Today I want to talk about something a little different. A little more nitty-gritty. A little more nit-picky, if you know what I mean.
You don’t?
Well, I guess I should explain myself. We get a lot of questions from our members at Castro Valley Fitness about their exercise programs and as I was answering one of them this week I thought it would be a good idea to write an article answering some of the questions about exercising we get on a somewhat regular basis.
Let’s get to it!
How do I know when to add weight to an exercise?
Assuming your form is good (if it isn’t, you shouldn’t add weight until it is) you should add weight when you feel like you are able to get several reps more than your program calls for. In other words, if your program says 8 reps and you know you can pump out 11 or 12, ADD WEIGHT. If you don’t, you’re wasting your time.
How long should I rest between sets?
It depends. Most (this is, of course, member dependant as all of our programs are written for the individual member) of our programs at Castro Valley Fitness are set up with a main strength exercise first, a 2-4 accessory exercise circuit next, and another 2-3 accessory exercise circuit after that.
Generally speaking I would say to rest somewhere between 1-2 minutes in between the initial strength exercise sets (maybe a little bit longer between truly heavy sets) and about 1 minute or so between the accessory exercise sets. There is definitely more leeway between the strength sets but that doesn’t mean you should get lazy!!
Pullups and Bench Press are hard! Why?
You got that right! They are hard. The short answer as to why is because these exercsies use smaller muscles than deadlifts and squats. Therefore they are harder to make stronger. No it’s not just you. Everyone goes through this. Just keep working hard and you’ll improve.
What should I eat before working out?
This is a pretty individual thing. Usually I recommend something light about an hour before. Some fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts. Something like that. Try some things out and see how it feels. Whatever you eat or don’t eat, keep in mind that you want to make sure whatever you’re eating gets you through your workout.
I hope these suggestions help you get more out of your workouts. If you have any other questions please drop me a line and let me know.
Have a great day!
Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Level 2 Lean Eating Coach, Egoscue PAS Castro Valley Fitness 2861 Grove Way 510-755-9191 Mitch@CastroValleyFitness.com
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