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Thursday, May 1, 2008

Wait to Catch Your Breath

One mistake people sometimes make while strength training is to rush the recovery time between sets. There's a drive to hurry through a workout if you're short on time, but you want to be careful to avoid having to stop a set because you're out of breath. You really want the boundary to be exhaustion of the targeted muscle, and not insufficient aerobic recovery.

This is a bigger problem with exercises for larger muscle groups (like legs, back and chest), and can really drag down the effectiveness of a workout that intersperses cardio and strength every other exercise.

The solution is to make sure you're breathing has settled down to the level where you can say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the "ABC" song without panting before moving on to your next strength exercise. This usually takes 30 - 90 seconds, depending on how fit you are, and the oxygen demand for the particular exercise you're performing. You can make the time between sets even more productive by stretching the muscle you just worked while you're resting.

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