So how can I start to implement resistance exercise into my programme?
Depending on your goal you will have to choose the exercise method and manipulate sets and reps to best suit your goal. In the next instalment of this article series we will cover the most common examples of people and discuss the best approach to achieve their end objective.
The total beginner.
For the brand new trainee the best induction to weight training is through the use of a coach or personal trainer. However for those without access to the means to hire a coach or personal trainer a workout buddy who is already proficient in weight training is a reasonable alternative.
When beginning exercise selection should not wonder from the fundamentals so the use of basic movements such as squats, presses and rows should form the vast majority of their programme.
Beginner’s also need to be exposed to these movements for long enough to acquire the necessary motor skills to adapt the appropriate postural positions and motor patterns to perform the movements both safely and effectively. This requires significant volume for practice of these exercises.
It must also be noted that the beginner’s capacity for work is less than the intermediate or advanced trainee so adequate recovery time is required (as with all programmes).
For the beginner the following guidelines should be followed.
• Number of Sessions per Week – 2-3.
• Number of exercises – 4-6 exercises per session.
• Exercise selection – large compound movements (squats/pulls/presses and variations).
• Rest between sessions (24-48 hours)
• Number of sets – 3
• Number of reps – 10
• Rest between sets – 90-120 seconds.
• Progression – Try adding 2.5% to weight used every week.
* Please note that before starting any of these following programme outlays you should have performed a block of at least 12 weeks following protocols similar to those outlined above.
The Beginner/Intermediate who wants to put on size/definition.
First we must establish that muscle has the capacity to do three things hypertrophy (get bigger), atrophy (get smaller) and stay the same. So for those who wish to simply tone and stay the exact same size the only permissible option is to loose fat and perform enough volume to maintain their current muscle mass. Now to those that want to hypertrophy the muscle you need to provide enough volume to allow the muscle to adapt (Kramer, 2002). This volume load must also be progressive in nature to continually provide an exercise stimulus.
Exercise selection should be split into target areas since hypertrophy has been shown to be very exercise specific (Folland and Williams, 2007). As with all exercise selection and programming exercises should be prioritised in order of difficulty with bigger more complex movements being placed first (squats, deadlifts etc.) with smaller less complex movements being placed last (machine weights, bicep curls etc.) (Zatsiorsky and Kramer, 2006). Also adequate time, nutrition and sleep should be allotted for the hypertrophy response to occur.
• Number of Sessions per Week – 3-5.
• Number of exercises – 2-3 compound movements and 2-3 isolation exercises.
• Exercise selection – large compound movements (squats/pulls/presses and variations) followed by isolation movements (curls, machines etc.) exercises should be muscle specific (i.e. squats for quad development, bench for chest/triceps development etc.)
• Rest between sessions (72+ hours for the same body part)
• Number of sets – 4-6
• Number of reps – 8-12
• Rest between sets – 90-120 seconds.
• Progression – Try adding 2.5% to weight used every week or alternatively an extra rep to every exercise.
The Beginner/Intermediate who wants to get lean while maintaining a similar muscle mass.
For those who fall into this category we have already touched on the three things that muscle can do (hypertrophy, atrophy and stay the same) so it is our aim after the first 12 or so weeks of training (total beginner guidelines) to perform exercises that will give us the greatest efficiency for the following
• Muscle mass maintenance.
• The hypertrophy of muscle mass that we view as a “problem area”.
• Maximise health benefits.
• Burn the most calories whilst training to try and help out fat loss efforts.
Since spot reduction of fat is all but impossible as shown in the research (Stallknecht, Della and Helge, 2007) the best way of achieving the so desired “toning” effect is by loss of body fat through exercise, a calorie reduced diet and the maintenance of muscle mass and selective hypertrophy of our “problem areas”.
For this effect the following guideline would best suite:
• Number of Sessions per Week – 2-3.
• Number of exercises – 2-3 compound movements and 1-2 isolation exercises.
• Exercise selection – large compound movements (squats/pulls/presses and variations) followed by isolation movements (curls, machines etc.) isolation exercises should be muscle specific (i.e. single leg squat for quad development, triceps push downs for triceps development etc.)
• Rest between sessions (24-48 hours for the same body part)
• Number of sets – 3
• Number of reps – 5 for compound movements, 8-12 for isolation movements.
• Rest between sets – 90-120 seconds.
• Progression – Try adding 2.5% to weight used every week.
That about covers it for this series of articles in a future article we will cover the beginner/intermediate athlete who wants to engage in weight training for sports performance.
References
1. Kraemer, Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults, Jan 1, 2002, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
2. Folland J.P. and Williams A.G, The Adaptations to Strength Training: Morphological and Neurological Contributions to Increased Strength, Sports Medicine:Volume 37(2)2007pp 145-168
3. Zatsiorsky and Kramer, Science and Practice of strength training, Human Kinetics, 2006.
4. Stallknecht B., Della F., and Helge J.W., Are blood flow and lipolysis in subcutaneous adipose tissue influenced by contractions in adjacent muscles in humans? Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 292: E394-E399, 2007.
