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Aimee's Soapbox!
September 2004: “Don't be a Girly-Man!”
OK, apologies to Arnold and to anyone offended by my attempt at humor. Because strength training is
no laughing matter! Are you ready to "pump up" and get huge? Then read on!
Weight (or strength) training is high-intensity activity which increases muscle mass. You will remember
from your definition of fitness that there is muscular strength as well as muscular endurance. Both can be
accomplished by weight training.
Now, if you are cringing at the thought of pumping iron in a roomful of Arnold wannabe's, you will be happy
to know that strength training (or any kind of high-intensity exercise) is what will help you REDUCE BODYFAT.
The purpose of weight training is to increase muscle mass which decreases bodyfat. So this knowledge may inspire you
enough to do it.
Now, you don't necessarily have to join a gym or buy a fance exercise staion for your basement. Things like
pushups and pullups are great strength training activities. Or you could hold plastic milk containers filled
with water or sand to make your own dumbbells. The possibilities for workouts are endless.
Basically, periodization principles and training guidelines for weight training are very similar to those for
cardiovascular training. The periodization principles for weight training include the same three (see last month's article
for the cardio info):
VOLUME: Volume here refers to the number of times that you repeat the exercise. A high number of repetitions
will improve your muscular endurance. Use a low number of reps to improve your muscular strength.
INTENSITY: The amount of weight you lift is the intensity and is directly related to the volume. When you are
doing a high number of reps (high volume), use a low weight (low intensity). When you do a low number of reps
(low volume), use a high weight (high intensity).
SYSTEM: The system is the way you do the weight training workout. You may have heard people talk about "3 sets of 10"
or "circuits." These are all systems. Each system has a different purpose, some to improve muscular endurance
and some to improve muscular strength.
Since weight training has two goals--to improve muscular endurance and muscular strength--it is important
that you keep YOUR specific purpose in mind when deciding on the number of reps and the amount of weight
you will lift. Follow this formula when choosing your workouts:
HIGH VOLUME + LOW INTENSITY = MUSCULAR ENDURANCE
LOW VOLUME + HIGH INTENSITY = MUSCULAR STRENGTH
Knowing the weight training guidelines below will complete the picture for you and help you design the
appropriate workout to meet your goals.
FREQUENCY: How many days per week should you weight train? Generally, three days per week is ideal, no matter
what your goal. Never weight train the same body parts on consecutive days. You must have a day of rest in between to
allow the muscle to recover. Some people advocate what is called a split-body routine, meaning you exercise part
of your body on one day and the rest on the next day. This way, you can weight train every day. However, unless
your goal is to become a world-class bodybuilder, there is no reason to train this way. A full-body routine three
days per week is more than sufficient.
INTENSITY: Intensity here also refers to the level at which you perform your activity. Your level will be determined
by the amount of weight and the system you choose. Obviously a lot of weight will increase the intensity.
And certain systems will raise or lower the intensity.
DURATION: How long do you need to lift and how many exercises do you need to do? In general, a full-body
routine will take anywhere from half and hour to an hour and will include 7 to 10 exercises.
MODE: Mode is the activity that you choose. You may prefer free weights, computerized gym equipment,
or good old-fashioned calisthenics. Any of these will help you reach your goals.
I do need to add one caveat to this weight training section. This periodization theory and the methods I
prescribe are fairly unique. If you belong to a traditional bodybuilder gym, you may get some arguments or even
some funny looks. However, you can hold your head high knowing that all the ideas put forth here are based on
sound anatomy and physiology principles. First, a bodybuilder has different goals than you and should be
doing things differently. Second, he or she may simply have an emotional attachment to a certain exercise
or method without knowing the theory behind it. Just because "it's always been done that way" doesn't make it
right. Do the right thing, do the thing right.
Coming up...
YOUR TURN! I've gone thru most of my favorite topics; now tell me yours! You can challenge me, quiz me,
ask me to research something, or just suggest a cool topic. Lemme know!
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