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The workout plans
Which routine is right for me?
To figure out what workout routine you should be following, some details
are required:
How long have you been training?
What are your goals?
How many
days a week do you want to work out and how much time do you have?
Just keep in mind that when you are trying to lose bodyfat, you will need
more cardio as well as and to reduce your caloric intake, and you likely
won't make strength or muscle mass gains as substantially or quickly as
when you're focusing on muscle gain alone.
Also, do not forget to warm up first and save the more intensive
stretching or cardio for after your weights workout. If you want to add
more substantial cardio to your program, either do it on days you don't
use weights, or do it after you do weights.
Workouts for the very beginner
Beginner?s routines are meant, to teach intensity, to teach good form for
the compound exercises, and of course to grow -- gain muscle and lose fat.
When all of this is learned, you can progress to a routine that does all
of these things better.
See the workouts here
Workouts for the
intermediate
By now
you should have a good idea of what you are doing. For this reason, it is
best to switch over to a split routine, where each body part is trained
once (or perhaps twice) a week.
Ideally this would be done so that you can rest before the other days.
See the full body workout here
See the 3 days split
workout here
See the 4 days split
workout
The body
does not like to change, and will get used to almost anything. To make
progress you have to shock the body into changing.
Some general principles for constructing split routines
-
Work
each group of muscles once (or at most twice) a week
- Each workout should be no more than 60 minutes.
- The basic groups are:
o
Chest
o Triceps
o Biceps
o Back
o Shoulders
o Legs (and calves)
o Abs
-
There are many different splits. See which one works for you.
o
Back/Biceps
o Shoulders/Abs and misc.
o Legs and calves
o Chest/Triceps
-
If you do deadlifts on back day, and still legged deadlifts on leg day,
then make sure that these days are far enough apart that the muscles in
common in these exercises have time to rest.
- Chest exercises work the triceps indirectly. Back exercises work the
biceps indirectly. If you do the split of chest/back one day, and arms
another day, make sure that these days are far enough apart that recovery
is possible.
- Never work legs more than one a week.
- Some people insist on doing a body part twice a week. If you do this,
make one day lighter.
Through
experimentation and careful record-keeping, you'll find what's right for
you. These routines are for you to use and adapt to your needs, they are
only suggestions..
Workouts for the
expert
I
suggest buying those books, and experimenting
The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Strenght training anatomy by Frederic Delavier
Women's Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier
Need
help with the exercises mentioned above?
Bodybuilding.com
features
an exercises database with picture and video guides.
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