Cheat exercises are something that not many people are talking about in the fitness world. AND, we do mean “cheat exercises” and not chest exercises, which was the only thing I could really find when trying to research this topic at first.
Warning Before Doing Any Cheat Exercises
Form is essential when exercising because you can hurt yourself if you compensate with other muscles, too much. If you’re planning to perform cheat exercises, please be careful and know that we’re not responsible if you hurt yourself.
What are Cheat Exercises?
Cheat exercises are when you perform any type of exercise without perfect form to try and push past your own limits. You might use momentum to your advantage on cheat reps, and you’re going to get a lot of hate on Instagram and social media for it.
You’ll see a lot of unfit people telling the world’s strongest people:
Hey, you’re doing that wrong.
Terrible form bro.
Etc.
Form is important, and you don’t want to use cheat reps all the time, but they can be an important tool in your arsenal to promote muscle growth and strength gains.
Extended Set Cheats AKA Cheat Reps
Cheat reps work something like this:
Perform the set with good form
Keep pushing the set beyond your limit (when form gets bad)
Push past your normal point of failure using momentum or by engaging other muscle groups
Performing strict bicep curls is a prime example of a time when you might use cheat sets. You’ll perform, let’s say 8 reps at whatever rep range and you’ve been stuck in a plateau for quite a while.
After a few weeks of struggling to break through the plateau, you decide to use cheat exercises. When you hit rep 8 and can’t perform another rep, you use momentum on the last repetition to bust out another rep or two or three.
You’re fatiguing the muscle further, and when the muscle fibers heal, they’ll be stronger.
Still not understanding?
Let’s assume that you’re performing seated rows. You’re doing amazing, your back is on fire and you feel like that’s It, you can’t perform another rep in isolation. You might start engaging your biceps more and breaking out of isolation to engage more muscles and get the extra rep or two in for the exercise.
That’s a cheat rep.
However, there is also another type of cheat exercise to know about.
Cheat Exercises with Heavier Weight AKA “Heavy Cheat”
Lifting heavy builds more muscle, and if that’s your goal, you need to push your limits in the gym. You can perform cheat exercises with heavy weight, but you need to be very careful and do them at your own discretion because you can hurt yourself in the process.
The idea is simple:
Form is less strict
Multiple accessory muscles are engaged
You perform one or two reps
However, if you’re lifting heavy and beyond your normal capacity, this is often a discouraged training method due to the high risk of injury. In addition, anyone who has had injuries will want to avoid cheat exercises with heavy weight.
A prime example of cheating with heavy weight is doing a deadlift.
People that are cheating will jerk their back and force the weight up. Unfortunately, this is also a great way to destroy your back and be in pain for the rest of your life.
Why Cheating Get a Bad Name?
So, cheat exercises can be good and bad, but why do they have a bad name? Well, the main reason is that cheating like this is often done by beginners trying to look good in the gym and leads to injury.
You can cheat on some exercises more safely than others, and keep this in mind when trying this method.
Never Try Cheat Exercises for:
Barbell bench press
Barbell rows
Calf raises
Chest flys
Deadlifts
Leg curls
Shrugs
Squats
Upfront rows
Dips
Preacher curls
Skull crusher
Chin-up
If you do cheat exercises with these and a few others, you’re really risking serious injury, especially in your back, which can lead to months out of the gym and years of pain.
Exercises Where Cheating is Less Risky
Dumbbell curls
EZ-bar curls
Lat raises
Lat pulldown (NOT behind the neck)
Seated leg press
Tricep pushdown
Also, if you plan on going into any competitions or to break records, the judges will disqualify you for cheating.
Tips When Performing These Exercises
If you’re doing cheat reps or heavy cheats, be sure to follow a few tips below:
DO NOT mess around with your lumbar spine. If your spinal position is compromised at all, you risk hurting your back, which absolutely will set you back.
PREPARE for the eccentric part of the movement, because you will need to control the weight you lift.
FINISH with a cheat rather than start with it. 99% of what you do during your session should be with perfect form and muscle isolation. Just if you’re going to perform cheats, be sure that they’re the finisher for the muscle group you’re working.
How Often Should You Do Cheat Exercises?
What most people recommend is that you try making your gains the natural way. Perform your sets using strict form, add weight over time and break those plateaus.
However, it’s not recommended to:
Perform cheat sets for more than 1 – 2 sets per body part
Perform heavy cheats for more than 1 – 2 sets per body part
It’s often better to incorporate other tweaks to your workout to try and find ways to reach your goals without trying to cheat. The risk of injury is high, and if you’re trying to cheat on the wrong exercise, you can cause some serious damage to your body.
“Dumb cheating” gets you hurt, and “smart cheating” may help you add on a little more muscle and boost your strength if you’ve hit a sticking point and haven’t been able to bump the weight up in months.
Cheat exercises and reps will help you overload your muscles, breaking out of your typical isolation reps and allowing other muscles to assist on the rep.
Walk into any gym, and you’ll notice people doing bicep curls, bench press, bent-over rows and a few people doing squats. However, leg exercises often come at the bottom of the list in a gym goer’s routine. A 2017 study found that fitness enthusiasts skip leg day because legs are the least visible body part.
The best leg workouts for strength and power are compound exercises that hit multiple leg muscles with each repetition.
If you’re focusing only on leg presses or extensions to build your legs, it’s time to change up your routine and transition to compound strength workouts that hit multiple muscles at once.
We’re going to outline multiple types of leg workouts that you can perform with dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, resistance bands and body weight. Of course, we recommend changing up your routine and exercises often to keep your body guessing.
7 Best Leg Workouts for Strength
When you perform any strength workout, you want to lift at 70% to 90% of your one-rep maximum and perform 3 – 5 sets of 5 – 8 repetitions depending on the weight used. If you’re using 90% of your maximum, stick to a 5 x 5 routine.
Note: These workouts are not in any particular order. Each of these exercises has its strong points and a place in any routine.
1. Box or Bench Squats
Squats are a foundational exercise, much like a bench press or row. When you perform squats as a beginner, be sure to use a squat rack for added safety. Some people go ass to grass, but we’re going to recommend a chair or bench squat.
You’ll be performing the same type of squat with the added safety of being able to sit if you can’t extend back into the starting position.
And you can use the box as a benchmark for how far to go down. Once your butt is touching the bench or box, stand back up and repeat. Squats are one of the leg workouts for strength and mass that you really need to practice to maintain good form.
Key Muscle Focus
Quadriceps
Hip flexors
Glutes
Core
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
A few hints to maintain proper form are to begin with light weights first and stop if you feel knee pain. Air squats are an excellent way to practice form before moving into heavy squats. Muscle recovery will also be important, so be sure to maintain rest periods of 1 to 2 minutes between sets.
Squats are one of those everyday movements that will help you build strong, massive legs.
Video Showing How to Perform a Box Squat Properly
2. Side Lunges
Side, or lateral, lunges are a great way to work your largest muscles, focusing on the quads and thigh muscles. As one of your universal exercises, there are many variations that you can incorporate into your routine.
Lunge variations can help you work different muscles, so be sure to experiment with light weight to master your form before diving into other types of lunges.
Key Muscle Focus
Quads
Glutes
Core muscles
Hamstrings
Adductors
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
Maintaining proper form is key to lowering your risk of injury, but you should follow a few additional tips. Be sure to keep your knee in front at a 90° angle, keep the foot in the back straight, and don’t lean your chest too far forward.
Also, don’t try side lunges with heavy weight until you master your form.
Use light weight or bodyweight when first attempting this exercise to better understand how it’s performed.
Video Showing How to Perform a Lateral Lunge Properly
3. Dumbbell Step-Ups
Step-ups are a great exercise if you have dumbbells and a stair to step up on or a platform. Of course, you can do this exercise in the gym, but it’s also one of the best home workouts for leg strength. While the step-up works multiple lower body muscles, it has a primary focus on your quads.
Want to add focus on your hamstring muscles?
Step all the way up on the step and go down the other side just as you would if you were walking down the stairs. The hamstrings are an important muscle because they help you build stronger knees, too.
Note: This is a great exercise if you have one leg that is significantly stronger than the other and you want to try strengthening your weak leg. Targeting weaker muscles will help improve your performance in the long-term and reduce the risk of injury.
In terms of muscle activation, let’s see which major muscles are activated:
Key Muscle Focus
Quadriceps
Hamstrings
Glutes
Hips (slightly)
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
Step-ups are great leg workouts for strength and functionality, but you need to perform them correctly. Step up with your right leg, press up, ensure that the weight is in the heel down through the toes, and straighten your leg.
Bring the left leg to your right leg and bend the right knee to bring the left foot back down.
Finally, bring your right foot back to the ground and repeat on the opposing foot.
When done correctly, this is a simple exercise that you can do with barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.
Video Showing How to Perform a Dumbbell Step-Up Properly
4. Bulgarian Split Squat
Considered one of the best leg workouts period, Bulgarian split squats can also be dangerous. You need to be very careful when performing Bulgarian split squats because poor form increases injury risks drastically. In fact, if you’re a beginner, it may be best for you to reach a higher fitness ability level before adding these types of squats into your training session.
Key Muscle Focus
Calves
Hamstrings
Glutes
Quads
Core
Hips
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
If you want your target muscles to be your quads, move your leg closer to the platform. Want to focus on your glutes? Place your front foot further away from the platform. You’ll also put a major emphasis on your hamstrings with your foot further from the platform.
Be sure that your rear knee is bent but not in pain and keep the front foot flat.
Video Showing How to Perform a Bulgarian Squat Properly
5. Back Squat
Perhaps one of the greatest leg exercises in the world, the back squat is one exercise that you must have in your training routine. I recommend using a Smith machine first or placing a bench behind you when first performing back squats for added safety.
Once you master this ultimate leg workout, you can add squat variations to focus on different muscles.
Key Muscle Focus
Quads
Glutes
Hip flexors
Core
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
I’ve added a great video below that covers form basics, but a few tips are to keep your back straight, contract glutes and keep your abs tight. Also, since this is a compound movement, you can perform heavier lifts to put more strain on your muscle fibers.
Also, you can go ass to grass, but start by going down into a 90 degree angle. Range of motion is essential with squats, so feel free to tape your session and review your form to ensure that you’re doing your squats properly.
Also, be sure to never lock the knees.
Video Showing How to Perform a Back Squat Properly
6. Deadlifts
Did you think that we wouldn’t mention a traditional deadlift? Deadlifts are one of the foundational exercises that has a lot of variations, too. When you perform deadlifts, it’s important to make sure that you watch videos on form because you can really hurt your back with improper form.
Key Muscle Focus
Back
Core
Glutes
Hamstrings
Hips
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
Again, deadlifts can cause pain and hurt your back, so you’ll want to really focus on your form. A few tips to follow are to keep the barbell, dumbbell or kettlebell close to your body. If using a barbell, you’ll want the bar to touch your shins going on the way up.
Avoid overextending your back and keep your back straight.
Ensure that you’re not performing a squat to lift the weight – many people forget this. Actually, watch Jim’s video below to master deadlifts.
Video Showing How to Perform a Deadlift Properly
7. Seated Hamstring Curls
Hamstrings often don’t get enough love, and people tend to perform exercises for their hamstring improperly. Therefore, you want to avoid heavier weight until you know how much weight you can perform with each rep.
As an isolation exercise, it’s really easy to perform this workout with minimal risk of injury in the process.
Key Muscle Focus
Hamstrings
Hints to Maintain Proper Form
You can’t mess up a seated hamstring curl too much, but you can still compensate for weak muscles by overcompensating. A few pointers for success are avoiding locking out your knees, avoiding arching your back, and don’t put your head too far forward.
Video Showing How to Perform a Hamstring Curl Properly
Honorable Mention: Leg Workouts for Mass and Strength That Didn’t Make the List
There are a lot of workouts for leg strength that didn’t make our list. A few of the additional exercises you may want to incorporate into your leg day workout routine are:
Box Jump
Calf Raises
Front Squats
Hack Squats
Sumo Squat
Goblet Squat
Goodmornings
Hex Bar Deadlift
Hip Bridges
Leg Extensions
Leg Press
Reverse Lunge
Romanian Deadlifts
Single Leg Deadlifts
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Walking Lunges
Over time, you’ll want to focus on leg workouts for strength and endurance (read our post on creating an endurance workout plan). Switch up your routine, adding in speed, endurance, power and functionality training, too.
When you do compound leg exercises, you’ll be building a strong:
Core
Hips
Glutes
Quads
Stabilization muscles
Even if you’re young and fit now, the leg workouts for size and strength you do today can help you immensely as you get older. You may have an easier time getting off the couch, remaining ambulatory and reduce your risk of falling when you’re older.
Note: If you’re injured or have pain when performing these exercises, try modifying them or stop performing them. Always focus on form rather than heavy weight and try Smith Machine squats if you feel unstable with traditional squats, and do the same with other movements.
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.
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
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.
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 planmay be a better choice.
Let’s look at all three workout types, how to perform them and which you should be doing.
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.
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.
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:
Force
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:
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.
Ballistic. Movements in a ballistic training routine may include throwing a medicine ball overhead and includes releasing weight.
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.
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:
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 (IrregularStrength) 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 2002study. 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: 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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 Sarychevholds 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.
