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Strength Training Guidelines
The following strength training guidelines will help you safely and effectively incorporate
strength training into your fitness program.
Frequency
There's no single ideal training frequency. How many days per week you lift weights depends
on factors such as your training goals, your level of training experience, your recovery
ability, and how many different muscle groups you train each workout.
Rest days are just as important as training days because muscles don't grow during training,
they grow after training. Weight lifting causes microscopic tears in muscles, and rest days
allow muscles to repair themselves, grow and get stronger. A muscle needs at least 48 hours of
rest to recover from a weight lifting workout, so never train the same muscle group two days
in a row.
Duration
A weight lifting workout should last no more than 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, your body
begins to stop producing the muscle building/fat burning hormones testosterone and human
growth hormone and starts producing the hormone cortisol, which can tear down muscle tissue
and contribute to fat storage.
Repetitions and Sets
Performing 1-5 reps per set primarily builds strength and power. Performing 8-12 reps per
set is best for overall muscle development. Performing more than 15 reps per set primarily
builds muscular endurance.
Fitness experts have varying opinions on how many sets should be performed for each
exercise during a workout, but many recommend performing three sets (not including warm up
sets) per exercise. Use this as a general guideline and then adjust as needed based on
factors such as what body part you're training, what exercises you're performing, and what
your training goals are.
Rest Between Sets
As a general guideline, the rest between sets should be 30-90 seconds. The rest time will
vary depending on factors such as what body part you're training, what exercises you're
performing, and what your training goals are.
Number of Exercises
As a general guideline, beginning weight lifters should perform one exercise per body part,
intermediate weight lifters should perform two exercises per body part, and advanced weight
lifters should perform three exercises per body part. Adjust this guideline as needed based on
factors such as what body part you're training, what exercises you're performing, and what your
training goals are.
Intensity
One of the most important strength training guidelines is that you have to work out with
a high level of intensity in order to achieve optimum results. But what's considered a high
level of intensity?
Some fitness experts advocate reaching "muscle failure" on every set, but many fitness
experts feel that taking every set to muscle failure will lead to overtraining and/or injury.
Muscle failure is when your muscle is so tired you can't do another full rep in good form.
Since there's no consensus on this, it's best to take some of your sets to muscle failure and
others to just short of muscle failure. This will vary from workout to workout depending on
factors such as what body part you're training, what exercises you're performing, and how you
feel.
Once you reach a point where a particular exercise isn't very challenging anymore, it's time
to raise the intensity. You can do this by increasing the number of reps or the amount of weight.
If you increase the amount of weight, you probably want to do so in small increments. Depending
on the body part you're training, a small weight increase can often make a big difference.
Free Weights vs. Weight Machines
There's long been debate about which is better, free weights or weight machines. Both have
their pros and cons, but the bottom line is that both will build muscle and increase strength.
If you have access to both free weights and weight machines, use both in your workout routine.
You'll find that some of your body parts respond better to free weight exercises while other
body parts respond better to machine exercises. Also, the combination of free weights and
weight machines will add more variety to your workout routine.
Form and Technique
Using good form and technique is one of the most disregarded strength training guidelines.
Many people perform their reps at a fast speed, swinging the weight up and down. This is often
because they're using a weight that's too heavy for them and they have to use momentum in order
to lift the weight. Use muscle power, not momentum, when lifting weights. Don't heave, swing or
bounce the weight. Lift and lower the weight in a controlled manner. Concentrate on feeling the
muscle that you're working (this is called the mind-muscle connection).
Warming Up
Warming up is another one of the strength training guidelines that's frequently ignored.
Warming up is important because it stimulates blood flow to your muscles, increases your joint
flexibility and range of motion, gets you mentally prepared for your workout, and helps prevent
injury. Warm up by doing several minutes of light aerobic exercise before starting your weight
lifting workout and by doing one or more light sets of each weight lifting exercise before using
heavier weights.
Changing Workout Routines
You should change your workout routine once you stop seeing noticeable results on a consistent
basis. You don't necessarily have to change your entire workout routine, but some new stimulus
must be put into the routine or you're not likely to make further progress. Changes also keep
things interesting.
The frequency of change is different for everyone - it depends on how long you've been training
and what your training goals are. When you're a beginner, you can make progress on the same workout
routine for a long time. The more advanced you get the more quickly your muscles adapt. But make
sure that you don't change your workout routine too often, as this would not provide any continuity.
Get everything you can out of your workout routine and then make changes.
In conclusion, these strength training guidelines will help you develop a strength training
program that best meets your individual needs and goals.
Recommended Resource
Bodybuilding Revealed shows you how to develop an
effective strength training program, how to create an effective muscle building eating plan, and
what muscle building supplements actually work.
Read my review of Bodybuilding Revealed
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