The basics of training
September 14, 2008So what does it take to get the most out of your physique?
Understanding how your body works is a huge bonus to understanding how your training works.
The body is a fantastic bit of kit its ability to repair and grow to suit its environment is amazing. If you put the body under stress and give it time to recover it will adapt to the stress applied.
There are certain factors that affect your potential. The biggest of these are your genetics, there is a huge debate as to how much genetics play a role on muscular growth. We know that DNA and RNA hold the key to who we are but as to how we can develop as regards to muscular potential has to be a matter of circumstances. Like the ability to learn academic subjects the body has the ability to learn how to be faster or stronger by being expossed to the right environment. You would not sit a child down and teach them science for three hours and expect them to learn everything in one go but if the lessons were for a shorter period they would be able to take more in. Its the same for your body, although your body can take more than an hour of learning (working out) if you keep giving it too much to process eventually it will stop learning.
So what is the best way to keep the body learning so to speak? Every body is different some work best with long steady work some work best with short intensive work the key is to find out which one is right for you. This is a process of trial and error, you just have to try each one and find which one suits you best. For example you may find that your chest reacts better to a longer workout but your legs require a shorter heavier workout to grow. You have to experiment to find the right blend which works best for your body.
The muscles are not independently intelligent they can’t do what they want, they will only react to the current environment they are in. So as an example my way of training myself and my clients is to pick a weight we can lift for 8 clean reps (clean reps are reps that are carried out with strict technique and without assistance). On the final rep of the final set if we make a clean rep then the next time we train using that exercise we aim for 9 reps and so on untill we hit twelve reps. Then when we hit 12 reps, the next workout we have we put the weight up untill we can only do 8 reps. Normally the increase is only a couple of pounds. This way of training allows the body time to grow and adapt to the previous workout, so when the next workout using that exercise occurs the body is able to do 8 reps at the same weight so when we go for nine it pushes the body. So when the body is resting it adapts to do nine reps for next time around. This way of training never pushes the body past its ability to recover therefore it will always improve. I have tried other ways of working out but i always came to the same point, getting stuck at a certain weight and a certain number of reps. Using the above way of increasing the reps and the weight in steady increaments means nor i or my clients have stopped growing. Now i’m not saying this is the ultimate way of working out but it does tick all of the boxes for giving the body time to adapt to its current environment, it neither overloads the muscle with too much weight nor does it fatigue the muscle enough to cause an injury.
Compound or Isolation?
I am a firm believer that by using the most muscle fibres possible you can develop the most muscle fibres possible. The best way to do this is with compound exercises. The reason for this is simple, you can lift more weight because you have more levers ie in the squat you move your ankle, knee and hip. Now to move these joints you have to use the muscles attached to these joints. So the more joints you use the more muscles you use therefore the more the body has to adapt. Now here is the problem you need to work the muscles enough for the body to adapt but if you lift and dont give your body enough time to recover before you lift again you could stop your progress or worse become injured because those muscles have not adapted in time. But here is the flip side if you rest too much your body will adapt to its current environment and therefore get weaker.
Recovery time, how long should it be?
The time it takes to recover is an individual thing but i wonder how many people actually listen to their bodies when they are in or out of the gym. I urge everyone whoever thought they might be over training or under training to experiment with their recovery time. The next time you work your legs try giving it a day before you train them again then give it two days before you train them and so on untill you find the right amount of rest for your legs so that the next time you train them you not only make your sets and/or your weight but you go past them. The secret to a great body does not come from a knife blade or in a bottle it comes from listening to your body and knowing when to push it just a little bit more or when to give it that extra day off. Its nice to have the desire to change the way your body looks but make sure your listening to your body and not your head after all its not your brain thats lifting the iron.
This blog entry is due to many people asking me when is too much in the gym or when is not enough so i thought i would write my thoughts down here just in case anyone has those same questions. The answer is not in any book it’s in your head and your body. You are the only person who knows when your body has had enough and when it can take some more you just have to listen to what it’s telling you. There is no secret to a great body it’s hard work because that is what your body needs to adapt. Your body does not need 40 or 50 pounds of muscle to lug around if it does not have to use it, more muscle means more calories need to be consumed to maintain it and as far as our bodies are concerned it does not know what a supermarket is. The body is still in hunter gather mode, if food is plentifull it is happy to keep muscle because it knows food is there to maintain it. If food is scarce it will use the muscle as energy and store fat as a reserve. We cant change this it’s built into our survival instincts but we can manipulate it for our own personal goals. If there is any big secret to getting the body you want it’s knowing what your body wants and how to use this to get the body you want.
The greatest saying in bodybuilding is "little and often". Wether it’s the weight you lift or the reps range you use to the food you take in, its always better to do it little and often. Happy training and train safe.
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