I have adopted a theory that doing a single set of each exercise 1-2 times a week is enough and that the diminishing returns from additional sets is large enough to make doing more than that a waste of time (especially for beginners/novices like myself).
I have no evidence to back this up and I have adopted this theory mostly because I have never really liked lifting weights much. It's the hanging around, repetitive part that I despise. But I've found that if I do 10-15 exercises (mostly dumbbells) for one set of 10-20 reps I don't mind it at all and almost enjoy it. I'm done in about 30 minutes during lunch and think I might be getting something out of it.
Is there any validity to my theory or am I wasting my time with this routine?
Parents
Former Member
Depending upon what goal you would like to reach (i.e endurance, muscular size, muscular definition, muscular movement specificity) repeats to failure will create the stress needed to reach the goal you set. If I wanted to swim long distances, my strength training regime would focus on more repititions at a longer interval but to failure and as my muscles adapt I would increase the weight and keep the interval the same. If I wanted speed I'd focus on more weight at a shorter interval and so on. Specificity of training is very important if you have specific goals (your goals determine what kind of training you'll be doing.).
Depending upon what goal you would like to reach (i.e endurance, muscular size, muscular definition, muscular movement specificity) repeats to failure will create the stress needed to reach the goal you set. If I wanted to swim long distances, my strength training regime would focus on more repititions at a longer interval but to failure and as my muscles adapt I would increase the weight and keep the interval the same. If I wanted speed I'd focus on more weight at a shorter interval and so on. Specificity of training is very important if you have specific goals (your goals determine what kind of training you'll be doing.).
