Suck it up for one more exercise and power through with a crushing finisher for your workout.
We’ve just finished the workout. We powered through and gave it everything, but there is that slightly unsatisfied feeling still lingering in the back of our minds. Those of us who never want to leave know that even after a solid workout, we are left wanting more. Knowing just how to end your workout can leave you satisfied and exhausted, knowing you finally reached that peak of optimal performance.
While some people insist that you should leave the gym better than you felt before entering, others are more prone to think that really crushing yourself might be the better way to go. While this is debated, especially when it comes delayed onset muscle soreness and the effects that being sore has on the body and overall recovery, sneaking in one more crushing workout can give you confidence that you gave it everything.
The benefit of exercise is that it acts as a great stress reliever and gets endorphins and other healthy hormones excited, and in turn, getting you excited. That boost of energy you feel may be a result of a great pre-workout supplement, or a solid intra-workout BCAA, but more than likely it is you knowing you put in serious work and are reaping the rewards. Don’t be afraid to push through that last closing workout to burn a few extra calories, build a little more muscle, and give your heart and lungs ones last go before they rest for the day.
Closing out your workouts is also all dependent on your goals and what you look to get out of it. If you are looking to maximize muscle growth and strength, something like drop sets are better suited for you. If you are more prone to losing fat, high-intensity interval training is the way to go to fire up your metabolism and get your body working in overdrive. In the end knowing your goals and what you look to accomplish out of a workout closer can help you hit your goals faster.
How To Close Out Right
Drop Sets
For those looking to maximize muscle growth in terms of size and strength, drop sets can help you crush through any training plateau to help you see incredible results. They promote hypertrophy by ensuring healthy muscle fatigue and increased blood flow and are an ultimate workout closer.
Drop sets work by starting with a single isolation exercise with a desired amount of weight. Without rest, you continue to decline in weight each time you reach failure with the previous weight. Drops sets work because unlike straight sets, they penetrate the top layer of muscle fiber to get deeper, really working the entire muscle as well as smaller stabilizers (1).
Bicep Curls: Choosing your desired weight (let’s say 40 lbs.). Perform as many curls with 40 lbs. as you can until failure. Without rest, move down to 35 lbs. and repeat the same process until around 5-10 lbs.
High-Intensity Interval Training
If you are looking to burn fat and really working to keep on lean muscle, high-intensity interval training is right for you. As a way to really enhance cardio and boost your metabolism (2) without spending hours on the treadmill, HIIT is a solid way to promote overall performance.
HIIT works as a form of cardio where fast-paced intervals are alternated with recovery-style intervals to keep you working hard. The “on” part of HIIT should see you working at around 90% capacity, really working to keep that heart rate high. The “off” portion should be around 55-60% of your maximum effort to allow for slight recovery but no loss in momentum.
Sprints: Working with HIIT, perform sprints for 20 seconds on and 40 seconds off. Doubling the rest will give your heart time to decrease without totally losing momentum from the workout.
Explosive Power With Plyometrics
Any athlete looking to enhance their explosive power, speed, and strength should look towards plyometrics as a workout ending crusher. Plyometric exercises will work your muscles to maximum potential in a short amount of time to increase all aspects of performance. Working with quick movements, plyometrics allow the muscle to lengthen and them immediately shorten to provide for power generation and neuromuscular agility (3).
Burpee Ladder: Burpees are the perfect full body workout to really drop calories and increase strength and performance. Perform a ladder starting at 50 burpees (or your desired starting number) and decrease by 10 each time.
Last Minute Blitz
If you have really put 99% into your workout and are looking for just one more exercise to tip the scales, doing a single sprint for a minute or two of cardio can work to push you over the edge. Unlike HIIT, this would be just one sprint to give your heart and lungs a last push. Something like the rowing machine would be perfect for this to sit down and rip it for a minute or two.
500 meter rowing machine sprint: Set up the machine for 500 meters and let if fly for however long it takes you to complete.
Wrap Up
We all want to feel accomplished when we leave the gym, but it can be challenging for those of us who expect maybe more than we give at times. Knowing just how to end your workout is one of those tips that can push you over the edge so you leave the gym exhausted, but satisfied. Whether it be drop sets, HIIT, plyometric ladders, or a last minute blitz, these will work to improve your overall strength and performance to keep you happy with continued progress.
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*Images courtesy of Envato
References
- Bentes, Claudio M.; Simao, Roberto; Bunker, Travis; Rhea, Matthew R.; Miranda, Humberto; Gomes, Thiago M.; Da Silva Novaes, Jefferson (2012). “Acute Effects of Dropsets Among Different Resistance Training Methods in Upper Body Performance”. (source)
- Falcone, Paul H.; Tai, Chih-Yin; Carson, Laura R.; Joy, Jordan M.; Mosman, Matt M.; McCann, Tyler R.; Crona, Kevin P.; Kim, Michael P.; Moon, Jordan R. (2015). “Caloric expenditure of aerobic, resistance, or combined high-intensity interval training using a hydraulic resistance system in healthy men”. (source)
- Asadi, Abbas; Saez de Villarreal, Eduardo; Arazi, Hamid (2015). “The Effects of Plyometric Type Neuromuscular Training on Postural Control Performance of Male Team Basketball Players”. (source)