Effective training methods

CONFUSED ABOUT YOUR TRAINING?

There are many training routines which you could follow. Some of them will give you excellent results, some none! A great deal depends on your body type, motivation, food intake, rest periods, sleep and how long you have been training for.

At LA Muscle, we are constantly being asked the question "how should I train?". Well, there is no simple answer, but here we will give you a number of options which you can follow. Give either or all (not at the same time!) of them a try and see which one works for you!

TRAINING THE WHOLE BODY IN ONE WORKOUT

Some people follow this routine for various reasons such as lack of time. This routine is probably better for beginners. As a beginner, you have a tendency to grow, no matter what you do!

If you are going to follow this routine, then we suggest that you stick to basic exercises, and leave at least 2 days' rest between your workouts.

Basic exercises: Squat, bench press, bent-over row/ lat pulldown or chins, overhead press (shoulder press),deadlift, biceps barbell curl.

SPLIT ROUTINE

This is the preferred method of training for the majority of bodybuilders. It entails splitting your workouts, so that you can train 3-4 times a week, but at the same time give each bodypart enough time to recover.

It is up to you how you train and which bodyparts you train on any specific day. The following is an example:

MONDAY

• Chest (Bench press)
• Triceps (Triceps pushdown/ close-grip bench press)
• Shoulders (overhead press)

WEDNESDAY

• Back (Pulldowns/ bent-over rows)
• Biceps (Biceps barbell/dumbell curls)

FRIDAY

• Legs (Squat)
• Calves (Calve raise)
• Lower back (Deadlift)

The above is just an example, whereby you work each bodypart once a week. You could add calves to Monday and legs & lower back to Wednesday - then do the same routine as Monday on Friday. This way you work each bodypart twice a week. In either case, it is a good idea to leave a 48-72 hour break for a bodypart to recover from a session. Notice the above example works your back + biceps in one day and chest + triceps another. You can alternate this combination to shock your body.

HIGH REPETITIONS V LOW REPETITIONS

If you are trying to add mass to your body, then you need intense heavy anaerobic stimulation to your frame. Have you ever heard the story of Joseph who carried his calf up the hill everyday? By the time the calf had grown up Joseph was a muscular adonis of a man! Now had the calf not grown up and Joseph carried it up the hill many times a day, he would not have grown a great deal of muscle!! Why? Because the calf was increasing in weight on a weekly basis and Joseph's muscles had to adapt and get bigger in order to carry the calf.

The point is simple: Give your muscles heavy, intense stimulation on a regular basis and your muscles will have no choice but to adapt and get bigger. Don't train for extended periods. Keep it under an hour (for optimum male hormone release). Eat a lot, take LA Whey after training and before sleeping. Sleep adequately and you will get big!

To grow, keep the reps in the 6-8 range. Do a warmup set and then go as heavy as you can. Don't think about you other sets. If it makes you lift the heaviest you possibly can, then do just the one set per bodypart - seriously!

Many people say they want a "Bruce Lee body". OK, no problem! Bruce Lee was very, very defined and fit. But don't forget, he had "muscles" which were defined. So if you are a skinny guy who wants to look like him, then build some muscle first! You can then go for higher repetitions and more sets.

KEEPING FIT

For those of you that just want to keep fit and get more "elongated" muscles, then do 10+ repetitions. To make your workouts more aeorobic, have minimum rest and go for different exercises. Warm up, stretch and stick in a few non-weight exercises, such as push-ups, chins or dips. Ever seen a gymnast's body?

DEFINITION & ISOLATION EXERCISES

If you read any bodybuilding magazine, you will no doubt see many training routines, some which advocate various isolation exercises. If you do not have a great deal of muscle for your frame, it is best not to follow isolation exercises. By all means, incorporate them in your routine every once in a while, but concentrate on the compound movements. Afterall, if you are doing a 100kg bench press now and in 2 months, you are doing 140kg, do you think your tricpes will be the same size? Of course not! Once you have a huge body, then you can concentrate on defining those bulging muscles!