A Guide for the Perplexed
For the confused! A half-kneeling Bulgarian What-Now? What's this seemingly random string of numbers next to my exercise?? You want me to do WHAT with an RPE???
For those of you just getting started on your gym-going career, or even for our seasoned vets who need a bit of a refresher, please peruse the glossary below to understand what we're talking about!
This guide is not necessarily meant to be read through in one sitting, but glance through it between training sessions as questions come up for you, and refer back to it once you think you have a handle on everything just to confirm.
We certainly find that the better you understand what you're doing, the more you'll buy in, and the more bought in you are, the better your results will be. And as always- if you have any questions on what we do here- ask your coach!
Contents
Glossary
of terms
Exercise notation + recording
Building a plan
Glossary of Terms
Abbreviations-
SA- Single Arm. Holding the appropriate implement in one hand!
SL- Single Leg. Quite often there's some balance involved here!
HK- Half Kneeling. A position where you're kneeling on one knee, with the other foot flat on the floor. We'll typically use this position to challenge your hip stability.
FR- Front Rack. Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at your shoulder.
OH- Overhead. Holding an implement over your head, with your elbow locked out and hand stacked over your shoulder.
NG- Neutral Grip. Grip where both palms are facing each other. Usually notated in relation to Chin-ups.
DB- Dumbbell.
KB- Kettlebell.
BB- Barbell.
BR- Battle Rope.
MB- Medicine Ball.
SSB- Safety Squat Bar. Looks kind of like a big metal crab. Lets people with achey shoulders load up squats effectively, and also allows us to adjust your center of mass.
RKBS- Russian Kettlebell Swing. A classic.
RDL- Romanian Deadlifts. Keep your legs straight. No wait, not that straight.
TGU- The Turkish Get-up. Much loved, much maligned.
AMRAP- As Many Rounds As Possible. Used to describe a workout format in which you cycle through a circuit of exercises for a given time period.
EMOTM- Every Minute On The Minute. Used to describe a workout format in which you perform a given exercise for the duration of a minute, then switch to another exercise. Sometimes adjusted as in 'E2MOTM', which means 'Every 2 Minutes on the Minute".
RFT- Rounds For Time. Used to describe a workout format in which you perform a given circuit of exercises as quickly as possible for the designated number of rounds.
RPE- Rate of Perceived Exertion. How hard you're working. You'll find a much more thorough description further below.
Equipment Terms-
Landmine- Any exercise where one end of a barbell is anchored on the floor, or in a landmine holder.
Ancore- Our wall-mounted cable machines.
Cable Tower- Our free-standing cable tower.
Recoil- Our TRX/straps-style device. Infinitely easier to adjust.
Inbody- Our bodyfat/muscle mass measuring device.
Rack- How we refer to the big metal squat racks that we do a number of exercises off of. Similarly, 'Rack it', means to return an implement (usually a barbell) to a resting position on the rack.
Pin Height- Typically used when scaling push-ups and chin-ups. When using our scalings, where the pin is placed for the support barbell or band. For clarity, the hole between numbers '10' and '11' is described as '10.5'.
Chains- Literally big honkin' chains that we'll use on some exercise variations. Very good at teaching you to accelerate into a movement.
Trap Bar- The 'other' specialty barbell we'll frequently use. Looks like a big hexagon you stand in.
Trueform- Brand name of our motorless treadmills, and how we'll sometimes refer to them.
Echo Bike- The bike with the handles. Awful.
Bike Erg- The bike without the handles. Not quite as awful.
Lax Ball- Lacrosse ball if you didn't go to prep school.
Other Terms-
Plyo- Short for plyometrics. Explosive movements, such as jumping or medicine ball throws. Power is the first thing to drop off as we age, and retaining it or improving it is crucial to longevity, performance, and fall prevention!
Lap- A full lap is down and back across the room/turf. A half lap is just down across the room/turf. Go get wet swimmers.
Accum- Short for 'Accumulate'. Typically we'll want you to do exercises in one continuous set. When we write 'Accum' we instead mean you can accumulate the designated reps across several sets.
500m Split- Rower speak for your pacing. The equivalent of looking at your 'minutes per mile' pace while jogging, this is instead referring to how long it would take you to row 500 meters.
Cal- Short for calories. Never will you better appreciate how more efficient it is to eat less food vs. exercising more than when you do 50 Cal For Time on the Echo Bike.
ISO- Short for isometric. In essence, creating tension without moving. You never knew staying still could be so hard.
Exercise Notation + recording
Sets And Reps-
We'll always record exercises in a standard way, this makes it clearer and easier to understand for you, as well helping us communicate between coaches and maintain a high level of standards.
Starting with the basics, you might see something like:
Goblet Squat
3 x 5
This would mean, perform 3 sets of 5 reps of Goblet Squats, or, do 5 squats in a row, 3 times. We'll always write sets and reps in that order. That is common layout in the exercise world, although sometimes you'll see people switch it around (just to keep us all on our toes!).
Something else you might see could be:
Goblet Squat
3 x 6-10
This would mean, perform 3 sets of between 6 and 10 Goblet Squats. Often we'll have you find a weight that's reasonably challenging for 6 reps, then over your next few training sessions push to do more reps. This means you're getting stronger!
Recording Sets And Reps-
In recording your training results, we similarly look for clarity, consistency, and economy of phrasing in recording your results. We don't want you spending 5 minutes between sets hunting and pecking on your tablet!
Say you were recording results for the following exercise:
Goblet Squat
3 x 6-10
Notes- Record reps + weight.
Keep it simple! You might record something like:
x6 @ 20#
x8 @ 20#
x10 @ 20#
This would be plenty to let your coach know that your first set you did 6 reps at 20#, your second set you did 8 reps, and your third set you did 10. Maybe this means it's time to move up in weight next session!
You are of course welcome to record more detailed notes, cues, and reflections in your results, but only do so that if it's helpful to your continued progress. We all appreciate a novella once in a while, but also- keep working!
Circuits-
Another thing you'll often see is us organizing exercises in series. This keeps you moving, and lets you get through more exercises more efficiently in the same time period, as some muscles work while others recover! You'll see us notate a series of exercises like this:
B1. Goblet Squat
3 x 6-10
B2. Push-up
3 x 6-10
This 'B1' + 'B2' means to perform 1 set of Goblet Squats, then 1 set of Push-ups, then you return to Goblet Squats, and repeat until you've performed 3 total sets of each exercise. Then you would likely move onto your 'C' series. When exercises are laid out in this way it's typically best practice to move through all the exercises smoothly, and then rest between sets as necessary.
RPE-
Rate of Perceived Exertion. This is how we measure how hard you feel like you're working. Note that how hard you FEEL like you're working and how hard you're ACTUALLY working can have have a fair spread between them! Our job as coaches is to help you fine-tune this sense. We'll push you when you're holding back too much, and reign you in when you're overstepping your current capabilities.
The RPE scale works by you judging how many MORE reps of something you could do if you had to. Meaning, if you did 6 Goblet Squats with a given weight, but felt like you could probably do 2 more reps (with good technique, always with good technique), that would register as an 8 RPE.
Here's the full scale:
10 RPE- You have zero reps left in the tank. This is very hard work.
9 RPE- You have 1 rep left in the tank. This is still pretty hard work,
8 RPE- You have 2 reps left in the tank. This is just work. We want you spending a lot of time around here.
7 RPE- You have 3 reps left in the tank. This is often closer to warm-up or technique work.
6 RPE- You have 4 reps left in the tank. This is likely very light recovery-type work.
Past that point, it becomes very challenging to gauge effectively, and we won't typically use numbers lower than 6 (or even lower than 7).
In practice, you might see an exercise notated like so:
Goblet Squat
3 x 10 @ 10 RPE
Notes- Build to a 10 RPE. Record weight.
This would mean that over your sets of Goblet Squats we want you to climb in weight until you hit a 10 RPE- meaning that even if we had a winning Powerball ticket dangling in front of you, you couldn't complete one more rep (and note again- this is all meaning with good technique!). That doesn't mean that all 3 sets have to be at a 10 RPE, we just want you to reach that point by the end of your sets. Flip-side to that, we do want these all to be working sets! That typically means all sets should be 8 RPE or above, unless noted otherwise.
Depending on the day, working to a 10 RPE could mean working to a new weight or amount of reps that you've never done before- but note that's depending on the day! Some days we show up to train feeling like a million bucks ready to move the world, and some days we show up feeling more like 50 cents. Your 10 RPE will be very different on the million dollar day vs. the 50 cent day- and that's largely why we use this system! We want you pushing your intensity based on your limits on a given day, this is how you mitigate the risk of injury and achieve long-term success!
Note that building to a 10 RPE like that will be the exception instead of the standard. Something you might see more frequently could be:
Goblet Squat
3 x 6-10 @ 8 RPE
Notes- Record reps + weight.
This would mean that we want you performing all your sets at roughly an 8 RPE. You'll be adjusting the number of reps you do based on that goal. This could mean on your first set you do 6 reps which feels like an 8 RPE, then on your second set you're warmed-up and do 9 reps which feels like an 8 RPE, then on your third set you're tired and only do 7 reps before it feels like an 8 RPE. This would be a pretty normal spread!
Alternatively maybe on your first set you do 10 reps at a given weight and it only feels like a 6 RPE- this means you should probably move up in weight for your next set!
Gauging RPE is of course not an exact science. The purpose of us using it though is two-fold- one, as previously stated it lets us adjust intensity based on how you feel showing up on any given day, two, it teaches you to be a more intuitive mover and exerciser.
This is one of our ultimate goals- we want YOU to feel confident and comfortable in your body, both when you're in the gym training, but also outside of the gym in the real world. The more in-tune you are with what your body is telling you, the more your confidence will sky-rocket, as well as your knowledge of your own capabilities and your ability to keep yourself from getting hurt. That's the secret to looking and feeling your best, and performing at the level you want to for as long as possible!
Tempo-
One last wrinkle that we'll commonly see and use- tempo notation! Tempo notation is describing in seconds how long it takes you to perform a given exercise. For example:
Goblet Squat
3 x 6-10 @ 8 RPE, Tempo 3030
Notes- Record reps + weight.
Each of those numbers (3030) is describing how long a portion of the squat should take. This would mean to perform your squats at a tempo of 3 seconds on the way down, and 3 seconds on the way up- that's much slower than normal! We might use a tempo like that if we really want you to own and control your position throughout the squats, or possibly if you're coming back from a knee injury and we want building stability around your knee as opposed to hammering away at it.
The way that notation works:
-First Number: This describes the amount of time it should take you in the eccentric portion of the movement, where your muscles are lengthening. This is typically the 'lowering phase,' and in our example would be the 'moving down' portion of the squat.
-Second Number: This describes the amount of time you're spending in the bottom of the movement, after you've gotten down there (the bottom of a squat).
-Third Number: This describes the amount of time it should take you in the concentric portion of the movement, where your muscles are shortening. This is typically the 'going up phase,' and in our example would be the 'standing up' portion of the squat.
-Fourth Number: This describes the amount of time you're spending after the concentric portion, typically the 'top' part (the standing portion of a squat).
We'd think of your 'default' tempo on a squat and most movements as 1010- meaning you're taking 1 second traveling down, not stopping in the bottom, 1 second traveling up, and then with no stopping proceeding into the next rep. We won't write that, that's just assumed. We'll write tempo notation when we want something different. Some common ones:
-Tempo 1210: Pause for two seconds in the bottom of the movement. Good for building comfort and control.
-Tempo 4010: Slowwww lower, then proceed at normal pace. Good for building time under tension and making simple things hard.
-Tempo 11X0: Curveball here. The 'X' means, 'As fast as possible' or 'Explode'. So go down, pause for a second, then come up as powerfully as you can. Great for building power from a dead stop! Good for our athletes, but also good for our masters who want to confidently be able to get up out of a chair.
Note that those numbers always stay in the same order, regardless of the movement. Squats are an easy example because you begin the movement by lowering- but what about chin-ups where you begin the movement by lifting yourself up? That could read:
Chin-ups
3 x 3-6 @ 8 RPE, Tempo 4010
Notes- Record reps + set-up.
That would mean, it should take you 1 second (normal timespan) to lift your chin up over the bar, then from there you'll take 4 seconds on the lowering portion of the movement.
It sounds complex, but in practice people get a hang of this system pretty quickly. The first time you accidentally pause for 3 seconds in the bottom of a squat when you don't need to- you'll be sure not to make that mistake twice!
Building a plan
The Hungry Hearts Cycle System-
So far we've only been talking individual exercises, or at most, a series. But one or two exercises isn't going to get you where you're trying to go, or help you achieve the kinds of results you're trying to achieve. You need to work, consistently, over time. This is where our cycle system comes in.
At Hungry Hearts, a cycle is a 4 week period. Across those 4 weeks we're going to be adjusting your intensity. This lets you progress over time, increasing your efforts, and then recover when appropriate.
A 4 week cycle will be laid out as follows:
-Week 1, Technique Week: This is our 'lighter' week. This is where we'll typically be introducing new movements where appropriate, and making the biggest changes to technique where necessary. This week also serves as a recovery from the cycle before it. Success here means executing our movements with your best technique.
-Week 2, Baseline Week: This week we're evaluating the question, 'What can you actually do?'. We'll typically be taking your results from the first week, and then seeing how much you can actually do at a given level of intensity. Success here means establishing a solid baseline of what your current capabilities are.
-Week 3, Build Week: This week our goal is just- 'Beat last week!' That might mean pushing weights a little bit more, it might mean doing a few more reps, or it might mean doing a slightly harder variation of a movement. Success here means in some way building on you did the previous week.
-Week 4, Push Week: This week is our big finale for the cycle. It might mean just trying to push a little bit harder than your Build week, or if your coach thinks your ready it might mean pushing for a new Personal Record. This is typically our week where we'll do testing to really see what you're capable of. Success here isn't necessarily dependent on setting a new record, it just means trying your hardest!
That's our basic 4 week cycle. Note that this cycle is how we operate facility-wide, and not individually. Everyone enters push week at the same time and shares that energy with everyone around them! There are nuances in there, and there will certainly be differences and adjustments made person-to-person, but we've found that establishing that cycle and holding people to that cycle- helps push progress forward like nothing else!
People sometimes ask how it affects their cycle if they miss a week due to work or travel- in short, we adjust as appropriate. That being said, our use of RPE let's us effectively adjust your intensity even if you're coming back from a week of being sick or even a week of mai tais on the beach!
Seasons of Change-
We zoomed out a bit, but what happens if we zoom out even further? Certainly the results people are looking for when they come to us aren't achievable in one workout, and typically they're not even achievable in a 4 week cycle. Like we said, consistent effort over time is what creates dramatic results!
We further organize your training into Seasons- you might think of these as quarters, or just as the calendar seasons. We look at our Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer seasons. Each of those is 12 weeks total, or 3 cycles.
Now, over 12 weeks we can really start to see some impressive results! Confidence-changing body transformations, big improvements in performance, and significant reductions in pain and a return to the activities you care about are all possible in a 12 week period.
We'll have a pre-season check-in with our personal training and small group personal training members and ask, 'What are you trying to achieve this season?' This then becomes the backbone of our plan moving forward.
There's a little more to it, but that's the essence of how we organize training for our members!
We think it's both incredibly important and that you deserve a structured training plan to get you to where you want to be. Random efforts get random results, and our goal is to both get you consistent results as well as teach you how to maintain those results for the rest of your life!
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