Hey guys, new to this forum and to lifting in general.
I finished my Break-In, and are now a week into FL1. I go to a pretty crap commercial gym which caters for everyone except those who are serious about their squats and deadlifts - only three squat racks, the only I use being the one with the safety hinges, and only one place to deadlift.
Now, I didn't have much of a problem during BI with setting up for the exercises as they could mostly be done from the rack or just next to it.
But I'm having some difficulties with FL1. If I do squats and rows in alternating sets for example, I have to traverse half the gym after doing squats to get to the rowing machine, as they are on the other side of the gym. It's the same with most of the other exercises as well. As a consequence, it took me about an hour and a half to complete the B workout for the first time - this is with almost no rest in between. Not rest in the conventional sense, anyway. I'm constantly moving from one end of the gym to the other just trying to complete the workouts and hoping no one steals my rack/machine/bench/whatever in the process, setting up weight and recording my log in between all this. This brings me to my question: What constitutes rest?
This might sound like a really stupid question, forgive me. I've read the book almost 3 times over but don't recall seeing them explain what exactly qualifies as rest. Travelling, as in my case, from one end of the gym to the other, setting up weights etc. takes a lot of time, and I'm trying to do it as fast as I can. When I did the B workout, I had almost no "rest" as I would understand it - 75 seconds literally resting, ie no changing weights, moving from one end to the other or the like. And as I mentioned it took me 1.5 hours to complete the workout.
With that said, you are suppose to gradually decrease rest times as you progress through FL1 according to the book. How the hell am I going to do that, must I run from one exercise to the other lol
Going to a gym that caters more for serious weightlifters is out of the question, as they are too far and this gym I go to is literally a minutes walk from where I live. I also take great care to go at times when the gym is not that busy - but sometimes I still find myself competing with the idiots doing curls in the squat rack.
Timing rest periods in my experience has usually been more of an art than a science. Squatting down in between sets to slide 45 pound plates on and off of the bar i'm currently deadlifting is not my idea of rest. Neither would be racing across the gym to secure my weight station in the middle of a super set. But simply setting dumbbells down on the rack? Eh, i'll take it.
Its really up to you, count the time spent switching around as rest or don't. It honestly doesn't matter as long as you are consistent in your judgment of what is and isn't rest. This way you ensure that you progress according to the plan Alwyn has set out.
- Peace
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I'll explain how I interpret rest by using Fat-Loss 1, Workout A as an example:
Squats, set 1.
Rest 75 seconds. This time starts roughly when I get the weight off my shoulders.
Cable Seated Rows, set 1.
Rest 75 seconds.
Squats, set 2.
Rest 75 seconds.
Cable Seated Rows, set 2.
Rest 75 seconds.
Squats, set 3.
Rest 75 seconds.
Cable Seated Rows, set 3.
Rest 75 seconds.
Now I take the weight off the barbell, drink water, get my breathing down, let my heart rate drop a bit, get a swiss-ball, get a pair of dumbbells, and set myself up somewhere in the gym. This might take 5 minutes. However long it takes. Most importantly, I don't want to start the next alternating set still out of breath and with a pounding heart. Once I'm all ready, it's time for the second alternating set:
Supine hip extension, set 1.
Rest 75 seconds.
Dumbbell push press, set 1.
Rest 75 seconds.
etc...
And so on. That's how I do it. It not like I take a coffee break, answer e-mails, and call my mom between alternating sets, but I take longer than 75 seconds. Otherwise I would look like a maniac, resetting the equipment, grabbing new equipment, and pushing everyone out of my way in a panic.
Squat. You go to the seated row machine and 75 seconds after you finished your squat set you do your seated row set. You now walk back to the squat rack and 75 seconds after finishing rows start another set of squats. And repeat.
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Squat. You go to the seated row machine and 75 seconds after you finished your squat set you do your seated row set. You now walk back to the squat rack and 75 seconds after finishing rows start another set of squats. And repeat.
That would be a different workout routine, Mr. Candy Ass. Reading comprehension?
I know your question is about rest but others have mentioned that if it's really hard to do a superset because of distance, time, crowded gym etc. that doing it one at a time is okay too. It's not optimal but I'm sure you can still get good results. That's what I'll have to do when I start my FLII next week. My university gym only has 1 (!) squat rack and there is no way I can leave it alone to go do those lunges and expect to come back to it and it be free since I work out during my lunch hour.
I know your question is about rest but others have mentioned that if it's really hard to do a superset because of distance, time, crowded gym etc. that doing it one at a time is okay too. It's not optimal but I'm sure you can still get good results. That's what I'll have to do when I start my FLII next week. My university gym only has 1 (!) squat rack and there is no way I can leave it alone to go do those lunges and expect to come back to it and it be free since I work out during my lunch hour.
What he said. Not to mention you may even benefit more from switching to straight sets and getting done in 45 minutes than from keeping the supersets and pounding away for an hour and a half every workout. From what i've read, after 45 minutes you're testosterone is way down and as such your muscles are pretty much running on empty
__________________
If you swear that there's no truth, and "who cares?"
....................How come you say it like you're right?
My university gym only has 1 (!) squat rack and there is no way I can leave it alone to go do those lunges and expect to come back to it and it be free since I work out during my lunch hour.
How about taking a pair of dumbbells over to the squat rack so you never have to leave the station?
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"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
Yeah I'm with OldGuy here. I think if you're taking a couple minutes or whatever you're doing to get the "full rest" and the time it takes you to complete things, that's totally defeating the purpose of the rest time. It's there for a reason.
I will take the side of saying that loading a bar and walking dumbbells back to the rack isn't exactly resting. And if you have to run far across the gym to do something, then maybe adding a few seconds isn't the end of the world. But just taking your time and starting whenever you feel ready sounds very counterproductive.
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