Strength Training Workout Guidelines
Congratulations on committing to two or three strength training workouts per week!
So, what comes next? How do you navigate a workout effectively?
For beginners, we often recommend starting with adult strength training classes, semi-private training, or personal training. Spending a few months under expert guidance can significantly enhance your understanding of the fundamentals and improve your performance.
However, we understand that personalized coaching might not be accessible to everyone. If you find yourself needing or wanting to manage your strength workouts independently, here are some essential guidelines and terms based on EVOLVE's strength training program design principles. While some of the information is tailored to our methods, the core concepts apply universally to any effective strength training regimen.
Let’s dive in.
Full Body Warm-Up
Begin each session with a full body warm-up to prepare your body for the upcoming workout. A good warm up should:
Elevate your body temperature and increase blood flow.
Activate key stabilizing muscles, particularly in the hips and shoulders.
Improve overall flexibility with dynamic mobility exercises.
Incorporate balance exercises to improve overall stability
Be time-efficient, taking less than 10 minutes in most cases.
Even with limited time, try not to skip the warm up! It can help to make the session more effective, and we often include key exercises for injury prevention or rehabilitation in the warm up. We aim to accomplish the goals listed above with just 3-6 exercises.
Specific Exercise Warm-Up Sets
After the full body warm-up, it is important to prepare for main exercises that use weights, especially as you progress. The intent here is to practice technique and prepare the body to handle your target weight.
Start with 6–8 repetitions using light or no weight.
Progress to 6–8 repetitions at about half of your workout weight.
Finish the specific warm up with 4–6 repetitions at 70–80% of your workout weight.
Add an extra warm up set if you still feel a bit stiff or cold, or want to practice your technique.
Keep rest intervals between these warm up sets short, approximately a minute or less, to maintain readiness without cooling down. Then, start the prescribed number of working sets for that exercise. Exercises with light or no weight or band resistance, and exercises later in the workout, typically require fewer or no specific warm up sets, especially if you are comfortable with the technique.
Sets, Reps, and Supersets
These are definitions of common terms that we use in our strength programs.
Reps (Repetitions): The number of times you perform an exercise continuously without resting.
Sets: The number of rounds of reps that you complete.
Supersets: Performing two different exercises consecutively with minimal rest between them. This approach increases workout efficiency and intensity.
Sets (or supersets) and reps are sometimes notated: Sets x reps. So, 3x10 would mean 3 sets of 10 reps.
Prescription of Repetition and Time Ranges
We typically prescribe a range of repetitions or a time range, rather than an exact number. This is for several reasons:
The most important factor for effective strength training is fatiguing the muscles targeted in the exercise, not the exact number of repetitions that you perform. We find that giving a range can help you work to your fatigue point while maintaining good technique.
Using a rep range helps you decide when to increase the weight. For instance, if you complete 12 reps at 20 pounds within an 8-12 rep range, consider increasing the weight in your next set or workout. As the weight increases, you might start at the lower end of the rep range. Continue to work up to 12 reps before increasing the weight again.
Daily fluctuations in how you feel can impact your strength training. A rep range provides flexibility to adjust based on your condition. For instance, if you completed 10 reps at 20 pounds last session and feel more fatigued today, performing 8 or 9 reps is perfectly acceptable and ensures a safe and effective workout.
Exercises using resistance bands often feature a wide rep range, like "10-20+ reps to fatigue," due to varying band tensions from different manufacturers and wear over time. These exercises also often target smaller, more variably fatigued muscle groups, requiring a broader range with an emphasis on reaching fatigue.
Rest Periods
We recommend rest between exercises and sets in order to maintain good technique. Research also shows that adequate rest actually improves results compared to eliminating rest periods altogether.
Rest Between Sets or Supersets: Rest for 1–2 minutes. This allows you to recover sufficiently to perform the subsequent set with good technique and appropriate loading.
Rest Between Exercises in a Superset: Take a break of 30-45 seconds or less in between exercises in a superset – just enough to feel ready for the next to prepare for the next exercise.
Loading Guidelines
To make the most of your strength training sessions, ensure that you're using adequate weight, resistance, or difficulty.
Research shows that the majority of people new to strength training underload their exercises, and as a result do not get as much benefit from training as they could.
Here are 5 guidelines that you can use to help determine if you are at the right resistance or weight level:
Velocity: As you fatigue, the speed of your movements should decrease slightly. For If movements remain too quick, the load may be too light.
Rep Ranges: As described above, if you are getting to the top end of the prescribed rep range, you can likely increase the weight or resistance in your next workout.
Need for Rest: You should feel the need to rest for 1-2 minutes after each set or superset. If not, it might be time to up the resistance.
Rate of Perceived Effort: Use a scale from 1 to 10 to gauge effort, aiming for a 7-8 by the end of most sets. Effort levels below 5 or 6 typically indicate a need for more difficulty.
Reps in Reserve: You should finish each set feeling capable of doing 1-3 more reps. If you can do more than that, consider increasing the weight or difficulty.
Follow these guidelines to safely challenge yourself and enhance your fitness through strength training.
Cool Downs
We’ll be honest: cool downs are not entirely essential. We find that this is because after your workout, you body will cool down no matter what as you go about the rest of your day.
But, a transition out of the workout can sometimes feel great, and be a nice way to bookend the session. Doing something to shift into a parasympathetic nervous system state can potentially promote recovery. You can also use a few minutes during a cool down to make notes about your workout. Here are a few cool down ideas:
Laying down and doing deep diaphragmatic breathing, with an emphasis on the exhale
Light foam rolling or stretching of any tight areas, again with slow deep breathing to calm your system
Any physical therapy or rehabilitation exercises that you have been prescribe but were not in your workout
A warm up is, in our opinion, much more important than a cool down. If you’re pressed for time, don’t worry about anything specific at the end of your workout - perhaps just give a friend a high five, and do a few slow deep breaths as you transition into the next part of your day.
Common Abbreviations:
DB: Dumbbell
KB: Kettlebell
BB: Barbell
MB: Medicine Ball
Example Workout:
Here is a short example workout, and how you would complete it.
How to Complete the Workout:
Warm-up:
Perform all four exercises listed in the warm-up, completing each one after another. Do the number of repetitions in the suggested range, stopping when you feel fatigued or adequately loosened up, depending on the specific exercise.
If you feel particularly stiff or cold, you might repeat the warm-up sequence a second time.
First Superset: DB Front Squats and Foam Roller Body Saws
Specific Warm Up Sets:
You’ll begin with DB Front Squats. This is one of the main weighted exercises in the workout, so you’ll want a few specific warm up sets here.
Let’s assume last week you completed 10 reps at 50 pounds and plan to use the same weight today. Start with a specific warm-up for squats.
Perform 3 sets of 5-8 reps for DB Front Squats, increasing the weight progressively: start with 10 pounds, then 20 pounds, and finally 40 pounds.
Keep rest between these fairly short, but don’t work to excessive fatigue or breathlessness.
After completing these preliminary sets, rest for 1-2 minutes.
Working Sets
Execute your first "working set" of DB Front Squats at 50 pounds. Aim for 8-12 reps.
Let’s say that you get 12 reps, and the last 2 reps were quite difficult, and you couldn’t stand up as fast, but maintained good technique. Perfect!
Your heart rate is a bit elevated from the effort of squats. You rest about 20-30 seconds to manage this, and then move onto the Foam Roller Body Saws (a core exercise). You start shaking a bit from effort at reps 9 and 10, and stop the set there. Nice work!
You then rest 2 minutes, and repeat both exercises in similar fash two more times.
You get 12 reps on every set of DB Front Squats at 50lbs, and make a note that you should move to 55 or 60lbs next workout. When you do so, it’s OK if you only get 8-10 reps rather than 12.
Second Superset: Incline DB Bench Press and Toe Elevated Calf Raises
Transition to the second superset after taking a 2-4 minute break. During this time, prepare any new equipment you'll need.
The Incline DB Bench Press is the second main weighted exercise of the workout, and like requires some warm up. But, you’re already pretty warm from the first set, and the Incline Bench Press isn’t as heavy as the squats, so you probably only need one or two specific warm up sets.
Let’s say that you did 40 pounds last week, and aim to work there again, so you complete one warm up set at 20lbs, and one at 30lbs.
You then move into the superset, completing the Incline Bench Press and Toe Elevated Calf Raises in the same fashion as the first superset.
The prescription for calf raises is “10-20+ reps to fatigue,” so the goal is to feel a strong burn in the calf at the end of each set, no matter how many reps it takes.
After 3 sets of both exercises, you’re done!
Like squats, you completed 12 reps of Incline Bench Press at 40 pounds on the last set, so you make a note to go up next workout.
Cool Down: You have 3 or 4 minutes before you have to head out, so you spend that time doing the rehab exercise from your physical therapist that you keep meaning to get around to :)
So there you have it! Some instructions, definitions, and guidelines to help you navigate a strength workout like a pro. If you need help creating a plan that works for you, we would love to help. We have a range of options, including adult group classes, semi-private training, personal training, open gym memberships, and personalized strength training program design from a Doctor of Physical Therapy. We would love to hear from you!