The Elements of A Successful Strength Training Work Out
Work out routines vary hugely from bodybuilder to bodybuilder, but there are elements of creating a routine which are consistently found in the workouts of successful bodybuilders.
Warming up is essential.
The idea is to get the blood flowing through the muscles and so make the muscles more responsive and more flexible in turn making them less prone to injury during the exercise.
Five to ten minutes aerobic activity, such as running, cycling or rowing can start to get the blood flowing.
This is ideally followed by a series of stretches which work their way around the whole body gradually making the muscles even more supple and responsive.
It is a good idea to do extra stretches for the main muscle groups that are going to be used in the workout that day.
When it comes to muscle building it may be beneficial to exercise supporting muscle groups on the same day, so that you can then rest them on the same day also.
Allow about 48 hours rest where possible between exercising the same muscle group with weights again.
This means rotating your work outs around the various muscle groups so that you are hitting different groups on different days.
For example training legs on a different day from training chest, etc...
Try and keep your keep your workouts to under an hour and half in length and preferably no more than an hour.
If necessary split the workouts into two slots and train twice a day at different times.
Remember however that training for more than an hour may not help muscle mass as this would start to become an endurance workout and could create muscles which are harder rather than bigger.
If you have loaded up with carbohydrates prior to working out an hour is a good length and make sure you eat fruit afterwards to replace lost electrolytes.
Vary the exercises within your workout, by swapping one out for another every few months.
This helps to avoid monotony and boredom, but also helps to keep your body on the edge, adjusting to new experiences.
You will also find that different exercises, while appearing to exercise the same muscles, will emphasize different parts of the muscle and varying them will give you a more balanced physique.
Work out routines do not need to complicated, so keep it simple and realistic.
Don't try and do too many exercises in one workout, simply do the ones you do well and you will get maximum benefit from them.
Warming up is essential.
The idea is to get the blood flowing through the muscles and so make the muscles more responsive and more flexible in turn making them less prone to injury during the exercise.
Five to ten minutes aerobic activity, such as running, cycling or rowing can start to get the blood flowing.
This is ideally followed by a series of stretches which work their way around the whole body gradually making the muscles even more supple and responsive.
It is a good idea to do extra stretches for the main muscle groups that are going to be used in the workout that day.
When it comes to muscle building it may be beneficial to exercise supporting muscle groups on the same day, so that you can then rest them on the same day also.
Allow about 48 hours rest where possible between exercising the same muscle group with weights again.
This means rotating your work outs around the various muscle groups so that you are hitting different groups on different days.
For example training legs on a different day from training chest, etc...
Try and keep your keep your workouts to under an hour and half in length and preferably no more than an hour.
If necessary split the workouts into two slots and train twice a day at different times.
Remember however that training for more than an hour may not help muscle mass as this would start to become an endurance workout and could create muscles which are harder rather than bigger.
If you have loaded up with carbohydrates prior to working out an hour is a good length and make sure you eat fruit afterwards to replace lost electrolytes.
Vary the exercises within your workout, by swapping one out for another every few months.
This helps to avoid monotony and boredom, but also helps to keep your body on the edge, adjusting to new experiences.
You will also find that different exercises, while appearing to exercise the same muscles, will emphasize different parts of the muscle and varying them will give you a more balanced physique.
Work out routines do not need to complicated, so keep it simple and realistic.
Don't try and do too many exercises in one workout, simply do the ones you do well and you will get maximum benefit from them.
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