Newbies' Guide Resistance Training
I get motivated to share my knowledge whenever people appreciate what i do & whenever you guys tell me your progress. With my limited knowledge, i shall talk a bit on training.
You should know by now, there are tons and tons of training methods for all kinds of fitness goal. I shall write about general training. It's suitable for all beginners who are interested to engage in resistant training, but have zero idea on what to do.
1. Training movement, not "just" muscle
I believe in training every part of your muscle.
I believe in total body workout.
I believe in trainings that will be useful to everyday life. (Functional training)
Don't believe? Read the following and see if you agree with me.
1) Over training of chest, shoulders and arms. (Many guys)
They hunched.
2) Over training of abdominal muscle. (Many people)
They experience lower back pain.
3) Over training of upper body. (Many guys AGAIN)
Huge body with chicken legs.
Instead of focusing all these "small" muscles, engage in the following 8 movements. You will know that all muscles will be covered by these 7 movements. (2 examples of exercises each)
Upper Body
1. Horizontal Push (Bench press, DB press)
2. Horizontal Pull (Seated row, BB row)
3. Vertical Push (Military press, shoulder press)
4. Vertical Pull (Pull up, Lats pull down)
Lower Body
Quad Dominant (My favourite - squats)
Hip Dominant (Deadlift)
Knee Dominant Extension (Lunges)
Knee Dominant Flexion (Reverse leg curl)
2. Choice of weight/set/repetition
2.1. Choice of weight*
If you are working 10 repetitions, choose a weight which you will be able to perform the exercise with 10 reps with good form. (Maybe last rep or 2 which you will struggle)
On in this case, if you are doing 10 reps of squats.
a) you are able to perform 7 reps only - the weight is too heavy, go lighter.
b) you are able to perform 14 reps - the weight is too light, go heavier.
*This is assumed that you are working on level 3 on the scale. (1 being the easiest, 5 being the hardest)
2.2. Choice of set
For general training, 2-5 sets will be very good enough. In 1 workout session, do about 12-20 sets. That will be very very good already.
2.3 Choice of repetition
For general training, go for 8-12 reps.
For muscular strength training, go for 6-8 reps.
For muscular endurance training, go for 12-15 reps.
Please note that this is true for most people. The type of training with reps will change over time.
Conclusion
Beginners should always begin with full body workout. Actual Time-under-tension, set, load, rep, rest time etc will depend on fitness goal and initial stats.
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