Set Yourself Up for Success

If you’re bored with your current workout routine and aren’t seeing results you want, then it might be time to give your fitness plan a makeover. One of the simplest ways to add variety to your workouts is to play around with your set and rep scheme. You don’t need to do three sets of twelve reps every single time you walk into the weight room. In fact, you shouldn’t! To see results, not only do you want to progressively increase intensity, but you also want to change up your routine once in a while. Throw your muscles a curve ball with these unique rep schemes. But be warned – you might be a little sore the next day! 

1. Supersets 

A superset is when you pair two exercises together, back to back without rest in between. They can be done one of two ways: pair two exercises that work the same muscle group, or pair two exercises that pair opposing muscle groups. For example, say you want to pair a chest and a back exercise (opposing muscle groups). You could do push-ups for ten reps followed by ten reps of lat pulldowns. Conversely, if you wanted to work two exercises of the same muscle group (like your shoulders), you could do ten dumbbell overhead presses followed by ten reps of side lateral raises.

2. Pyramid Sets

These are fun! Start out by using a light weight for your first set. Then increase the weight for the next set. And then the next one. As you add weight, the number of reps you are to complete goes down. When you hit the “top” of the pyramid (the heaviest weight), start working your way back down by decreasing the weight and increasing reps for each consecutive set. For example, say you are doing kettlebell squats. The pyramid rep scheme would look like this:

12 reps @ 30 lbs.

10 reps @ 40 lbs.

8 reps @ 50 lbs.

10 reps @ 40 lbs.

12 reps @ 30 lbs.

3. Drop Sets

Try these if you really want to feel a burn! Start off your set normally, then when you can’t do any more reps (around 10 – 12 reps), drop the weight by 5 – 10 lbs and do more reps until you hit failure. Dumbbells work the best for sets like these!

So the next time you hit the weight, give these rep schemes a whirl!

Written by GUADS staff member Angelina, edited by staff member Emily