Weight Training Partners
If you don't already have a training partner,
get one. I can't stress the importance of having a dedicated
training partner, who will push you beyond your limits,
and also give you great spots. Having a good training buddy
can make all the difference in the world between a fantastic
workout and a mediocre workout.
Having a good training partner will help
you get beyond your mental blocks - you will have someone
there who can help you get past plateaus. Just think, if
you've been dumbbell pressing 95's for the past few weeks,
do you think it's easier to push yourself to try the 100's
or have a training partner who can push you to try the 100's?
I've been fortunate to have had 2 very,
very motivating training partners in the cities where I
lived previously - of course, I pushed them as much if not
more. I train with my gf now, although she doesn't push
me quite as much, she does give a good spot, and I have
learnt with my past training buddies to push myself hard,
and try to push more weights all the time. But I do miss
having another nut like myself who can fire me up and make
me attempt heavier lifts.
So what if you don't have a training partner?
Then find one. Well, it's really tough to find a training
partner who's schedule can fit in with yours, and who can
be as dedicated as you are. But if all else fails, then
don't be shy, and ask for a spot in the gym! I know it can
be intimidating to ask other guys in the gym for a spot,
especially if they're a lot bigger than you. But do what
you gotta do! Depending on the atmosphere of the gym you
attend, most guys are there to lift hard and get bigger,
and they'll be happy to give a spot - like myself! Just
make sure to return the favor when they need it. ;-)
With that said, let's get on with my daily
workouts.
Weight Training and Resting
The rest you take in between sets is very important. Typically,
I rest between 2 to 3 minutes in between sets. Many will
probably say that's too long to rest, but for me, this works
well, because I go all out every set, and resting up to
3 minutes allows me to continue lifting the heavy weights
with high intensity.
From an article I read awhile back, it said that about
75 to 80% of your energy recovery takes place during the
1st minute of rest, and it tapers off greatly after that.
Which is why you'll hear resting 1 to 2 minutes quite often.
I'm not saying that resting 2 to 3 minutes like me is the
"right" way to do things. It may, or may not be
for different individuals.
This is something you'll have to get a feel for with experience,
and see what length of resting works best for you! For example,
resting 1minute is a little short for me, but for someone
else, resting 3 minutes might be too long, and they cool
down too much from the rest. So it really depends on you,
and your recovery rate. Just test around, and see what works
best for you.
Daily Weight Training Routines
This is how this section will be structured,
I will talk in some details about my workout routine for
each day of the week in detail from start to finish, including
the warmups I do for each day, and I will start with monday,
obviously. You'll know from previous parts, that I'm on
a 5 on, 2 off schedule. Just to recap, here's what I do
each day:
- Monday: Legs
- Tuesday: Chest
- Wednesday: Back
- Thursday: Shoulders
- Friday: Arms (Biceps and Triceps)
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Roughly, 2 exercises are performed for each of the leg
muscle groups: quads, hams, and calves for a total of 6
different exercises. For the quads, 6 total sets are done,
4 sets for hamstrings, and 6 for calves. Again, I follow
the rule of thumb that larger muscles are always done before
smaller muscles. Hence: Quads > Hams > Calves.
The warmup
I usually spend a good 5 to 10 minutes warming up on leg
days, with some stretching done first, and the some light
weight lifting. I really have no idea what the stretching
exercises are called, so I'll just describe them, but its
pretty straight forward.
Stretching the quads: curl one of your
legs back, so it's completely bent backwards, and hold on
to your foot with an arm, then pull upwards with your arm.
You'll feel the quads getting stretched. Or, you could kneel
down on the floor, with your feet extended, then slowly
lean backwards, but support yourself with your arms - you'll
feel your quads getting stretched. personally, I don't like
this 2nd method, since it feels awkward for me. But whatever
works. ;-) Just test it out and see.
Stretching the hams:this is pretty easy,
just lift up one of your legs, and place your heel on a
platform about waist level high, or higher. Then slowly
lean toward your toe and hold it for 15 to 20 seconds. Do
this a few times with both legs. You can also try this:
with your feet together, leg straight, bend down, and try
to grab your toes with your hands, and hold that position
for 15 to 20 seconds.
Stretching the calves: stand about 2 to
3 feet from a wall, extend one of your legs back, with the
front leg slightly bent. Keep the back foot completely flat
on the ground, and extend it back as far as you can, without
your heel leaving the ground. Hold it for 15 to 20 seconds.
Do this with both legs a few times. (4 to 6 times each side)
Weight Training Exercise - Squats
Squats is the first exercise I do. It's the best compound
lift you can do to work your lower body, not to mention
all the other muscles which gets involved.
I like to stand with my feet at shoulder width, or just
a little wider than shoulder width. When squatting, if you
use a wide stance, more of the load is shifted to your upper
thighs and glutes, and if you use a narrower stance, more
of the load is shifted on to your quads. If you look, you'll
notice that power lifters use a wider stance, which allows
them to hoist heavier weights. But we're bodybuilding here,
and symmetry matters, meaning you don't want your upper
thighs over powering, but in good proportion with your quads.
So I would suggest using a narrower stance.
Working your way up: before loading up
the bar with plates, I work my way up. I was squatting 385
for 3 sets for 4 to 5 reps per set by week 6. Here's how
I work my way up to it: (this is done after the stretching)
- I do a set with just the bar (45lbs) for 10 to 12 reps,
just to get the "feel" of things
- Load up the bar with 1 plate each side (135lbs) and
do 8 reps
- Load another plate each side (225lbs), and do 4 to 6
reps
- Load another plate each side (315lbs), and do just 2
reps
- Finally load the remaining weight (385lbs), and do my
regular sets of 4 to 6 reps per set.
Weight Training Exercise - Leg Press
Unlike the squats, you can go allot heavier, partly because
you're pushing the weight at an angle. After the squats,
you do not need to warmup again to perform leg presses -
your legs should be plenty ready to push the heavy weights.
I usually perform 2 to 3 sets on the leg press, depending
on how I feel that day. While leg pressing, go all the way
down so that your legs almost touch your chest - you want
to get the full range of motion. It's not necessary to have
a spot for this, however, having one will be a great help.
Especially when you need help getting past the sticking
point near the bottom of a rep.
Do not place your hands on your knees to help push the
weights up. I see some people in the gym do this, which
is pretty stupid. They're using too much weight and should
lighten up a bit. Keep your hands firm on the handles on
the side.
Straight (Stiff) Leg Deadlift
Some call it straight leg, others call it stiff leg deadlifts.
Makes no difference to me. This is one of the best mass
builders for the hamstrings. Done with a barbell, keeping
your legs straight (stiff), bend forward, then lift the
weight back up, and straighten out your back. I usually
do 2 sets of 6 reps.
Don't confuse this with deadlifts, which is completely
different, and works different muscle groups.
If you feel that using 45lb plates doesn't let your stretch
down far enough, try using 25lbs plates (but more of them).
You'll get a better stretch and workout on your hams. I
have to admit, its a bit more of a pain to load and unload
all these 25lb plates. ;-)
Leg Curls
There's 2 main type of leg curls
you can do: 1) lying leg curls done with both legs, or 2)
standing leg curls performed with one leg at a time. They
achieve the same effect, but you can use heavier weights
with the lying leg curls. During my 6 week workout, I alternated
them week by week.
Standing and Seated Calf Raises
Calf raises are pretty straight forward, so I don't have
much to say here. During week 1, I worked my calves on leg
days (monday). During week 2 to 6, I felt I needed to focus
on my calves some more, so I added another calf workout
on thursdays, which are shoulder days. Thursdays are quite
short, so it was a good choice for me to add in another
calf workout.
Calves are unlike any other muscle - you're pounding on
them everyday with your body weight just by standing up
and walking. So they recover a lot faster, and can handle
stress a lot better than the other muscle groups.
>> Continue
to part 6 (chest muscle) |
