Endurance Workout Plan 101: Training for Muscular Endurance

Endurance Workout Plan 101: Training for Muscular Endurance

by | Last updated Jan 21, 2023 | Fitness | 0 comments

Endurance workouts are different than traditional workouts. For example, if you go to the gym and follow a standard three-set, ten repetitions per exercise workout, an endurance workout plan is much different.

When you focus on muscular endurance, you’re training your muscles to sustain exercise for longer periods of time.

For example, if you’re a landscaper and need to haul 40-pound bags of stone throughout the day, functional training following endurance practices is the correct type of exercise for you.

bicep curls

Endurance Workout Plan: The Basics

Understanding Muscle Fiber Types Used in Endurance Training

When you’re focusing on endurance workouts, you’ll be working different muscle fibers than if you focus on power or strength.

Let’s take a look.

Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers

Your endurance exercise program requires you to move weight rapidly. When your physical activities demand long-lasting energy, you’ll use slow twitch muscle fibers.

An endurance workout routine focuses on the slow twitch fibers that offer long-lasting energy.

If you train for strictly strength, you likely have less slow twitch fibers. However, runners or someone who has trained for marathons will have higher amounts of these muscle fibers. If you train for endurance, your body will naturally start to develop more of these slow twitch fibers, which are very energy efficient. 

Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers

The other muscle fiber types you’ll engage are fast twitch. Your fast twitch fibers are responsible for exerting bigger, more powerful force. If you’re trying to hit a new personal record, heavy weights and lower reps are ideal.

Your fast twitch fibers will engage when lifting heavier weight, but they take a lot of energy and are meant for large bursts of energy.

Anyone who focuses on strength training or lifts with heavy weights and low reps, will have higher amounts of fast twitch muscle fibers. 

Note: Your body will have a mix of slow and fast twitch fibers naturally. However, you can train to increase slow or fast muscle fibers.

Creating an Endurance Workout Plan

Ideally, you’ll create your endurance workout plan based on maximum lifts. For example, let’s say that you want to increase your lower body endurance.

You’ll load up the bar, enter the squat position and find your one-rep maximum.

Note: Ask someone to spot you so that you can minimize your risk of injury, or use a squat rack with safety bars. Being stuck in the starting position for a squat with the bar loaded can cause significant injury, especially to your knees if you squat hard.

Your one-rep maximum is the amount of weight you can push one time.

If you can do more than one-rep, increase the weight.

Once you’ve found your one-rep max, which you can do with perfect form, you’ll need to lower it for your endurance workout. Remember, endurance is based on lighter weight that you can push for a longer period of time.

You’ll want to reduce your one-rep max to:

  • 40% on the low end
  • 70% on the high end

A general rule of thumb is that a person with higher fitness levels can start at 60% to 70% of their maximum, while beginners should start at 40%.

Not sure where to start? Try 50% of your max and adjust as needed. If you can’t reach your repetition goals, you’re using heavy weights and need to scale it down.

Repetitions and Sets

You now have your ideal weight chosen, but how many repetitions are in an endurance workout. The goal is to aim for 12 – 20+ repetitions and 3 or 4 sets.

If you can perform 30 reps the first set and only 15 the next set, that’s acceptable.

When performing these reps, be sure to go up and down as fast as possible while maintaining good form and a full range of motion. In addition, maintain moderate intensity throughout the entire session.

Your heart rate will rise, and your muscles will begin to burn during your session.

Quick Note on Warming Up

The nice thing about focusing on endurance is that you won’t need to warm up before a workout, unlike strength training. Also, you’re using light weights, so there’s a lower risk of muscle strains or tears.

But you still need to maintain proper form to limit the risk of injury.

Example Endurance Training Workout Plans

Endurance workout plan example of squat

Weight lifting for endurance is similar to strength training because you’ll perform the same exercises. The main difference is the scale of intensity and level of effort you have to put into each set.

You’ll maintain short recovery periods of 30 seconds and no longer than a minute, while also pushing your muscle to extreme fatigue.

Mentally, this style of training is very intense. 

But strength endurance is worth the effort when you’re able to perform functional activities easier.

Ideally, you’ll plan for endurance in your long-term fitness plans.

Why?

It’s a form of functional exercise, recovery time is low and you can complete these routines in 20-40 minutes. So, you aren’t restricted to a 1-2 minute rest period like with strength training, which really slows down a routine.

A few basic plans that you can follow for endurance training are:

Note: You’ll be performing 12 – 20+ reps for each set that you perform for your upper body and lower body.

Endurance Workout for Biceps

Biceps tend to get tired quickly, but you can follow this endurance workout plan to get started:

  • 4 sets of incline hammer curls
  • 4 sets of ez-bar curls
  • 4 sets of Zottman curls
  • 4 sets of seated dumbbell curls

You can swap any of these exercises out for other bicep exercises, such as concentration curls, strict curls, overhead cable curls – anything.

Endurance Workout for Back

Your back a major muscle group, and you’ll want to try and hit all areas of the back. An example routine may look like this:

  • 4 sets of back extensions
  • 4 sets of close grip pulldowns
  • 4 sets of seated rows
  • 4 sets of bent over barbell rows

You can add in any back workouts that you prefer, and if you can, pull-ups are a great option.

Endurance Workout for Triceps

The triceps are another small muscle that takes a lot of effort to work. Your routine might look something like this:

  • 4 sets of skullcrushers
  • 4 sets of weighted bench dip
  • 4 sets of tricep push-downs
  • 4 sets of seated tricep press

You can swap in single-arm cable triceps extensions, dumbbell kickbacks or reverse grip pushdowns among numerous other exercises.

Endurance Workout for Chest

You have dozens of exercises to choose from for your chest, so keep in mind that you can add any of them into the mix. A basic routine may include:

  • 4 sets of incline dumbbell press
  • 4 sets of dumbbell flyes
  • 4 sets of barbell bench press
  • 4 sets of decline barbell bench press

Ideally, you’ll add flat, incline and decline versions of these exercises to hit different areas of the chest.

Endurance Workout for Legs

Your legs have so many areas to focus on, including quads, hamstrings and calves. Feel free to adapt the routine below to focus on key areas of your legs:

  • 4 sets of squats
  • 4 sets of deadlifts
  • 4 sets of smith machine calf raises
  • 4 sets of hamstring curls

Again, add in anything you wish, including leg press, single leg press, lunges, box squats, bear crawl sled drag and more.

When you add these types of exercises into your exercise routine, you’ll be building those slow twitch muscle fibers necessary for muscular endurance.

Your endurance training workout plan can be customized to meet your goals.

A lot of people combine strength and endurance workout plans by burning out during their last sets. Using kettlebell swings as an example, you might use 40 pounds for swings and on your last set, finish by doing 20 pounds for as many repetitions as you can.

When you create a solid training plan, you’ll build a well-rounded level of fitness. An endurance workout routine focuses on the slow twitch fibers that offer long-lasting energy. If you’re not incorporating functional training into your regimen, you can by using the examples above.

Power vs. Endurance vs. Strength Workouts

Power vs. Endurance vs. Strength Workouts

by | Last updated Oct 29, 2022 | Fitness | 0 comments

If you’re just starting on a weight loss or muscle building journey, you want to focus on getting to the gym and working out regularly rather than worrying about: 

  • Strength workouts 
  • Power workouts 
  • Endurance workouts 

Each type of workout is essential, but you should focus on a standard routine before diving into the logistics of strength, power and endurance. All three types of exercises are necessary for “whole-body health,” but you’ll find many people focus on one or two types of workouts. 

Why? 

Everyone has their own goals. 

If you want to build muscle, a power or strength training workout is likely what you’ll focus on. But if you want to maintain your strength over lengthy activities, an endurance workout plan may be a better choice. 

Let’s look at all three workout types, how to perform them and which you should be doing.

strength workouts

What is a Strength Workout? 

When performing a strength training workout, you’re trying to move as much weight as possible for a specific amount of reps. A powerlifting workout is all about strength training. For example, you might train at your 1 rep max (RM) to increase your deadlift. 

In short, strength training focuses on the force needed to overcome resistance. 

How To Workout for Strength? 

A strength training routine can be adjusted to meet your goals. If you want to build strength, you certainly can with a 10 rep routine, but when you’re trying to add mass and increase your one-rep max, your routine may be: 

  • 5 repetitions for 5 sets 
  • 3 repetitions for 3 sets 
  • 1 repetition for 3 / 5 sets 

When trying to build strength, the key most important thing is to find your 1 repetition maximum. For example, if you can bench 200 pounds for one rep, this is your maximum. Finding this number is crucial because you’ll use it to develop your routine. 

You might perform your 5 x 5 routine at 80% RM, your 3 x 3 routine at 90 RM and then your 1 RM should be as heavy as you can go. 

How does this translate to more strength? 

When you’re breaking down your muscle fibers with more weight, you will build more muscle than if you focused on light load resistance. An excellent study on high load vs. low load resistance called Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men was conducted in 2015 and found that: 

  • High load resistance led to an increase in maximum strength of 6.5% 
  • Low load resistance led to an increase in maximum strength of 2% 

Remember that muscle endurance didn’t increase for the high load group as it did for the low load group, but we’ll cover this in greater detail below. 

Strength training exercises should focus on major muscle groups. A strength program should include a mix of activities, but compound exercises provide the most muscle engagement. You’ll burn more body fat and add more lean muscle mass by including major muscle groups into your training plan. 

How Long Should a Strength Training Workout Be? 

Your routine length depends on how many exercises you’re performing. For example, if you’re a beginner, you may want to perform three strength exercises per strength session, while someone advanced may be doing five or six exercises each workout. 

But you’ll spend most of your workout session resting. Building strength demands high energy expenditure, so to maximum benefits and reach fitness goals, slot in rest periods in your fitness routine. 

Most experts suggest resting for 2 to 3 minutes between strength training sets. If you’re doing a 5 x 5 routine, this means you’ll spend 10 – 15 minutes resting per exercise. 

Many people can’t dedicate hours a day to exercise, so a good 45 to 60-minute workout will suffice. 

Due to the heavy weight involved in this type of strength training, you’re at a higher risk of injury. Try to maintain perfect form to minimize injury risk. 

But if you want to know how many weeks you should be training for strength, an 8 to 12 weeks is great before switching up to power or endurance for a few weeks. You want to keep your muscles growing, and growth means keeping your muscles guessing. 

Note: A study on rest between sets, using two to five-minute rest periods, did not find a difference in neuromuscular and hormonal response. If you only need two minutes, don’t prolong the rest period because it won’t benefit you. 

How Long Does Muscle Synthesis Continue After a Strength Training Workout? 

A 1995 study on muscle protein synthesis found the following: 

  • Synthesis remained more than double normal synthesis rates 24 hours after heavy resistance exercise 
  • Synthesis rapidly declined to near baseline 36 hours after a workout 

The synthesis process pushes your proteins 50% higher in the first four hours after your workout ends and 109% higher after 24 hours. 

Quick note 

It’s essential to warm up before a workout if you’re focusing on strength or power because you’ll use a heavier weight. If you want to exercise for strength or power, be sure to warm up to avoid muscle injuries and strains. 

power workouts

What is a Power Workout? 

Power is vital, although a little bit confusing to understand. This is because so many people, myself included at one point, thought that power and strength were the same. But they’re slightly different.  

When you focus on power, you’re focusing on overcoming resistance in the shortest amount of time possible. 

For sports athletes, power is necessary because it uses: 

  1. Force
  2. Velocity  

When you need to engage in high-speed movements, a power workout will make these rapid movements. 

Interestingly, studies on power workouts have shown very positive results for older adults, although studies also show that power training is more effective than traditional training. A study from 2005 shows that a progressive resistance training routine can help older adults in numerous ways: 

  • Offer rapid strength gain 
  • Increase in power 
  • Enhance physical performance 

Focusing on power can make standing up from chairs or off the floor easier for older adults and younger ones. But, of course, power training is being combined with strength training in a clinical setting to maximize benefits. 

Increased reaction time, cardiovascular endurance and even better coordination and balance are associated with power training. 

How can you adapt your workout routine to include explosive power? 

How To Workout for Power? 

Remember, it’s essential to do two main things for power: train for strength and speed. You’ll be working on your fast-twitch muscle fibers when you’re engaging in a power routine, and this often leads to three main types of exercises performed: 

  1. Plyometric. High-intensity and often called “shock training,” plyometrics involve jumping or hopping. You might see athletes jumping side to side to improve their explosiveness with these movements. Broad jumps or adding in a box jump would be included. 

  1. Ballistic. Movements in a ballistic training routine may include throwing a medicine ball overhead and includes releasing weight. 

  1. Dynamic. A form most people engage in which requires lifting light weights in the 50% to 60% 1RM range as quickly as possible for 4 to 5 reps. Olympic lifts are a good option here. 

Maintaining proper form and resting between sets are essential when engaging in a dynamic workout. Rest will often be between 3 and 4 minutes, but it can be more if necessary. 

You can use free weights, kettlebells, bodyweight, resistance bands, resistance tubing and even medicine balls in a dynamic workout. 

Explosive power exercises can focus on the upper body or lower body. In addition, power moves often include compound exercises to maximize athletic performance and strength. Deadlifts, a vertical jump, depth jump or a power clean are all examples of exercises to add to your power training. 

If you’re training for power, you should focus on the following: 

  • Weight ranges of 0% to 70% of your 1RM 
  • Repetitions between 2 and 6 

Speed is integral in your routine, so you may want to time yourself for a specific duration. For example, let’s assume that you’re training with 20-second sets. Naturally, you’ll want to squeeze as many reps into this time as possible, even if that means you hit 10 reps. 

Ideally, you’ll reach 4 to 6 reps in this timeframe. 

Depending on the exercise chosen, you may want to perform 2 to 3 sets of each exercise. If you find that you’re hitting 7 or 8 reps fast, increase the weight.  

How Long Should a Power Workout Be? 

Power workouts are similar to strength in that you’ll want to train for 45 to 60 minutes at a time.  However, due to the stress on the nervous system, it’s recommended that you perform 2 to 3 power workouts maximum per week. 

Your nervous system needs two to three days to repair. 

endurance workouts

What is an Endurance Workout? 

If there’s any form of exercise that affects the brain, it’s an endurance workout routine. You’ll push your limits – I hope – by creating an endurance workout that leaves your muscles on fire at the end of your session. 

In terms of mental torture, these routines are intense. 

You’ll perform high rep ranges, use light weights, and rest for 30 seconds to a minute between each set. Muscular endurance allows you to perform movements or tasks for long periods without getting as tired. 

If you need to lift 40-pound bags of rocks for an hour, endurance training will help you become more efficient than strength training. 

Endurance activities should be added to training sessions. However, heavy weight training shouldn’t be the only form of exercise that you perform. Building a training program that incorporates light weight and basic endurance exercise is crucial for functional training. 

How To Workout for Endurance? 

What exercises are endurance workouts? They’re not aerobic exercise nor are they cardio exercise, although they can get your heart rate soaring.  

Endurance workouts are high-intensity workouts that focus on lighter weight and more repetitions. Building muscular endurance requires repetitions in the 12 to 20+. Personally, I like to perform at least 12 to 15 reps, but I’ll continue my repetitions until my form breaks down or I can no longer lift the weight. 

Sometimes, I’ll hit 30+ reps, and other times I’ll hit 21 – every time, I’m going as hard as I can. 

You’ll want to perform 3 or 4 sets of each exercise you perform. Examples of endurance exercises for a back routine: 

  • 4 sets of 15 to 30 reps of rows 
  • 4 sets of 15 to 30 reps of lat pulldowns 
  • 4 sets of 15 to 30 reps of deadlifts 

Of course, you can add in more exercises if you want to build an endurance workout that works on your weaknesses and goals. 

How Long Should an Endurance Workout Be? 

Speed is the name of the game with endurance workouts. How many sets are in an endurance workout? It depends on your rest period, repetitions, sets and number of exercises. Let’s assume the following: 

  • 3 exercises chosen 
  • 4 sets each exercise 
  • 15 reps per set 

Let’s assume it takes 1 second up and 3 seconds down for each repetition and 30 to 60 seconds of rest. This would mean completing every set would take around 1 minute for 15 reps plus an additional 30 to 60 seconds of resting. 

Each exercise may take up to 8 minutes to complete all four sets of a single exercise. 

You’ll also need to switch machines or weights, and you’ll easily be in the 30-to-40-minute range or higher if you add in more exercises. Endurance activity should be performed in a short period of time to minimize rest. 

Try to perform your reps as fast as possible and completely forget about your traditional workout speed. Your speed and minimal rest make every session a challenging workout. Minute rest periods are great because minute recovery allows you to rest just long enough to go on to your next set. 

Endurance workouts should start with beginner exercises and advance as your skill levels improve. 

How Long Does Muscle Synthesis Continue After an Endurance Training Workout? 

Endurance training also produces a different protein and adaptive response than strength training, according to a 2018 study. In addition, the study found that both regular and irregular bouts of endurance training led to higher levels of: 

  • Skeletal muscle growth 
  • Muscle protein synthesis 

But while the body needs more protein after an endurance workout, there’s little information on if muscle synthesis improves significantly. 

Strength vs. Power vs. Endurance Workout: Which Should You Do? 

All of them. We all have our goals, and if you’re a powerlifter, you know that strength will be your primary focus. You want to make sure that you can push or pull through as much resistance as possible. But then you have people like Julius Maddox (Irregular Strength) trying to break the world record for bench press. 

Maddox holds the world record for bench press at 782, but he’s pushing to reach 800 pounds. 

You’ll see him doing 700+ pounds for 1 or 2 reps and then 661 pounds for 5 sets. He focuses on power and strength. 

But for well-rounded fitness, you should mix in strength, power and endurance training. You can make up your own routine of periodization where maybe you do 4 weeks of strength training followed by a week or two of endurance training. 

Some routines are also changed weekly, for example: 

  • Week 1 strength 
  • Week 2 endurance 
  • Week 3 power 
  • Week 4 hypertrophy (8 to 12 reps) 

If you want the best general health possible, you need to mix strength workouts, power workouts and endurance workouts into your routine. You can also slot in certain workout types on certain days. 

Let’s assume that on Monday, you’re dead. You’re not able to push 80% of the weight you did Friday, and it’s just an off day. Perform an endurance workout to mix things up. 

You want to keep your body guessing to stop plateaus from occurring. However, even an elite athlete needs to change their training sessions up. 

There are also athletes and fitness experts following what is known as undulating periodization. What does undulating periodization mean? It’s a type of workout schedule that changes from one day to the next. 

It’s all about flexibility with this type of periodization. 

Monday, you’re feeling weak, boom do an endurance workout. Tuesday, do a hypertrophy workout and Wednesday, focus on your strength and power workout routines. You need to hold yourself accountable so that you’re not always doing a hypertrophy or endurance workout, and if you do, you’ll reap the rewards. 

Since you’re keeping your body guessing from one day to the next, you’ll develop more strength faster, according to a 2002 study. The study found, over four weeks, participants that altered their training every day experienced more strength gain than those who didn’t. 

If you’re trying to decide whether you want to focus on strength, power, endurance or hypertrophy, add them all into the mix for the best results.

Exercise and the Brain: How Exercise Affects the Brain

Exercise and the Brain: How Exercise Affects the Brain

by | Last updated Nov 13, 2022 | Fitness | 0 comments

Exercise and the brain: what’s the correlation? I know when I exercise, it’s a major stress relief. And when talking to people at my local gym, everyone seems to agree that exercise is a better way to release stress than even marijuana.

But why?

Exercise Boosts Dopamine and Serotonin

Depression is an epidemic, and chances are you know someone with depression. Everyone gets depressed once in a while – life is difficult and unpredictable.

The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression. You’re not alone if you’re depressed. I know there are some days, for no apparent reason, I just wish I didn’t wake up in the morning.

My theory has always been that lack of moving plays a role in depression.

A lot of people don’t feel like they have a purpose. A lot of people are also stuck behind a desk all day, and it’s easier to pull up to a drive-thru than it is to get out of the car and sit down for dinner after a long day of work.

Yet regular exercise tends to relieve many people from the depression that they’re suffering from.

Why?

Research has shown that physical activity, whether it be yoga, weight training or even a brisk walk around the block, helps the brain produce:

  • Dopamine
  • Serotonin

Both of these brain chemicals are responsible for keeping you happy. Endorphins, the feel-good chemicals produced by the brain, are also produced.

Anxiety and depression can be helped with a bit of exercise.

Exercise and the brain are intrinsically tied based on these facts. If you want to improve brain health, start with a regular exercise routine.

Exercise improves memory and learning ability.

Exercise Improves Memory and Learning Ability

Studies, one in particular from the University of British Columbia, found that aerobic exercise is able to enhance the hippocampus.

But why does this matter?

The hippocampus is the area of the brain that is responsible for:

  • Verbal memory
  • Learning

One thing to note is that researchers only experienced these results with aerobic exercise. Participants in the study that did the following did not have the same results:

  • Muscle toning exercises
  • Balance training
  • Resistance training

I guess all those times that I have weight trained and walked by the cardio machines on the way out of the gym are now a big regret. Plus, it’s important to focus on your cardiovascular health, too.

The effects of exercise was shown to help direct and indirect memory and thinking ability.

Your brain suffers from inflammation and a lot is going on all at once. Insulin levels are fluctuating, hormones and chemicals are being produced.

Exercise directly impacts the brain by:

  • Stimulating new blood vessel growth
  • Reducing inflammation in the brain
  • Reducing insulin resistance

These are all direct benefits to the brain, but there are also indirect positive effects that are experienced. The benefits of exercise also:

  • Reduce stress
  • Boost your mood
  • Enhance your sleep

When you sleep, the brain has time to rid itself of toxins and start repairing the body. Stress, mood and sleep play an integral role in your cognition. If you have problems in any of these three areas, they will contribute to cognitive impairment.

Dr. Scott McGinnis of Harvard Medical School, claims that many studies found that the prefrontal cortex has a larger volume in people that exercise. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for memory and your ability to think.

I figured, after reading this study, that it would take years for any part of my brain to actually change.

I was wrong.

Moderate exercise, over a six-month period or year, can increase the volume of select areas of the brain. Cognitive abilities improve, and the benefits of exercise seem rapid.

Participants in the study walked for 120 minutes a week – that’s it. Will HIIT and other aerobic exercises produce the same results? Chances are that they will.

Update: New Study Links Irisin and Cognitive Function Together

Since first publishing this article, there has been a very interesting study done on exercise and the brain. The study was conducted b Nature Metabolism in 2021. The study was done on mice and found that following exercise, there was a notable increase in the irisin hormone.

Irisin was found to enter the brain post-exercise and improve cognition.

Additionally, the hormone is also known as an anti-inflammatory and protects against neuroinflammation.

Exercise and the Brain: Does Exercise Heal the Brain?

If you have severe brain damage, your memory function and cognitive abilities may be impaired. “Healing” may be promoted with physical exercise, but you’re not likely to reduce any extensive brain damage.

But the brain will benefit from an increase in blood flow and reduction in oxidative stress.

Researchers have studied the positive benefits of exercise on the recovery of traumatic brain injury (TBI). A 2012 study found that aerobic exercise was able to help relieve depression among TBI sufferers. The study included:

  • Participants that were injured 11 months or longer prior to the study
  • 12-week of aerobic exercise program

After the human studies, all participants suffered from lower levels of depression, noted higher self-esteem and also improved their aerobic capacity. No adverse side effects were reported.

But what about someone that has a TBI or a serious concussion? Can the brain heal from exercise? The truth is that there’s simply not enough studies to rely on that are not bias or seriously lacking. Further studies need to be conducted to see if there’s a link between exercise and healing improvements for TBIs or concussions.

What About Resistance Training? It Must Do Something!

man running

I hate cardio. I would much rather do resistance training, but for the betterment of my brain, I will start doing more aerobic exercise after writing this article.

Thankfully, exercise and the brain can also include resistance training. resistance training has been shown to also benefit the brain.

The British Journal of Sports Medicine looked at 39 different studies and found that resistance training can:

  • Enhance executive memory
  • Enhance executive function

What is Executive Memory and Function?

Executive memory and function are very important, but a lot of people have no idea what this means. Executive function allows you to:

  • Plan for the future
  • Perform complex tasks
  • Organize information
  • Think in an abstract manner
  • Store working memory

Studies show that in people aged 55 or older, exercise increases the person’s ability to perform well on cognitive tests by 400%. Substantial benefits were exhibited in as little as four weeks with exercise sessions lasting 30 – 45 minutes.

Interestingly, one study also found that taking steps when walking send waves through the body into the arteries. When this happens, blood flow increases to the brain. Increased blood flow into the brain results in more nutrients and oxygen to the brain.

Enhanced blood flow to the brain can also create new blood cells and there’s also the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps protect and repair brain cells from degeneration.

Exercise and the effects on brain health show a direct correlation to improved cognitive skills, lower stress hormones and a plethora of mental health benefits.

Getting Started With Exercise If You Have Mental Health Issues

If you’re depressed, anxious or suffering from mental health issues, it can be hard to even think about exercising. People that don’t have any mental health concerns struggle to get out of bed or off the couch and exercise.

A lot of people, myself included, always find ways to be “too busy” to exercise when in reality I could fit in a 30 – 40+ minute workout every day.

If you find yourself struggling to get started with an exercise program, these few tips can help you get going:

  • Start slowly. You may want to lose weight, build muscle or reach another fitness goal, but you should be starting slowly. It’s not uncommon to want to lose 10 pounds in 30 days, lose 2 in 20 and give up. Instead, start slowly with realistic goals. Aim to exercise three days a week, and once you hit this goal, slowly move up to four days and five days a week.
  • Find something you enjoy. The reason that there are always new workout fads is because people get bored easily. For me, nothing is worse than staring at the wall while on the treadmill. I despise it. But, a way around this is to find something you enjoy doing and do it. Lift weights, rock climb, do yoga, join a martial arts class – find some form of exercise you enjoy and stick to it.
  • Schedule in your exercise sessions. What time is best for you to exercise? Schedule it into your day. If you find yourself missing session after session, reverse course and exercise first thing in the morning so that you start the day off doing something good for your mental health.
  • Make it social. Personally, I don’t have workout partners because if they become unmotivated, so do I. Instead, be social in the gym or at your class so that you look forward to going to the gym and seeing someone that you know. If you’re hiking or doing a solo activity, you can obviously skip this point.

If you’re able to make it a week engaging in exercise, you can make it two and three and eventually you’ll feel like something is missing if you skip a session.

Exercise and the brain are linked, but so are your brain and your diet. You should try eating foods proven to protect your brain. Food plays a major role in everything from promoting cognitive functions to lowering your risk of neurodegenerative diseases

Make exercise fun. You don’t need a gym or a membership to reap the rewards of exercise on your brain. All you need to do is get moving to experience the benefits of exercise on the brain.

What Science Has to Say About Warming Up Before a Workout

What Science Has to Say About Warming Up Before a Workout

by | Last updated Nov 13, 2022 | Fitness | 0 comments

Walk into any gym, and you’ll see people walk straight through the door and make their way to the free weights. One person may grab a 30-pound weight and quickly start their first set of overhead presses. 

But you’ll also see others “warming up before a workout,” using just 5 or 10 pounds to get their muscles moving before performing shoulder presses. Others may decide to jump on the treadmill or elliptical to warm their body up before going into their routine. 

Do you need to really warm up? 

Yes. 

What Science is Saying About Warming Up 

Arnold Schwarzenegger warmed up before exercising, and so have many of the world’s greatest bodybuilders, powerlifters and athletes.

A study from 1985 was conducted to better understand the benefits of warming up. 

You see, the goal of warming up is to increase your body’s overall temperature. 

Three techniques were studied: 

  • Passive warm-up 
  • General warm-up 
  • Specific warm-up 

Specific warm-ups seem to work the best because they warm up the muscle that will be doing the exercise. So, for a bicep curl, you may perform 10 reps with 10 pounds to warm the muscle up before moving to 15 pounds and then to 30 pounds.

Temperature-dependent physiological processes are the main benefit of warming up, and this increase in body temperature will do a few things for you: 

  • Reduction in musculoskeletal injuries, primarily seen in sports (tendons, ligaments, muscles, nerves, etc) 
  • Increase in blood flow to the muscles
  • Increase in nerve receptor sensitivity
  • Boost in nervous impulse speed 

Injury prevention is important, but a lot is happening here. Blood flow increase to the muscle is essential when exercising because blood flow will help push more nutrients and oxygen into the muscles. Muscles dilate naturally when exercising, and proper blood flow is essential for adenosine triphosphate (ATP). 

When exercising, ATP allows the muscles to work and contract. ATP is responsible for the storage of biochemicals and the usage of energy. 

As ATP is used, the body will produce metabolic byproducts and lactic acid, which needs to be carried away from the muscles and sent to the liver to be eliminated. An increase in blood flow helps these natural processes take place, making your body work more efficiently. 

Any muscle contraction in the body will require ATP to create the biochemical reaction to take place. 

Nerve impulse speed and sensitivity will allow the muscles to fire rapidly and more efficiently, allowing you to push or pull the weight with greater ease. 

Activation energy rates will be reduced when warming up, allowing you to perform extra repetitions if needed.   

Muscle viscosity is reduced, too. Viscosity is the process in which the muscles will become lubricated, allowing you to lift heavier and slowing the contraction. Contraction effectiveness is improved, too, allowing for a better overall contraction and results.

Another study from 2010 was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning that examined the effects of warming-up on physical performance. The assessment, which analyzed 32 studies, found that there was evidence that showed warming up helped improve performance in 79% of the examined studies. 

There was little evidence to show that warming up was detrimental to sports athletes. 

British Journal of Sports Medicine found strong proof that high-load, dynamic warm-ups were able to: 

  • Increase strength performance 
  • Increase power performance 

The Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport also looked at warming up with a weighted vest for runners. Weighted vests, which were 20% of body mass, were used for a warm-up, and the results found were significant. 

Participants in the trial performed the following: 

  • 10-minute jog 
  • 5-minute submaximal run 
  • 6, 10-second strides

Weighted and non-weighted exercises were performed, and after a 10-minute rest, it was found that leg stiffness was moderately improved (20.4%) while peak running speed increased by 2.9%. 

Running economy increased by 6%. 

What the researchers believe is that using a weighted vest in a warm-up will help with competitive endurance performance, too.  

Now, the weighted vest may not be used in your warm-up, but it does show that different warm-up methods can have different impacts on your overall performance. An additional study suggests that warming up on a cardio machine is most beneficial when starting off slow and gradually increasing intensity during the warm-up.

A 2007 study found that a warm-up will also produce a small reduction in onset muscle soreness. 

How Important is Warming Up Before a Workout?

How Important is Warming Up Before a Workout?

A lot of people head into the gym, start their sets and really never perform a warm up. If you’re in this category, chances are that you’re short on time and think warming up is a waste of time. But there are a lot of great benefits of performing this key activity:

Benefits of Warming Up Before a Workout

  • Increase blood flow to your muscles
  • Raise your body temperature
  • Reduce the risk of muscle strain
  • Improve range of motion
  • Reduce the chance of injury

Dynamic Stretching as a Warm Up

Warm up exercises can include lifting light weight to increase blood flow to your muscles. For example, ,if you’re working your upper body, specifically your biceps, you can warm up with:

  • 30% to 50% of your maximum weight
  • Perform 2 sets of 10 reps with light weight

You can also choose to perform a compound exercise before performing heavier sets. But you also have the option to add in stretching exercises to loosen up tight muscles and alleviate muscle tension. A dynamic stretching routine may include:

  • Jumping jacks
  • Arm circles
  • Side shuffle
  • Lunges
  • Squats
  • Leg swings
  • Knee Lifts

A dynamic stretch should be part of your workout routine. Dynamic movements, or range of motion movements, are a good addition to a training session. If you plan on rigorous exercise, you can increase your exercise intensity with a dynamic stretch.

What Professionals Have to Say About Warming Up Before a Workout

You want to look at, and sometimes, replicate what the world’s top athletes are doing. 

Why? 

Because these athletes are putting their own ideas to the test. Who would you rather listen to: a scientist that conducted one random study on warming up, or an athlete that has been warming up for decades with amazing results?

Some of the best information in the bodybuilding and power lifting industry comes from trainers or athletes that have exceled in everything that they do. 

What are these people saying about warming up?

Jim Stoppani, someone that I admire and follow in the fitness world, recommends dynamic warm-ups because a static warm-up, such as stretching, has been shown to be detrimental to your power, strength and speed. He recommends warming up when doing heavy weight, performing several sets prior to performing 3 – 5 reps of a really heavy weight.

If your rep range is in the 12 – 15 range, the first few reps will act as a warm-up and you probably won’t need to perform a warm-up in this case. 

Eddie Hall, The Beast, World’s Strongest Man in 2017 and holder of the 500 KG deadlift record, also warms up, albeit with insanely heavy weight for us average mortals. You can see him warming up for the log press with a “light” 60kg for 40 reps. in the video below.

Eddie Hall warming up

Kirill Sarychev holds the world record for raw bench press, lifting 738.5 pounds and also set the record for raw three-lift powerlifting total at 2,386.5 pounds. He benched 705.5 pounds, squatted 793.7 pounds and deadlifted 887.4 pounds. 

He’s a beast to say the least, and he also warms up. 

Now, if you’re wondering why you never see people warm up on Instagram, it’s because there’s nothing “impressive” when warming up. Do you want to see Kirill bench 45 pounds, or do you want to see him bench 400 – 500 pounds like it’s a paper weight? 

I think we’re all looking for the impressive lifts when we’re on Instagram. 

But when these athletes are in the gym, you can be sure that they’re warming up their muscles, often performing a dynamic warm up, so that they can push more weight and reduce their risk of injury.  You, too, should be warming up before a workout.