1. Reps And Sets
The most bascial term in bodybuilding is the rep. Rep is short for repetition and simply means peforming one complete movement of a given exercise. For esample if you were doing a flat barbell bench press it would mean lifting the bar off the rack, slowly lowering it to mid-chest and them pushing it back up to arms' lenth. Performing a group of continuous reps is called a set. Most bodybuilders perform 8 to 12 reps per set.
2. HOW MANY REPS?
There are three broad categories of rep ranges - one for biudling maximum muscle size, one for maximum strength, and one for general conditioning. There is no one rep range that will maximize all three categories at once. You must decide what your primary goal is. Generally speaking, for maimum strength 3 to 6 reps seems to work best. Bodybuilders trying to gain muscle mass find sets in the 8 to 12 range most effective. For general conditioning, 12 to 20 reps is normal.
3. REP RANGES
Even though most people may respond best to a given rep range, everyone is different. Over time, experiment with different rep ranges to see what works best for you. Don't stick with a given rep range if it doesn't give you the results you desire.
4. BEGINNER REPS
When starting an exercise program, perform higher reps. The higher reps will force you to use lighter weight. This means you can concentrate on mastering your technique. You will achieve better results and there is less chance of injury.
5. NEVER TOO YOUNG!
For those younger readers (or those who have young teens), be assured that you are never too young to benefit from a regular weight-training program. Regular exercise improves physcial fitness and strength, promotes a healthy lifestyle, and boosts self-esteem. the old myth of weight traning stunting growth is just that- a myth! There is no evidence to support this old belief.
6. NEVER TOO OLD!
The fastest growing demographic segment of society is the baby boomer generation (anyone born between the years of 1946 and 1964). Unlike their counterparts from 30 or 40 years ago, most baby boomers are not content to grow old. they want to stop the clock. Weight training is one of the best forms of exerciseto combat the decline in physcial health brought about by age. Unlike cardio, which can be tailored to the individual's fitness level. In addition, only weight training can slow down the problems associated with bone loss due to osteoporosis. So, you baby-boomer readers, Get Up Off The Couch And Hit The Gym!
7. DON'T WORRY ABOUT GENETICS
The bad news is that your genetic makeup is the promary limiting factor in your training. That's the bad news. The good news is that no one has ever utilized his or her full genetic potential. Although unfavorable genetics have made thousands of bodybuilders' ultimate achievements difficult, no individual has ever been competely hindered by them. So get to it!
8. WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS
Just as you woudln't haphazardly drive around hoping by accident to reach your destination, so too should you have a "road map" to follow when bodybuilding. Grab a pieve of paper and write down exactly what you want to change about your body. Is it an extra inch or two on your arms? How about a 225-pound bench press? Or perhaps you want to see your abs again! Next, give yourself a timeline to follow and try to stick to it. This will keep you honest and less likely to skip workouts.
9. STRICT VERSUS LOOSE REPS
Bodybuilders perform two types of reps - strict and loose. As the names imply, strict reps are those that are performed in almost flawless fashion. There is no cheating or jerking the weight up. Loose reps are those for which some body momentum is used to assist the target muscles in lifting the weight. there is an argument to be made that reps should always be performed in strict style. this is a especially true at the beginner level, but advanced bodybuilders frequently use a loose training style.
10. CONCENTRATION IS THE KEY
Always concentrate and focus on the muscles you are trying to stimulate when exercising. Try to make a lighter weight feel like a heavier weight. In his prime Arnold Schwarzenegger used 60 to 70 pounds to work his biceps while others were flinging up 80 or 100 pounders. Arnold made those 60's feel like 80's and built two of the greatest biceps in bodybuilding history.
11. THROW THEM OUT
Unless you are hundreds of pounds over weight, throw your scales out the window. Body weight is not always a good measurement of fitness and health. You could gain 10 pounds of muscle and lose 10 pounds of fat. your weight will not have changed, yet you've improved yourself considerably by losing fat and adding muscle.
12. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
Don't expect results in a few weeks. It takes an average of two to four months before you'll see significant changes in strength and muscle size. Even then you might not see them, but they are occuring just the same. Some things are worth waiting for. Stay dedicated and be persistant.
13. THE UPS AND DOWNS
There wil be days when there won't be enough weight in the gym for you. Conversely there will be days when the warm-up will feel heavy. There is no way you will be able to max out on every workout. Let the body be your guide. On the days when it says: "go at 75 percent," listen.
14. 10 FOR 1
On average you'll need to gain 10 pounds of bodybweight for every inch of arm size. For most people who train consistently this means that in a fiver-year period they'll increase their bodyweight by 50 pounds and add five inches to their arms.
15. FORCED REPS
After you have a few months of training under your belt you can try a few advanced training techniques. One of the easiest to learn is forced reps. A foreced rep is a rep performed after you can no longer lift the weight on your own. Let's say yo complete 10 reps on the bench press and cannot do number 11. Have a partner placehis hands under the bar and provide just enough lift to help you complete a couple of additional, or "forced" reps. In gym jargon your partner is giving you "a spot."
16. HOW MANY SETS
As with the number of reps in a set, there is no magic number of sets to perform in a workout. In time most bodybuilders discover what works best for them. Perform too many and you run the risk of overtraining and burnout. Perform too few and you won't adequately stimulate the muscles. Our advice is to start off by performing 6 to 9 sets total for bigger muscles like chest, back and legs, and 4 to 6 sets for smaller muscles like biceps and triceps.
17. A GUIDE FOR TOO MANY SETS
One of the best guides for determining when to stop training a particular muscle is to go by "the pump." As soon as a muscle is subjected to exerciseit begins to fill up with blood, giving it a tighter and fuller feeling. Bodybuilders have discovered a point whendoing extra sets not only doesn't increase the pump, the pump can actually drain away. It is at this point that yuou should stop trainig the muscle and move on to the next body part.
18. THE FINAL SET
As you exercise a muscle, waste products such as lactic acid begin to build up. It is these metabolic by-products of exercise that play a major role in fatguing the muscle. One way to help flush these "exercise limiters" out is by performing a lighter/higher-rep set at the end. Highreps flush the area with blood, speeding up waste removal.
19. DON'T BURN THEM OUT OR FADE THEM AWAY
Even though they are the "showy" muscles of the body, the biceps are one of the easiest muscles to overtrain. your biceps receivea good workout just by being used in your back workouts. Don't make the mistake of training them three or four times a week for 15 to 20 sets. Try 6 to 8 sets in total, once or twice a week.
