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I am very pleased to be able to add Fitness Expert Justin Kearney to the Institute’s roster.

Justin will be adding feature articles weekly to help everyone get in the best physical shape they can,  from beginners to PRO’s.  We all know how important it is for our health to stay active and move. Did you also know that it will help improve your mood as well as put you in a self hypnotic state. For some people, this state allows them to receive solutions to life’s problems. If you have any questions, you can reach Justin@infitsolutions.com

Reps versus Time versus Goal Repetitions

 I get asked the question about reps vs. time sets vs. goal sets, what is the best method? What’s better? What’s more effective? Most people tend to use a repetition count, probably because that is what they are used to, that’s what the majority of people do, every magazine across the country gives sets and reps workouts, and it seems to be easier to manage your workouts. For example you may do 3 sets of 12 repetitions. But is that the best system just because everyone else uses it? My goal is to determine the strengths and weaknesses’s of each method and give insight to everyone who may want to change their training techniques to improve their overall output and performance.

Repetition sets are the most common of sets. It is when you take an exercise, select a weight and perform a certain amount of reps

Timed sets are sets where you choose and exercise and perform it for a certain time. Usually between 30 seconds and up to 2 minutes.

Goal sets are when you take an exercise and perform it until you reach the number of reps regardless of the number of sets. For example you may perform a bench press to 110 reps in sets of 30, 24, 19, 17, 11, and 9. Each set you try to get as many reps as you can until you finish the goal. You also try to finish as quickly as you can.

Repetition Sets

Pro’s: 1) reps are the most common way to perform a set, and you don’t need an extra equipment to perform them besides the equipment you are using 2)You can set a goal with a certain weight and attain that goal

Con’s: 1) in many cases, the individual becomes complacent. The individual will become accustom to performing a certain set and rep combination of an exercise and therefore not getting the same amount of effort out of their workout

Pro’s: 1) Timed sets keep the individuals temp up. 2) it is easier to schedule a workout in a period of time. 3) you tend to work a little harder since you are trying to get as many reps in a given time as possible

Cons: 1) you need to bring a stop watch to your workout 2) you do have the ability to get lazy and not push yourself as hard as you can making the set less effective

Pros: 1) You are forced to push yourself on every repetition 2) it is a great way to stay motivated for a certain exercise

Con’s: 1) it is easy to not push yourself on a given set and even out the number of repetitions based on goal for the set 2) it is hard to time out a workout, you may take a lot more time then originally allotted

     It seems as though there are pros and cons to all three different styles which leads me to believe that the very best solutions is to create a variance in your workout schedule. Try the three different techniques and when you get bored of one, try the other. Also try the techniques with different exercises for different effects.

Justin Kearney – www.fitnessitech.

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