P-A-C-I-N-G…continued

Things To Determine

1. How do you want to break down your sets?

For example: If it’s a set of 20 – 4 sets of 5, or 8,6,4,2?

2. How long do you want your breaks/transitions/rests to be?

For example: :05 seconds or 3 breaths? Bigger sets, usually mean bigger rest periods. Use a clock or count down.

3. What score/time/reps/or rounds do you want to achieve and what does that look like if you break it down? 

For example: Your goal is 45 burpees in 4:30. That is 10 a minute, or 1 every 6 seconds. Try to keep that consistent pace going and use the clock to guide you.

 

Assessment

After a workout, you’ll be able to assess your performance and strategy. If everything felt “really good” and you “paced just right” then great! Your goal next time is to push it a little more and play with any changes you may be able to make.

Work on…

If you went to failure in the first half of the workout, you can do better.

Were you breathing erratically and already at muscle fatigue in the first minute of the workout, you can do better.

If you gained time every round, no good. Your breaks just got longer and longer and longer. You can do better.

 

When you have moments to break in a workout (between lifts, when you’re fatigued, when you’ve failed a rep, between rounds, or between workouts)

 

Don’t:

pace around
look everywhere
take a lot of unnecessary steps
fidget
repeat negative/unhelpful thoughts
breathe erratically
grimace and grunt a lot
complain to yourself

Do:

take deep, slow breaths
take one or two steps away then get right back to it
close your eyes or focus on a specific (non-moving) point
relax or shake out your muscles
repeat positive, helpful thoughts

Your goal during rest is to waste as little energy as possible both mentally and physically. You can become better at this by using appropriate self-talk and body language.

You want to take short, effective breaks throughout your workout. If you know what you’re going to do during a break (forced or planned) you’ll be more likely to stay positive and your breaks will be quick and consistent.