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Miscellaneous · course 104 of 105

Strength Training: Know What’s Enough

Know what the US guidelines ask of adults (how often, how many sets, weekly minutes), then track your own log with training volume and one-rep-max estimates. No medical advice.

4 modules

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What it teaches

What the US Physical Activity Guidelines ask of adults (muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscle groups; one set of 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise is effective, 2 or 3 sets may be more; 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, with 1 vigorous minute counting as 2 moderate minutes), and the numbers lifters track: moderate-equivalent minutes, training volume (sets × reps × load), and one-rep-max estimates with the Epley and Brzycki formulas, both ways. The AI asks 3 questions, places you, shows a short card per module, then gives you one question at a time.

How long

32 items. About 20-30 rounds for someone who already logs workouts up to about 45-60 for a beginner, plus a 12-item final: 1-2 sessions (estimate, not timed with a real student). The tutor gives a one-line save code at the end of each session.

The modules

4 modules, drilled one item at a time.

  1. M0

    The guidelines

    What HHS’s guidelines ask of adults

  2. M1

    Weekly minutes

    Weekly minutes: moderate, vigorous and moderate-equivalent

  3. M2

    Training volume

    Training volume: sets × reps × load

  4. M3

    Estimating a one-rep max

    Estimating a one-rep max with Epley and Brzycki, both ways

Before it teaches, it asks

  1. 1
    Do you strength train now (gym, home, not yet), and do you log your workouts?
  2. 2
    This week: 2 moderate sessions of 30 minutes and 2 vigorous sessions of 25 minutes. How many moderate-equivalent minutes is that?
  3. 3
    3 sets of 12 rows with two 25 lb dumbbells (50 lb in total). What is the training volume, in lb?

What’s exact, and what isn’t

Show

Straight from the course’s own notes.

The guidelines are HHS's
Every M0 line quotes the “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition” (the HHS PDF, read with macOS PDFKit; the PDF and its text are pinned by sha256). The same adult numbers are on HHS’s live summary page (ODPHP, “Top 10 Things to Know”), which is checked too. The 2-for-1 minute rule is the guide’s own “general rule of thumb”.
Computed by script
Every M1, M2 and M3 key, in exact fractions. Before making any 1RM Key the script reproduces Wikipedia’s own examples (100 lb for 10 reps = 133 by both formulas; 100 lb for 6 reps = about 120 by Epley, about 116 by Brzycki). Every listed wrong answer is checked to be the slip it names.
Sourced
Training volume = sets × reps × load (Wikipedia, “Strength training”); the Epley and Brzycki formulas and the way back from a 1RM (Wikipedia, “One-repetition maximum”).
Honest limits
A 1RM from a formula is an estimate (“The estimate may not be accurate”), and the two formulas disagree below 10 reps. The course drills the guidelines and the arithmetic; it is not a training program, can’t check form, and gives no medical advice. Adults' guidelines only; pounds only.
Not in it yet
Kilograms, percent-of-1RM charts, other 1RM formulas, the guidelines for older adults (balance, multicomponent activity), children and pregnancy, progression plans.