Are You In A Strength Training Rut?

Repeating the same routine for months is a mistake many people do. People hit the gyms without ever considering what they desire to achieve with their workouts. Strength training adaptations are different according to which manner muscles are challenged. Read further to learn more about how to strength train to maximize your muscle strength goals.

Set Your Mind To A Strength Goal

First, spend five to 10 minutes to figure out what exactly is the motif behind working out? Exercise induced physiological muscle adaptations are commonly thought to depend on the exercise type: heavy vs. light load, low vs. high repetitions, short vs. long breaks between the sets. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge your muscle strength needs. Maximal muscle strength (increase in muscle size, as known as “hypertrophy”), endurance muscle strength (capacity to repeat low to moderate loads over longer periods) or perhaps powerful muscle strength (capacity to produce low to moderate forces in high velocity)? These 10 minutes are well spent. The following guidelines help making your exercise time more effective.

Guidelines For Strength Training That Will Maximize Your Time In the Gym

American College of Sport Medicine recommends the following strength training guidelines for healthy adults:

• Order of exercises should be:

1. Large muscle groups before small muscle groups
2. Multiple-joint exercises before single-joint exercises
3. High intensity before low intensity exercises

• Repetitions and load:

1. Novice in strength training: 8-12 RM (repetitions maximum) which means that you only manage to lift that particular load between 8 and 12 times. Training days per week: 2-3.
2. Intermediate to advanced with at least six months experience in strength training: 1-12 RM with periodical focus on heavy loads 1-6 RM with 3-5 min rest periods between sets with moderate contraction velocity (1-2 s). Training days per week: 3-4 intermediate, 4-5 advanced.
3. Progressive load increments of 2-10 % of the load when ever the individual is able to lift the particular load 1-2 repetitions over the desired number. For example, when one is able to lift 100 kg in bench press 14 times (instead of 12 repetitions), it is time to increase the load by 2-10%.

• Type of strength training:

1. Maximal strength training with 1-12 RM load, periodical emphasis in 6-12 RM with 1-2 min rest intervals. Total volume high, multiple set per muscle group programs for maximal hypertrophy.
2. Endurance strength training with 40-60 % of load that one can lift once (1RM), repeated minimum of 15 times with short > 90 s rest intervals.
3. Power training: light loads (0-60% of 1RM for lower body, 30-60 % of 1RM for upper body) with fast contractions and 3-5 min rest intervals between sets. 3-5 sets per exercise.

• Rest intervals affect both the acute and chronic adaptations in muscles.

1. Maximal strength <90 % 1RM with 3-5 min rest intervals to allow high greater repetitions of multiple set and thus higher intensity and volume of total training. Or > 90% 1RM with 1-2 min rest intervals to increase acute growth hormone levels during workout (but lower total volume of training).
2. Endurance strength is often accomplished as circuit training with short breaks of 30 s when exercising dissimilar muscle groups and up to three minutes when strengthening similar muscle groups.
3. Power workout should be done with 3-5 min breaks between the set to allow near complete recovery and high total volume with high velocity of contractions.

Training Principles That You Should Remember

Here are a few principles you should implement in your training regime. Whether training for muscle growth, endurance strength or explosive strength, you should follow these simple principles of training load. 1 Repetition Maximum (1RM) is the load you manage to lift once. This is of course not a constant load, but changes as you gain muscle strength. Load for endurance strength can also be calculated from 1RM: if you lift 100 kg in bench press, you should train with a 40 -60 % load (40-60 kg), repeating the lift at least 15 times.

• Maximum strength 1-12 RM, 3-5 min breaks, 2-5 series
• Endurance strength 40-60% of 1RM, >15 repetitions, short breaks, 2-5 series
• Power strength 0-60% of 1RM, 3-5 min breaks, 3-5 series, fast execution of exercises

Never, ever work out with an empty stomach. Have a water bottle with you and warm up 10-20 minutes before strength training. Eat carbohydrate&proteins right after your pumping session for optimized recovery and muscle strength gain!