Characteristics of Good Bodybuilding Training Routines Body-sculpting and Bodybuilding Weight Training Routines By Pro Mr. America RON MAGNUM When it comes to weight training routines there are generally two types of routines that come to mind: bodysculpting and bodybuilding routines. The first type of training is used by the group who just wants to firm up and lose body fat. This can be accomplished by adding some muscle and losing body fat in order to tighten up. A good long term goal to aim for is to lose enough body fat so that you can reach a 13-16% body fat range if you are a woman and between 8-10% if you are a guy. This sort of training can be referred to as body sculpting training. The second type of training is bodybuilding training. For bodybuilders, the main goal is to add pounds after pounds of muscle mass while taking their body fat levels to a neighborhood of 8-10% and in some instances, like a bodybuilding contest, even less, going as far as 3-4% body fat. Before we discuss how each training should be performed, Ill first talk about the characteristics of good bodybuilding weight training routines. Characteristics of a Good Bodybuilding Weight Training Routines It must be short (between 45 to 50 minutes maximum; 60 minutes being optimal). After 50 minutes, the levels of muscle building and fat burning hormones that your body produces (such as testosterone & growth hormones) begin to drop or decrease a great deal. What this means is that training more than 50 minutes will prevent you from gaining muscle and losing fat fast! It will also prevent you from fast recovery. As crazy as it sounds, more is not necessarily or better in any way for huge bodybuilding or muscle gains. The rest in between sets should be kept to a minimum (90 seconds or less). Keeping your rest in between sets and exercises down not only helps you to perform a lot of work and still finish within the 50 minutes, but it also helps improve your cardiovascular system. In addition, it has also been shown that this kind of training stimulates growth hormones output the most and help keeps the heart rate up for better fat burning, if that is your objective. Generally, depending on the goal, the sets should be between 4-5 and 8 - 15 repetitions for muscle mass gains and 15-25 repetitions for body sculpting purposes. There are many reasons for this: - You get the best pump (blood flowing into your muscle cells) in these repetition ranges. This is important since along with the blood come nutrients that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild bigger faster. - Since you are doing so many repetitions, there is less probability of injury since youll be using a weight that you can control. - Again, studies show that muscle building and fat burning occur more efficiently at these repetition ranges. (Note: For bodybuilding training, however, I also recommend periods of 5-8 repetitions as well. This is of crucial necessity for a bodybuilder as an increase of strength is required in order for continued muscle growth to occur.) Training must be varied and cycled. Please, dont get stuck with the same routine day in and day out. If you are a bodybuilder, and you do this, this guarantees zero muscle growth. This is without even mentioning boredom and lack of enthusiasm. For bodybuilding cycle periods (3-4 weeks) of high volume (8-15 reps/set) with periods of higher intensity (5-8 reps/set). Training for Bodysculpting In order to accomplish this, the exercise strategy is to perform 20-40 minutes of aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week first thing in the morning on an empty stomach! Very important statement for fat burning… Training for Bodybuilding The goal here is maximum muscle size with minimum body fat. In order to accomplish this, 4 - 6 weight training sessions of 30-45 minutes composed of basic exercises are required per week (Note: Due to the cycling of workout parameters, workout length will vary between 45 to 75 minutes). This time schedule does include cardio sessions also. As far as cardiovascular exercise, 3 to 4 sessions of cardio first thing in the morning (or three hours after a meal) consisting of 20-30 minutes during a muscle mass gain phase should suffice. More cardiovascular exercise than this may be necessary during a cutting up phase. Conclusion Whether you are planning to just tone up or really bulk up, you are practicing bodybuilding. Implement the guidelines above in your program and you will see how much body fat you will lose and how much muscle you will gain in no time. Have a wonderful day! Author / Ron Magnum Owner, Author, Directing Manager, Certified Master Instructor, Certified Exercise Therapist, Certified Sports Nutritionist, Certified Kick Boxing Instructor, Certified Step Aerobics Instructor, Certified Diet Center Consultant, Retired Professional Athlete 3 Sports) Pro-Natural Bodybuilder Former Pro/Am Natural Mr. America, Pro-Wrestler (NEW ENGLAND WRESTLING ASSOCIATION) , Pro- Arm Wrestler – Undefeated Light heavyweight Champion (MONSTER ARM WRESTLING ASSOCIATION) and holder of many tittles , awards and accomplishments. (check out web site for titles and awards section) at: magnumpowerforcegym.bm
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 15:42:43 +0000
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