When it comes to weight training there are generally two types of people that come to mind. The first group and the most predominant one is the ones that just want to firm up (which is accomplished by adding approximately 5lbs of muscle for females and 10lbs for males) and lose fat (which could be in any range depending of how many pounds the person has to lose to get to a 10-12% body fat range for females and between 6-8% for males). I will call this group the Body Sculpting group. The second group, which is the minority but equally as important as the first one, is the bodybuilding group (the group I am in). In reality both groups practice bodybuilding; the only difference is the extent to which they take it. For bodybuilders the main goal is to add pounds after pounds of muscle mass while taking their body fat levels to a neighborhood of 6-7% and in some instances, like a bodybuilding contest, even less.
Before we discuss how each group should train, lets first talk about the characteristics of a good training program.
Characteristics of a Good Weight Training Program A) It must be short (between 45 to 75 minutes maximum). After 75 minutes, the levels of muscle building and fat burning hormones that your body produces (such as testosterone) begin to drop. What this means is that training more than 75 minutes will prevent you from gaining muscle and losing fat fast! It will also prevent you from fast recovery. As crazy as it sounds, that is the way it is.
B) The rest in between sets should be kept to a minimum (90 seconds or less). Keeping your rest in between sets and exercises down not only helps you to perform a lot of work and still finish within the 75 minutes, but it also helps improve your cardiovascular system. In addition, it has also been shown that this kind of training stimulates growth hormones output the most.
C) Generally, the sets should be of 8 - 15 repetitions each (Note: For bodybuilding, however, we also recommend periods of 5-8 repetitions as well. This is of crucial necessity for a bodybuilder as an increase of strength is required in order for continued muscle growth to occur.) There are many reasons for this:
1) You get the best pump (blood flowing into your muscle cells) in this repetition range. This is important since along with the blood come nutrients that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild bigger faster.
2) Since you are doing so many repetitions, there is less probability of injury since you'll be using a weight that you can control.
3) Again, studies show that muscle building and fat burning occur more efficiently at these repetition ranges.
D) Training must be varied and cycled. Please, don't get stuck with the same routine day in and day out. If you are a bodybuilder, and you do this, this guarantees zero muscle growth. This is without even mentioning boredom and lack of enthusiasm. For bodybuilding
Training for BodysculptingThe goal here is to lose as much fat as it is needed until you reach a goal of 10-12% for women and 6-8% for men. Also a gain of 5lbs of muscle for women and 10lbs for men in order to increase the metabolism, firm up and increase muscle tone. In order to accomplish this, the exercise strategy is to perform 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Also conduct 3-4 weight training sessions of 30 to 45 minutes per week utilizing basic exercises such as bench press, chin-ups, and squats.
Training for Bodybuilding The goal here is maximum muscle size with minimum body fat. In order to accomplish this, 4 - 6 weight training sessions of 45-75 minutes composed of basic exercises are required per week (Note: Due to the cycling of workout parameters, workout length will vary between 45 to 75 minutes). As far as cardiovascular exercise, 3 to 4 sessions of cardio first thing in the morning (or three hours after a meal) consisting of 20 minutes should suffice. More cardio than this and you may start robbing away your muscle gains.
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