Terminology For The Workout Sheets

If you aren’t familiar with workout sheets here’s a rundown of what all those terms mean and how to fill ‘er out.

Exercise order:

This column is on the far left. It dictates which order to perform each exercise in (As, Bs, Cs, etc). The exercises go from heavy and complex to simpler and lighter the further down the sheet you get. They are to be performed in alphabetical order. You will typically see supersets (A1 + A2) because they allow you to perform
more in less time.

A superset means if you are doing squats and chin ups, you do one set of squats, rest, then one set of chin ups, rest, then back to squats — and continue until you’ve completed the required amount of sets for each. This will be labeled as A1 (Squats) and A2 (Chin Ups). So, essentially, you’ll be performing the exercises for each letter together as a circuit.

Exercise:

This column says what exercise you’re doing; you will typically find a couple coaching cues to think of when you’re performing these exercises.

Week:

This column will tell you which week you’re on. This is important because the amount of sets and reps you’re doing each week may change.

Reps:

Officially known as repetitions, this is one full execution of the movement. So if you were doing a squat, going all the way down and then all the way up would be one repetition.

Sets:

This is how many times you’ll perform a desired number of repetitions at one time. A typical set in phase 1, for example, would have 12 repetitions performed in a row without easing the tension on the muscle. If 3 sets are indicated, that means you’ll be doing that set of 12 repetitions three times, resting
between each set.

Rest:

This is how long you can curse my name for. It will be in seconds. And it will never feel like enough. So 90s means 90 seconds of thinking “dammit Marco, I need more time to rest!”

Tempo:

This represents how quickly you should lift the weight. 3 or 4 numbers usually describe it. Let’s use a 3011 tempo as an example. The first number represents the eccentric or “lowering” portion of the exercise. The second number indicates if there is a pause at the bottom of the movement—there almost never will be. The third number indicates how fast the concentric portion or “lifting” part will be. The fourth number indicates whether or not there is a pause at the top of the movement. If we used the 3011 tempo in a squat, it would mean you would lower the weight for 3 seconds, not pause at the bottom (0 seconds), lift the weight in 1 second, pause for 1 second squeezing the glutes at the top, and then lower the weight back down in 3 seconds. There is never any time when the muscle goes slack. Keeping that muscle consistently under tension for the indicated number of reps is important.

Recording your progress:

In the columns beside the main column, you will see set 1, set 2, etc. This is where you write in the weight you were lifting and how many reps you were able to lift it for.

e.g. 10 x 200 lbs

Notes:

Take copious amounts of notes. Every nook and cranny on that sheet can be filled up at your discretion. For example if you feel really crappy or switched something because your knee was aching, write it down. Or if you need a place to write down a cute guy’s number! Not that that should be your focus … the gym is for training—come on.

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3 Comments

  1. Shlynn on April 8, 2016 at 12:11 am

    I noticed some exercises are listed with a 0sec rest between sets. Side planks and I think glute bridges on week one day two. Is this a typo? If there is no rest between sets, what makes them separate sets?
    Thanks!

    • Shane Duquette on April 8, 2016 at 9:23 pm

      Hey Shlynn. The sets are supposed to be circuited with the next exercise. So you’d do exercise one set one, not rest, exercise two set one, no rest, exercise one set two, no rest, exercise two set two. Does that make sense?

  2. Shlynn on April 10, 2016 at 11:02 am

    Ooohh! Yes, that makes sense. Thank you 🙂

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