Bored with the same ol’ workout? Changing up the workout structure might help.
Whether you follow someone else or create your own workouts, patterns tend to repeat in your workout structure that can make things stale over time.
As you may know, engagement is my #1 priority, and variety helps with that—a lot. It can make or break your success with a workout regimen.
What is a workout structure?
What do I mean by “workout structure?” I mean what is the basic format or template you’re using with your exercises in the workout. For example, do you do one particular run every day? Do you do three sets of 15 reps each of certain exercises? Do you do two exercises back to back until the timer runs out?
Workout structures vs. workout plans.
To be clear, I am not talking about a workout plan. This post is all about the individual workout framework only—neither the exercises in that workout nor what body parts to focus on or what kinds of workouts to do and how often. A workout plan involves a bigger-picture plan of how your individual workouts work together to help you reach your fitness goals. That’s another post for another day.
Why do you need a workout structure?
Why? Well, you technically don’t. You can work out with any number of reps for any amount of time any day you like. But you’ll find it much easier to get through the workout and then measure your success if you have some structure you’re working with.
If you don’t have a plan for your workout that day, it’s really easy to mistake “I don’t want to do more reps” for “I can’t do more reps.” If you’ve planned for a certain amount of reps, or to do reps for a certain amount of time, it’s easier to push yourself to finish.
It’s also easier to measure your progress if you have some invariables that you’re structuring your workout around.
What’s the invariable in the workout structure?
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Like steel beams in a building, your workout is built on your invariables. An invariable is what doesn’t change throughout your workout. The way I see it, there are generally two invariables you can employ for a workout structure: time and reps.
If the invariable factor is time, this just means that you are doing an exercise or a whole workout on a countdown timer. Usually this means the whole workout will be done in a certain amount of time that you determine. If the invariable factor is reps, you complete a certain amount of reps of an exercise. These reps can be total over the entire workout, or divided up by reps and sets.
The third invariable: fatigue.
There is a third factor you can use to structure your workout: fatigue. It’s not quite an invariable like time or amount of reps, unless you have a way to measure that, which most people don’t. Your measurement for fatigue will be how you feel. In a workout structure, this would probably look like doing sets of a certain amount of reps until you reach a certain amount of fatigue.
The beauty of this is it’s open-ended, and might work great if you want a relatively structure-less workout. The downside is that it doesn’t have a concrete end point, which means you could easily stop before you should, if you’re feeling a bit nonchalant, or you could go over the point you should, running the risk of injury. I generally try to reach a certain level of fatigue when I work out, and I have enough experience making them and with my own body that I know generally what will exhaust me. However, I track my workouts so I can better adjust next time, and I suggest you do the same.
For the purpose of this post, I’m not including fatigue-structured workouts other than the general understanding that every workout you do should fatigue you to a point.
Types of workout structures.
There are many variables within each of these, but here’s a basic lowdown. Some sound very similar, but they feel very different in practice, which is why I’ve chosen to lay them out like so. And I gave them fun names because I’m like that. I name everything.
Workout structures that use a specific amount of reps:
1. The Grind | Fixed repeating circuit.
This is a very commonly used workout structure. You do X number of rounds of X number of exercises with X number of reps of each. When you finish one exercise’s reps, you’ll move on to the next exercise. When you finish all the exercises, you start back at the top until you finish the prescribed number of rounds. Example: Mme. X Workout, parts 1 and 2.
2. The Long Haul | Single fixed circuit.
This is really just a circuit with one round. When creating this type of workout, make sure each exercise fully exhausts that muscle group by making the reps fairly high. The amount of reps you would do total for an entire fixed repeating circuit should be done all at once here. For instance, instead of having 3 rounds which include a set of 20 jump lunges, for a long haul workout, do 60 jump lunges all at once. And by “all at once” I mean you can take breaks, or break it up however you like, but don’t move to the next exercise until you finish your jump lunges, young lady!
3. Yo-yo | Reverse order circuit.
This is a fixed circuit, but instead of going to the first exercise when you finish the round, you reverse the order of exercises. This means that you’ll get extra difficulty for the exercises near the top and bottom of the list, since they will have less time between rounds.
4. Random | Random order circuit.
I don’t employ this often, but it could be fun. Have a fixed set of exercises and reps, but randomly order them. You could pick them out of a hat! This just adds some surprise and fun to keep you occupied. I’d recommend randomizing it each round rather than just the first.
5. Movin’ On Up | Ladder.
I use ladder reps when I want to trick my brain as far as how long the workout will take. With a fixed circuit, your brain measures how long it took to do one round, then will plan ahead and ascertain how much time you need to do the other rounds. The nice thing about ladder reps is that your brain can’t usually get a good grasp on how long it will take, so you’re pretty in the moment.
Create a fixed circuit where each round you do an increasing amount of reps. You can make it a consistent amount, like 1 more or 5 more, or you can make it unique for each exercise. The first round will be super easy, and the last round super hard and long. I often have to cut these workouts short because I underestimate how much time they take.
6. Diminishing Returns | Reverse ladder.
Instead of increasing reps, you diminish them each round.
This is my preferred ladder structure, since the reps diminish as you fatigue. It makes for a workout that moves along more and has less interruptions, with a steadier workload throughout. Think about it: if you had something difficult like pull-ups, can you imagine ending with the round with the most pull-ups? That last round would take forever! This way, you have the high-rep round first, when your endurance and strength are highest. And you still get the benefit of tricking your brain out of determining the time spent.
7. Up and Down the Mountain | Pyramid.
This is essentially a combo of ladder and reverse ladder. You increase the reps, then decrease them. This is a huge favorite of mine. Keep in mind that you don’t have to come down the “mountain” at the same rate you go up. You could do reps like this, for instance: 2-4-6-8-10-4-2, where the bulk of the workout and time is spent going up, but then you have a nice little descent. This is also helpful to consider if you’ve underestimated time spent, like I often do.
8. Down and Up the Mountain | Reversed pyramid.
Decrease reps, then increase them. I don’t personally use this very much, at least going down and up evenly, only because then it means the middle of the workout format is the easiest part, and the hardest is the beginning and end. The one way I have found this to work is by doing 90% of the workout as a reverse ladder, but then on the last round go back to maximum reps again. It gives a nice punch at the end of the workout, especially if you’re feeling it wasn’t as hard or as intense as you’d like.
9. Inversity | Inverse reps.
This works best with only two exercises, one with ladder reps and one with reverse ladder reps. It makes for a simple and fun workout. I would suggest picking two exercises that are completely different muscle groups, even if they are the same general body area. For instance, for an upper body workout, you could do push-ups and pull ups, where you start with one push-up and 10 pull ups, and increase the reps each round on the push-ups and decrease them on the pull ups.
10. Tick-tock | Oscillating reps.
This is a fixed circuit, but you oscillate between two rep sets. Instead of doing 10 push-ups each round, you might do 5-15-5-15. You could correspond with all the other exercises so you have one short, tiny round, and then a long round, and then a tiny one again, etc.
11. The House That Jack Built | Layering.
Ooo, now we’re talking. I called this The House that Jack Built because of that child’s rhyme that adds on a component each time. This workout format works the same way. Each round, you add on a new exercise with a set amount of reps. For your first exercises, you repeat them a lot, so make them something you can keep doing.
12. Get It DONE! | Total reps.
I started doing this structure when I was working out at the park and I didn’t always have access to the pull-up bar. There were other people working out, but sometimes a bunch of kids would come by and oo and ah and do gymnastics. Usually it didn’t take long, so I could do a set of pull-ups, just not always when I wanted to. This allows you to move around any equipment and exercises you have freely, but you have an ultimate rep end goal.
Workout structures that take place in a certain amount of time:
13. Countdown | AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) circuit.
This is your basic circuit but instead of a set amount of rounds, you have a set time and just complete rounds until the time is up. You can do one long AMRAP for 20 or 30 or 40 minutes (or longer!), or you can do smaller 5– or 10-minute AMRAPS and string them together. Generally, your rest time is minimal in these workouts and your first few rounds might feel easy. The nice thing is that you get a flow going, and with repetition, you get fatigued. It’s also great when you only want to work out for X minutes and don’t want the intensity of an HIIT workout. Example: Burn, Baby, Burn Workout.
14. EDT | AMRAP with two exercises and minimal rest.
I’m not going to lie. This is exactly the same as the regular AMRAP, but it’s employing a style of training called Escalating Density Training (EDT). The point is to maximize the volume of reps in a set amount of time—hence the “density.” Generally it’s done with two exercises, since you’re looking to maximize volume. It’s a type of superset training, and it’s killer.
Pick two exercises that employ different muscle groups, like push-ups and squats, or for lower body, deadlifts and squats (yes there are some common muscles involved, but the main muscle is different). Or, just alternate a one-legged exercise on each leg. Do a fairly low amount of reps per set, and then just alternate exercises until the time is up. Because it can be monotonous, and because you’re doing so many reps on each exercise, I would do a countdown of no more than 15 minutes. You can do two different EDTs for a good 30-minute workout.
It will start out feeling easy, but the difficulty will increase steadily. These are also pretty easy to create, considering you’re doing so few exercises, so they’re good for creating on the fly.
15. HIIT FTW | Fixed repeating rest/work HIIT circuit.
This is your standard HIIT workout. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. You need an interval timer, or an interval timer app on your phone, and you set a timer to go off for your rest time and your work time, for a set number of rounds. So the structure is similar to a regular circuit, where you have a certain number of exercises that go in a row, and a certain amount of rounds.
A common structure is tabata, which is 10 seconds rest with 20 seconds rest for 8 rounds, or 4 minutes. Technically, tabata is supposed to be SO intense that that’s all you do, but that’s difficult, so many people will do a bunch of tabatas strung together. The early Bodyrock workouts used a lot of 10 second rest/50 second work for 12 minutes. The point of HIIT is to really go to your max during the work period. You’re dealing in extreme intensity and gaining back time. HIIT workouts really shouldn’t be that long. You can do very intense 10– or 12-minute workouts and call it a day. If you’re going longer, make sure you break it up into smaller segments with a rest in between. Or, pick exercises that don’t keep you at maximum intensity.
16. Long Haul HIIT | Fixed consecutive rest/work HIIT circuit.
This would be the same rest/work structure on your interval timer, but instead of hopping from one exercise to the next, you do all rounds of one exercise consecutively before moving to the next exercise. It’s kind of the HIIT version of The Long Haul.
17. Fickle Fix | Variable rest/work HIIT circuit.
Hannah Eden opened my eyes to this one. It’s fun, but it requires an advanced interval timer or app. Each round of rest and work changes. Hannah uses what she calls the 30/60/90 protocol: 10/30; 20/60; 30/90. I am an intensity whore so I do 10 seconds rest for all of them, so it looks like this: 10/30; 10/60; 10/90. Often the 60 and 90-second rounds actually have mini-AMRAPS in them, too. Fun!
18. Bad Cop/Good Cop | Fixed high intensity/low intensity HIIT circuit.
Instead of a rest period, have another work period with a lower intensity exercise. These usually will have a longer period of low intensity than a rest portion would, so it’s maybe a 1:1 ratio, 1:2, or something in between. You could do weighted lunges, or jump lunges, and then bodyweight lunges for the low-intensity work period. It keeps you moving but manages intensity. It also means that something usually not challenging, like bodyweight squats, will be more challenging because they come right after a high-intensity exercise. This is also a good option if you have exercises that aren’t intense but still beneficial, like bridges or bodyweight deadlifts.
Workout structure combinations:
19. Flavor Burst | Fixed circuit with HIIT intensity bridge.
For instance, after each round of a fixed circuit, do a tabata or similar HIIT mini-burst. It keeps your heart rate up and makes for some variety. It’s also a great way to add some intensity to a stale workout.
20. Workout salad | A workout with varying parts, all different structures.
Mix-n-match! Do mini-workouts, each with a different structure. I do this all the time. It calls for some planning, but it makes for a really fun, varied workout.
Structuring a workout for specific goals.
The above formats are ones you can use with almost any multi-exercise workout, though some meet different needs better than others. Reaching your fitness goals will have more to do with the exercises you use and making sure you’re using progressive overload properly.
If you want to create a workout that strengthens your lower body, for instance, choose a certain amount of exercises that hit that area, and decide which weights to use, if any. Then decide which structure above works best for what you want to do.
The best workout structures for cardiovascular health.
Any of the above workout structures will work well for a metabolic effect. Those that have timed intervals are especially effective, but circuits and other rep-based workouts will work, too.
The best workout structures for strength training or hypertrophy.
In general, don’t rely on HIIT or interval training for building strength or size. HIIT (high intensity interval training) structures work best when you’re going for all-out metabolic results, or a combination of strength and metabolic. To build strength, you want to make sure you’re milking every rep with perfect form. This requires not being rushed, either while performing the exercise or when loading the weights for the interval.
For strength training or hypertrophy, therefore, I recommend relying on rep-invariable workout structures, like circuits, pyramids, even AMRAPS. You can still use HIIT once or twice a week for variety and cardio, however.
How to format a workout plan.
While this is a complicated topic, when creating a workout plan, try to include at least three different structures of workout. Doing the same exact workout has its benefits, as you can measure your progress easily. However, varying the exercises and workout template up even a little is helpful to keep your body guessing.
And since fitness is all about going a bit outside your comfort zone, variation is good. Necessary, even. That’s when your body grows and changes, and fitness improves.
If you have a plan you like, but need to refresh it, try changing the format of a workout or two. When planning a whole workout plan from scratch, try doing one workout structure on a certain day of the week. For instance, do HIIT on Mondays, AMRAP or a combination workout on Tuesdays, a circuit workout on Wednesdays, and so on. Planning it out this way also makes it a little easier to fill in the exercises.
Plus, you’ll have more fun executing the workout plan!
Related workout structure posts:
- Bodyweight Supersets: The Fast Track to Bodyweight Strength
- How to Do HIIT: The Complete Guide
- How to Start Working Out at Home—and Actually Succeed
- What Is HIIT and Why You Should Be Doing It