How many sets of the same exercise are you doing with clients?
Hi Beverly. In my opinion, the answer to your question depends more on the training goal for the particular client than it does on a specific ‘guideline.’ Each client is an individual, and will respond to a training stimulus in their own individual way. The beauty of our profession and the ‘art’ of what we do is that we need to design programming that will get the desired results for the client that we have in front of us. Sometimes, what we read in the books is the answer, and sometimes we have to use what is in the books to design our own program for the particular client’s needs.
I’ve used single sets and multiple sets in working with my clients. A lot of the time it comes down to something as simple as “am I working on raw strength, or strength endurance?” for a particular training session.
I hope that this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
[email protected]
While there are many variables to consider, as a basic guideline for beginning clients I like to use timed sets and allow them 3 sets to better orient them to a new technique.
As someone mentioned above, I love the idea of the untimed first set, followed by timed sets. I began implementing the same strategy with several beginner clients and found a significant improvement in form at a much faster rate.
No finite answer here but, with beginners, I like 4 sets with timed intervals. Beginning clients need more rest to lower their heart rate and disperse lactate so the interval times are really client specific. The number of exercises are really goal specific so this is a tough question. the 1st set is not timed and I use it to orientate the client to the circuit (maybe 10-15 reps). I notice that it improves overall intensity for the next three sets with less postural deviations.
With circuit training, I think it’s more important to look at overall volume and making sure that all muscle groups are worked equally.
I like many formats, but my personal favorite is to switch between 3 minutes of weight training (random exercises) and 3 minutes of cardiovascular conditioning. For example:
45 seconds Seated Row
45 seconds Leg Press
45 seconds Shoulder Press
45 seconds Abdominal crunches
45 seconds 5.0 mph (treadmill)
45 seconds 5.5 mph
45 seconds 6.0 mph
45 seconds 6.5 mph.
Works great for large classes without a lot of equipment. For personal training sessions, I’d replace the treadmill work with some calisthenics or metabolic conditioning where I can provide a bit more personal feedback to a client.
The current ACSM Guideline for Muscular Strength and Endurance programming is 2-4 sets for each major muscle group.
Program your circuit class based on the type of participant, age, goals, etc. They is no one golden rule for circuit.
To slow down boredom, I do different formats.
*8-10 stations, 2 sets
*20 stations, 1 set.
*8-10 stations, 1 set followed by another type of 8-10 station, 1 set