Basic Weight Training for Muscle Mass and Toning
Weight Training theory is based on your body’s ability to adapt to the demands placed on the muscles and the nervous system. So, how do muscles adapt? By increasing in size. The size of the muscle fibers can change many times over but the quantity of muscle fibers in your body remains constant.
Fundamentals of Overloading
The human body by nature is lazy. Assign it any kind of work and it becomes uncomfortable. When weight training, you repeatedly load your body with an inordinate amount of stress. Therefore, it increases in size and strength so that when it goes through the same stress the next time around, it does not have to work so hard.
Bottom Line – Present the body with a workload it has not encountered and it will react with bigger and stronger muscles…again and again.
Keep in mind that the workout destroys the muscles. It’s when you rest that your muscles actually grow. You will need proper nutrition and enough rest to strengthen and develop your muscles to prepare it for the next workload.
Basic rules of any Weight Training Program
These basic rules work for both male and female. However, genes, age, the amount of testosterone your body produces, and diet play an important part in your physique. So, don’t be discouraged if your buddy builds muscle faster than you do. Just follow the simple rules below and you’ll get there in no time:
1. Use heavy Weights– Lifting heavy weights is the only way your body will develop. Lift the maximum weight that you can carry with almost-perfect form. This is the best way to build quality musculature.
2. Focus on Compound Movements– Compound movements are exercises that require the use of multiple joint movements. It involves the utilization of the largest muscle groups. Therefore, it hits various (and massive) muscle fibers for the same amount of time. Isolation exercises, on the other hand, use one-joint movements and utilize smaller muscles. This will result in smaller muscle gain.
The three best compound exercises are Bench Press (chest and arms), Rows (back and arms) and Squats (legs). These should be the main focus of your workout routine. If you still insist on isolation exercises, start with the major muscle groups (chest, back, legs), because they require more energy and focus. Besides, these exercises use smaller muscles (arms and calves) for assistance. Therefore, if you tire the small muscles before you work on the larger muscles, then you’ll be too fatigued to do a good job.
3. Free weights are better than machines– Machines work only in one plane (forward and back or up and down). You will see your largest muscle gains by overpowering the pull of gravity and working in multiple planes (forward, back, up, down, diagonally and laterally). Free weights require you to control the whole-body as compared to machines designed for isolated muscle exercises. Besides, most free weight exercises are also functional exercises because they simulate real-life movements.
Although machines have the advantages of safety and ease of use, the 3 compound exercises mentioned above produce the maximum amount of testosterone (the ultimate anabolic hormone) when done with free weights (barbells and dumbbells).
4. Train less than 1 hour per day for 3-4 times a week– Testosterone production falls after 50-60 minutes of training. This means that it gets harder to concentrate as your energy levels go down, especially when you are training at a high intensity.
Your cortisol, a catabolic or growth hormone, levels rise after 45-60 minutes of training. Your body starts repairing the miniscule tears in your muscles after 45-60 minutes! Don’t forget the “Fundamentals of Overloading”: it’s when you rest that your muscles actually grow.
5. Train both Upper and Lower Body—First, nothing looks worse than a muscle man with a huge chiseled chest and chicken legs. Second, squats utilize the largest muscle groups in your body (quads, hamstrings & glutes). Therefore, when you squat, your body produces the largest quantities of anabolic steroids than any other exercise. Anabolic steroids increase protein synthesis within cells, thereby developing cellular tissue especially in muscles. Third, weak legs are a sure way to get injured when you engage in sports and other physical activities.
6. Cycle and change your workouts to prevent plateaus and boredom– Nothing works forever. That’s why you should add, change, or adjust your workouts regularly. Remember the “Fundamentals of Overloading?” The human body is lazy by nature and adjusts to a workload so that it when it goes through the same stress the next time around, it does not have to work so hard.
7. Perform Aerobic Exercises 3 times a week– You cannot ignore your heart, lungs and blood vessels. After all, if any one of these malfunction, you’ll be out of commission for weeks or months. Besides, you cannot perform a high intensity workout if you’re always out of breath. Add 20 minutes of aerobics 2-3 times a week and you’ll see an improvement in your muscular endurance as well.
8.Warm-up before and stretch after each workout—Warm-ups increase body temperature and improves oxygen supply to the body. It increases blood flow to the muscles to let them relax and contract effortlessly, prepares the body and mind for more vigorous activity, reduces the risk of injury and increases overall performance. It increases elasticity of the tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues. Stretches increase your flexibility and reduce your chances of injury. Stretch after each workout and between sets if necessary.
9. Take measurements of your body every 2 weeks — Record your weight, chest, arms, thighs and waistline. Make course corrections if necessary, better yet, take a picture of yourself. Keeping a log of your physical appearance and dimensions will help keep you motivated, tell you when to make changes to your workouts (plateau), or adjust your diet.
10. Be patient and stay on course– A good muscular physique is the result of weeks and months of hard work and proper nutrition.
Gym or Home?
Gyms provide both a cozy and energetic environment conducive to exercise. Almost all exercise equipment is available at most gyms. At Xtreme Fitness in Rochester, NY basic gym membership starts at $25. Other gym memberships range from $25-$75 a month depending on location, services and amenities. However, do not go by price alone. Check out the equipment and familiarize yourself with club policies before signing up. Some gyms do not allow grunting and dumbbells are limited to 75 pounds or less.
If you prefer to workout at home, you can start a home gym from your basic set of barbell, dumbbell and bench. Remember basic rule #3—free weights are better than machines. So, save your money and don’t be tempted to purchase thousand dollar machines that will not payoff as well as a $500 set of dumbbells. Checkout Craigslist or your local Swap sheet before buying brand new dumbbells. Fitness equipment are designed to be abused and can last a lifetime.
Whether you decide to workout at home or at the gym is not as important as the effort and consistency that you put into it.
Workout Accessories
Workout gloves, belts and boots are not necessary. Although, weight lifting belts are recommended for serious trainers, they should be used only when squatting with heavy sets. When you squat without a weight lifting belt, you train deep abdominal muscles as well.
Keep a Training Journal
The best way to monitor your progress (or its lack of) is with a journal. How will you view your progress if you don’t measure it? Gym buddies go nowhere because they disregard crucial monitoring tool.
