Articles & guides — page 5

125 pieces on the questions people actually search — how many calories, how much protein, how big a deficit, what a set at RIR 2 means, how the 1RM estimate works, how many sets a week — with every number derived from the formulas the apps use or cited to a source you can open. Training and nutrition education only; never medical advice.

125 articles

Training methods7 min

Signs of accumulated training fatigue

Four logged signals — volume vs baseline, average effort, body-weight slope, recovery data — combined into a 0–10 training-load score with Low / Moderate / High bands. The maths, and its limits.

First principles
Training methods6 min

How many sets per muscle group per week?

The weekly-set landmarks Zyra Workouts uses for all 11 muscle groups (6–14 sets), how secondary muscles count at half, and what the volume research says.

Human trial data
Training methods5 min

Warm-up, drop, myo-rep and failure sets explained

The five set types in Zyra Workouts — standard, warm-up, drop, myo and failure — what each means, how the app logs it, and which count toward weekly volume.

Method / guide
Training methods5 min

How long should you rest between sets?

Zyra Workouts rests 60 s after isolation sets and up to 180 s after the big barbell lifts. The full default table, the reasoning, and what the ACSM and a 2018 review say.

Reference values
Training methods5 min

How many warm-up sets before a heavy set?

What a warm-up set is for, how Zyra Workouts organises warm-up schemes by exercise type, why the steps are yours to set, and why warm-ups never count as working sets.

Method / guide
Training methods5 min

What is an RIR ramp (and simple periodization)?

An RIR ramp lowers reps in reserve cycle by cycle so the same sets get harder. The exact six-cycle ramp Zyra Workouts generates, and why it counts cycles, not weeks.

First principles
Training methods6 min

How to deload: volume down, intensity down, or both?

The three deload modes in the Zyra Workouts design — 40% fewer sets, +2 RIR, or both — when a deload makes sense, and how first- and last-cycle deloads differ.

Method / guide
Training methods5 min

Supersets: rules, pairings and rest

What counts as a superset in Zyra Workouts (an adjacent pair), which pairings save time without the two exercises competing, and why rest starts only after both.

Method / guide
Training methods5 min

I missed a week of the gym — what now?

A missed week costs no penalty in a cycle-based program. What changes on return, and how the progression engine steps a load down if the first session back falls short.

First principles
Training methods5 min

What is a muscle balance score?

The Zyra Workouts balance score measures how evenly weekly sets cover 11 muscle groups: the exact formula, worked scores from real weeks, and how to read the body map.

First principles
Training methods6 min

How to build your own workout program

Build a workout program with the Zyra Workouts generator's own rules: pick a split, minutes ÷ 12 exercises per session, one compound per muscle first, sets by goal, six cycles.

Method / guide
Exercise guides5 min

Bench press: muscles worked, setup and progression

Which muscles the barbell bench press works, how to set up, the rep and RIR targets by goal, how the 2.5 kg progression step fires, and the ranked alternatives.

First principles

Zyra is a training and nutrition tracking tool. Nothing on this page is medical advice, a diagnosis, or an individual prescription. The numbers are estimates from published formulas and the apps' own rules — consult a qualified professional for decisions about your health, and a coach for your training.