Experts disagree on how many reps and sets an optimal muscle-building routine should include, but they do agree on one thing: you should lift heavier weights and few reps. However many reps and sets you include in your workout sessions, you'll want to use routines that include a warm-up, lifting, a cool-down and stretching. Beginners who have not lifted heavy weights before will need to determine their max for each exercise and learn the proper technique for each before beginning any workout.
Muscle Building
You will build muscles by lifting heavy weights, causing microtears in the muscle fibers. Your muscles grow larger as part of the repair process. You should lift your max, or close to it, for optimal muscle building. To determine your max, keep adding weights to an exercise until you can do only one rep before failure. If you can do two or three lifts without having to take a break, you have not reached your max. As a beginner, you may want to start with less than your max as you learn the proper technique. Lift about 50 percent of your max to learn how to do each exercise. To let your muscles repair and grow larger, don't lift again for 24 to 48 hours after each session. You can lift sooner than that if you work different muscles; for example, you can do a lower-body workout in the morning and an upper-body workout in the afternoon.
Muscle-Building Routines
Any muscle-building workout you do should include a warm-up, the lifting, a cool-down and stretching. Warm up your muscles with moderate-intensity movements such as arm swings, jumping jacks, jogging in place, jump rope or high-knee skipping. This will warm and stretch the muscles, helping you perform better muscle contractions from the start of your workout, according to British performance coach Brian Mac. Cool down the same way to prevent blood from pooling in your muscle, which causes stiffness and soreness later. Stretch to improve muscle flexibility. Don't static stretch before you work out; this causes a decrease in power for about 30 minutes, according to researchers at Wichita State University. Your warm-up activities will stretch your muscles adequately, so you won't need to hold stretches for 20 or 3 seconds.
Reg Parks 5 X 5
A popular, decades-old bodybuilding routine requires you to lift five reps per set and perform five sets. Named after well-known bodybuilder and trainer Arnold Schwarzenegger, Reg Parks' routine starts with two warm-up sets, then three sets at your max. Take several minutes between sets and perform all five sets of one exercise before you move on to another.
Reps
Perform your reps slowly, using muscle to lift and lower weights. Don't let weights drop with gravity. Lowering weights creates an eccentric muscle contraction that provides more muscle-building benefit than uplifts, according to fitness radio talk show host Dr. Gabe Mirkin. For example, when you perform a biceps curl, lift the weight, pause 2 seconds, then slowly lower the weight. If you don't lower the weight all the way, you'll be forced to brake with your muscles, using more muscular effort.
Sets
The 5 X 5 workout starts with a set of reps using 60 percent of the maximum weight you can lift. You use 80 percent of your max for the next set, and then your max for the last three sets. You can do as few as two sets per workout if you lift at least three times per week, according to bodybuilder and author Bryan Haycock, founder of the Hypertrophy-Specific Training method.
Member Comments