Anyone can be a bodybuilder: it requires regular, consistent weekly workouts that will work all the muscles of the body. The American Academy of Sports Medicine recommends that all healthy adults get a minimum of 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five times a week, or at least 20 minutes of vigorous cardio three times a week and two sessions of resistance training. Remember, the heart muscle is the most important one to “build” and keep strong: all others are secondary to it.
Alternate Upper and Lower Body Workouts
Split your workouts into upper and lower body. You could opt to do chest and back with abs on Mondays and Wednesdays and legs and cardio on alternate days. The idea is to work all the major muscle groups and to give them at least 24 hours of complete rest. Muscles grow in strength, size and definition this way and resting for a day helps prevent injuries.
Beginners might start with choosing three to five different types of exercises that work the same area of the body. For example, an upper body workout might be three sets of seated rows, lat pull downs, standing triceps pull-downs, bicep curls and chest press. Do eight to 12 reps of a reasonable weight: 8 to 15 lbs. to start.
Exercise Antagonistic Muscles
Include exercises in each workout that work the opposing muscles. This means using the muscles in the front and back of the body. For example, during a leg workout, do leg extensions for the quadriceps of the front of the thighs, immediately followed by hamstring curls that work the long muscles at the back of the thigh. You could do walking lunges, holding a light dumbbell in each hand and follow it by doing lower abs (glutes of the hips, balanced by the lower abs--the transversus abdominis.
Working out this way, develops the opposing or antagonistic muscles: those that pull or push. Doing so will give you even muscle development.
Create a Sensible Program
Design a well-rounded resistance training program by including at least 10 to 20 minutes of cardio three times a week and stretching in each workout. By walking, lightly jogging, biking or using a stairclimber in the gym will help the heart pump blood through all the muscles, increase the heart rate and move air through the lungs: the definition of a warm-up. Proceed to the lifting portion for another 20 minutes or more, followed by one to two abs exercises and finish with at least five minutes of non-ballistic, non-bouncing stretching of the muscles you worked.
Sample leg workout: 10 minutes walking on a treadmill, 10 minutes biking, followed by three sets of leg press, leg extensions, hamstring curls, lunges and leg adductor and abductor machine. Stretch by placing hands on a wall, stepping one foot back and stretching the hamstrings and Achilles. Repeat to second side. Still standing, bend one knee and hold the ankle, drawing it to the hip to stretch the quads; repeat to the other side.
Member Comments