Time between sets

[DeeDeeDoodle]

I just started BFL and I'm wondering about having to wait 60 seconds between each set in the upper and lower body workouts. It seems like a long time. Could I shorten it to 30 seconds between sets and still get the same results?

[Hamoth]

If I try to go any faster my 10s get a lot lighter fast. Remember, you want to be really increasing the weight as you climb to your 10 effort.

Put the log across the room. Do a set and go across the room, to your book, and log it. Get the next weight set-up and the minute will have passed.

I actually had my first successful under 1 hour weight session today. I did it in 45 minutes! I had very little time to get the weights set up for the next set before my minute was up.

[Chris]

There are 3 ways to increase workout intensity, all of which are acceptable and should be utilized.. They are:
1) Increase amount of weight you lift
2) Increase the number of reps you do
3) Decrease the amount of time between reps (thus increasing the amount of work you can do in your 1 hr)

Eventually you'll want to increase the intensity of your workouts and you might not be yet able to make it to the next weight increment, this is where these other strategies come into play. Good luck

[TheHappyFamily]

Originally Posted by Chris

There are 3 ways to increase workout intensity, all of which are acceptable and should be utilized.. They are:
1) Increase amount of weight you lift
2) Increase the number of reps you do
3) Decrease the amount of time between reps (thus increasing the amount of work you can do in your 1 hr)

Increase the number of reps? We've been following the workout sheets from the BFL website ... 12, 10, 8, 6, 12 & 12 ...

How do you fit more reps in there effectively? I didn't realize they recommended increasing reps. There's a few areas that we can probably do more ... so this might be the trick.

[Chris]

Well, let me clarify.... Let's say you're wanting to do 6 reps of any exercise, but we'll use bicep curls for example... So if you currently lift 20 lbs for 6 reps of this exercise, it may be too difficult to go up to 25 lbs the following week. You can increase the intensity by lifting 20 lbs for 7 or 8 reps, instead of 6. The following workout you should be able to go up in weight again for 6 reps. Make sense?
I'm not saying to increase all of your reps all the time, I'm just saying it's ok to do a couple more on any given workout to make sure you hit the desired intensity level.

[TheHappyFamily]

Originally Posted by Chris

Well, let me clarify.... Let's say you're wanting to do 6 reps of any exercise, but we'll use bicep curls for example... So if you currently lift 20 lbs for 6 reps of this exercise, it may be too difficult to go up to 25 lbs the following week. You can increase the intensity by lifting 20 lbs for 7 or 8 reps, instead of 6. The following workout you should be able to go up in weight again for 6 reps. Make sense?
I'm not saying to increase all of your reps all the time, I'm just saying it's ok to do a couple more on any given workout to make sure you hit the desired intensity level.

So in my example 12,10,8,6, 12 & 12

We've been going up in weight each interval to the 6, then to do those last two sets of 12, we switch down to a weight we know we can get thru 12 with, for each of the two exercises we chose.

If we want to increase intensity on the 8 & 6 to try and reach a 10, we can keep the weight we chose for those the same, just do a few more ... so it may be something like:

12, 10, 10, 8, 12 & 12 ... just for example?

[Maljonic]

My take on increasing the reps is to keep going on the last 12 of the same exercise if you think you can and, if it turns out you can, put the wieghts up higher the next time you workout.

[Chris]

Yes, this is how it might look... However, if this is what you record for a given workout, then you most likely need to go up in weight for the next workout. Keep in mind too, that the original subject was time between sets. You can decrease the time between sets to increase intensity as well..

[Chris]

Adjusting increments for different sets?

Check out post #7 in this thread. This may clarify the discussion on perceived exertion (or intensity level). The things I've suggested here are ways to help reach a desired level, even if the increase in weights isn't quite right.

[jonny]

Originally Posted by TheHappyFamily

So in my example 12,10,8,6, 12 & 12

We've been going up in weight each interval to the 6, then to do those last two sets of 12, we switch down to a weight we know we can get thru 12 with, for each of the two exercises we chose.

If we want to increase intensity on the 8 & 6 to try and reach a 10, we can keep the weight we chose for those the same, just do a few more ... so it may be something like:

12, 10, 10, 8, 12 & 12 ... just for example?

as far as intensity is concerned always aim for an increase in weight first. this is not always possible though and if thats the case then revert to increasing reps etc...

if you do the 12 10 8 6 12 12 and then you increase the weight but find it too intense then by all means just stick with the origional weights and do 12 10 10 8 or something like that. eventually after increasing reps you'll be able to handle the increase in weight.

as for the high point of a different exercise (the last set of 12) i'd never do more than 12 reps with that. if ive been squating 50kg for 2 sessions and then i increase it to 55kg sometimes i find i cant complete 12 reps. this is fine. just do as many reps as you can and after a few sessions you'll be able to do 12. after that you can increase the weight again

[TheHappyFamily]

Thanks guys! That helped out a lot! Was just getting a little confused on intensity and where the weights go up and how the reps fit in.

[Hamoth]

deleted - my mistake folks.