We are very fortunate to be a part of a very driven and hard working training community.
With the high majority adding big ticks to the main boxes of our training (being run/sport load, and gym load) some may be looking to gain extra efficiency within your training, and maximise results.
In this blog, we are exploring some modifiable factors within our gym training and weekly routine that have been explored at length within the literature available.
TIMING:
Time is a valuable thing, especially when we have a high training load, family, and work commitments.
Rest periods during gym sessions are commonly rushed in order to complete our sessions quicker.
A literature review (de Salles et al., 2009) explored session performance on varying rest intervals.
When addressing maximal strength, the general consensus confirms that rest periods of 2-3 minutes allowed for far greater training intensity and volumes to be accumulated, therefore showing superior increases in maximal strength compared to shorter rest periods. There does appear to be a threshold, where longer intervals of 4min < provide no added benefit to maximal strength gains.
Rest periods of 3-5 minutes prove to be ideal for maximising muscular power training, allowing for adequate maintenance of repetition quality compared to 1min periods.
Muscular hypertrophy appears to thrive with short rest periods of 30 sec-60 sec due to higher increases in Growth Hormone using this interval.
All of the findings above are obviously dependent on an athlete’s current training age/capabilities.
MOTIVATION:
Creating a motivating training environment has also been proven to increase training performance, more specifically achieved through music.
Numerous studies have backed the positive effects of music on muscular power, velocity, endurance and also handgrip strength.
A recent Narrative Review (Grgic., 2021) looked at all available literature on the effects of music pre exercise, no music, preferred music and music genre on training performance.
The overall findings conclude that preferred music with faster tempo (over 120bpm at 70-80 decibels if we really want to be pedantic) showed increased performance in hand grip strength, muscular endurance, velocity and power.
ROUTINE:
Weekly routine and frequency are also some pretty effective factors to get on top of when addressing training efficiency. Seeing as most of the clinic community follow a pretty structured weekly plan, we can look a little deeper at the effects of training morning or night on our sleep quality (which we know is arguably the most important factor to assist our performance aside from nutrition), with a total of 7-9 hours sleep being recommended for optimal physical performance.
Exercising in close proximity to bed time has been researched (with varying conclusions), but the majority of studies have shown disrupted sleep quality and increased arousal when training too close to bed.
Interestingly, chronic sleep restriction will most commonly occur due to early morning exercise wake up times – leading to impaired performance and recovery (Küüsmaa-Schildt et al., 2019). So with this information, we must begin to critique our training schedules, and if we are allowing for best outcomes for the work put in.
de Salles, B., Simão, R., Miranda, F., da Silva Novaes, J., Lemos, A. and Willardson, J., 2009. Rest Interval between Sets in Strength Training. Sports Medicine, 39(9), pp.765-777.
Grgic, J., 2021. Effects of Music on Resistance Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 44(4), pp.77-84.
Küüsmaa-Schildt, M., Liukkonen, J., Vuong, M., Nyman, K., Häkkinen, K. and Häkkinen, A., 2019. Effects of morning vs. evening combined strength and endurance training on physical performance, sleep and well-being. Chronobiology International, 36(6), pp.811-825.
