Complete Muscle Fitness Training

Physical fitness is a measure of your muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, flexibility and body composition. Include resistance and flexibility exercises to maximize your muscle's ability to contract and lengthen, necessary for muscular power. The American College of Sports Medicine advises you must use progressively heavier weights to continue to improve your muscular fitness.

Beginner or Off-Season

The first cycle of a training program, whether you are a beginner or in the off-season of your sport, is focused on increasing your muscular endurance and your muscle mass. Lift light weights, doing two to three sets of eight to 15 repetitions. This lasts up to two months and is generally a conditioning period. Use primarily dumbbells and barbells for major exercises like the bench press, back rows, biceps curls, triceps extensions, squats, dead lifts and crunches. Lift weights twice per week.

Intermediate or Preseason

This cycle lasts for two to six months following your initial training period. It corresponds to the preseason. Use heavier weights for most of your sets, completing primarily four to five sets of one to six reps to increase your strength. Start to include machine weights and body weight exercises for variety and further muscular development. If you are an athlete, you should start including movement-specific resistance exercises for your sport. For instance, if you are a jumper or basketball player, do vertical jumps with a weight vest or use jump soles. Lift weights three times per week.

Advanced or In-Season

For a weight trainer, this is the time to work on specific goals of your training. Perhaps you want to increase the size of your shoulders to give the appearance of a smaller waist. Or, maybe you want to do more push-ups and pull-ups. Focus your workouts around your goal--work your shoulders twice per week; do heavier pull downs and bench presses to improve your ability to do body weight exercises. As an athlete, you are actively participating in your sporting event. Your resistance training has peaked to make you the strongest and fittest you can be for your sport. The resistance training you do is simply to maintain your conditioning. This cycle lasts for two to three months, or the duration of your games. As a weight trainer, you are exercising three to four days per week; an athlete may only resistance-train one to two times per week.

Advanced or Post-Season

Use the post-season or the time after you have focused on a specific goal to try new activities or a different way of training. It could last as little as one to two weeks or as long as two months. Your body needs this time to "actively rest," or take a short break from normal training. Instead of always doing back squats and flat bench presses, try dumbbell split squats or incline dumbbell presses. Athletes may do circuit training-- a series of one set of four to 10 exercises with light weights and little rest between sets.

Stretching

Do quick stretches before your workout, not lasting for more than eight minutes in total. Stretching to increase your flexibility should be done after your workout. Perform two to three reps of each stretch, holding the stretch for 15 to 60 seconds. Do stretches for your chest, back, hips, thighs, lower back, calves and triceps. You should be able to complete your stretching routine within 10 to 15 minutes. Perform your stretching program two to three times per week.