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Better understanding phases and what they mean for your training

In case you missed the last blog post we did on phases, here’s another look at what they are, why we use them at Rise, and how you can best approach your training based on the current phase of your program.

Gabe Thompson and Dawson Persons

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Recently, we have gotten some more questions from members about our phasing system. Coach Katie recently wrote a blog that goes into detail about each of the phases and why we use them. You can read that blog here.

In this blog, we want to address what these phases mean for you - the members. In other words, we want to give you practical advice on how to think about and approach your training based on what phase you are in.

A brief reminder of our phasing system

We use a four-phase system broken into:

Endurance

Higher rep ranges to promote muscular endurance (the ability to express strength over an extended period of time).

Hypertrophy

Moderate rep ranges that have been shown to help stimulate muscle growth (the actual size of the muscle), also known as muscular hypertrophy.

Strength

Lower rep ranges in order to move the greatest amount of weight through a given range of motion. In this phase, we seek to test and improve muscular strength in its most simple definition.

Power

Lower rep ranges trained at a greater speed. This trains muscular power (the ability to move something quickly through a given range of motion).

If you’re interested in learning more, check out this graphic that we created to help our members understand the cycle of phases.

How the phases actually work together

It's important to point out that as the client, your training goal does not change all that much from phase to phase. This is because the muscular attributes we mentioned above are not mutually exclusive. Which means that the training, therefore, isn’t either. Let us explain.

Strength is the mother of all muscular ability, and physical abilities as well. 

As stated above, muscular endurance is just the ability to express one's strength over a long period of time, whereas muscular power is the ability to express one's strength over a short period of time. Either way, we are expressing strength.

What about hypertrophy? The relationship between muscle strength and size (hypertrophy) is more nuanced than we tend to give it credit for. But in general, any gain in muscular strength will result in muscle hypertrophy, and vice versa.

Understanding rep ranges and training outcomes

Take a look at the chart below. This chart shows how different rep ranges affect the four different muscular attributes. The yellow sections indicate where the attribute is most optimally trained and gained, while the green shows where the attribute is least effectively trained.

Notice that this is a spectrum. There are no hard cutoffs, only optimal rep ranges versus sub-optimal ones. When training between 3–6 reps, strength (and power, when performed quickly) will be most effectively trained. But hypertrophy will also be trained, just in a less effective way.

What does it mean for you?

So, what does this mean for you, the member? How should each phase shape the way you approach your training sessions?

As stated above, the answer is, well, not all that much.

In an Endurance, Hypertrophy, or Strength phase, the most important thing you can do as the client is to try and lift heavy relative to your rep range, while maintaining good form and full range of motion. Then come back the next session and try to improve by adding just a little more. Because you are lifting with preset rep ranges set for each phase, the correct attribute will be trained.

The one exception: Power phase

The only caveat to this rule is our Power phase.

When training in the Power phase, it is important to not only think about lifting heavy relative to your rep range, while maintaining good form and full range of motion., but to do so while lifting it quickly. This will train the muscle to contract quickly against force, which is the definition of muscular power.

Final takeaways

So the next time you are in for a session, take a look at what phase you are in and remember these two things:

  • No matter what, we are training for muscular strength, but we are just expressing that strength in different ways.

  • Your job is to lift heavy relative to your rep range, while maintaining good form and full range of motion.

Curious to learn more about the phases at Rise and if they can help you reach your fitness goals? We’d love to talk with you. You can schedule a meeting with one of our coaches by booking a Free Fitness Consultation here.