You can use your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to measure and adapt the intensity level of your strength workouts. At StrongFast, we use a modified version of Michael Tuchscherer's RPE scale as follows:
- 10 - Max effort
- 9 - Could you have MAYBE done 1 more rep?
- 8 - Could you have DEFINITELY done 1 more rep?
- 7 - Weight is too heavy to maintain fast bar speed but isn’t a struggle; 2–4 reps left
- 6 - Did the bar speed slow down only on the last rep?
- 5 - Weight moves quickly when maximal force is applied to the weight; “speed weight
- 4 - Was the bar speed on the last rep the same as the first?
- 3 - Light speed work; moves quickly with moderate force
- 2 - Most warm-up weights
It takes some experience to make this work: most beginners tend to underestimate how much they can lift, and some overestimate. Experienced lifters generally know their limits and reach (and exceed) them regularly, making this a useful measure of intensity. Of course, there are always some who will overestimate how much more they had left; for them, this is useless. But that's not us, right?
Determining the intensity of a workout can help make it more effective and easier to scale. For example, asking someone to run for five minutes is physically different than asking them to run hard for five minutes. The same concept applies to strength training.
But while there are some straightforward ways to measure intensity of cardiovascular or aerobic training, strength training is a bit more challenging. Yet knowing how hard you’re lifting can help you structure your workout programs more effectively. For example, you can vary workout intensity to prevent overtraining while still getting sufficient volume and working hard enough to get results.
Continue reading
Whether you're retired, nearing retirement, or decades away, recreational travel should be on your mind. Exploring the world has been a time-honored tradition since...forever. While some people might prefer to see the world from a bus or deck chair, there are plenty of adventurous things to do while you travel.
Being fit opens more recreational travel opportunities. Here are some examples from a recent trip to Costa Rica.
Zip-lining is fun, but it's also easy. You don't need to be great (or even good) shape to do it. But it does involve climbing stairs. Being fit makes that part easier.
Ziplining
Continue reading
(This article originally appeared in the October 9, 2012 issue of The StrongFast Planet newsletter.)
Lots of people go to the gym. Lots of people have exercise equipment at home. Lots of people buy fitness videos, books, clothes, and junk. Lots of people don't get any fitter.
Why do some people have success with a fitness or nutrition program while others don't? While there are several possible factors, there is one "secret" that every success story shares:
Continue reading
There's an adage that strength gains aren't made in the gym; they're made during the recovery from workouts when muscles repair and rebuild (making you "better, stronger, faster..."). This has led (not "lead" ... words have meaning!) to the concept of the "off" day or "rest" day.
We can do better. "Recovery" day is a start. Or how about "muscle repair" day? That can change the way we approach our training schedule.
Continue reading
Spot reduction refers to the concept of reducing fat in specific area of the body through exercise. Spot reduction claims have been around a very long time...and have remained popular despite the lack of results. It seems like it should work, right? But then, it seems like the earth is flat. ("Look! There's the edge!") So why is there still so much confusion about this?
Continue reading
You should receive an email receipt shortly.
We'll be in touch with you soon by email to get you started. Please make sure you can receive emails from strongfast@strongfastfitness.com . If you don't receive an email within 24 hours or have any questions, please call or text us on 716.425.3739.
If you have video capability (a camera in your phone, laptop, or computer) you can get a head start on our video chat by looking at https://appear.in/ or downloading their app on your phone. It allows for video communication without the need to register or provide an email address. (If you don't have video capability or don't want to use it, we'll chat by phone instead.)
