Master Horizontal Loading in Personal Training (2024)

Any personal trainer needs to know how to use horizontal loading effectively in their programming. NASM uses this term as part of their personal training certification to describe the most common way to design a workout plan using straight sets of an exercise.

If you’re studying for your NASM certification exam, I recommend grabbing this ultimate cheat sheet courtesy of Trainer Academy.

The horizontal loading approach will be your bread and butter as a coach when you design and implement workouts with your clients.

In this article I discuss what horizontal loading is, why you should use it, and how to implement it in your sessions

Why Use Horizontal Loading?

For any strength athlete, horizontal loading encompasses the traditional way to design a workout. Horizontal loading is one of the best ways to build strength and power in any exercise or muscle group, especially when combined with long rest periods.

Horizontal loading can also be more practical in a gym setting, because you only use one piece of equipment at once before moving on to the next exercise. 

If you want to use horizontal loading in a metabolic or hypertrophy session, NASM recommends using shorter rest periods of 30 to 90 seconds. 

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What is Horizontal Loading?

Horizontal loading refers to the act of completing all sets of an exercise or body part before moving to the next movement or muscle. This is the standard way most people have completed bodybuilding and strength workouts, as opposed to vertical loading where the athlete does one set of an exercise before moving onto the next exercise and then returning to the first exercise after the circuit is completed.

For example, in a horizontally loaded workout for the lower body, you would complete multiple sets of back squats before moving to sets of hamstring curls and then afterwards calf raises. 

In a vertically loaded workout working the same muscles, you would do one set of squats, then move to hamstring curls, then calf raises before returning to squats for a second set. 

The Benefits of Horizontal Loading

1. Building Strength and Power

Powerlifters and other strength athletes have used horizontal loading for years and years because it provides the ideal way to structure a power or strength-based workout. A strength workout requires lower reps and longer rest periods and if you stack exercises on top of one another (like you do with vertical loading), you interfere with the specific stimulus needed to make the adaptations in the body.

2. Increasing Technique on a Movement

Power athletes also tend to prioritize certain movements like squats, deadlifts, cleans and snatches. By using horizontal loading, you can start with your highest priority movements and spend most of your energy on those first, rather than stacking exercise on top of exercise. 

3. Using Less Equipment at One Time

If you’re in a crowded gym with people waiting for equipment, it can be a poor choice to jump from exercise to exercise when each exercise requires a different machine or weight. If you place all the equipment in one area, you still risk taking up a lot of space if the area is packed with exercisers.

By picking one exercise, finishing it, and then moving on to another, you take up less room and less equipment. 

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4. Muscle Building and Prioritizing Larger Muscles Over Smaller Ones

Research tells us that it’s best to start with heavy compound movements first, and then move on to smaller isolation exercises for both strength and muscle building. If you use vertical loading, you move through the entire circuit before repeating your first exercise, which means that your last exercise will invariably interfere with your recovery for the first exercise. 

With horizontal loading, you can finish up the first multi-joint exercise and then move on to more isolation movements without the smaller exercises interfering with the first movement. 

5. Uses Less Energy So You Can Focus on Each Exercise 

This can be a pro and a con. If you’re running around from equipment to equipment, you’re going to get your heart rate up and burn more calories, but you also spend less time recovering between exercises.

If you want to really focus on particular movements or exercises, then dialing in one at a time will be the best way to go.

How to Use Horizontal Loading in Your Training Sessions

1. Design Your Program Around Your Goals

Every exercise program should offer a specific purpose. Does your client want to lose weight, build muscle, get stronger? Most certifications, including the NASM CPT, describe the concept of SMART goals: a goal should be specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

2. Pick Your Movements and Equipment

Once you have established a SMART goal, think about the exercises and equipment that will help your clients get there effectively. At this time, also consider your time and space requirements.

3. Pick Sets, Reps, and Loading Style

Now it’s time to build the actual template for each workout. Write out the sets, reps and exercise order. If your client wants to build strength or muscle and has ample time in each session, choose horizontal loading. If they have limited time or their main goal is fat loss, you may want to go for vertical loading. Or, you can choose a hybrid system that uses both horizontal and vertical loading systems.

Here are 3 examples of workouts: one uses just horizontal loading, the second uses vertical loading, and the third combines the two.

Workout 1: Horizontal Loading Workout

1. Back Squat 4 sets of 6 reps
2. Romanian Deadlift 3 sets of 8 reps
3. Dumbbell Walking Lunges 3 sets of 15 reps
4. Calf Raises 2 sets of 25 reps 

Workout 2: Vertical Loading Workout

5 sets of:

1. Back Squat 10 reps
2. Kettlebell Swings 15 reps
3. Dumbbell Walking Lunges 20 reps 

Workout 3: Hybrid Loading Workout

1. Back Squat 3 sets of 8 reps
2. Romanian Deadlift 3 sets of 10 reps
3. 3 sets of:
4. Kettlebell Swings 15 reps
5. Dumbbell Walking Lunges 15 reps
6. 1 minute of Jump Rope 

4. Make Adjustments as Needed

No program is perfect, and exercises, movements and loading styles may need to be adjusted depending on current goals, circumstances, and adaptations.

If you feel your client needs to integrate vertical loading into some of their workouts because of time efficiency or just for variety, make the changes. You can integrate strength training into both vertical and horizontal loading schemes. However, most of the time, horizontal loading yields the best strength and power results versus a circuit training approach. 

Tips for Success with Horizontal Loading

• Don’t forget to monitor your rest times: Most people don’t keep track of their rest periods, and end up taking too little time between sets. Don’t make this mistake. If you’re training someone for strength, take 3-5 minutes (or sometimes longer) between sets of a heavy compound exercise. 

• Start with compound movements before moving on to isolation exercises: You want to begin with the highest priority exercise of the workout. Compound movements give you the biggest bang for your buck in terms of stimulus. After you help your client warm-up, choose your top few movements and start there. In a strength workout, consider starting with heavy presses, pulls, or squats. In a power workout, go for cleans and snatches (if those movements are appropriate for your client). Isolation exercises take less energy and can be completed later in the workout. 

• Make your warm-Up specific: just as you want to make goals specific, the warm-up should prepare your client for the workout they are about to complete. A running workout is a much different type of activity than rowing or powerlifting, which means you need to prepare your client differently. For example, If the workout is built around building strength in the bench press, sometimes the best way to warm-up is with a light bench press. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Switching exercises too often: In order to achieve progress in any workout template, clients need to keep using the same exercises for at least 6-8 weeks. Most people who don’t hire a personal trainer fall into the camp of switching exercise selection constantly, because variety is fun. However, in order to improve at any skill, people need to practice that skill. In addition, if you switch exercises constantly you interfere with the stimulus that comes from that movement.

• Not recovering during rest periods: In any strength workout, clients need to prioritize rest before each hard set so the body can replenish ATP. Make sure to keep clients mentally focused on recovering as much as possible during rests. They can do some light stretching and movement, but they should remain calm and focused so they can use all of their energy for each set.

• Don’t be afraid to use both horizontal and vertical loading in the same workout: Sometimes clients have limited time to train. You can still get the benefits of horizontal loading if you implement it during the first few exercises of a workout, but this doesn’t mean you can’t end with a few circuits to save on time and get the client’s heart rate up. 

Conclusion

Trainers must learn how to implement horizontal loading into their coaching. Most of the time, straight sets will be the best resistance training method for building strength, power, and even hypertrophy, but horizontal loading does take longer than using vertical methods.

Consider using both horizontal and vertical loading when appropriate.  

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

References

1. Clark, M. A., Lucett, S. C., Mcgill, E., Montel, I., & Sutton, B. (2018). NASM essentials of personal fitness training. Burlington Jones & Bartlett Learning.