Q: I have a question about how to select weights to use within programs like yours that may fluctuate the sets and reps from week to week.  For example, if it’s 4×3 in week 1, 4×2 in week 2, 4×4 in week 3, and 3×3 in week 4, are there are certain percentages that I can use based off my one-rep max?  This would make it easier to know exactly what weight to use each week.

A: Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’m going to paraphrase a bit from chapter 2 of the Show and Go main guide. Let me preface this explanation by saying that the goal of all my programs – and indeed any good strength and conditioning program – is to get stronger. And, I fully expect you to do so.

Now, if that’s the case, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to select what weight to use based on percentages of one-rep maxes that were taken before the program even began. By the time you get to phases 2, 3, and 4, you aren’t going to have sufficient overload to make optimal progress.

So, to that end, I rarely assign training percentages. All sets should be to one rep shy of failure; basically, go hard but never attempt a rep that you won’t complete on your own. Each session should be somewhat of a test of your new strength as you work up to heavier loads and listen to your body along the way.

As a frame of reference, on your first (main) exercise(s), just work up to your heaviest set of the day (in perfect form, of course), and then find 90% of it. Anything you did above that 90% number “counts” as a set. Anything done before it is a warm-up. So, imagine you had 4 set of 3 reps planned on the bench press, and you worked up to 300 on you heaviest set using the following progression:

Set 1: 45×8
Set 2: 135×5
Set 3: 185×3
Set 4: 225×3
Set 5: 275×3
Set 6: 295×3
Set 7: 300×3

That puts you at three sets (275, 295, and 300) above 90% of your heaviest load for the day (300). So, to get a fourth set in, you just need to get one more set somewhere between 270 (90%) and 300 (100%). By the next week, this 90-100% range may have shifted up by 5-10 pounds, so you have to accommodate it – and prescribing percentages on an old one-rep-max just doesn’t do the job justice.

It really doesn’t matter what rep range is in question – whether you’re doing heavy singles or sets of 8-12 reps.  You can really apply it to just about every set in every training session when you’re wondering what weight to use.

For more information, check out Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.

Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter:

© admin for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Attempt, Bench Press, Conditioning Program, Exercise, Failure, Frame Of Reference, Lifters, Maxes, One Rep Max, Paraphrase, Percentages, Preface, Resistance Training Program, Shy, Strength And Conditioning, Week 1, Weight Training, Weights, Wheel, Whole Lot

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Yeah, I guess you could say that I’ve become a bit of a lifting snob; I’m always surrounded by people who know how to interpret my programs, leaving me to just program, coach technique, help select weights, and turn up the volume on the stereo.

Continue Reading…

© admin for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Coach, Consumers, Continuity, Philosophies, Strength And Conditioning, Supersets, Weight Training, Weights

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Achieving fat loss is possible through burning more calories than you consume while maintaining lean muscle mass, losing fat, and gaining muscle. And You must have real determination and stick to your workout schedule in order to gain muscles and not fat

In order to achieve this, one must eat a maximum of 40 grams of lean meats, such as fish or chicken, up to 3 times a day and reduce the consumption of foods high in fat.

Eating 5 or 6 small meals per day will jump your metabolism and boost the burning of calories. Weight training is also important as it increases muscle mass and uses carbohydrates that may otherwise be stored as fat.

Weight training for as little as 15 minutes a day four or five times a week has been proven to support weight loss and the building of muscle as well. This does not mean that cardio work outs are not essential.

At least four times a week on a regular basis, you need to perform 20 to 30 minutes of modest aerobic exercise as it is beneficial to weight loss.

Those individuals who have a significant amount of body fat to lose and who do not regularly work out will see dramatic results if they add a fitness routine and diet to their lifestyle as your body is ready to lose the fat and gain muscle.

However, the more lean muscle mass and less fat a person is compiled of, increasing muscle and losing fat at the same time can be somewhat more difficult for them compared to someone just starting out.

Focusing on one goal of losing fat or gaining muscle is a good strategy for those in relatively good shape.

Looking to find the best information on how to lose weight and gain muscle, then visit www.losefatbuildmuscle.net to find the best advice on how to lose fat and gain muscle

© JohnJoseph for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aerobic Exercise, Burning Calories, Carbohydrates, diet, Dramatic Results, Fitness, Fitness Diet, Fitness Routine, Gaining Muscle, Good Shape, How To Lose Fat And Gain Muscle, How To Lose Weight And Gain Muscle, Lean Meats, Lean Muscle Mass, Least Four Times, Losing Weight, Metabolism, Muscle gain, Muscles, Patience, weight loss, Weight Training, Work Outs, Workout Schedule

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Just like anything else, consistency is a key element in being successful, and your workout will be no exception. A full commitment is required to give yourself the best odds of success. You need to develop a consistent workout habit. A general rule-of-thumb is that it takes about two weeks to develop a habit – good or bad! If you can regularly hit the weights on an every-other-day regimen, you’ll be well on your way to establishing the consistency you’ll need to be successful.

If you can train at least 3 times per week, that should provide you with enough muscle-building stimuli to start and maintain the hypertrophic (muscle-building) process. It also gives your muscles a day in between workouts to recover. Remember, muscle growth doesn’t occur during exercise; rather, it occurs during the post-workout healing and rest process. Don’t shortchange yourself there.

Don’t let your weight lifting workouts go too long, and never let them exceed an hour. A thorough strengthening workout routine can be accomplished easily in 30 minutes or less, particularly if you only pause for less than a minute between sets, which is desirable. If you feel any sharp pains, stop your workout immediately and try to find out what the source of the discomfort is coming from. Further exercising can make a bad situation even worse, so listen to your body for warning signals.

From purely a workout perspective, muscle growth occurs when you perform a high volume of ‘work’ at a medium, increasing intensity. ‘Volume’ here means the number of reps and sets you perform, and the ‘intensity’ variable is how much weight you’ll lift. All beginning strength trainers should begin their workout regimens using a ‘high volume, medium intensity’ approach. Over time, as your muscle mass begins to build, gradually keep increasing the intensity factor a little to keep sustaining your progress.

Weight lifting and cardio exercises work at cross purposes against each other. Strength training is an anabolic process, meaning that physical and hormonal processes work together to increase protein-based muscle mass. On the other hand, cardio exercises are catabolic in nature, which means they tend to break down muscle protein in an effort to burn calories. If your primary goal is to build muscle, take it easy on the cardio. If, however, weight control is your mission, cardio comes first, only to be augmented with some light strength training.

Drinking an adequate amount of fluids may seem like a no-brainer, but it is key to your workout’s ability to help you build muscle. Increase your fluids intake before, during, and after all workouts. Remember that dehydrated muscle tissue takes longer to repair itself, slowing muscle growth. Also, waste products from the metabolic processes that are occurring during exercise are excreted and need to be flushed out of your system. Drinking plenty of fluids help get the job done.

In addition to fluids, your body needs the right kinds of fuel to assist the muscle building process, so eat before and after your workouts. Since it takes the human body about 1.5 hours to digest a meal, wait that long after eating before starting your strength training regimen. As you burn through those calories, your body gradually becomes glycogen deficient. Glycogens are basically carbohydrates, and if you don’t replace them soon after finishing your workout, muscle tissue starts breaking down searching for another energy store. The easiest approach is to drink some hi-carb fluids after your workout. Eating fruit is also a great approach.

As difficult as it is these days to maintain a balanced diet – and particularly for strength trainers – you may want to consider filling in some of those nutritional gaps with antioxidants and high quality vitamin supplements. So-called free radicals are molecules that tend to destabilize other molecules, and taking antioxidants such as Vitamins E, C, and A can prevent further damage to muscle tissue that’s just been through a hard workout. Glutamine and selenium are also very beneficial.

If you follow these basic muscle building tips, you’ll enjoy a safer and more effective workout!

Author Rocco Polagamo used to be a thin, pencil-neck dweeb until he tried to build muscle how the real strength trainers do! Read his and other articles on how anyone can build muscle fat loss with great tips from the pros!

© RoccoPolagamo for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bad Situation, Build Muscle, Building Muscle, Consistency, Exercise, Fitness, Growth Doesn, gym, Gym Workouts, Habit, Healing And Rest, High Volume, Lifting Weights, Medium Intensity, Muscle Building, Muscle Growth, Muscle Mass, Muscles, Regimen, Rule Of Thumb, Stimuli, Strength Trainers, Strength Training, weight lifting, Weight Lifting Workouts, weight loss, Weight Training, Weights, workout, Workout Regimens, Workout Routine

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Some people have the wrong information when it comes to training with weights. Without the right instruction, they might feel that eating less food and training for many hours a week are the ideal ways to get into shape. This misconception is what has many people tearing apart their muscles. The right formula for excellent muscle growth involves a balanced diet and efficient training schedule.

There are some ways to tell if you are working the muscles in your body too much. One of the symptoms you might have is that your body might feel sore all the time. While it is okay to feel aches and pains after a good workout, the pain should go away after a day or two. If you are in constant pain, then chances are, your body needs some rest.

When you exercise, your heart rate will rise and stay steady until you stop your training. For someone who is working their muscles to their maximum ability, their heart rate will stay fast for a longer period of time. An increased heart rate when not working out, could be a sign of over doing it.

If you are having trouble sleeping or eating, it can be that your body is being over worked. When your muscles are stressed, they can prevent you from sleeping or having a good sleep, it can also suppress your appetite.

In order to get an efficient workout without hurting your muscles, there are some fantastic ideas that you can attempt. Many trainers suggest, mixing weight training with other activities during the week. They might have you train every other day and do other physical components on the opposite days. Lifting weights on an irregular schedule, tends to help muscles heal and keep them healthy.

If you become dehydrated, your muscles will be effected. While they are in the process of training, they need an ample supply of water to keep them growing and building their muscles mass. It is also a key factor in keeping muscles working well while they under go a training session.

When you discover everything you need to know about how to exercise properly and eat right, you will begin to see results faster. Most people find out about muscle injuries the hard way, when they occur injuries to themselves. When you choose to avoid over-training to maximize muscle growth, then your workout will begin to do its job.

If you have been trying to learn how to gain muscle, then the muscle training program is going to assist you.. They will give you the training you are in need of.

© MarcBachelet for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Appetite, Balanced Diet, Efficient Training, Gain Muscle, gain muscles, Good Sleep, Ideal, Important Things, Increased Heart Rate, Many People, Maximum Ability, Misconception, muscle, Muscle Growth, muscle training, Muscles, Period Of Time, Shape, Simple Solutions, Sleep, Training, Weight Training, Weights, workout

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Based on the market research from back when we wrote Maximum Strength, about 23 million Americans lift weights for exercise – meaning that one out of every 426 people who lifts weights actually gets jacked up enough during a training session that he/she has to to go the hospital.

Now, I’ll be honest: while I have seen people do some INSANELY STUPID stuff in commercial gyms, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anything that warranted a trip to the hospital.  Obviously, I’ve lived a bit of a sheltered life in owning Cressey Performance for the past three years and working in either private training facilities or college weight rooms since 2003, but one would think that I could have come up with at least ONE gruesome story.  Alas, nothing comes to mind…not even a goofy laugh while benching.

So, I’m counting on you, my loyal and entertaining readers, to provide me with some good stories in the comment section below.  What outlandish stuff have you seen in gyms that has landed some schmuck in the emergency room?

© admin for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: American Journal Of Sports Medicine, Commercial Gyms, Emergency Room, Emergency Rooms, Exercise, Goofy Laugh, Gruesome Story, Journal Of Sports Medicine, Market Research, Maximum Strength, medicine, Private Training, Schmuck, Sheltered Life, Sports Medicine, Stupid Stuff, Training Session, Trip To The Hospital, Weight Training, Weights

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

These overall principles are important but it’s also important to take a close look at some of the ways that people slip up so you can learn how to avoid them, stay injury free and reach your goals. These typical downfalls include:

-No Plan of Action: Almost everything in life is accomplished more effectively if there is an appropriate plan of action in place, and bodybuilding is no different. Purchase a small notebook or pad that you can take with you around your daily activities and to the gym. You can use this journal as your comprehensive guide to muscle building and jot down things like:

1. Personal Assessment: You need to know where you are right now. 2. Goal Setting: You need to know where you want to be. 3. Training Strategy: You need to know how you will get there.

Strategy Planning ” You’ll need to plan the steps involved and implementing your training strategy to reach your goal.

Measuring Results – Keeping up with your measurements allows you to see yourself moving towards your goals as well as knowing when you have reached your goals

Keeping a training journal and calendar will aid you in preventing from skipping any of your scheduled workouts. Keeping up with your scheduled workouts are essential when you are a bodybuilder.

-Making Poor Eating Decisions: To help avoid poor eating decisions either keep track of your diet in your journal or use a separate notebook to cover everything you eat and drink. It’s important to adequately fuel your body with protein at the right times, and it’s also important not to overeat. Keeping track will enable you to walk that fine line.

- Using Various Powders, Pills and Steroids: There are various bodybuilding products available on the market. You should know to not buy into the marketing hype as most likely the claims are bogus. It is best stick with tried and proven methods to reach your intended goal. Otherwise, you may just be wasting your time and your money.

-Doing the Same Workout Every Time: If you do the same workout every single week your body and your muscles are going to adapt and you won’t be able to see the results that you are looking. Be sure to add in variation and challenge your muscles to grow larger.

To stimulate your muscles into growing you have to make changes in your workout plan so they don’t get complacent. You should try things such as progressive overload, where each workout you add more weight and reps to your previous best to constantly push the limit. You can add additional sets to your workout, change the order you train in and try different exercises. Anything you do to add variation into your workout is going to help you achieve far improved results over the same, boring old workout.

- Not Getting the Most of Rest and Recovery: You need the proper amount of rest and recovery. Get plenty of restful sleep to recover from muscle inflammation and soreness by resting more often.

You can find here a lot of free muscle building routines, articles and programs. Find a lot of information about bodybuilding supplement industry to reveal the honest truth about building muscle, maximizing strength and dissolving away unwanted bodyfat. Visit us to read more Muscle Building Articles

© RicardodArgence for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, Build Muscle, Comprehensive Guide, Decisions, diet, Exercise, Fitness, goal setting, Gym Routines, health, Jot Down, Measurements, men's issues, Moving, Muscle Building, Muscle gain, Muscle Mass, Muscles, Notebook, Paying Attention, People, Personal Assessment, Protein, self-improvement, Sports, Water Intake, weight loss, Weight Training, Womens Issues, work out, Workouts

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

What sort of body do you want? Do you want a toned body, a ripped body or just to be fit and healthy with some definition. It depends on the type of weight lifting exercises you do and the results will vary greatly. Some will be better for the arms than others, other will be better for the legs. But choosing weight lifting exercises that will give the full body a workout is the best idea in order to build muscle groups evenly and in proportion.

There are some fabulous resources available, particularly across the internet where weight lifting enthusiasts and experts give their advice and guidance on a wide range of weight lifting exercises. Before you embark on a rigorous routine, browse through some of their comments and reviews to make sure you’re on the right path. Look out for those that have credibility within the industry and never be afraid to seek advice.

Any good workout should be partnered with an equally good diet. Ensure you have a wide and varied diet, and ensure you’re taking in enough proteins each day to support the hard work you do in the gym! This can be a subject for an article in itself and should be approached completely separately and does depend on the type of weight lifting exercises you are going to do and the type of body you are trying to achieve.

Some types of routines will be suited to protein diets while others more suited to have more carbohydrates so make sure you do your home work or you could set yourself back. Read more info on diet and make sure it is right for you.

Mick Milligan is a health and fitness expert, providing help and advice to thousands of weight lifters via his website www.Weight-Lifting-Exercises.net The site is now attracting thousands of visitors a month, all wanting tips on how to get the best from their workouts and the best Weight Lifting Exercises to do. Visit today for your free audio report.

© MickMilligan for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Body Building, Building Muscle, Carbohydrates, Credibility, Different Things, Enthusiasts, Fabulous Resources, Fitness, Guidance, health, Health And Fitness, Legs, Milligan, Muscle Groups, Proportion, Protein Diets, Proteins, Sports, Toned Body, Weight Exercises, Weight Lifters, weight lifting, Weight Lifting Exercise, weight lifting exercises, Weight Lifting Routines, Weight Training, weight training exercises, Weight Training Routines, workout

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

It’s obvious why most lifters neglect the back muscles. 1) The back is not a “showy” muscle and you can’t see it in the mirror. 2) Back training is far more stressful and taxing to the body than chest or arm training. 3) Most lifters are simply unaware of how important the development of these muscles really is.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret, if you want to appear as wide, thick and powerful as you possibly can, nothing will allow you to achieve this goal faster than a well developed back.

There are 4 major movements that you must perform to properly develop your back. And here they are:

1) Deadlifts. The deadlift will work you from finger to neck to toe and is irreplaceable in developing strong, thick back muscles. The deadlift will stimulate growth throughout the entire back complex and should be the cornerstone of your routine.

2) Vertical pulling movement. Examples of vertical pulling movements are chin-ups (overhand or underhand), lat pulldowns and v-bar pulldowns.

3) Horizontal pulling movement. There are a ton of different rowing movements to choose from: bent over barbell rows, dumbbell rows, seated machine rows and cable rows just to name a few.

4) A shrugging movement. While not quite as important as the above mentioned lifts, a shrugging movement should still be performed at the end of the workout to target the upper traps and develop that mountainous, diamond-shaped look from behind. A basic barbell or dumbbell shrug will do the trick.

So, all you have to do is to perform 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps of every single exercise i mentioned before. That will do the job.

It may not seem like a lot, but as long as you take every set to muscular failure and focus on quality rather than quantity, this routine provides more than enough stimulation for maximum back growth. I’ve used this same routine for many years and continue to see steady progress in both back size and strength.

For specific training information on each of these body parts make sure to visit my webpage below and find out how you can finally get the rock-solid muscle gains you deserve without spending endless hours in the gym.

Are you sick and tired of being weak and flimsy? Let us take you by the hand with the best muscle building workouts to pack on pound after pound of ripped, firm muscle weight in the shortest period of time possible. Visit us if you want to read more Bodybuilding Articles

© RicardodArgence for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Arm Training, Back Muscles, Bent Over Barbell Rows, Bodybuilding, Chin Ups, Cornerstone, Deadlift, Dumbbell Rows, Exercise, Failure, Fitness, Focus On Quality, Gym Routines, health, Lifters, men's issues, Mirror, Muscle Building, Muscle gain, Muscular Physique, Perform 2, Pulldowns, self-improvement, Shrug, Sports, Upper Traps, Ups, V Bar, weight loss, Weight Training, Womens Issues, work out, workout

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

It means getting out there early to do your workout sessions so your body can increase your metabolism while building muscle and burning fat during the entire day and more than likely produce even more muscle mass. It also means committing and focusing on your own bodybuilding endeavors while ignoring all the hyped up marketing ploys of supplements and even comparing yourself to the appearance of other bodybuilders bodies.

Building muscles consists of more than how you carry out your regimen or even on the particulars of your routine ” it’s also important to understand why what you’re doing is getting you towards your bodybuilding goals.

Another of the best bodybuilding tips is to do your workout routines consistently. From time to time, you will need to change up your workouts, but you shouldn’t make the mistake of changing things too frequently. Your body takes time to adjust to a new workout regimen and start to reap the benefits of a different workout.

To have an effect on muscle growth, exercises need to be repeated regularly. Building muscle mass is a process which takes time and patience as well as the commitment to perform repetitive routines over the long term.

Sometimes you will find that a certain routine will stop producing results for you; when you come to a plateau, then it’s time to change things up and begin using a new workout plan ” this should result in continued muscle growth. Stay with your bodybuilding routines, but only until they stop helping you to build muscles and improve your muscle tone.

Keep your bodybuilding routine simple and go with the basics which are known to work. There are a multitude of different workout regimens, dietary supplements and products out there; don’t believe the hype about any of them. Stick with the basics and only try these other products or programs after weighing their merits for yourself.

Keep yourself focused and motivated by using healthy and straightforward values. Speaking of supplements, yes you do need them to get all your necessary nutrients and vitamins. You need protein, creatine and various multivitamins when you are a bodybuilder. They aid in recovering from your intense daily workouts.

Compound movements are the best way to quickly build muscle. Isolation exercises build endurance, but to stimulate your body to produce the hormones which help your muscles to develop rapidly you’ll also have to do some heavy lifting work. Train with weights heavy enough to give you results, but not so heavy that you strain yourself. As you continue your weight training, your lifting capacity will increase.

To get the best results you will have to pay attention to your diet. To ensure long term growth of muscles you have to be careful not to improperly diet down. Improper dieting can actually cause you to lose muscle mass.

There is a 60% loss of muscle and 40% of fat loss for every pound of total body weight you may lose. Do not starve your body of what it needs. Remember cardiovascular workouts will burn the calories and they should be alternated by days with your training routines.

Your body needs to rest and recover in between weight training to keep inflammation under control and keep building muscle over the long term.

We have for you a lot of free weight lifting programs, articles and routines. We shot the lid off of bodybuilding supplement industry to reveal the honest truth about building muscle, maximizing strength and dissolving away unwanted bodyfat. Visit us to read more Muscle Building Articles

© RicardodArgence for musclegaintruth.us/articles, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bodybuilding, Bodybuilding Lifestyle, Bodybuilding Routines, Bodybuilding Tips, Bodybuilding Workout, Building Muscle Mass, Building Muscles, Dietary Supplements, Exercise, Fitness, Gym Routines, health, How To Build Muscles, Hyped Up, men's issues, Muscle Building, Muscle gain, Muscle Growth, Muscle Tone, Particulars, Repetitive Routines, self-improvement, Sports, Time And Patience, Water Food, weight loss, Weight Training, Womens Issues, work out, Workout Plan, Workout Regimen, Workout Regimens, workout routines, Workout Sessions

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh