There is so much more to strength training than performing a certain number of reps to complete a set. Depending on your goals, there are a lot of different ways to group those sets and manipulate weights and reps to get your desired results.

You may have heard some these terms in magazines or around the gym but didn’t know what they were. Even if you aren’t a bodybuilder or training for a fitness competition, becoming familiar with these training techniques will help you decide if they may help you with your own goals.

Circuit Training combines usually around 6-10 strength and cardio exercises that work all the major muscle groups of the body. You move quickly from one exercise to the next, with very little rest in between to keep your heart rate up for cardiovascular benefits and strength gains. The circuit is usually repeated 2-4 times.

Steady State is the form of cardio most people tend to do.  Steady state either refers to a steady pace ( speed) or steady intensity   (heart rate) throughout the course of the workout, with the exception of your warm up and cool down.  An example of steady state cardio is hopping on the treadmill, warm up with a walk for 5 minutes, run at 6 mph for 20 minutes, then cool down with a walk for 5 minutes.

Interval Training alternates high intensity bursts of activity with periods of lower intensity activity, usually used for cardiovascular workouts.  An example of a cardio interval training would be alternating 2 minutes of jogging at 5.5 mph and 1 minute of sprinting at 8 mph.  If you usually do steady state cardio, interval training can get you the same results in less time, by spiking your heart rate higher than it’s used to, blasting more fat and calories with the same cardiovascular benefits.

Super Sets are 2-3 exercises performed back to back with minimal rest in between, and then repeated. Example: 10 weighted squats, 10 pushups, and 10 delt flyes, then repeat. Giving your muscles little time to rest before you use them again improves muscle endurance and allows you to shorten your workout without giving up any exercises.

Giant Sets are 4 or more exercises for one body part or muscle group performed successively with little rest in between. Example: 10 hammer curls, 10 bicep curls, 10 preacher curls, 10 close grip barbell curls. These shred (in a good way) the muscles used for size and strength.

Drop Sets are where you perform an exercise to failure at a certain weight, then drop the weight a few pounds and immediately repeat the exercise to failure. You can drop the weight two, three, or more times. This builds muscular endurance, size and strength.

Active Rest is a term used when you remain active while resting the muscle group you just used. You can do this a few ways: If you just do a set of bicep curls, then perform crunches, you are resting your biceps while staying active by performing your crunches. You can also use cardio as your active rest by doing jumping jacks, hitting a cardio machine for a minute or two, or jumping rope before you go back to your curls. Active rest keeps the heart rate up to burn calories and build cardiovascular endurance, as well as allow you to cut down on your workout time instead of being inactive while you let your muscles recover.

Are you curious about a training technique we didn’t list?  Let us know in the comments, and we’ll clear it up for you!