RESISTANCE TRAINING Workout Options and Program Periodization BASIC RULES FOR EXERCISE SELECTION AND ORGANIZATION: When selecting exercises for a particular muscle group, one must consider a number of factors to ensure the safety of the musculature and joints involved in the movement, to attain the temporary failure condition for the muscles involved to promote continued progress and to ensure activation of the desired muscle groups. These rules include: A. Exercises for problem muscle groups should be performed at the beginning of the workout to prevent their omission from the workout. This organization also allows the weight trainer to address these exercises with the greatest amount of energy available. This should help to maximize one’s efforts and, ultimately, one’s progress. B. Exercises for large muscle groups should always be addressed before those for small muscle groups. Ex.: pectorals, and depending upon the specific exercise selected, shoulders before triceps; latissimus dorsi and trapezius before biceps, quadriceps before gastrocnemius (calves). C. Multiple-joint exercises should always be performed before isolation exercises. Multiple-joint exercises involve the large muscle groups of the body, i.e. the pectorals, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, quadriceps (when assisted by the gluteal and/or hip flexor groups), hamstrings and the deltoids. These exercises typically have a “last name” of: press, pull, row, squat or lunge. Single-joint exercises utilize only one joint and usually involve such muscle groups as the deltoids (with no assistance from the triceps), the triceps, biceps, the quadriceps or hamstrings (when not assisted by the gluteal or hip flexor groups). These exercises typically have a “last name” of: extension, curl, flye, raise, pressdown or pulldown. Examples of proper exercise order include: chest exercises performed before the performance of tricep isolation exercises; back exercises performed before the performance of bicep isolation exercises; and the performance of the leg press, lunge and/or squat exercise before performing the leg extension exercise. This organization strongly suggests that when performing exercises for the pectorals, all bench presses (i.e. bench press, incline bench press and decline bench press) are to be performed before pectoral exercises utilizing a flye movement (i.e. flat DB flyes, incline DB flyes, decline DB flyes, men’s chest machine). D. Weight trainers should perform exercises involving the use of dumbbells and/or a barbell (free weights) before using selectorized resistance machines. This promotes safety during the training session, as one possesses more energy during the initial phase of a workout and can control the free weight exercise movements more completely. Resistance machine exercises are to be performed after free weight exercises when one is fatigued and may not be able to control the movement of free weight exercises as easily. E. Finally, when performing exercises for a large muscle group in succession, one should change the angle of the exercise to provide more complete development of the muscle group. Examples of this rule include: the use of a flat, incline and a decline angle when addressing the pectorals, using a narrow stance and a wide stance when performing such exercises as the leg press and squat, use of the front (anterior), medial and rear (posterior) angles when addressing the deltoids and a wide and a normal grip when performing the following exercises: the bench press, lat pull, arm or bicep curl and the overhead press. NUMBER OF ANGLES AND EXERCISES PER MUSCLE GROUP: Generally, one or two exercises per muscle group are utilized per muscle group in one’s workout. However, if one’s goal is to develop the muscle completely, exercises that target each of the angles of the muscle must be incorporated into one’s workout routine during each exercise session. Therefore, the following list identifies the minimum number of exercises that should be incorporated into one’s workout each time the muscle or muscle angle is addressed: 1 MUSCLE AND/OR MUSCLE ANGLE NUMBER OF EXERCISES/ANGLES Pectoralis group (chest) (flat, incline, decline) 3 Deltoids (shoulders: anterior, medial, posterior) 3 Triceps 1 Back (Total) 3 Upper back (trapezius & rhomboids) 1 Middle back (latissimus dorsi) 1 Lower back (Quadratus Lumborum & erector spinae) 1 Biceps 1 Quadriceps (foot position: shoulder width, narrow) 2 Hamstrings 1 Gastrocnemius (calves: toe-in, toe-out, straight-ahead) 1-3 Abdominals (Rectus abdominus & oblique abdominals) 4 WORKOUT OPTIONS: THREE DAYS PER WEEK: A full body workout is recommended to adequately overload all muscle groups. A circuit workout may be utilized to maximize one’s available workout time. One exercise per muscle group to include a total of 8-12 exercises per workout is recommended. FOUR DAYS PER WEEK: The body may be broken down into two workouts, each comprised of three or four muscle groups per workout, with at least one day of rest in between training cycles. The abdominal and calf muscle groups are to be exercised during every scheduled exercise session. The following are examples of this training organization: DAY OF THE WEEK OPTION I OPTION II OPTION III SUNDAY REST REST REST MONDAY Chest, shoulders, back Chest, shoulders, Chest, shoulders, (upper & middle back) triceps triceps, quadriceps TUESDAY Legs, triceps, biceps Legs, back, biceps Back, biceps, hamstrings WEDNESDAY REST REST REST THURSDAY Repeat Monday Repeat Monday Repeat Monday FRIDAY Repeat Tuesday Repeat Tuesday Repeat Tuesday SATURDAY Rest Rest Rest 2 FIVE DAYS PER WEEK The body may be broken down into three workouts, each consisting of two muscle groups. The abdominal and calf muscle groups are to be addressed every day. Care must be taken to avoid the following workout combinations: 1. the performance of shoulder exercises that utilize the triceps on the day preceding the chest & tricep workout. 2. the performance of shoulder, triceps and biceps exercises on the day preceding the chest & back workout. Examples of these workout organizations include: DAY OF THE WEEK OPTION I OPTION II OPTION III SUNDAY Rest Rest Rest MONDAY Quadriceps, hamstrings, Chest & back Legs & shoulders & calves (flyes only) TUESDAY Chest, back, shoulders Shoulders, triceps, Chest & triceps & biceps WEDNESDAY Triceps & biceps Quadriceps & hamstrings Back & biceps THURSDAY Repeat Monday Repeat Monday Repeat Monday FRIDAY Repeat Tuesday Repeat Tuesday Repeat Tuesday SATURDAY Rest Rest Rest *NOTE: If desired, one’s routine may begin with any of the combinations listed above with subsequent workouts to follow the routine as outlined previously. -At the conclusion of the week, one muscle group will have been trained only once. This muscle group is to be addressed on the following Monday’s workout with all other muscle groups to follow as outline above. -Regardless of the resistance program, at least two exercises per muscle group are suggested to facilitate development. When selecting exercises, one should change the angle of the exercise to provide a training stimulus to as many aspects of the muscle as possible. SIX DAYS OF THE WEEK For those individuals who desire to address all muscle groups twice a week and spend less time per exercise session, workouts may be organized to encompass six days per week with the seventh day devoted to a day of recovery for the entire body. Two muscle groups are to be addressed each day with abdominal and calf muscle exercises to be performed every day. When selecting exercises, care should be taken to address every possible angle of the target muscle 3 group. The number of sets, repetitions and amount of resistance would ultimately depend on the focus and goals of the phase of the program. Possible exercise options are as follows: DAYS OF THE WEEK OPTION I OPTION II OPTION III SUNDAY Rest Rest Rest MONDAY Quadriceps, hamstrings, Chest & back Chest & triceps calves TUESDAY Chest, upper back, triceps Shoulders, triceps, Back & biceps biceps WEDNESDAY Shoulders, mid-back, biceps Quads., hams., & Quads., hams.,& calves calves THURSDAY Repeat Monday Repeat Monday Repeat Monday FRIDAY Repeat Tuesday Repeat Tuesday Repeat Tuesday SATURDAY Repeat Wednesday Repeat Wednesday Repeat Wednesday PERIODIZATION OF A WORKOUT PROGRAM During the performance of training programs, many weight trainers tend to fall into the well known ‘If a little is good, more is better’ rut. They find themselves performing the same number of repetitions with increasingly large amounts of resistance for extended periods of time in hopes of “something finally clicking” to create the perfect training result. However, the typical result of this continued high-intensity training is a condition known as overtraining. This condition is characterized by persistent fatigue, apathy towards continued resistance training, an impaired immune system that allows the trainer to experience frequent bouts of illness, an elevated resting heart rate, slowed or non-existent progress, possible loss of strength and/or endurance and an increased risk for injury. To prevent this condition, the trainer should cycle his/her training loads and intensities during the week and over a period of time, usually 6-12 weeks. This progressive, planned and systematic change of training load, volume and recovery will assist to maximize one’s progress while preventing staleness and plateauing. The basic periodization model, created by Matveyev in 1972, follows. This model is typically used to train athletes for optimal performance and has been used as a basis for the creation of a number of similar organizations for the development of physical fitness for the general public. 4 MATVEYEV’S HYPOTHETICAL PERIODIZATION MODEL PHASE LENGTH SETS REPS VOLUME INTENSITY Hypertrophy 2-3 wks. 3-5 8-20 high low (50-80%) Strength 3-5 wks. 3-5 2-6 med-high high (85-95%) Power 2-3 wks. 3-5 2-3 low high Peaking 1-3 wks. 1-3 1-3 very low very high (90- 100%) Active rest 2 wks. Physical activity occurs; however, weight training is not usually the mode of exercise.