The 5 Rs Principle can help you to figure out what exactly goes into an effective workout. Each `R’ stand for an important element of an exercise routine. Thes 5 R’s stand for the following: –
RANGE of motion – This refers how far a joint can move to a fully stretched motion so the muscle is fully contracted. This is also used in terms of reference to joint health and mobility. Your joints are supported by large and small muscles. All the muscles surrounding the joints must be worked to offer good stability of the joint itself.
RESISTANCE – The question that a lot of people ask themselves is how much weight should I be lifting? You should be able to lift a weight without compromising your form. This will also depend on your goals whether it be, fat loss, weight gain/loss, strength, getting bigger muscles will depend on what weight you lift and how many times you loft it. The main principle is to have weight heavy enough that you cannot possibly perform another repetition at the end of your prescribed set of repetitions. Which make us move on nicely to the next R …
REPETITIONS – This is a huge variable, but can be easily explained by the following :-
- Lower reps (high intensity, more resistance) is most ideal for increasing strength. (3-8 reps)
- Moderate reps (moderate intensity, moderate resistance) is most ideal for building muscle and really anything related to improving the way your body looks (8-15reps)
- Higher reps (low intensity, lower resistance) is most ideal for improving muscle endurance. (15-20reps)
If you are beginner always start lower than you think to allow your muscles to learn how to correctly perform the exercise and then build up slower, but always remember muscular failure(cannot lift the weight) must be achieved within the repetition ranges above before you move up in weight/resistance.
REST – You will always need rest in-between set and reps so your body can recover. Depend on your goals and what your are training for will depend on how long you need to rest for :-
- Lower reps (high intensity, more resistance) is most ideal for increasing strength. (3-5mins)
- Moderate reps (moderate intensity, moderate resistance) is most ideal for building muscle and really anything related to improving the way your body looks (2-3mins)
- Higher reps (low intensity, lower resistance) is most ideal for improving muscle endurance. (45 secs-2mins)
If you do not rest your body for long enough you could be at risk of injury, so make sure you are ready to go before continuing.
RECOVERY – As important as hard work is, recovery between workouts is even more important. You should try and have at least 48hour in-between training different muscles groups. You can do this by having a split routine work the bottom half one day and the top half another. You will not see results faster if you over train muscles groups.
Reproduced from http://womentime.co.uk/5rs/