Before you start reading this document, I will warn you that it is technical and dry reading. But if you’re serious about your gym workouts, this document is worth reading as a starting point and you can find further reading in the references below.
Most of you will understand the terminology in this document, but those who will not.
Reps- repetition of an exercise or movement in a specific shape or manner:
Set: a number of repetitions is a single set
One Rep Max – The single movement with the maximum load capacity or the most you can lift in a single attempt. You can try this (I’ll cover how to do it in other notes), but it’s not recommended for a beginner. It’s best to choose a weight that you can lift to failure (can’t push/pull the weight anymore) about 6-10 times.
Then put it into the following formula. Where w is the weight and r is the number of repetitions.
1RM = w(1+(r/30)
We all know that there are many ways to exercise, using various routines and methodologies. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the most popular workout routines:
1) Three-day workouts
This workout is usually followed as a beginner program. Although there are variations, this pattern is generally followed:
10 repetitions, 1 minute rest, 2-3 series, at 60-80% 1 repetition max.
Commonly with this workout, you would do one exercise per body part (legs, chest, back, abs, biceps, triceps, lower back, and shoulders). These give you eight exercises in total and require ten minutes of cardio at first to warm up, as well as five minutes of cardio as a cool down. Pre-stretching and post-stretching are also often added to this exercise routine.
Remember that this routine is generally used by beginners. If you are new to the gym, you should use it for the first 3 to 12 months. This will allow you to develop the required strength, endurance, posture and cardiovascular system.
At this stage, you have mastered the basics and your training should be in line with your goals. There are many ways to really reach your goals, and we’ll cover the basics of these routines. Remember that each routine can be changed further by using different rep ranges, weights, and rest times. I will review the details of these in future notes.
For now, we will see what trainings we can use:
2) Split routine
It is made up of four resistance workouts a week and one cardio session a week, commonly used by bodybuilders. Depending on how it is used, it can build muscle size and definition.
These routines are usually broken down based on an upper body workout one day (i.e. chest, shoulders, back, biceps, triceps), followed by a lower body workout the next day (i.e. , abs, lower back, calves, quads, and glutes). ). You would then do a day of cardio, followed by the split routine from the first two days again.
These sessions typically consist of the following:
2 exercises per body part, 8 repetitions in 4 sets per exercise with rests of 60 to 90 seconds at 80% 1 repetition max.
3) Isolated training
This is not to be confused with isolated sets. Isolation training is exercising a particular muscle in as many ways as possible. You would work your chest, for example, in five different ways. A chest workout can include bench press, incline bench, barbell chest flies, supine bench and push-ups. This system can be used in two different ways. First of all, you can follow it twice a day so you can do the full workout twice a week, once for strength and once for endurance. This is how this routine would break down:
Strength
Mon: AM: Biceps PM: Chest
Tuesday: AM: Abs PM: Upper Back
Wednesday: AM: Legs/Lower Back PM: Triceps
Thu: Rest
Endurance
Fri: AM: Biceps PM: Chest
Sat: AM: Abs PM: Upper Back
Sun: AM: Legs/Lower Back PM: Triceps
This method is for very advanced people and you should take a week break every six weeks (ideally four weeks) to recover. It is highly likely that you will overtrain and this workout should not be used by anyone with less than eighteen months of gym experience. This is a methodology similar to that used by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A second option is to follow the x1 daily routine which can be broken down as follows:
My: Biceps
Tuesday: Chest
Wednesday: back
Thu: Shoulders
Fri: back and abs
Sat: triceps
Sun: Rest
This setup can be used by both beginners and more advanced users. It is also unlikely to lead to overtraining and is a relatively safe form of training.
The training will consist of the following:
Strength: 5 exercises 6-8 reps per set in 5 sets at 80-90% one rep max.
Endurance: 5 exercises, 12-15 reps (15-20 legs) in 5 sets at 40-60% 1 rep max.
4) Opposition Training
This is a form of training that is typically done four days a week with the fifth day being a cardio training day. You work the opposing muscle sets together as super sets, this can be very tiring. You would work your chest and back, your biceps and triceps, your abs and lower back, and lastly your shoulders and legs. To put the exercises together as a superset, I would do, for example, one set of bench presses followed directly by a middle row with no rest. The exercises together would constitute a single set. You could do a superset or compound exercises with the shoulders and legs, for example, squatting with a light weight resting on your shoulders and at the top of each movement press the weight.
Each workout would generally consist of the following:
5 exercises, 3 sets (opposing muscle supersets), 10-12 reps, rest 45-60 seconds
This is an advanced form of training and will test both endurance and strength. This is not recommended for beginners and you should have at least eighteen months of gym experience before trying to train with this methodology.
5) High impact resistance training
This is a method that has the potential to show the best results in the shortest amount of time, but it also carries the greatest risks. It requires you to push your body to its maximum capacity in very short spaces of time and then beyond, in a very hard and relentless way. The lift will be around 90-95% of your one rep max, so the loads are very heavy. You would train once every five days, for example, you would do a routine on Monday and then rest until Friday before doing the next routine on Friday. And then the next routine would be the following Tuesday. Routines would have no more than two workouts per muscle group and two muscle groups per training day. So, for example, you would work your chest and abs the first day, followed by your legs and shoulders the next, and so on. I would also incorporate a HIITS cardio workout into this routine after completing all the muscle groups, which I’ve explained more about in previous notes.
A workout using this method would consist of the following:
4 exercises (2 per muscle group), 2-3 sets per exercise 4-8 reps per set using 90-95% One rep max.
Using this routine, you probably won’t hit the full rep range without someone seeing you. In fact, you shouldn’t train like this without a training partner. And even if they are there to help you lift the weight so you can complete each set using the negative of the movement. I’ll cover the negatives in future notes. This form of training should only be used by people with more than twenty-four months of experience in the gym. Mike Mentzer used a training method similar to this.
There are many other methodologies and out there that use different ideologies, and with each of these ways there are many ways to work within these methodologies. For example, superset, pyramid sets, isolated and compound training. Some of my future notes will cover aspects of these in more detail.
One that is always good to include is compound movements. In fact, I recommend that you include them. This covers the bench press, clean and jerk, deadlifts, and squats.
Most of these workouts are designed to last around 45-60 minutes and should be easy enough to fit into most days.
Other readings
High Intensity Training: The Mike Mentzer Way – Mike Mentzer, John Little
The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding – Arnold Schwarzenegger Revisited with Bill Dobbins
Advanced Resistance Training Course Material – Futurefit Training
ACSM Newsroom: http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/news-releases/2011/08/01/acsm-issues-new-recommendations-on-quantity-and-quality- of-exercise
NSCA Guide to Program Design: Science of Strength and Conditioning – Edited – Jay R Hoffman