Up the Intensity! Part 1

by Yuri in Client Journeys

One thing that I have discovered (or maybe I should say “have been coached to realize”) on my fitness journey is the importance of intensity to achieve my fitness goals.  As Yuri says through my earphones, “Strive for that 1% difference.”  Whether it is lifting weights or running on the treadmill, I continually strive to increase the intensity of my workouts.

How I’ve Increased my Intensity

For example, I am currently on Week Three of Month Three of the FitterUFitness program.  (I restarted the program at month 2 because I had to take two weeks off when I first began the program).  Today, I completed the Total Body Conditioning 3 workout.  This is a circuit-training workout that has you perform 7 exercises consecutively, rest for two minutes, then repeat the circuit.

The first time I performed the circuit, I used 20 lbs dumbbells for the exercises.  The next time I used 25 lbs.  Now I am up to 30 lbs.  Therefore, one way to increase the intensity of your workout is to increase the weight amount that you are using.

Another way is to increase the amount of repetitions (reps) you perform for each exercise.   You can increase the amount of reps that you performed from the last time you completed the workout.  You can also increase the reps from the previous set of the current day’s workout.

A third way to increase the intensity is to reduce the amount of rest taken between sets.  Instead of resting for two minutes between sets, you could rest one minute or less.

Finally, using good form is a great way to increase intensity.  Maintaining proper form while performing an exercise is more difficult (i.e. intense) than cheating your way through it.  In addition, it prevents injuries, which will definitely take us away from our fitness goals.

Today, for the1-Arm Overhead Walking Lunges, in which you complete as many reps possible in 30 seconds, I looked at how many reps I performed last week.  I did 10 reps at 25 lbs for the first set.  So today, using 30 lbs, I set my goal at 11 reps for the first set and 12 reps for the second. It was tough, but I did 12 reps for the 1^st set and 14 reps for the second, exceeding my goal!

When we increase the intensity, we get the most out of our workouts.  Today, for the last rep of the last exercise, I squeezed it out with every, last ounce of effort (with proper form).  I was huffing and puffing and had to sit down to catch my breath.  Nevertheless, within a few minutes, I felt great!

My suggestions to increase the intensity of your workout is to begin with a weight that will let you perform the exercise with proper form, getting accustomed to the mechanics.  Then keep track of what weight you used and how many reps you performed.  From here, set a goal for yourself: Can you increase the reps by one or two on the next set? Can you bump up the weight by five pounds?

Just writing this has inspired me to get ready for my next workout—see how much I can up the intensity.  I’ll let you know how it went.

How will you increase the intensity of your next workout?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you plan to do and how it went.

-Sean

Tags: Body Conditioning, Circuit Training Workout, Current, dumbbells, Earphones, exercise, exercises, fitness goals, Fitness Journey, intensity, Last Time, lifting weights, Repetitions, running, treadmill, Two Minutes, Usi, Walking Lunges, Workouts, Yuri