Guide to Weight Training- Maximizing Your Potential

This summer I got a membership at 24 hour fitness after I made the decision to at least try to bulk up a bit. Before going for my first workout I did a bit of research on weight lifting and bodybuilding, and what I found was that the basic knowledge I needed to develop my routine was scattered all over the web, among mostly sites promoting some sort of pill or product. So for those like me who are hoping to build some muscle, I decided to summarize my findings into a simple article so that you don't have to run all over the web just to develop your routine. There are three components to any bodybuilding or weight lifting program that must be followed strictly in order for any degree of success to be seen. They are proper workout, sufficient rest, and proper nutrition.

Proper Nutrition

All over the web there are thousands of different products that guarantee quick muscle mass gains, and in order to pick the right one, or to decide if you even need one, you must understand the very basics of the biology of muscle building. As scary as it sounds, its as simple as this: by working out to your max, you tear your muscles. By tearing your muscles, you tell your body just how much strain or force it needs to be able to handle- how much muscle it needs to develop before the next workout, as well as what type of muscle. In order to build this muscle, your body needs protein, which is made of amino acids. In all, there are 4 major types of protein that bodybuilders look at. They are:

Whey- whey protein is considered the greatest, and is currently the most popular. What makes it so good is that it is easy for the body to digest, meaning that almost all of it that you intake will be used by your body, leaving very little waste. Also, it is digested the fastest. Because it is digested so fast, whey is considered to be the best post-workout protein.

Casein- digested slower than other 3 proteins, making it ideal for bedtime protein since it will stay in your system longer.

Egg- easily digestible, pretty much same as other 3.

Soy- easily digestible, pretty much the same as all the others.

Most protein powders, as you can tell from their ingredient lists, are blends of all 4 of these proteins, and usually contain mostly whey protein. A good supplement option that I have been using is Smoothie King's Gladiator protein powder. You can buy it alone or get it in a smoothie, and in each serving there is 45 grams of protein. Regarding the amount of protein that is necessary, from my research I have found all sorts of numbers, from .8 grams per pound of body weight to 2.5 grams per pound. Personally I have been taking about .8-1.0 grams per body weight myself, and so far it has been working well- I can see the difference in just one month and all my maxes have gone up.

Cost wise, the gladiator is among the cheapest supplements, though it is still a whopping $35 for only 18 servings. For this reason, in order to get as much protein as I need during the day (I weigh 135 so I take about 100-135 grams each workout day) large amounts of milk. Milk is great for muscle building because each glass has about 8 grams of protein per glass and it containsboth whey and casein protein.

Proper Workout

Depending on the type of muscle you want to build, you should shape your workout plan in a different manner. There are 3 types of workouts aimed at three types of workout goals- building pure, short lived strength, building muscle size (for looks), and building up endurance. For each workout the number of reps and recommended weight for each rep is different- more strength requires more weight and less reps, while endurance relies on more reps, less weight.

In general, here are some rules of thumb that apply to most workout plans and people. Keep in mind that these numbers are loose, and vary according to the body type you have. Only experience can tell you what really works best.

For Strength:

4-6 Reps at 80%-90% of your one- rep maximum.

3 sets to failure (on all sets go until you can't lift anymore, which should be somewhere in your 6^th-10^th rep).

For hypertrophy (muscle mass- for looks):

6-10 Reps at around 75% of your one-rep maximum.

2 sets to failure

For endurance:

10-15 Reps doing a weight you're comfortable with

3 sets to failure or not- up to you (going to failure simply ensures that your muscles will respond to your workout- if your looking for endurance and don't really care if your muscles grow in strength or not, then you don't have to go to failure).

Keep in mind that these tips are very broad and for each person the exact amount of weight/reps/sets is different. For example, since my goal is hypertrophy I usually do about 75% of my one-rep max, 2 sets to failure, and the number of reps I do is usually around 8.

Proper Rest:

Remember that every time you work out, your are tearing your muscles and telling them how much strain/pressure they need to adjust to. Therefore, to work out your muscles while they are already torn is useless- it gains you nothing and is a waste of time. For this reason, there is no point in working out when you're sore. Also, there's no point in overworking yourself by doing 5 different exercises for the exact same muscle. As long as you do 1 or 2 good exercises per muscle you want to work out, in which you go to failure, you will be gaining as much muscle as you can. Usually, this means working out only 2-3 times a week if you're training for strength or hypertrophy, and maybe 4-5 times for endurance training. Between sets, allow about 2 min. of rest.

So following these tips, hopefully you can reach your weigh goals.

Sources:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodybuilding

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

http://www.musclebuildingadvisor.com

www.smoothieking.com