Training 101 [Forum Archive]

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Training 101

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Posted by: P-funk

Okay, this thread will be for all the newbies or people that want to learn some new things about how to set up a training routine and keep your program moving in the right direction.

"The body doesn't know muscles. It only knows movements."

-Mel Siff

"If you are still training body parts and not movements, you have missed a signifigant amount of information written on the subject of resistance training in the past 10 years."

-Mike Boyle

"Write programs. NOT workouts."

-Alwyn Cosgrove

Three great quotes. Three smart guys. Somethings to think about.

I'll try and keep this as simple as possible so that everyone can understand it. There is so much stuff to go into with writing a training program and I could write a book about it but I will outline basics and then hopefully people will ask questions and we can fill in the blanks.

Okay, were to begin. The main things to consider when coming up with a training program:

1) goals
2) training split (how many days per week? Upper/lower? total body? push/pull/leg?)
3) exercise selection
4) sets and reps (volume)
5) rest interval*
6) rep tempo*

* both of those will go back to what your goals are *

So lets take it one by one....

1) Goals- pretty self explanatory.

2) training split- Given the quotes above obviously I am not going to tell anyone to train one body part per day. Is it bad? Maybe not for a few weeks as a change of pace or a way to increase volume (acclimation) for a short period of time before dropping back and lifting heavier (intensification).

In general there are a few splits I like:

- Total body 3 days per week with 1 day of rest between each workout.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- off, day 4- upper, day 5- lower, day 6 and 7- off

- day 1- upper push (chest, shoulder, tri), day 2- legs, day 3- upper pull (back and bi). With a day of rest inbetween workouts.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- total body. With a day of rest inebween workouts.

Obviously there are a lot of other ways to break things up. As a newbie the main thing you want to do is pick something you can stick to and make sure that you focus on learning and using good technique for all exercises.

3) Exercise selection- efficiency is an important thing in the weight room. Workout smarter not longer. The exercises you want to stick to are going to be main compound lifts (exercises which use multiple joints) as they will recruit the greatest amount of muscle fiber to get the work done. Some of my favorites:

upper push- bench (flat, incline, decline. barbell and DB), shoulder press (DB and BB), dips

upper pull- pulldowns (various grips), pull ups (various grips), bent over rows (barbells and DBs. Various grips), cable row, face pulls, shrugs (Db or BB)

lower body quad dominant- squat (back and front. no smith machine), lunges, bulgarian squat, one legged squat, multidirectinal lunges

lower body hip dominant- deadlifts, Romanian deadlift, Straight Legged deadlift, trap bar deadlifts, step ups, hyperextensions, glute ham raises, reverse hypers

with these exercises and all their varieties and progressions you can put together years of workouts. Be creative.

4) Sets and Reps- As a newbie you really need to allow tendon strength (connective tissue strength) to build up as it tends to gain strength at a much slower rate then muscle. I recommend taking the first few weeks of your training and using sets of 10-15 reps and reallt focusing on the form of every exercises. As a newbie anything you do will make you grow and get stronger. You can only go up! After you have been training for a solid amount of time you will have to get more creative with your program but right out of the gate you can keep it simple. 10-15 reps x 2-3 sets per exercises and really hammer the form. After those first few weeks you can begin to increase the intensity and lift a little heavier. Just build up slowly and don't rush yourself into an injury. Studies on rep ranges suggest that reps 1-5 are best for strength gains, 6-12 for hypertrophy (muscle growth), and 12-15(20) for endurance. So, after those first preliminary weeks of training be sure to choose your rep ranges wisely based on your goals.

5)Rest interval- In general the amount of weight you are lifting is going to dictate your (a) rep ranges and (b) your rest interval. For example, if you are lifting very very heavy chances are you wont get to many reps and in order to complete another set you will need a longer period of rest. It is recommended that for strength a rest interval of 2-5min is best, for hyerptrophy 60-90sec and for endurance 30sec or less. Ofcourse this is not the be all end all. As your fitness level increases you may find that you recover quick enough between sets and wont need as much rest. For example, some can lift at high intensities (heavy weight) on shorter rest invertvals, say 60-90. Again, a lot of this will depend on your goals and what you are trying to accomplish.

6) rep tempo is something that should not be overlooked. I don't like to dictate the concentric (the shortening or up phase of the lift) tempo just because the human body is built for speed and purposly slowing down the concntric will send improper signals to the CNS allowing it to think it is okay to move slowly. The eccentric tempo, if your goal is hypertrophy, would be a good thing to try and slow down and control. It has been showen in studies that slowing down the speed of the eccentric can lead to better gains in hypertrophy. This is due to the fact that during the eccentric (the lowering or down phase of the lift) a greater amount of trauma can be placed on the tissue. The isometric (the static moment of the lift between the eccentric and the concentric) can also be beneficial to those looking for a greater amount of hypertrophy as holding the weight in place for a moment will (a) require you to recruit more motor units then if you were just to begin the up phase of the lift since you have to hold and stabalize the load and (b) require you to use more strength on the up phase as you are putting an end to the potential enregy being stored in the muscle during the eccentric portion of the lift thus delaying the elastic energy. A tempo for hyerptrophy on the bench press might be something like 4/3/0, eccentric,isometric, concentric. So that is 4 seconds on the way down, 3 second hold at the chest and then press.

Hope some of that makes sense to people and as always ask questions and try and come up with a routine based on these guidlines and post it so that we can help you make it better.

also, take a look at Cowpimps training routine thread:

click here

here is a good article written by DaleMabry on conjugate training:

conjugate training

a link to a great human anatomy textbook:

Gray's Anatomy

Happy training.

p-funk

Posted by: Dale Mabry

Why not sticky all 3 of those threads into one thread since they are all designing routines?

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

Why not sticky all 3 of those threads into one thread since they are all designing routines?

okay, good idea.

Posted by: kenwood

good shizit

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenwood

good shizit

thanks.

to be honest, I saw your name as the last post in this thread and I got a little worried.

Posted by: LexusGS

P-Funk, Welcome to IM!!!

Good Shit. Thanks for posting it.

Posted by: kenwood

Quote:

Originally Posted by LexusGS

P-Funk, Welcome to IM!!!

Good Shit. Thanks for posting it.

welcome to IM? wtf he has been here for a long time

Posted by: LexusGS

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenwood

welcome to IM? wtf he has been here for a long time

Kenwood, Welcome to IM!

Posted by: kenwood

Quote:

Originally Posted by LexusGS

Kenwood, Welcome to IM!

stop smoking crack dude

Posted by: Raz

hello i am just a beginner p-funk and im wondering if you could help out! im confused i dont understand the pull/push system, i thought it was wise to train each bodypart with a few excersises to stress the muscles! Please help in me going about the push/pull

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raz

hello i am just a beginner p-funk and im wondering if you could help out! im confused i dont understand the pull/push system, i thought it was wise to train each bodypart with a few excersises to stress the muscles! Please help in me going about the push/pull

I just sent you a reply to your PM. It is push/pull/legs...don't forget the last part.

please take my PM, set up a program and start a new thread so we can try and help you out.

Posted by: camarosuper6

Nice Sticky.

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by camarosuper6

Nice Sticky.

why thank you sir. long time no see.

Posted by: camarosuper6

Ditto.

Things seem to have been interesting around here lately!

Posted by: Duncans Donuts

Mel Siff, bleh.

Great advice tho

Posted by: The Monkey Man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncans Donuts

Mel Siff, bleh.

Great advice tho

Posted by: P-funk

*edit*

just added Dale's conjugate article to the first post for more references.

Posted by: TJ Cline

How about some links to sites that show propper form and vid clips of how to lift in each exercise.

Posted by: MyK

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

How about some links to sites that show propper form and vid clips of how to lift in each exercise.

www.exrx.net

done!

Posted by: Dale Mabry

www.crossfit.com

Has vids of GPP stuff and more advanced exercises.

Posted by: TJ Cline

Dale, MyK
Thanks for the quick responces

Posted by: bigboom

push pull is muscles opasite each other....Chest back one day, bicep tricep, one day shoulders legs one day......

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigboom

push pull is muscles opasite each other....Chest back one day, bicep tricep, one day shoulders legs one day......

shoulders and legs oppose each other?

Push pull is

push muscle:
chest, shoulder, tris

pull muscles:
back
bis
traps

for lower body you have quad or knee dominant exercises and hip or hamstring/glute exercises.

Posted by: CowPimp

Other good links for exercise ideas/instruction:

http://www.bsu.edu/webapps2/strengthlab/home.htm
http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/...ideo_index.htm

Posted by: MyK

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

Dale, MyK
Thanks for the quick responces

Posted by: TJ Cline

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyK

Posted by: Bakerboy

Great info P-funk

I'm going back to take a second look...

the bakerboy...

Posted by: troubador

"- day 1- upper push (chest, shoulder, tri), day 2- legs, day 3- upper pull (back and bi). With a day of rest inbetween workouts."

P-funk, does this mean 3 workouts per week or do you start over right after that last day of rest?

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by troubador

"- day 1- upper push (chest, shoulder, tri), day 2- legs, day 3- upper pull (back and bi). With a day of rest inbetween workouts."

P-funk, does this mean 3 workouts per week or do you start over right after that last day of rest?

3 workouts per week......some do start over after the alst day of rest. I would takethe extra rest though. if you are lifting with proper intensity the workouts should be brutal and you will be fried by the 3rd day.

Posted by: troubador

Thanks, Thats what I figured/hoped.

Posted by: samuri_sting

Hi, I have a question about the importance of resting time and consistent improvement of exercises. I am trying to gain lean muscle (no shit, right), and my strategy right now is to rest two full days between exercising each muscle group. Unfortunately, I am having trouble bumbing up the next level. I have been told that if you don't lift more weight or more reps at each workout than the last one, you are wasting your time. For example, if I did 4sets of 10 reps with a shoulder press, then I would need to do at least 4 sets of 11 reps the next time. So basically, I am kind of stuck with most of my exercises. Any suggestions?

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by samuri_sting

Hi, I have a question about the importance of resting time and consistent improvement of exercises. I am trying to gain lean muscle (no shit, right), and my strategy right now is to rest two full days between exercising each muscle group. Unfortunately, I am having trouble bumbing up the next level. I have been told that if you don't lift more weight or more reps at each workout than the last one, you are wasting your time. For example, if I did 4sets of 10 reps with a shoulder press, then I would need to do at least 4 sets of 11 reps the next time. So basically, I am kind of stuck with most of my exercises. Any suggestions?

you want to try and make some sort of improvement. Not neccessarily adding a rep. Improvement could be made in a varitey of ways.

say you shoulder press 100lbs of 4 sets of 10 reps this week.

next week you could:

a) raise the weight to say 105lbs and try and get 3 sets of 8 and work from there.

b) you could try and decrease your rest intveral. Say you were doing 90sec rest between sets. Next week try 60sec rest.

c) you could try and add a few reps. so try and do 100 for 3 sets of 12 reps.

etc..

lots of ways to progress.

start a new thread and post your complete training routine and we can try and help you out.

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by samuri_sting

you already asked that question. i answered it above.

Posted by: P-funk

another great link to exercise descriptions and video clips brought to you buy ForemanRules.

click me

Posted by: topolo

That is a good site.

Posted by: jasonwilks

Thanks for the cool links!

Posted by: mike456

p-funk, I noticed you have step-ups under hip-dominant, isn't that a quad-dominant?

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike456

p-funk, I noticed you have step-ups under hip-dominant, isn't that a quad-dominant?

depends on how high the step is on how much hip activity you will get. A short step is pretty much just knee extension because you are locking out. A higher step is going to really require lots of glute to push you up.

In general, any of the squatting type movements are going to have a lot of both and there are lots of things to take into consideration when evealuating the movement...hip position, ROM at the knee, trunk angle, etc....

I have since given it more thought and I now try and break the lifts down into:

lower body pulling:
deadlifts (and all the varations.....sumo, RDL, conventional, SLDL, one leg, trap bar, leg curls, glute ham, hypers (depending on where you set the pad).

and

Lower body pushing (or squatting movements):
squats, front squats, bulgarian squats, lunge variations, split squats, step ups, leg ext (don't use those that much ever though), etc..

Hope that helps.

Posted by: CowPimp

The other thing you have to consider with stepups and exercises like reverse or walking lunges, is that you are not only pushing yourself up, but you're pulling yourself forward. This means more hip action, even though the bulk of resistance you are going up against is in the downward direction, there is still inertria on the horizontal plane.

However, when I design programs for clients and myself, I usually do it the way P mentions. If there is a significant amount of knee extension, then I think of it as a quad-dominant movements since most people need the extra work on their posterior chain anywya.

Posted by: STARBERRY

I was told that you should never lift more than your weight, is this true?

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by STARBERRY

I was told that you should never lift more than your weight, is this true?

huh?

Like, if you weight 150lbs you should never lift more then that? No...that is completly false.

Who told you that? I want their name. Give it to me now.

Posted by: PWGriffin

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowPimp

The other thing you have to consider with stepups and exercises like reverse or walking lunges, is that you are not only pushing yourself up, but you're pulling yourself forward. This means more hip action, even though the bulk of resistance you are going up against is in the downward direction, there is still inertria on the horizontal plane.

However, when I design programs for clients and myself, I usually do it the way P mentions. If there is a significant amount of knee extension, then I think of it as a quad-dominant movements since most people need the extra work on their posterior chain anywya.

I was also under the impression that if you were closer to the platform you were stepping onto that it was more quad dominant, and if you stepped further out onto the platform it became more hip dominant..any truth to this??

Posted by: P-funk

teh further away from the step you are the harder it is going to be to get your body mass over your center of gravity (the foot on the bench) and the more you are going to push with that back leg. get close enough to not use that back leg at all.

Posted by: motopsyko32

i read the sticky

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by motopsyko32

i read the sticky

Posted by: crisg555

I read the sticky too.

Posted by: P-funk

damn, this shit is contagious.

Posted by: StanUk

P-Funk: Very good sticky, very informative and some great info in there, good job!

Posted by: Alpha

Yah this is very good stuff, very informative and definitely a great help to newbies.

Thanks for the excellent post P-funk!

Posted by: Bernie2

Thanks for the information. I agree with your philosophy of working uppers one day and then lower the next. Too easy to overtrain otherwise. Thanks for the info on not slowing down muscle shortening phase. That is a mistake I have been making.

Posted by: digitalfreedom

nice post...im glad i read it bf posting my crap on here hahaha

Posted by: Makaveli1

I don't get it, why not just work out the whole body at one time?
i work out triceps, biceps, chest, legs(only squats since i don't go to a gym and have no equipment),abs, and cardio in one day...i guess I'm not doing this shit right then

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makaveli1

I don't get it, why not just work out the whole body at one time?
i work out triceps, biceps, chest, legs(only squats since i don't go to a gym and have no equipment),abs, and cardio in one day...i guess I'm not doing this shit right then

I am a big advocate of total body training (as are most here). I don't understand your question at all.

Posted by: Makaveli1

"In general there are a few splits I like:

- Total body 3 days per week with 1 day of rest between each workout.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- off, day 4- upper, day 5- lower, day 6 and 7- off

- day 1- upper push (chest, shoulder, tri), day 2- legs, day 3- upper pull (back and bi). With a day of rest inbetween workouts.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- total body. With a day of rest inebween workouts."

Posted by: BoneCrusher

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makaveli1

"In general there are a few splits I like:

- Total body 3 days per week with 1 day of rest between each workout.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- off, day 4- upper, day 5- lower, day 6 and 7- off

- day 1- upper push (chest, shoulder, tri), day 2- legs, day 3- upper pull (back and bi). With a day of rest inbetween workouts.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- total body. With a day of rest inebtween workouts."

Is that one day really enough recovery time to make serious gains? Thought we were supposed to switch it up so that we had more recovery time ...

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makaveli1

"In general there are a few splits I like:

- Total body 3 days per week with 1 day of rest between each workout.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- off, day 4- upper, day 5- lower, day 6 and 7- off

- day 1- upper push (chest, shoulder, tri), day 2- legs, day 3- upper pull (back and bi). With a day of rest inbetween workouts.

- day 1- upper, day 2- lower, day 3- total body. With a day of rest inebween workouts."

the first one on the list is total body workouts......what are you asking?

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneCrusher

Is that one day really enough recovery time to make serious gains? Thought we were supposed to switch it up so that we had more recovery time ...

huh?

Posted by: BoneCrusher

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makaveli1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makaveli1

At first he seamed to be suggesting total body work outs each day with cardio, but then he added that post and clarified that he is just wanting to hit each group in rotation while working the entire body on a weekly schedule ... I think.

I was asking in case he is suggesting that he work out all groups everytime he works out that he needs to follow the splits he posted. Recovery time is a must.

Had me baffled for a sec is all ... seemed to post one thing one minute and something to opposite the next

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneCrusher

Oh. I didn't know who you were referring too. I thought your statement was for me, which is why it didn't seem like it made sense.

Posted by: BoneCrusher

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

Oh. I didn't know who you were referring too. I thought your statement was for me, which is why it didn't seem like it made sense.

You're on my watch list P-funk ... not my advise list. I lurk on your posts to learn, and it's helped out a good bit.

Thanks for that BTW.

Posted by: xonlythestrongx

good job man. i tip my hat to you for this

Posted by: Lukas1878

Very useful information

Posted by: tommy86

Can anyone tell me how i could build the fat i already have into muscle without gainning anymore fat? nd what type of diet to follow

Thank you

Posted by: P-funk

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy86

Can anyone tell me how i could build the fat i already have into muscle without gainning anymore fat? nd what type of diet to follow

Thank you

Fat doesn't turn into muscle and muscle doesn't turn into fat. They are different chemical make-ups.

Read the stickies in the diet section and develop a plan that ensures you are intaking the proper amount of calories to get you to your goals.

Train smart.

Posted by: ffb22n

I read all of that. And I have one question Would it be alright for my to do hypertrophy one week and then strenght the next or is that just gonna mess things up and make it so I don't reach either goal>?

Posted by: thane22

nice thread.

Posted by: 1quick1

Nice thread P-funk.

Posted by: P-funk

thanks.

i have my moments.

Posted by: 1quick1

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

thanks.

i have my moments.

kind of like a reverse blonde moment for us lifters

Posted by: lifterjake

thanks

Posted by: chef289

great information.

Posted by: chalkman

Thanks a million P-funk this is priceless!

I am getting back to working out after 25 years .... it has really turned my life around.

Cheers,

David

Posted by: arnold28

Guys I have just made it back to the gym.. Find a new site and this guy Wes reminds me of a Zig Ziglar with the muscles!!! LOL His site is called <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns

="urn:schemas-microsoft-com

ffice

ff. I am in my first week and so far I have been hitting the gym every day.. Well you guys are the experts let me know how hard should I be training.

Posted by: michaelabney

I like your blogs, but i need to add some notes. Everyone knows that "Health is wealth". Health is not valued till sickness comes. So better take care of your health. If you want to prevent your health from illness and make it strong...join some fitness clubs. By the way, here is a websites which you can find lot of information about fitness and health.

Posted by: Mini Dee

Wait, so if I were to increase the speed at which I perform my squats my explosiveness would improve?

And on a side not, anyone familiar with Kyphosis and the muscles which need to be developed in order to see improvement. I have this exercise which is on tape and I need to do them in order to see improvements. The problem is: its damned boring and wanna do something through weight lifting which would still help me.

Posted by: denire

whoa! this is a nice thread that you post here. I am a newbie in bodybuilding or should i say i am about to start. Good tips that you shared here. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

Posted by: heliboy

nice information.

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