Even advanced trainees can learn more about proper weight lifting to reap the most benefits from the least amount of training. For example, your workout duration, warm-ups, exercise order, pre- and post-workout nutrition and weekly training split make a huge impact on your results. Follow a few simple workout instructions to get the most out of your weightlifting program.
Step 1
Choose a weekly training split that fits into your schedule. One example is the five-day split for those who like to hit each muscle group separately. Try training shoulders, arms, legs, chest and back on five separate days. If you only have three days per week to spend in the gym, do full body workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Or you may choose to experiment with your own training split, so long as you make sure to hit each muscle group at least once per week.
Step 2
Have a pre-workout meal 45 minutes to two hours before your weightlifting workout. Include low-glycemic carbohydrates like oatmeal, fresh fruit, brown rice or sweet potatoes for sustained energy. Have some high-quality fast digesting protein, such as whey or egg protein. For fats, stick to omega-3, flax seed oil or MCT oil, which may give you energy along with a fat burning boost, according to "Supplements 101" by Jim Stoppani.
Step 3
Warm up your entire body with a five- to 10-minute walk on the treadmill. You may also choose the exercise bike, elliptical machine, stair-stepper or any other workout machine at the gym. You want to get your heart rate going and sweat a little, but do not use so much intensity on your warm-up that you tire yourself out for the hard work to come.
Step 4
Begin each muscle group with compound exercises, which are also known as multi-joint movements. According to Lawson and Holman, these exercises engage the most muscle fibers, giving you the best training stimulus for muscle building. Examples include squats, bench presses, pull-ups, shoulder presses, triceps extensions and biceps bar curls.
Step 5
Finish each muscle group with isolation movements, which work well for targeting the last few muscle fibers missed by heavy compound exercises. They do not trigger as much muscle growth stimulus, but can help to target the endurance-oriented muscle fibers. Examples include leg extensions for quadriceps, leg curls for hamstrings, dumbbell flys for chest, under-grip lat pull-downs for back, dumbbell laterals for shoulders, triceps kickbacks and concentration curls for biceps.
Step 6
Drink a post-workout protein shake immediately after your training session. "Optimum Anabolics" by Jeff Anderson recommends 30 to 50g of whey protein and 60 to 100g of high-glycemic carbohydrates like dextrose or maltodextrin. The faster you take in this nutrition the quicker your muscles will recover, improving your weightlifting results.
Tips and Warnings
- Always use a spotter when training with heavy weights on potentially dangerous exercises such as the barbell bench press.
Things You'll Need
- Oatmeal
- Fresh fruit
- Whey protein
- Eggs
- MCT oil
- Omega-3
- Dextrose
- Maltodextrin
References
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
- Muscle & Fitness: The Ultimate Supplement Handbook; "Supplements 101"; Jim Stoppani, January 2010
- "3-D Muscle Building"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2006
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