That's a good question actually because a lot of people do these programs.

There are three broad weight ranges for lifting which have to do with how many times you can lift that weight before reaching failure and each has different benefits and response from your muscles. By failure we mean both when you cannot lift that weight anymore or when your form fails.

Endurance is usually described as above twelve repetitions. Usually your muscles recover quickly after a round and you can do your next set of reps 30 seconds later eventhough you reached failure on the previous set.

The second range is hypertrophy and is broadly described as being the weight you can lift between 8 and 12 reps. This is usually considered to be the range for maximal muscle growth. You will find that you need a little more time to recover before doing you next set. A minute to a minute and a half is common. If you start too soon, then the heart rate can distract from the workout and you might not be able to complete all sets properly with the selected weight.

The last range is strength. It's anything 8 repetitions and under with 4-6 being common strength ranges. At that point, if your weigh selection was enough, you will be begging for a long rest, up to 3 minutes being common. If you find you can start again much sooner then the weight selection can likely go up. This is the true lift heavy phase although you should always lift as heavy as possible within the given range.

Also note that if you supersetthe exercises, you can still lift heavy with less time between breaks if you work on separate muscles. This is usually more doable with smaller muscle groups when you go really heavy because otherwise the heart rate gets in the way.

I hope that helps. I'll try to crack open my p90x2 DVDs and let you know what I see. They're still sitting prety in a box at the moment.

I guess it depends on how many you can do?

Pullups are pretty tough exercises but pushups are a little bit easier. I see pushups used more for endurance or sometimes to pre exhaust a muscle. Pullups are in between and usually get used for about 10 reps often with modifications.

They are both great exercises but I guess they are not "heavy" or strength type of exercises you do for 6 reps maximum.

Hi Lucia,

A lot of programs recommend rest weeks especially when you do a lot of lifting. There are multiple reasons for it but I think one of the most important ones is to prevent injury and give your body a chance to recover. The benefit is that it also give your mind a chance to recover as well.

A good recovery week should really be pretty low key. When you do intense aerobics or heavy lifting, both of these activities stress out your CNS (Central nervous system). So by taking a week off you are letting your body recover and get ready for the next round.

As an example, STS (the Cathe weight training program that you have us some of us do) has a three month rotation where you take a week as rest after every 4 weeks of lifting. The 6 months version has you take a week off every two months. So as you can see it is variable. This is not the only program it is recommended in. I know it is also part of p90x2.

Usually rest week means......well rest. So a lot of stretching, yoga, pilates, low intensity cardio, walking etc. After one week like that, you should be ready to attack whatever comes next. I know that for a lot of people it is hard to make oneself take it easy but it is a good idea. I am currently doing the LiveFit Trainer from Jamie Eason. It has no rest week scheduled, but I plan to take one when I am done before moving on.

I say if it has been a while look at your schedule and see if you can take an entire week off.

Hopefully Kiki will have more to add, but in the meantime, I hope this helps.

Wow, thanks Helen and Kiki well I am overdue for a rest! I have been going hard for months and this week I have been feeling just tired. This is perfect timing because I am taking kids away next week. So I will finish out this week and rest next week...of course stretching, walking, lots of pool activity etc....thanks again!