Individual fitness goals are paramount when either choosing or designing the right program. Many mainly strive for some combination of power, strength, hypertrophy (muscle building), and endurance.
It is important to remember that these goals work on a spectrum and are not independent of each other. You will not gain an appreciable amount of power without getting stronger, and consequently, putting on muscular size. However, that increase in muscular size will not be as significant as if you trained primarily for hypertrophy.
The standard ‘rep ranges’ will be a general blueprint for some of the figures listed below.
To begin, when looking to build power and strength for football or smash a baseball into the upper deck, long jogs through the countryside are not going to help much. Sports such as these require short, but powerful, bursts of energy.
Heavy weights (at least 85% of max), a higher number of sets (5-10), low repetitions (1-5), and high rest intervals (3-5 minutes) will be the best bet. You will condition the muscles and nervous system to perform under high stress for short periods of time, as necessary for your particular goal.
The best exercises for this are all of the compound movements (but do not use a smith machine), including box jumps and sprints.
For those wanting to look good at the beach by focusing on hypertrophy with some strength carryover, the moderate approach will work well.
The resistance will be in between 66-85% of your max, with 3-5 sets, 6-12 reps, and 30 second-2 minute rest intervals.
Isolation movements, such as bicep curls, tricep extensions, and lat pulldowns work best with these ranges. Compound movements should be done as well, although when doing these exercises at moderate and higher rep-ranges, use caution, as these motions are more complex and form degradation when fatigued can lead to injury.
Lastly, endurance athletes, such as those in running for long distances, will require lots of time under tension, with little-to-no-resistance.
The weight will be under 65% with few sets (under 3), very high repetitions (over 15), and almost no rest.
As mentioned previously, while not great for football, long jogs through the countryside would be the perfect example. There is virtually no resistance, only one set (the duration of the jog), thousands of repetitions (the strides and amount of time ran), with no rest during the run.
Now, it is very important to point out again that all of ranges and principles are not black and white whatsoever.
Marathon runners do lift heavy weights and many build plenty of muscle using lower rep ranges of 3-5. Also, even if involved in sports where endurance is not paramount, doing cardiovascular exercise is still helpful longterm. Cardio, even once or twice per week, will not harm the athlete’s performance in their respective sport and is terrific for longevity and overall health.
Therefore, when designing a personalized program, stick to the parameters best suited for your goals, but do not be afraid to diversify the details to further support you in the long run.
