The basic principles of strength training include the manipulation of the number of sets (sets) and reps of exercises, the tempo (speed of execution), the choice of the exercises themselves in order to obtain the desired changes in strength, endurance or size of the overloaded muscle group. Specific combinations of reps, sets of exercises, size and strength depend on the number of individual exercises: to get the size and strength, you need to perform several sets (4+) with fewer reps, which requires the use of more force. The choice of exercises should be limited to basic fundamental barbell exercises such as the squat, the bench press, the deadlift, the overhead press and the bent-over press.
All muscles must be trained in balance with the surrounding muscles, i.e. chest-shoulders (delts)-triceps etc. and for maximum training effect must be performed with heavy (70-85% of 1RM, better known as "1 maximum limit") weights and several sets with a fairly long (2-5 minutes depending on the intensity) rest period between approaches. Training in poor physical form in heavy sets can lead to injury or inability to meet the goal of training - with the right muscle group, the threshold of muscle overload is not reached and the muscles do not gain strength. Occasionally, cheating is allowed when you need to engage auxiliary muscles.
Benefits of strength training include: increased muscle strength, tendon and ligament strength, bone density, flexibility, tone, metabolic rate and postural support.
Joe Weider and Marcel Ruhe chart
Strength training has many specialized terms used to describe the parameters of strength training.
Exercise - Different ways of performing an exercise on a given muscle group affect the muscles in different ways, causing them to continuously develop.
Form (technique) - each exercise has a specific amplitude and movement trajectory that ensures maximum safety and growth of muscle strength.
Repetition - the repetition of the exercise of one complete cycle - lifting and lowering the weight - with control of the movement trajectory.
Set (approach) - consists of several repetitions that are performed continuously one after another without a break between them.
Pace - the speed at which the exercise is performed; the tempo of the movement affects the weight that can be moved, affecting the muscles.
Intensity - The total amount of work per workout.
The following repetition rates are distinguished[1]:
fast - no rest at the lowest point;
medium - pause about 1 second;
slow - rest between repetitions for more than 1 second;
very slow - rest between reps 10-20 seconds.
The number of reps in a set and the number of sets of exercises performed depend on the level of training and the goal of the athlete. The number of repetitions that can be performed at a certain weight is called the "Repetition Maximum" (RM). For example, if a lifter can do ten repetitions at 75 kg, his "Repetition Maximum" for that weight is 10RM; 1RM is the maximum weight the lifter can lift in a given exercise only once without interruption. Training Objectives
According to generally accepted principles, there are the following types of workouts:
basic program for beginners
Split workout
circuit training
hyper workout
Circle training is the performance of exercises without pauses for different muscle groups in turn, such as squats, bench press, abs, pull-ups. The circle is performed 3-8 times per workout. This workout allows you to work a large number of muscle groups in a short time. For beginners it gives a good athletic effect. Increases the metabolism, which, in combination with aerobic exercise, allows you to effectively fight excess weight. For an athlete with more than six months of regular training experience, this workout is useless in terms of building muscle mass or increasing strength.
Hyper Training is a prolonged workout of one or two muscle groups over several hours with many tri-sets and gradual weight reduction. The duration of the workout can be up to 4-6 hours, in this case there are breaks for food (which is prepared in advance). Such training allows you to overcome the "stagnation" in muscle growth, to increase their circumference by 1.5 - 2.5 cm in one day, but is a serious test for the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. The metabolic processes do not cope with recovery after such a workout and sometimes an athlete needs 1-2 days of passive rest. This workout is used by experienced athletes no more than once every 2-4 months (or once per training cycle).
According to popular theory, there are low-rep sets, medium-rep sets, and high-rep sets:
Sets of 1-5 reps primarily develop strength, have a greater effect on muscle size and have no effect on endurance;
Sets of 6-12 reps balance strength, muscle size and endurance;
Sets of 13-20 repetitions develop endurance, with some increase in muscle size and limited effect on strength[2];
20+ repetition sets are performed in aerobic exercises, usually in a high-speed mode in which lactic acid, which gives a burning effect, is consistently removed.
Athletes typically perform 1-6 sets for each exercise and 1-3 exercises for each muscle group with short breaks (rest pauses) between each set. This particular combination of repetitions in different types of exercises with different lengths of sets and rests between sets depends on the goals of a particular individual program. The duration of rest determines how much energy the body system uses. Performing a series of exercises with little or no rest between exercises is called "circuit training," which draws energy primarily from the aerobic energy system.
For endurance development, the most effective program is a gradual increase in volume and a gradual decrease in intensity[3].
It has been found that for beginners, multi-set training gives minimal advantages over single-set training with respect to strength gain and muscle mass increase, but for experienced athletes, multi-set training gives the necessary optimal progress[4][5]. However, studies show that for leg muscles, three sets are more effective than one set[6].
Beginning weightlifters are in the process of preparing the nervous system, the brain's ability to generate action potentials that will cause muscle contractions close to maximum strength.
Point Purpose of Training.
Strength Power Hypertrophy Endurance Speed
Load (% of 1RM) 80-90 45-60 60-80 40-60 30
Repetitions per set 1-5 1-5 6-12 13-60 1-5
Sets per set 4-7 3-5 4-8 2-4 3-5
Rest between sets (min.) 2-6 2-6 2-5 1-2 2-5
Duration (seconds per set) 5-10 4-8 20-60 80-150 20-40
Repetition rate (% of max) 60-100 90-100 60-90 60-80 100
Workouts per week 3-6 3-6 5-7 8-14 3-6
Table from Supertraining by Mel C. Siff, 2003[7].
The weights for each exercise should be chosen so that the right number of repetitions are achieved, the last one or two of which should be performed to the limit.
Constantly progressing load is the basis of effective muscle mass gain in an athlete. Muscles grow faster and become stronger only in the process of adapting to the load, this is due to the micro-traumas that muscles receive only during intense heavy training and, trying to "heal" them, the body not only repairs the damaged areas, but also adds some reserve as if "just in case" - this causes muscle growth - an increase in muscle fibers, called hypertrophy, but not in their quantity. It is therefore necessary to constantly increase training weights or training intensity every training session, week or cycle, depending on muscle adaptation and muscle recovery rate.
Only a progression of loads guarantees a sufficient level of "training stress" that forces the athlete's body to produce the amount of anabolic hormones necessary for growth. Higher levels of stress (weight or intensity of exercise) cause muscles to adapt to it, i.e. grow. The reason lies in the hormonal stimulation of necessary DNA segments, followed by protein synthesis in the cell. If the training load is not progressive, the usual amount of anabolic hormones is produced, insufficient to start the processes of protein synthesis in the cell[10].
There are various ways to increase the workload and, therefore, the muscle work, e.g:
lifting more weight than in previous workouts or cycles, expending more effort;
to increase the number of repetitions with the same weight and number of sets;
Increase the number of sets, keeping weight and reps unchanged;
Increase the number of exercises per muscle or muscle group;
Decrease the pause between sets, but in most cases, as scientists have found out, it decreases the progression and causes rather the opposite effect because the tired muscles do not have time to fill with blood, get rid of breakdown products and recover in a few seconds.
Keeping a workout diary will help you track, analyze and progress in speed, strength and muscle gain, as well as choosing the best workouts for the future, which is why it's so important to record successes, failures and workout goals.
Split Training
Split training is training where an athlete works no more than two or three muscle groups at a time.
Split program making
Two-Day Split for Beginners
Three-day split for beginners
Four day split
Five Day Split
Intensity, Volume and Frequency
The three important components of strength training are: intensity, volume and frequency. Intensity refers to the amount of work required to achieve the goal and the proportionality of muscle mass and weights lifted. Volume refers to the amount of muscle work, exercises, sets, and reps you do during one workout. Frequency refers to the number of workouts performed per week.
These components are important because they are all interdependent, and as much strength is expended in training as endurance and time is needed for the muscles to recover from the micro-traumas received. Increasing any one component requires decreasing the other two, for example, increasing the weight means fewer reps and more recovery time will be required and therefore less training per week. Trying to increase intensity, volume and frequency will lead to overtraining, and can eventually lead to injuries and other health problems such as: chronic pain and general lethargy (lack of tone), illness or even worse, broken bones. "High-medium-low" is a training formula that can be used to avoid overtraining. For example, a one-week cycle: Monday ("high"), Wednesday ("medium"), Friday ("low"); a multi-week cycle: week 1 ("high"), week 2 ("medium"), week 3 ("low"). One example of this workout strategy is in the following table:
Type high medium low
Intensity (% of 1RM) 80-100 % 50-70 % 10-40 %
Volume (per muscle) 1 exercise 2 exercises 3+ exercises
Sets 1 set 2-3 sets 4+ sets
Repetitions 1-6 repetitions 8-15 repetitions 20+ repetitions
Training frequency 1 time per week 2-3 times per week 4+ times per week
A general training strategy to leave the volume and frequency the same each week (e.g., training 3 times a week, with 2 sets of 12 repetitions per workout), and gradually increasing the intensity (weight) weekly. However, to maximize progress toward specific goals, individual programs may require different manipulations, such as reducing weight and increasing volume or frequency[8].
Creating a program with changes daily (wave periodization) seems more effective than doing it every 4 weeks (linear periodization)[9], but for beginners there is no distinction between the different periodization models[10].
Periodization
Periodization should be used to maintain consistent progress. Periodization of the training process involves dividing the program into phases with different intensity, volume, speed of performance, and choice of exercises. Two types of periodization are popular in the West, "linear" and "conjugate''.
There are many other variations of this principle, such as the "pendulum" principle.
Training Strategies
Choice of sets and reps
Selection sets
Main article: Sets
To work out every muscle or muscle group to the maximum, you need to create a training program, to select the principle of performing sets (approaches) and their number for a particular exercise, thereby stimulating their maximum development. The principle of selecting sets and their number depends on the physical, physiological and psychological preparedness of the athlete for the choice of specific exercises and methods of their performance.
Classification of sets:
conventional sets: drop sets, descending sets;
Single sets (or single sets from the English word "single"): "strip set", "staggered set", the "rest-pause" method[11];
Combination sets: jumpset, giant set, combo set, super set, triset.
Choice of reps
Main article: Repetition
The choice of the number and type of repetitions for a particular exercise depends on the athlete's experience (seniority), the weight of the gym equipment they are lifting, and the desired achievement of their goals.
Classification of repetitions:
"partial reps" (aka: "x-reps", "incomplete amplitude" principle, "Burn" principle from the English "burn" - to burn, flame, burn);
"negative repetitions" ("negatives");
"dirty repetitions" ("cheating");
"forced repetitions";
"stepped repetitions";
"stop reps";
"additive reps";
"slow repetitions":
"super-slow repetitions."
Combinations of sets and reps
The most common methods of "folk combinations" of sets and reps that are often used in strength training conversions to "pump up" the muscles are: 3x3, 5x5, 8x8.
Singles
Singles (from English "single" - one, separate) - a mini-series of single sets:
"Principle 21" - performing 21 reps with different amplitudes: 7 reps in lower amplitude, 7 in upper amplitude and 7 in full amplitude.
Pyramid" method - performing singles with gradual weight increase until the last single is performed to failure and the weight cannot be increased. For example, in squats after a preliminary warm-up 50 kg x 15: 100 kg x 1, 120 kg x 1, 140 kg x 1, 160 kg x 1, 180 kg x 1 and 200 kg x 1. The last two singles are difficult, the final one is extremely heavy.
The method "5х5" in "rest-pause" style - weight equal to ~90% of 1RM is selected and one repetition is performed. Then the weight is returned to the racks and rest for 10-15 seconds follows. The next repetition is performed. The number of reps is brought up to five. Rest lasts for three minutes and then the next set of five reps is performed. In total during the training five such sets are performed. This is the best method of increasing strength performances.
Principles
Principles of strength training is a general view on the problems of overcoming physical and physiological barriers of athlete's development in qualitative and quantitative characteristics such as: skeletal muscle growth, increased endurance and strength performance. Due to the rapid development of medicine, mathematics and other sciences in the last hundred years, a more grounded understanding of the structure of physical, chemical, biological and physiological processes began, which allowed scientific ways to push the boundaries in all sports, as well as in human life in general.
The basic principles of strength training are to overcome the barriers of strength and endurance, because after a few months of training there comes a so-called "failure" or, as they say, "blind spot". The following basic principles are used to overcome this blind spot:
"Confusion" or muscle shock;
Isolation;
Pyramid;
Prioritizing the lagging muscles;
Static tension;
Prior Fatigue;
Extra weight;
Peak contraction;
Flushing;
Blitz;
Multi-joint exercises and free weights;
Explosive Power;
The principle of intermediate (nested) sets.
The popularity of different types of sports nutrition in 2014
It is generally recognized that strength training must match changes in diet in order to be effective. Protein, aka protein, is considered essential for building muscle skeleton, so exercisers consume foods high in protein - 1.4 to 1.8 g protein per kg body weight per day (0.6 to 0.8 g per pound)[12]. Protein, which is not essential for cell growth and repair and is not consumed for energy, is converted in the liver into fat, which is then deposited in the body. Some people believe that a high-protein diet entails a risk of kidney disease, but studies have shown that kidney problems only occur in people with previous kidney disease. Nevertheless, the process of deamination creates urea, which reduces and consistently creates nephron stress. Incorrect, as they say, hydrates can lead to an increase in this effect[13]. An adequate carbohydrate supply (5-7 g per kg) is also necessary as an energy source for the body and to restore glycogen levels in the muscles.
A balanced diet before training (usually one to two hours) provides the energy and amino acids available for an intense workout. Nutrition type and timing have a significant impact on the body, protein and carbohydrates consumed before and after exercise have a beneficial effect on muscle growth[14]. Water should be consumed throughout the workout to prevent poor performance due to dehydration. A protein shake is often consumed immediately after a workout[15] because protein absorption and utilization increases at this time. Glucose (or other simple sugar) should be consumed more frequently, as it will quickly replenish glycogen during exercise. To maximize muscle protein anabolism, a recovery drink should contain glucose (dextrose), protein (usually whey), hydrolysate containing mostly dipeptides and tripeptides, and leucine[16]. Some exercisers also take adaptogens (ergogenics) such as creatine or steroids to help muscle growth. However, the effectiveness of some products is controversial, and some products are even potentially harmful.
