Strength training is one of the most productive methods of changing your physical appearance and physiological stamina. Regardless of the specific routine, there are definite broad guidelines to follow which maximize the effectiveness of your training time. The following list is a brief synopsis of the most important principles of strength training. Please also watch me describe these principles in greater detail by clicking on the link following each Top Ten Training Trick.
1. WARM BEFORE WORK
Even on your “non-cardio days,” your muscles must be warmed up before you can safely, and most effectively, perform intense strength training exercises. No matter what, always perform at least 5-10 minutes of whole-body cardiovascular exercise before working the muscles with machines, free weights, or calisthenics.
2. FLEX BEFORE FLEXIBILITY
Many people believe that stretching is a good activity for warming up the muscles. On the contrary, flexibility training should always be done at the end of your workout, after the blood is pumping and the muscles, tendons, & ligaments are warm. You can either stretch in between exercises for a particular muscle group or stretch your whole body at the end. Stretching a “cold” muscle may actually pose more risk of injury than not stretching at all.
3. EXHALE ON EXERTION
Never hold your breath during exercise. This is probably the most important safety principle. Trying to exhale with your throat (glottis) closed can temporarily double or triple your blood pressure!! As a general rule, breathe out when you feel like you’re exerting pressure (lifting the weight); breathe normally as you release pressure (lowering the weight). If in doubt… breathe out. Let’s keep those blood pressures down!!!
4. REST IS BEST
Your body responds to training during the rest periods. Training breaks your body apart… rest lets your body mend itself back together… stronger, faster, bigger, smarter, leaner, and with increased mitochondrial density. Anyway, don’t work your muscles over and over without them having the chance to “catch their breath.” At the very most, you should work a particular muscle group every few days. And as you get stronger, you can actually take off up to a week or more between workouts for a given muscle group.
For most people, strength training exercises need to be grouped together so that similar muscles are worked on similar days. Muscle groups that work together need to be trained together. For example, if you are training your legs, you should train all of the different muscles in your legs on the same day. Makes sense, right? If you perform squats on Monday (which use the calves for stabilization) and leg curls on Tuesday (which use the calves for knee flexion), you end up working your calves two days in a row. Imagine if you performed calf raises on Wednesday? Don’t plan on walking on Thursday. The same holds true for upper body exercises. If you train chest on day one, shoulders on day two, and triceps on day three, you have most likely trained your triceps three days in a row.
To assure proper rest between workouts, arrange your exercise accordingly:
Group 1: Upper Body Pushing Movements (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
Group 2: Lower Body
Group 3: Upper Body Pulling Movements (Back & Biceps)
Strength training exercises should, at least most of the time, also be completed in order from largest to smallest muscles. This not only allows for most of your energy to be directed to larger muscles early in your workout (when you have the most energy), but also prevents fatiguing smaller muscles too soon in your workout.
Push Muscles: Pectorals (chest), Deltoids (shoulders), Triceps (back of arms)
Leg Muscles: Gluteus Maximus (buttocks), Quadriceps (front thigh), Hamstrings (back thigh), Adductors (inner thigh), Gastrocnemius (calves)
Pull Muscles: Latissimus Dorsi (upper back), , Biceps (you know this one), Forearms
And what about abs? Regardless of what you’ve seen or heard, abdominals should always be worked at the end, after everything, because they stabilize the torso when doing other exercises. Even more importantly, Lower Back exercises should always be worked after the Abdominals. Did you hear that… Lower Back after Abdominals. If you fatigue your Lower Back muscles and then work Abdominals, the potential of injuring your Lower Back increases substantially.
I realize this is a lot to absorb. Because a picture is worth a 1000 words, and a motion picture is worth 10,000, I encourage you to watch all of the tips that I have posted for your viewing pleasure on the membership portion of THE BEST WAY TO EXERCISE. Enjoy!!
5. THE SPICE OF LIFE
As soon as you feel comfortable with an exercise, it’s time to change. Your body and mind become very familiar and very bored very easily. To keep your brain motivated and your body progressing, it is imperative that you continually adjust your workouts. Try to incorporate a variety of exercises into each and every workout… body weight exercises, free-weight exercises (dumbbells and barbells), and exercise machines. Additionally, I find it extremely helpful to completely change your routine every couple of weeks. As soon as you get used to it, change it. Physiological and psychological staleness is the beginning of the end of your dedication to a long-term fitness program.
6. SEPS & RETS
Many people get these messed up… they get their metters lixed. A “repetition” (or “rep” for short) is one complete movement of an exercise, basically a lifting and a lowering of a weight. For example, during push-ups, you lift your body up and lower your body down… that is one repetition. If you perform 10 push-ups, you’ve performed one SET of 10 repetitions. Let’s say you take a break, perform 10 more push-ups, take another break, perform 10 more push-ups, and you’re done. You’ve completed 3 SETS of 10 REPS of push-ups. Of course, it’s not always this neat and clean, but you get the picture.
I suggest that, for general training programs, using a resistance that allows you to perform somewhere between 6 and 20 repetitions. If anything, err on the side of too many. Too much weight and not enough reps is an accident waiting to happen. Again, refering back to the “spice of life,” altering sets and reps is one of the best ways to add variety to your program, especially if you have access to a limited selection of equipment. Performing sets of 6-8 for two weeks and 15-20 for two weeks is a great change of pace to your overall program.
7. DON’T GET A SPEEDING TICKET
Perform each exercise with a deliberately (and close to pathetically) slow speed of movement. Never use momentum to “jerk” a weight through its range of motion. In most situations, you should attempt to raise the weight or resistance in approximately two or three seconds and lower the weight in at least four or five seconds. Watch your watch carefully. A 7-Second-Down count is extremely slow, but it is probably the safest and most productive way to train. If in doubt about speed of movement, you are probably moving too quickly.
8. MACHINE SETUP
Each exercise has it’s own specific “right way” of being performed and usually takes me five or ten minutes to explain. It is essential to spend some extra time initially learning how to performe each movement safely and efficiently. I have posted all of the specific techniques for many exercises on the “Members Only” sections of The Best Way to Exercise. Join & Enjoy!!!
9. PROPER PROGRESSION
While there are some exceptions to this rule, it is important to try to progress on a regular basis, by either repetition or resistance, at least until you are at a level of fitness which you’d like to maintain. Progression can be viewed as a systematic increase in any aspect of your program… reps, sets, exercises, resistance, etc.
Keep in mind, though, there is the law of diminishing returns in effect. The most dramatic results of any exercise program always come from the least amount of exercise. Past a certain point, progression only increases the time you spend working out and your likelihood of injury. As the intensity of your workouts increase, training duration should decrease. Your body has a limited quantity of energy that can be used either for hard work or for long work… not both. As you become more conditioned, design your workouts to be progressively harder, yet briefer. Sometimes program variety alone is program progress enough.
10. SEEK PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
The above guidelines are some of the more important aspects to monitor during resistance training; nonetheless, they are only a scratch on the surface. If you have specific questions or concerns about your individual program, please continue to peruse The Best Way to Exercise website or contact me personally at: Doug@TheBestWayToExercise.com