contraction or with a weak contraction. It understands when it is using creatine phosphate as the primary source of fuel for muscle contractions, and when it is using the lactate system to drive muscle contractions. All of these things are a matter of physiological training state. My job is to learn to feel what my body is telling me in regard to the physiological training state I am in.
When it comes to reps, the best way I have found to determine the physiological state of my body during training is to classify the reps of a set into four categories which are stated and explained below:
Even Effort Reps
Even Effort reps occur during the early portion of a set that is being pushed to failure for 8 to 15 reps. The early reps of a set all feel about the same in terms of effort. The first rep feels like the second rep, and the second rep feels like the third rep, and the third rep feels like the fourth rep. The early reps of a set don’t feel like they are getting harder unless you are using heavy weights relative to your single rep max. For example, when pushing to failure with heavy weights that restrict you to 5 or less reps, it is likely that each rep will feel progressively harder from the first rep until the end of the set.
Gradual Increase of Effort Reps
While effort experienced for the early reps of a set may feel nearly the same, the reps will eventually start to grow more difficult. This will probably happen about a third of the way through a set when using a rep range of eight to fifteen reps. When the reps start to feel like they are becoming more difficult, it is a somewhat gradual increase in difficulty. In other words, the fifth rep starts to feel a little more difficult than the fourth rep, and the sixth rep feels a little more difficult than the fifth rep. The gradual increase in difficulty will probably increase until you make it through about nine reps when doing a set of twelve reps to failure. The main thing to notice is that each rep is a little harder than the previous rep.
Sudden Increase in Strain and Effort
When you push a set to failure, you may find that the last three reps are not just a little harder than the previous rep, they are much harder. This is when you have a sudden increase in strain and the reps are not just challenging, they are strenuous and must usually be performed slower than the previous reps.
Max Effort Reps
When you reach the last rep of a set to failure, it will require the maximum amount of effort you can put forth to complete the repetition. The max effort rep is the fourth and final category that I use the classify the effort of reps during a set.
Question: Do you Count Reps or Feel Reps?
A question that you should ask yourself when performing a set is; Do you normally focus more on counting reps, or do you normally focus more on feeling the reps? In the past, I counted reps. Now I focus on feeling the reps. I want to feel the right muscles working, I want to feel the right lifting groove, and I want to feel the right amount of effort that I plan on using. When it comes to my own training, pushing to the point of feeling strain is out of the picture.
Even Effort Tri-Sets
I have found surprising success by doing tri-sets consisting of three different exercises for the same muscle group. Even though what I am about to tell you goes against conventional training methodology, I will say it anyway; all I want to feel in terms of effort for my tri-sets is even effort reps for each set. I do a tri-set for chest, a tri-set for back, a tri-set for legs, and a tri-set for calves to make up one circuit of tri-sets. Then I go back and do a tri-set for those same muscle groups for two more circuits for a total of three circuits. I follow this with a circuit of tri-sets for each muscle group starting with shoulders, then biceps, and finish with a tri-set for triceps. This forms one circuit for shoulders, biceps, and triceps, which is then followed by a second circuit for the same muscle groups to complete the workout. The workout is performed at a fast pace and is completed in 20 to 25 minutes. This simple procedure gives me a tremendous pump without strain or fatigue, which makes it easy to recover from. The benefit of achieving a pump without strain and fatigue is that it can be done on a high frequency basis without overtraining. The benefit of the correct use of high frequency training is that it keeps your muscles activated for strength gains and muscle growth.
Straight Sets
When doing straight sets for strength training, I push each set as long as I can maintain a steady even rep pace. You don’t even need to count reps to do this, simply push as long as you can maintain a steady even rep speed, then stop the set. Keep repeating sets for a muscle group until the weights start to feel heavier, or until you start to feel as though you are getting weaker and more fatigued. At that point stop. Train the muscle group again when you feel completely recovered and have plenty of strength and energy. If you pay attention to how you feel when it comes to all of these things, the natural byproduct will be an increase in strength, and it will work by feeling instead of counting.
I must say at this point that counting sets and reps is a totally acceptable practice if you know how to plan the numbers for your sets and reps on the right feel. You must feel how many reps per set you can perform while maintaining a steady even rep speed and you must feel how many sets you can perform for a muscle group while remaining at full strength. If you can feel these things and make them the basis for counting your sets and reps, then it is good to count sets and reps. However, if you are using a predetermined amount of weight while doing a predetermined number of sets and reps simply to follow some numbers on a written program, then you are missing the point of why you are using those numbers. Those numbers should correspond to the right feeling in terms of effort, recovery, and remaining at a high level of strength while working out. Consider these things when it comes to your own workouts if you want to make consistent gains over the long-term. May God bless you with the best of training.