Increasingly, more people are incorporating resistance training into their workout program, regardless of what goals are desired. Lifting weights is crucial for muscular development, power and endurance. Building strong muscles can also have a positive effect on alleviating stress placed on bones and joints, reducing the risks of certain conditions such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Knowing the protocols in place for developing muscular power/strength, endurance and hypertrophy---muscle growth---is essential for generating success in achieving specific goals by way of weightlifting.
Concept
A workout program consists of several stages of smaller, pre-determined blocks of routines. The structuring of these blocks within the context of a larger program is known as periodization. Each block or stage of periodization training should focus on a different goal that is contributory to the overall goal. For example, if you have a goal of adding 5 lbs. of muscle to your frame in a 12 week span, you could break down the phases into three blocks lasting four weeks each.
Your first phase would be a high volume/low intensity one. In other words, you will lift lighter weights and perform higher repetitions. Muscles grow by progressively overloading them. Therefore, you will want to eventually increase the load so the muscles will have to adapt. This will be done beginning the fifth week of your training program and is accomplished by reducing the reps you perform and increasing the weight. The progression for weeks eight through 12 could include increasing the number of sets performed in each workout for all muscle groups.
Types
Power training means how quickly you can move the resistance. Typically, reps for power training are between two to five. An exercise documented as 6 by 4 indicates six sets of four repetitions each. To focus on strength training, reps should be kept in the four to seven range. Universally accepted for hypertrophy training are the ranges between eight and 12 reps. How many sets you perform are of less consequence than how long you take to perform each set. This repetition range is generally advocated by bodybuilders. Endurance seekers train with lighter weights for longer sets. Reps of 15 and above are generally recommended to improve muscular endurance.
Benefits
The benefits from undergoing any workout program depend heavily upon your training status. New lifters will see a markedly higher degree of improvements or adaptations than more seasoned weightlifters. If you are new, your window for improving is vast compared with someone closer to goal achievement. Conversely, the more trained you are, the less gains you are able to achieve. Improvements occur in smaller increments. For beginners, no matter the goal, the first adaptation, or benefit, will be an increase in strength. Muscles have to become stronger in order to push or pull more weight.
Routines
Essentially, when someone indicates he wants to lose weight, usually what he mean is he wants to lose fat. An efficient way to lose fat is to build muscle. Muscle tissue costs the body more calories to maintain them than does fat tissue. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose. Thus, a hypertrophy routine is the one you should undertake if fat loss is your goal.
An effective plan to achieve results is to target the major muscle groups: chest, back, shoulders, gluteals and quadriceps. Exercises for these include bench presses or push-ups for chest, any rowing or pulling motion for back, overhead dumbbell presses for shoulders, lunges for the gluteal muscles or glutes and squats for hamstrings. Each of these would be performed for one to three sets beginning with eight reps. Progression for reps should be eight to 10 to 12 for hypertrophy. Once you have reached 12 reps, return to eight reps your next workout and increase your resistance.
Power training usually involves Olympic-style lifting where the barbell begins on the floor and is thrust up to shoulder level or overhead. Popular exercises for power training include the snatch, the clean and the clean-and-jerk. All of these moves require skillful technique, and a fitness professional versed in Olympic lifts should be consulted prior to engagement. Power lifting can also be done incorporating the same exercises alluded to in hypertrophy training. The glaring difference being the increased resistance. Weights should be heavy enough so that only a few reps can be performed. Although safety is always an issue, focus is typically not placed on sound technique during powerlifting. The goal is to simply move as much weight as quickly as you possibly can.
Endurance training can include the same moves but with lighter weights. Also, incorporation of smaller muscle groups can be integrated here as well. Triceps, biceps, calves and abdominal muscles are normally addressed specifically to improve muscular endurance.
Considerations
The idea is to train the muscles to become fatigue-resistant. Allowing too much recovery time defeats the purpose. Rest for endurance training in between sets should be 30 to 60 seconds. Power training, on the other hand, involves maximal or near maximal effort during the set, thus, requiring more recovery time. Between set recovery could fall anywhere between three to five minutes as the objective is to replenish the ATP---adenosine triphosphate---which serves as the immediate source of energy for muscular contractions, as soon as possible. Hypertrophy rest time should fall somewhere in between endurance and power training. Typically, a minute and a half to two minutes is sufficient recovery time.
References
- The New Rules of Lifting; L. Schuler and A. Cosgrove; 2006
- NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training; R. Earle and T. Baechle; 2004
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