Guide to a Healthy & Effective Resistance Training Programme

Resistance training (or strength training) isn’t just about building up your muscles and strength, it can also improve the way your body functions and the fitness of your heart and lungs.

There are several different factors we must consider when undertaking a structured resistance training programme:

• The number of sets • The number of repetitions (within the sets) • The type of exercise we are doing • The intensity of the workout (amount of weight used) • The frequency of the sessions • The rest periods between each set

With that said, we’re ready to fill out our Programme Card…

From the left side of the card, you can input:

• The adjustments (position of exercise i.e. inclie position) • The order of the exercises you will be partaking • The exercise name • The number of sets for this exercise • Targeted rep range for the exercise

We recommend performing at 8-12 repetitions on each piece of equipment you train on.

It’s also important to note down the Rep Speed we are performing for these exercises. We recommend using a 6 second rep speed to get the best results.

So this would include 2 seconds for the lifting phase and 4 seconds for the lowering phase.

For example, if I am doing a chest press on a bench, I would be lowering the bar for 4 seconds and then lifting the bar for 2 seconds (4 + 2 = 6 seconds).

The science is that we need to get the muscle to fatigue within 60-90 seconds, and we achieve this with the 6 second rep speed and finding a level that will tire you within 8 – 12 repetitions. If you can’t manage 8 reps, then the weight is too heavy and similarly, if you can do more than 12 repetitions, then the weight is too light. You will get it spot on within a couple of workouts.

Towards the right and along the top of the card (see below), we can write down the dates we trained and results we produced in terms of sets, reps and weight used.

Stretching the body part, you trained during your workout will help in improving muscle recovery and avoiding delayed onset muscle soreness.

Finally, we have a section at the bottom right of the card (see below) to note down your stretching numbers.

Stretching is very important to do at the end of your workout and we would ask you to perform each stretch at a slow and controlled speed, between 10-30 seconds to get the most effectiveness.