When and How can I Make an Exercise More Difficult?
RV-RIM
A common question I get is, “when is the right time to progress an exercise and how? Do I add more weight, complete more repetitions (reps), or do something differently?”
Here’s an acronym to give you some ideas on how to make an exercise more difficult: RV-RIM
Resistance: Simply, the amount of weight you’re using during the exercise. The higher the weights the harder the exercise
Volume: Volume can be increased by adding more repetitions, more sets, or both
Rest: Decreasing rest time in-between sets will almost always make the exercise harder
Intensity: This can be altered by performing the exercise a little faster or rotating between two exercises back-to-back. This gets the heart rate higher, and you end up performing more work in a shorter amount of time.
Mode: This is a progression to the type of exercise, or how the exercise is performed which makes it more difficult. As an example, performing exercises sitting down in a machine is usually going to be easier than standing up using free weights, and standing up on a hard surface is easier than performing the exercise balancing on a foam pad.
It’s usually not a good idea to progress more than one thing at a time. For instance, you could add more weight or do more reps, but you shouldn’t try to do both at the same time.
Now that you’ve got that, when is the right time to progress? A good rule of thumb that is often recommended in order to ensure safety and slow progression is the 2,2,2 rule. This means that if you can do 2 extra repetitions for 2 additional sets in 2 consecutive workouts, then it’s time to choose one of the above progression types!
Though we don’t like to think about this, we should also be open to the possibility of the reverse being true. So, if you end up doing 2 less than you normally do on 2 sets in 2 consecutive workouts, it might be time to make things easier. Most importantly, you need to make an exercise easier if you are unable to complete it with the correct form. It doesn’t matter how fast or how heavy if you are doing an exercise incorrectly. You won’t be achieving any of the true benefits of the exercise, and you are at greater risk of injuring yourself.
Which progression type (RV-RIM) do you typically use in order to make an exercise harder? Is there a new one you would like to try in your next workout? Share in the comments!