When you need more rounds to push yourself beyond comfort
Your fitness level should not be a hindrance to carrying out as many sessions as possible.
What you need to know:
- Caution. When doing this exercise, it is possible for one to kick caution to the wind. However, Barangi says one should have their health in mind. “Some people have ailments that cannot allow them do many rounds. Therefore, it is important to check in with your doctor but also listen to your body as you exercise,” he advises.
- Not all workouts will agree to pushing yourself to the limit. “For example, if you are doing weight lifting, you cannot do several repetitions because the moment you get tired, the weights can easily fall on your feet or your body. Therefore, choose the workouts wisely,” Barangi says.
While ‘As Many Repetitions/Rounds As Possible’ or AMRAP is common among people that are into CrossFit - a strength and conditioning workout that is made up of functional movement performed at a high intensity level - and boot camps, this workout is doable by anyone, irrespective of their fitness level.
Enock Mugenyi, a fitness instructor, says that AMRAP is best suited for trainings meant to build on your strength or strength endurance using natural or artificial weighting or gym weights.
“It is ideal in such workouts because you can count your repetitions. In AMRAP, one works with a set time and sees to it that they do as many repetitions of the given workout as possible. Therefore, rest time is only plausible after the set time is up, not in between sets. For example, if you are doing five sets of push-ups, the target is to do many repetitions without resting,” he shares.
Other exercises one can do in this arrangement include chin ups, sit ups for tummy trimmers, and bicycle movements.
Elly Barangi, a fitness trainer says everyone is advised to do AMRAP so your fitness level should not be a hindrance. That said, it is important to understand how to perform the workout.
“In case you are doing a workout with five sets, you can do the normal or advised manner for the first four sets then inculcate AMRAP in the last set. That is because if you do AMRAP right from the start, you will get exhausted so fast thus not realise your goal,” he shares.
However, before one signs up for this regimen, Mugenyi says you must know what you want.
“If it is speed that you are looking for, then it is not about repetitions but more about how much you rest you get after an activity because speed comes only from a fresh muscle/muscle groups. Therefore, in this case your AMRAP duration will change to allow for rest after a short rather than a longer time,” he clarifies.
How often
Barangi says everyone who exercises should have a training programme to allow for assessment and doing follow up to know whether you are benefitting or you need to make some changes.
“Therefore, basing on your workout routine, you know that, for instance, if you are doing squats in three sets of 20, you will to AMRAP with the last one to ensure you do all the sets minus burning out,” he says.
That said, AMRAP is varied in timing because one may do their AMRAP regimen for 20 minutes, 10 minutes or even five seconds.
“There is no need to push yourself beyond your limits as that will break you before gaining the results. However, it is better that you continually vary your time to allow for endurance as well as use the different energy systems (oxidative, glycolic and ATP) as these help you work on different muscle groups,” Barangi shares.
Benefits
Training – Mugenyi says more repetitions help to train the muscle to take more pain and more contraction effects.
“The high intensity with which the workouts are done in a short time allows for the muscles to work more than a normal workout would and that means training the muscles,” he says.
Boosts your energy – As the muscles continue working, Barangi says they are trained to keep pushing. “That trains them to get stronger and thus ably hit even bigger goals with subsequent training periods,” he mentions.
Doable by various fitness groups – Seeing that the time for each AMRAP is dependent on the individual, Mugenyi says even beginners can participate in the workout.
“Pacing yourself within the confines of your ability is important here so you do not overwork yourself. With time, as the fitness levels improve, the intensity as well as duration can increase,” he says.
