A Truly Effective Workout

For your consideration

A couple years ago, I discovered AthleanX's 100 Series - a workout routine that’s structured around what are called “Effective Reps.”

You may have heard something like, “the last three reps are the ones that count” with regards to weightlifting. Essentially this means that if you do a set of 8-12 reps, the final few reps are the ones that truly challenge the muscles, promote hypertrophy, and induce the most tearing of muscle fibers (assuming you’re using the right weight).

But typical workout routines are structured around 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of a given exercise. For example, during an arm workout I may perform:

• Dumbbell Curls

  • 1 set, 9 reps (30-60 second rest)

  • 1 set, 9 reps (30-60 second rest)

  • 1 set, 8 reps (30-60 second rest)

And then move onto my next exercise.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this exercise format. If performed correctly, this would be a fine way to work out. But in this structure my most effective reps are probably the last few.

What Jeff Cavaliere, the creator of AthleanX, has created is a workout in which the majority of the reps are effective. In fact, it’s called the “100” series because by the end of the workout, you’ve performed 100 effective reps.

I’ve already summarized most of the workout but Jeff can explain it better himself. If you’d rather read it for some reason, here’s a breakdown: