COAR Strength

👩🏻‍🏫 Chalk Talk: Program Design Series — Step 6 (Final Step!) Rest Periods in Session

How long should you rest between sets?

The correct answer isn’t always “as little as possible” based on your training goal.

One of the most overlooked training variables is rest periods, yet they can significantly influence the adaptations you’re trying to achieve.

🏃 Youth athletes need adequate recovery to maintain power, speed, and movement quality.

🩹 Individuals returning from injury often benefit from strategic recovery to reinforce quality movement patterns and reduce compensations caused by fatigue.

💪 Postpartum and perimenopausal women may find that managing recovery allows them to maintain training quality, build strength, and better balance overall life stress.

The goal isn’t to be exhausted.

The goal is to create the right stimulus for the adaptation you’re after.

General guidelines:
⚡ Power & Speed = Longer Rest
🏋️ Strength = Moderate to Longer Rest
💥 Muscle Growth = Moderate Rest
🔥 Muscular Endurance = Shorter Rest

Rest isn’t wasted time.

It’s a training tool.

What are your current rest periods? Do they match your training goal?

🇺🇸 Memorial Day 🇺🇸

On this Memorial Day, we remember and honor all who lost their lives in service to our country and in defense of our freedoms. ❤️🤍💙

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
— John 15:13 ✝️

Thank you to all veterans and active duty service members for the sacrifices made for this nation. 🇺🇸
May God protect, guide, and keep you always. 🙏

The trunk’s role is to absorb and transfer force across multiple planes of motion — creating proximal stability that allows for distal mobility, power, and efficient movement. ⚡️

Are you training your trunk in ALL planes of motion? 👀

Whether your goal is:
🏃‍♂️ Better athletic performance
⚡️ More efficient force transfer
🛡️ Injury resilience
🤰 Rebuilding core function postpartum
🔄 Relearning neuromuscular patterns after injury

…multi-planar trunk training needs to be part of your program.

The body doesn’t move in just one direction — your training shouldn’t either. 💥

Slide to see some basic options to cover your each plane of motion! Check out my YouTube channel () for more variations and full coaching cues!

👩🏻‍🏫 Chalk Talk: Program Design Series — Step 5
Training Loads & Volumes

Programming isn’t just about picking exercises — it’s about matching the right load, reps, and volume to the goal. 💪

Strength, hypertrophy, power, and muscular endurance all require different training approaches. Understanding how intensity and volume interact helps create more effective, goal-oriented programs for athletes and general population clients alike.

Key concepts:
✅ Training load should match the desired adaptation
✅ Higher intensity = lower rep potential
✅ Progressive overload drives adaptation
✅ Variation helps manage fatigue and long-term progress

Whether you’re building max strength, improving athletic power, adding muscle, or increasing work capacity, intentional programming matters. 🏔️

Swipe through for:
➡️ Goal-oriented set/rep schemes
➡️ Sample lower body programming examples
➡️ Practical ways to apply loading strategies

Here is #4 in the Program Design Chalk Talk 👩🏻‍🏫🤓💪🏼

To get the most out of your training sessions make sure your exercise order lines up with priorities and goals. Check out the example to see how your training checks out!

Comment below what your training goals, let’s have a discussion of how this order may look accordingly!