TweetNice post! I like even going as far as 1-2 sets per muscle group!
TweetHeres and exerpt from my up and coming website:
I'm a big believer in doing what's required to activate maximum muscle growth and body-fat, and then leaving the muscle alone so it can not only recover but also overcompensate (i.e. become more developed). Any training that does not allow for this is in my opinion largely a waste of time. In my own training and the many people that I have worked with, the vast majority responded more profoundly to optimal performance training (OPT) than any other form of training.
My training methods and overall philosophy has been influenced by the teachings of many people, most notable among these the training philosophies of Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer (circa articles from the 1980's), Dr. Ken Lestiner, Stuart Mc Roberts, Perry Raider, Dr. Randell Strossen, Dorian Yates, Ellington Darden, John Little, Clarence Bass as well as many friends and acquaintances that I have had the pleasure to learn from and train with over the years.
The most effective muscle building body-fat burning program that I have come across to date is a juxtaposition of power lifting, Olympic lifting, and bodybuilding; there is a synergism between the burgeoning weight of power-lifting, the power and graceful methods of Olympic lifting, and the exercise and repetition choices of bodybuilding. Of course there has to be a balance been these three schools of lifting or the end result might not be what you intended, you must exercise specific to your goals. I have found through that when properly applied this method produces outstanding results in all who use it. I'm not implying that everyone can create a physique on par with the best natural athletes in the world, or become a supermodel, that kind of implication would be out of line, because everyone has a genetic limit to what they can achieve. Some people have more genetic material to work with so all things being the same will get farther than someone who is less genetically gifted (don't let anyone tell you other wise this is a basic truth of the universe until gene therapy becomes available to all). With that said the vast majority of us can create a level of physique development, conditioning, and strength that is way above the national average; the key is to optimize what you have and reduce the negative factors. If you do this you will literally see a result each and every time you train.
So far the vast majority of people who I have trained and advised have produced outstanding results in fitness. I don't say this to brag but instead to state that if certain key variable of fitness are applied properly you will produce results that you can be proud of. These results can be achieved without the use of performance enhancing drugs or excessive supplementation this is of course if you stick to the correct principles.
Like most people versed on the application of proper exercise (for building muscle, getting leaner, increasing power and speed, fitting your clothing better, increasing overall health and fitness, and building strength and endurance) I know that the best exercises for producing a training effect are the basic compound movements; these are:
The Squat (different stances barbell or smith machine),
The deadlift (different stances, styles, barbell, dumbbells, or smith machine),
The Bent over row (different angles, different styles, barbell, dumbbells, or smith machine),
The Chest press (different angles, different grips, barbell, dumbbells, or smith machine),
The Chin-up or pull-up (different grips, different ranges),
The Dip (different ranges, different angles, different hand positions),
The Overhead press (different angles, seated or standing, different grips, different ranges, Barbell, dumbbells, machine),
The upright row (different grips, different ranges, barbell, dumbbells).
A trainee could use the above exercises and their variations for his/her whole life and create an outstanding level of fitness and physique development. He or she could add a few isolation exercises (single joint exercises) to these foundation movements and put the finishing touches on a physique or level of performance that is already outstanding; the key is to always consider the basics before the isolated movements not the other way around.
Of course the above exercises must be married with common sense, which means sufficient warm-ups, correct exercise execution, proper nutrition, proper rest and recovery, and a strong mindset.
The training style that I advise you to use
Perform each movement with a strict but aggressive manner (if you are natural and genetically average you cannot baby the weight, if you do you won't achieve much, this applies to women as well as men), you have to give your body a reason to change (i.e. intense effort). This type of training will expediently create lean muscle mass, bones will become more sturdy, ligaments and tendons become like steel cords, and flexibility (providing your movements are performed through a full range of motion) is greatly enhanced. Of course care must always be taken to avoid injury so don't extra resistance until you can control what you are currently using.
If you have been training for less than 2 years
At this point I don't advise you use many intensity-enhancing techniques because
1) You must build a foundation to avoid imbalances, which can lead to injury
2) You should keep your most potent weapons for when your progress starts to slow down. Get this type of training in the bag before moving onto very advanced techniques. "Build a castle first before considering what color you wish to paint the drawbridge!"
After the 2 year foundation and body integrity building I advise that trainees introduce a more freer use of form to their movement, what I'm not encouraging here is outright sloppy cheating but a use of slight cheating technique or slight explosion to keep the movement driving in the right direction. A good way to look at cheating is to consider it a way to make your set harder, to hit the muscle harder, not to make the set easier. With this in mind a trainee would first perform as many repetitions in a set as strictly as possible then he/she can no longer do any strict repetitions he/she would cheat the weight up by breaking form slightly to get the weight moving through the most difficult portion of the repetition. If these are done right there is little chance for injury but large potential for progress.
Some lifting and bodybuilding purists may consider this style of training to be inefficient or dangerous, but I have not found it to be so, in fact I have found this freer form of movement to be safer and more result producing. When I train athletes or any one that wants to optimize their level of performance or their physique I always incorporate this method.
Concerning repetitions
I'm a big believer in using a holistic approach when it comes to repetitions, this is because different repetitions (or times under load) produce different effects. No one-repetition scheme works all the components of a muscle structure at once. There are different types of muscle fibers, capillaries, tendons, glycogen, and other structures and substances that make up a muscle. Each of these structures more readily responds to specific repetition ranges or time under tension, most of these structures support one another to help muscles contract. It should be noted that different muscle fibers have different capacities for power and endurance (in general repetitions between 2-6 will stimulate the growth of the most powerful fibers, 8-20 will stimulate fibers that have power and endurance, and 25 and above will work fibers that a lot of endurance) So it is in a persons best interest to first optimize the type of fiber that is required for their particular goal then also build the supporting structures and fibers, doing this will cause rapid progress. In my own training and those of my clients I have found the varying of repetitions to be highly effective, I have found that physiques become more massive, leaner, stronger, vascular, and have more stamina; all these changes happen at the same time. This is why I'm not a believer in the common practice of bulking up (gaining muscle and fat) and then cutting up (getting rid of fat and hopefully retaining the muscle that you gained during the bulk up phase); I choose instead to build lean muscle while also getting leaner. For those who wish to get leaner but don't want to build a large amount of muscle I recommend that you restrict your caloric intake to one that only will support your target goal, but you should still train intensely which means progressively. My personal repetition range goes as low as 3 repetitions and up to 100 repetitions, this is an extreme range but my goals are extreme. For those who want a balanced, lean, moderate sized, muscular physique (A Men's Health type of physique for men, and a Shape magazine type of physique for women) I suggest that the majority of your repetitions range between 6-25. For those who want natural maximum development use a repetition range similar to the one that I use.
Concerning Sets
You should alternate set ranges during different phases of training, going from as low as 3 sets for a muscle group to as high as 10 sets. Typically I keep the sets on the low end (2-6) to optimize intensity (if you know that you have 10 hard sets to go you probably will hold back to get through the workout) and to not draw the session out so long that my natural anabolic hormone levels flat line. Sets is the department where people differ slightly some trainees thrive on an amount of sets that would quickly over-train another trainee. I believe that this happens from many factors some of these are training intensity, genetics, stress level, lifestyle, recovery, age, and nutrition. Even though peoples set needs differ I have found that they do not differ that much, meaning if trainees train intensely, eat well, and get sufficient R&R they will generally require the same amount of sets. Most typical trainees (and who's really typical) will respond well to 4 total work sets (this means non warm-up sets taken to muscular failure, almost muscular failure, or slightly beyond) for a smaller muscle and 6-7 for a larger muscle group like the back.
Why so few sets, well if you are working hard (meaning at or close to muscular failure) on the foundation exercises then you will work a large amount of muscle with each set. Each of these exercises not only works the target muscles but call on many others that assist in the performance of the movement. In general the smaller muscles of the body receive a lot of indirect work when performing these movements. In effect one set of one these movements performed to muscular failure can be compared to performing 20 regular sets of another exercise; they are that potent. With the increased potency comes a reduced ability to tolerate these exercises (much like the ability to tolerate a high dose of a particularly strong drug; as the dosage increases the risk of overdose increases drastically), which means that in order to achieve maximum benefit from these exercises they must be respected and used sparingly.
As you get stronger and more developed you will have to cut back on your work sets to avoid overtraining. You will have to also increase the amount of rest hours or days that you take before training a body-part again to allow your body to not only recover but super-compensate (build past pre-session levels; i.e. lean muscle mass and strength inc
TweetNice post! I like even going as far as 1-2 sets per muscle group!
TweetGreat post!
TweetVery well written. Nice job!
Tweetthanks bro, great post!!
HE WHO MAKES A BEAST OF HIMSELF, GET'S RID OF THE PAIN OF BEING A MAN!!
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"Actually for once your actually starting sound quite logical!"-djdiggler 07/10/2007
I LOVE BOOBOOKITTY...
TweetMakes sense...I like it
Any and all views expressed by the screen name Shiner22nd are entirely fictional and are intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes only. This person in no way condones or supports the use of Anabolic Steroids and/or medical substances without the legal consent from his or her doctor.
That being said.......
Tweetcool
TweetI like your post. Very impressive. I too enjoy the readings and training philosophies of Mentzer and Stuart McRobert. Please keep posting.
IG
TweetSolid advice, and great training philosophy!
TweetYeah sometimes I go through traiing phases were I do 1 set for my biceps, and 1 set for my triceps. shoulders get 2. chest might get 2 sets. So yes that type of training can be benificial during parts of the year.Originally Posted by Skarhead
TweetGlad it makes sense, I always aim to communicate my ideas in a manner that makes sense.Originally Posted by Shiner22nd
TweetIG,Originally Posted by Iron_Gook
Thankyou. Mentzer and McRoberts definitely have a lot of good info.
TweetThankyou, 16 years in the making.Originally Posted by mick-G
TweetExcellent post!
I'm confused though so your saying to only do 4 sets on workouts?
so for example if I'm doing shoulder day I usually do 4 seperate workouts for my shoulders with a 6-8 rep range, and 4 sets per workout. That would be 16 total sets. Are you saying to do 4 sets per workout....or 4 sets for the entire workout?
I'm looking to gain size, but tone while I'm doing that. For the last year I've been gaining alot of size. But that's the problem I'm getting size and I'm not getting toned at all. what would you advise?
TweetNo, I'm saying do aproximately 4-5 work sets for a large muscle group, and 2-3 work sets for smaller areas.Originally Posted by DJDIGGLER
A work set is a set taken to failure or close to it.
You should also warmup a bit before performing all out sets with a lighter weight.
So for example if I was going to be training somebody's back I might have: them do this
Warmup on bike 5 mins
warmup with 20 pushups
warmup with 20 light lat pulldowns
warmup with side raises light 20 reps
warmup with deadlifts light 15 reps
stretch all major muscle groups for 7 minutes
at this point they can now begin weight training (the body is primed)
first exercise might be T-bar rows done off the ground
10 reps with two 45lb plates for first warmup
second warmup would be 3 45lb plates for 7 reps
None of the above weights are maxs, they are realitively easy to do
(remember you must do as many warm-ups as you need to prime the muscle)
1st work set four 45lb plates for maximum reps
rest 3 mins
2nd work set three 45lbs and 25lbs for maximum reps
(so up to this point you have done two work sets)
The second exercise might be pull ups
no warm-up necessary
1st work set body weight maximum reps
rest a few mins
2nd work set body weight maximum reps
rest a few mins
3rd work set body weight maximum reps
(up to this point you have done 5 work sets, and 3 warmup sets, thats ,more than enough)
(This program would work well for an intermediate trainee, beginners and advanced trainees would have to do something different)
3-4 work sets is more than enough for shoulders. 16 sets is way to much you are either overtraining or pacing yourself, cut back and train more agressively. Also 16 sets of 6-8 reps may lead to future shoulder problems, reread my take on repetition ranges. I personally do only 2 work sets for shoulders, but I'm advanced enough to do that.
Try grouping more body part together on a give day for example:
Monday: chest arms
Wednesday Back shoulders
Friday thighs calves
Saturday cardio and forearms, abs
If you want a more personalized program I provide a consultation service if your interested contact me at hosannahfitness@yahoo.com