Introduction
I would like to share my experience in what I have been doing with my own health and fitness over the past years. I have been weight lifting off and on for the past 8 years and taking it more seriously in the past three. I have tried various methods of dieting to assist with muscle gain and reduce my body fat. Over the past summer, I have been doing alot more cardio with my workouts routine.
The one thing that I found with anything relating to fitness is know who you are and the body type you have. This will help you alot. For me the majority of my muscles are made from slow twitch fibers opposed to fast twitch fibers. This effects muscle growth, size, length of rest period and body metabolism. The following is what I found to work for me. I would recommend that you find what works for you.
Weight Training
When you over stress your muscles, the muscle fibers tears. In the healing process (two to seven days depending on the person), the muscle not only repairs the fiber but provides additional support for the new workload. If you are not working your muscle, you body adjusts by reducing the size of the muscle. When you muscle reduces, your body metabolism slows down. Weight training is a good way to keep a healthy metabolism.
Muscle Groups
How muscles work is they contract to get movement. In weight lifting, you can divid your body into 11 working groups. You design your workout to hit each muscle group once to four / five times depending on your level. After working out the muscle, you need to give it time to heal, two to seven days.
Chest - Pectorals
Tri-cep - Located on the opposite side of the bi-cep
BI-cep - contracts the arm
Forearm - Moves the wrist and fingers
Traps (Trapezoid) - Moves the shoulders up and assist in the upward motion
Shoulders (Deltoids) - Enable the arms to have a wide range of motion
Lats (Latissimus)- This muscles in the back allow people to perform chip ups and similar motions
Abs - Stomach Muscles
Quadriceps, Hamstrings and Gastroncnemius (Calve muscle)
Beginners Program
I would recommend before starting any fitness or diet program that you speak with a personal trainer and/or a doctor.
If you never weight lifted before, it is important you do the movements correctly and at a light weight. I just started doing power clean then going down to a hack squat. At first, I just used the bar because it was something I never attempted before. I wanted to learn the proper motion before I started adding weight. I did try to add weight right away but my form wasn't correct. Since then I have been slowly adding more weight.
The theory behind weight lifting is to tear the muscle fiber with a weight that your body isn't use to. What you want to do is make small tears in the muscles with tearing or injuring any other part of your body (joints, back etc..). When you see body builders working out with very heavy weights, they all started from where you are today. When I was weight lifting off and on about 6 years ago, I was in Sioux Lookout. This guy was bench pressing dumbbells that were 105 pounds on each side on. I never thought I could do that or be that big. Today, I am not that big but stronger than he was. Just time and patience.
I would recommend that you break your workout into two sessions. The first sessions hit your upper body then your lower body the next day. You can either go:
Upper Body, Rest Day, Lower Body, Rest
Upper Body, Lower Body and two Rest days
Upper Body, Lower Body Rest day
In each day you would hit each muscle group once or twice. It is very important you rest at least once before hitting the same muscle group again. I rest three to four days before I hit the same muscle group again. This gives the muscle tissue time to heal. Resting a day would allow the muscle to heal but not enough time is given for it to grow. Resting too many days, the muscle will start to shrink and get weaker. Fast twitch muscles need alot longer time to heal. Some weight lifters rest seven to eight days before hitting the same group again. I tried that system and found the rest period was too long and wasn't developing anymore. My slow twitch muscles heal faster and I don't need that much time.
Intermediate Program
After a few weeks, you should notive a difference in the amount you can lift. Your muscles are adjusting fast to the new weight you are using. During the first 3 to 4 months, you will have the most gains in the short period of time. After the first 4 to 6 weeks, I would change to hitting each muscle group two to three times a workout. Also dividing your workout to three days on and one or two off.
First Day - Legs
Second - Chest(3), Shoulders(3), Tri-Cep (2))
Third - Bi-cep (2), Lats (3), Traps (3)
The Magic 24
The key to remember is that you don't want to go over the number 24. If you do 3 reps of 8 sets, that would be 24 (reps x sets). If you go over, you will be over extending yourself.
Advance Program
After the fourth and fith month, you will notice the gains you have been making in the past are slowing down. What is happening is your muscles are adjusting to the new weight. In order to continue to make gains, you would need to increase the level of your weight lifting. By now you should know your body and decide now much rest you need. The program I am currently on is 4 on and one off giving my my muscles a 3 to 4 day rest period.
Day One - Chest (4), Triceps (4) of 3 to 5 sets (usually 3)
Day Two - Lats (4), Bi-cep (4)
Day Three - Shoulders (5), Traps (3)
Day Four- Legs (Squats, clean press and squat, dead lift, calve raises, leg press (if available), dockey calve raises, strait leg deadlift, leg extension, hamstring extension)
Day 5 - Rest (If my chest and tri-cep muslces feel 100%, I would go to my day one routine instead of taking a day off but on the second time of the cycle, I would take the day off no matter how I felt.