Getting Started
Great - you've decided to try bodybuilding. Perhaps you want to build mass, tighten up your
midsection or slim down; those are all possible with strength training. Whatever your reason (and
you should definitely write down your goals for starting and your realistic expectations of what you
hope to achieve in the short and long term) you should follow a clearly defined program.
Don't expect us to provide you with any so-called success; let's state for the record right now that
some training methods are smarter and better than others, but nothing resembles a secret. Our
role here is to teach and guide you through your first three months so that you can take your
training to the next level and design a personal routine that meets your needs.
Is there one program that's right for everyone? No. Did you really expect that one routine would
serve the needs of the female college basketball player who wants to make a more dominating
presence on the court, the 45 year old businessman looking to firm his body and improve his
health, and the young man interested in competitive bodybuilding? Every person who trains has
different motivations, desires and genetic potential, and each must make his or her own
adjustments in putting together a particular program. It's really not so difficult. But before you get
started, here are some points you'll want to consider.
1.Get a physician's release if you are over 40 or have had any sort of previous injury or
impairment.
2.Be realistic but positive. Assess your current condition and where you want to be in three
months, one year and five years. Keep focused on your goals and know you'll achieve them.
3.Commit yourself to three months before making any judgements about whether it's
working or not. The truth is, you're probably a bit impatient, and sculpting your physique
takes time. Changes take place incrementally, but three months is long enough to notice
some significant changes in strength and size. Persistence and dedication are
characteristics that all successful bodybuilders have in common. Do you?
Designing Your Exercise Program
Before getting into your program, you need to develop an understanding of how and why you're
building your exercise routine. Although we've gone ahead and designed a program for you, just
about everything in it can be changed depending on your particular circumstances. Your primary
objective here, as a beginner, is to build a solid foundation - and not just any training program will
take you there in an efficient manner. Study the following points to better understand your
weight training program.
Bodypart Training
Bodybuilders group exercises by bodypart and train one muscle group at a time. Working one are
with 1-3 exercises ensures that you train it thoroughly. Experience says that this type of training is
the most efficient for weight training. (Circuit training, on the other hand, allows you to do movements
for different bodyparts back to back with no rest in between).
Every major muscle group should be developed to prevent muscle imbalance and the risk of injury.
The major muscle groups include legs (quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes), chest, shoulders,
back (Trapezius, lats, erectors), abdominals and arms (biceps, triceps).
Exercises
You can choose from any number of movements that target a particular muscle group, but
beginners should stick with the basics to develop a solid foundation. The first exercise you do for a
given bodypart should be a compound movement. (A compound or multijoint movement, unlike an
isolation exercise, has movement at two or more joints and thus brings in a greater number of
assisting muscle groups. Note: Some bodyparts like biceps, triceps and calves can be worked
with pre-dominatantly isolation exercises.)
Some basic movements can be done in a number of ways; for example, you can do a bench press
with a barbell, with dumbbells or on a machine. Eventually, you'll learn how to do them all and use
the in your training arsenal.
Two similar exercises can target a muscle differently. For example, the bench press is a good
exercise for most of the chest, but the incline press (essentially a bench press done on an incline
bench) works the upper pectorals more effectively. When you put exercises together to form a
routine, you'll want to include those movements that hit the same muscle in different ways. That's
why you normally include 2-3 exercises when you work each bodypart.
Weights
During the first couple of training sessions, you'll want to go pretty light just to get a feel for how to
do the movement correctly. After you feel comfortable with the form, begin adding weight.
Even an experienced lifted should always do his first set as a warm-up with practically no weight to
flush to target muscle and connective tissue with blood. On the second set, add a couple of small
plates and do the exercise again. Was it still east? If so, and assuming you used good form, add
more weight. If you struggled to reach 12 repetitions, add just a little bit of weight. (Adding weight
on successive sets is called pyramid training and is one of the safest ways to train.)
Continue adding weight until it becomes tough to complete 8-12 reps. Your goal is to train in the
range where you reach muscular failure at 8-12 reps. Once you find a challenging weight, stick
with it. So you'll become stronger and be able to increase the number of reps. Once you can do
12, it's time to increase your training poundage by about 10%. At this heavier weight, you won't be
able to do 12 reps, but with time you'll once again be able to. Keep working in this fashion.
The principle behind this type of training is known as overload. It states that for improvements to
occur, you must impose a demand on your muscles greater than what they're accustomed to (for
bodybuilding purposes, about two-thirds of your maximal strength). Your muscles compensate for
this strain on the cellular level by adding protein to grow thicker and stronger. At that point, the
same load is no longer sufficient to induce further changes, more load must be added. That is, you
must progressively add training stimulus to make continued improvements.
Keep track of your training poundage by recording your weights, sets and reps in a training log
alongside a list of your exercises.
Some bodybuilders swing and heave, cheating for the sake of pushing heavier weights. Remember,
the name of the game here is not weightlifting, but rather bodybuilding.
Sets
A set is a combination of any number of reps of a single exercise. As a beginner, you'll normally
want to do 1-2 light warm up sets of each movement (especially the first movement for a given
bodypart) before doing 1-3 heavier sets. That equals 2-4 total sets per exercise.
Reps
A rep is a single execution of one exercise. if you do a set of 10 bicep curls consecutively, that's
10 reps. During your first week or two, keep the weights very light so that you can complete about
15 reps in good form. This is a change for you to practice good form while you work on your
neuromuscular coordination and lean the proper 'feel' for the movement. Developing that feel with
become even more critical later on because it will tell you if an exercise is working.
After that initial break-in period, to build size and strength you want to do 8-12 reps per set (after
your warm-up set of 15 reps, which you should do at the start of each exercise). Use a weight that
allows you to do the recommended number of reps and still reach muscle failure.
Muscle failure means that you cannot do any more reps with good form. If you can't do eight strict
reps, the weight's too heavy. If you can do more than 12, the weight's too light. Adjust the weight
for your next set. (Note: The numbers eight and twelve are not arbitrarily derived. Exercise
scientists have conducted numerous tests and have found that working with a weight about 70% of
your one-rep maximum produces the fastest results. Most bodybuilders can lift about 70% of their
one-repetition maximum 8-12 times).
Though you don't have to train to muscle failure to grow, you need to come pretty close.
Bodybuilders call this intensity. How do you know if you're close to working at 100% intensity?
Simple: If you can do another rep with good form, do it! If you can do still another, do it.
After you build you base, you may want to experiment with a program that alternates periods of
high reps (which build muscle endurance) to medium reps (builds muscle mass) with low reps
(builds strength and power) and back up again. This is called cycling. The idea here is to progress
to a higher level of strength each cycle. (Note: Advanced strength athletes like powerlifters use
slightly different training methods, most notably the number of reps, that do bodybuilders. You'll
get stronger as you build muscle, but training to maximuse strength isn't identical to the type of
training that maximizes mass.)
Proper Form
We'll say this again and again, but it's far better to use a weight that allows you to perform the
movement correctly than to cheat with a heavy weight that will, sooner or later, result in an injury.
Speed of Movement
Use a smooth, controlled motion during all phases of the lift. This deliberate rep speed produces
the greatest results for bodybuilding purposes. Super-fast reps with ballistic movements and
jerking can be harmful to muscles and connective tissues, while slow training accomplishes very
little. In general, most bodybuilders use a formula that approximates a two-second positive
contraction (raising the weight), a momentary squeeze of the muscle at the point of peak
contraction, and a two-second negative contraction (lowering of the weight).
Breathing
Most people don't think much about breathing until they begin lifting weights, but it should still
come naturally. Start each set with a deep inhalation and exhale as you push through the most
difficult part of the lift. Inhale at the top (or the easiest portion of the lift) and exhale as you push.
Rest between Sets
In general, rest as long as it takes for you to feel recovered from your previous set. That normally
ranges from 45-90 seconds. Larger muscle groups take a bit longer to recover; smaller muscle
groups clear low pH levels are are ready to go more quickly. Don't fall into the all too common
mistake of talking with your buddies for 3-4 minutes between sets, during which time your muscle
can become cold. This is counterproductive and lengthens the time you spend in the gym.
If you want to emphasize strength, take a little longer rest between sets. On the other hand, less
rest means you won't be able to lift as heavy, but you'll be stressing your endurance. Of note: How
much you can lift on a given set and the number of reps you do are directly related to the length of
your rest period.
Use a Full Range of Motion
Use a full range of motion in your exercise movements. You want to work each target muscle
through its natural range of motion for complete development and to prevent injury.
Training Frequency
Say you train your entire body on Monday. Should you do it again on Tuesday, or wait until
Wednesday? The answer is that your body requires a minimum of 48 hours to fully recover after
exercise, sometimes even longer. Physiological processes at the cellular level require rest and
nutrients before you can train that same muscle group again. A good rule of thumb: If you're even
slightly sore, you're not ready to train that bodypart again.
If you're an advanced bodybuilder and split up your workout into, for example, one day for upper
body and another for lower body, you can train on consecutive days as long as you don't repeat
the same workout. As a beginner, you don't want to go more than 96 hours (four days) without
training the same muscle group again. Timing too infrequently results in submaximal gains.
The answer for the beginner, then, is to train every 2-3 days (or three times a week). A Monday -
Wednesday - Friday (or similar) schedule is ideal.
Training Duration
If you follow the exercises, sets, reps and rest prescription, you should complete your resistance
training in about an hour. Never mind those two hour plus sessions; who could possibly maintain
the high level of intensity and mental fortitude of a marathon training session? What matters is the
quality of your workout measured by the intensity you create, not the length of time you spend in
the gym. Remember that.
1) You shouldn't expect to change your
weight by more than two pounds a week.
2) Set aside specific days and times to
workout .
3) Understand that it takes a time to see
changes in your body, maybe a month or so - allow for this.
One of the most common reasons that people stop following their workout programs is that they try to do too much too soon. This can cause muscles to become sore and can create a negative association between the workout and the pain. A suggested workout plan might go as follows for beginners:
1) First 2 weeks: 1 set per muscle group,
Bodybuilding 70-80%, twice during each week
2) Second 2 weeks: 2 sets per muscle group,
Bodybuilding 70-80%, twice during each of these weeks
At this point it is recommended that
you re-measure your One Rep Max to design a new workout that will
reflect the gains made over the first four weeks. By this time
you should have a good sense of how your body responds to working
out, and so should be able to adjust your number of sets and/or
workouts to fit your own individual pace and ability.
There are five different workout programs from which to choose. They range in focus from strictly building muscle mass to chiseling exceptional definition. Each program is described in the following paragraphs.
This is strictly for building muscle mass. It is recommended that this program be used only by experienced weight lifters. If you are just starting with a weight-training program, you may want to begin at Bodybuilding 70-80% and work your way up to Power and Strength over several months.
This program is also mass-building but with the beginning of emphasis on definition, due to the use of a little less weight and somewhat higher repetitions.
With the use of medium weight and reps, this setting balances size and definition to give your muscles a complete workout. This is perhaps the best program to use to start a workout regimen.
This program uses lighter weight and higher repetitions. This is the one to use to take the muscle you've built and give it better form and shape, separating a truly fine physique from just a muscular one.
Using the lighter weights and highest
repetitions, this program can be used to maintain muscularity
and overall fitness, and is excellent for building muscle endurance.
Rotating the programs
Many fitness experts, including bodybuilders, advocate varying the intensities of the workouts that you do over time.
The assertion is that by varying the types of workouts, a person can make greater gains than if they always do the same type of workout. For instance, a workout may use Bodybuilding 70-80% one month, Power and Strength another month, and Shredded Cuts another month. This process may be cycled over time as well. Depending on who the source is, the specific prescription for change will vary, but the idea remains the same.
Because of the vast differences between
individuals as to ability, body type, goals, available time and
dedication, we do not make specific recommendations for rotations.
If you want more information on this concept we suggest you seek
out a degreed and experienced personal trainer or exercise physiologist.
Starting a bodybuilding program can be a daunting experience. You visit your local gym only to
see intimidating, big armed men and lean, muscular women training with a serious attitude. You
look around and are dazed by the expansive array of equipment. How dies it all work? Even the
vocabulary seems like a foreign language: spotting, pyramid training, gastrocnemius, reps,
periodication.
Whew! Would it help if we reminded you that even Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps the greatest
bodybuilder of all time, had a first day in the gym? If fact, we all did!
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