My philosophy when it comes to resistance training is pretty basic.  Go to the gym on a regular basis, work hard, fatigue the muscles, rest and do it all over again.  You don’t have to do all kinds of confusing programs with many different exercises in order to develop the best body you can. The best approach is a simple well balanced one that you can follow and adapt as your goals change.  This applies to the beginner as well as the experienced lifter (I will get into programs for each group later on).

We are often mislead by the muscle magazines that tell us how to train like a certain pro bodybuilder or have the newest and greatest way to get a six pack.  The bottom line is magazines have to sell in order to make money, and they want to suck you in with the latest fitness “discovery”.

Most of the information confuses the person new to fitness by contradicting other magazines and sometime themselves with their training information.   As for any workout you read from a pro bodybuilder, take it with a grain of salt.  If you follow their program, you will probably be overtrained in short order.  They are nowhere near the average person.  So what works for them will more than likely not work for you.

There are basic rules that we want to follow in order to change our body to look the way we want.  I don’t care if you just want to feel better or look like a fitness model, you are going to have to work hard and smart in the gym.  Your body will adapt to this approach by adding more fat burning shapely muscle or by maintaining and toning your existing muscle. 

I see people in the gym every day who come religiously but make no progress, day after day month after month.  Why?  Well, something is obviously missing with their approach.  It could be that their diet is not tuned properly or that they are following a program that doesn’t fit with their goals. 

I have had many consultations with people who are confused by their lack of progress.  Once I find out what they are doing wrong, I can suggest a few simple changes they should make and within no time, they are on track and seeing results.  Most people are out of their element when it comes to performance nutrition and weight training.  They do too much or not enough.  It is hard to find that perfect balance.

In order to force our body to change, we must comply with the following rules:

You must start with the strengthening of joints and connective tissue

Too many people go to a gym for the first time and start on machines based workouts.  As a matter of fact, most gyms have beginner programs designed around a machine circuit.  This is probably the worst thing to do as far as your body is concerned.  Why do health clubs do this? Basically, because its easy to show you how to perform the exercises (even though most of the time you are just reading a very vague instruction on the machine with a simple diagram).  It makes you feel like you are doing something productive and are on the right track.  But most of all, it’s cheap and helps with member retention. 

When you follow a machine based program, you miss some very important body parts.  You see, machines are made to isolate certain muscles.  They do that by moving you in a fixed range preventing other muscles from helping out.  You may be thinking, “isn’t that the point?” well, yes and no. 

Free weight movements (with barbells and dumbbells) may look more advanced because they are more technical and require more coordination.  However, this is what you are trying to develop.  This lack of coordination in the gym is due to under developed stabilizing muscles.  Muscles that those machines don’t target.

Stabilizing muscles are smaller muscles that work in conjunction with larger muscles.  They are generally around the joints or areas that twist and rotate.  As very little movements in your life move in a fixed range, these stabilizing muscles become essential to your workout.  If you lift a box off the ground, carry groceries, or climb stairs, you have many stabilizing muscles working to keep you balanced and protect the joints.

When you train with free weights, you are moving in an unstable environment, just like in real life.  So you are targeting the stabilizers as well as the main muscle groups.  This develops the body as a whole, building real world strength as well as working more muscles to help elevate your metabolic rate. 

I have taken people who have been working out on machines for years and thought they were quite strong only to prove them wrong.  For example, I had a woman in her early 20’s who would use the seated chest press machine, she was able to do many reps with 105lbs.  When I explained about how she wasn’t working her stabilizers and put her on a flat bench with 15lb dumbbells in each hand, she couldn’t push them straight up without my hands guiding her.  She was shocked to see how hard it was to do the same move with only 30lbs!

As you can see, your prime mover or larger muscle might get stronger but the supporting muscles don’t.  This will often lead to injuries in the real world when you go to lift something.  You feel strong enough to move it and your prime movers may be, but your stabilizers aren’t and they give way, leading to injury.

So don’t be intimidated by free weights.  They should be your main tool in the gym.  You want to make sure you strengthen those joints before you work on the larger muscles.

You must be aware of the muscle you are working.

To some this may sound obvious but I can’t count how many times I have asked someone performing an exercise what muscle they are working and they have no idea.  You can’t properly target a certain muscle if you are not mentally focused on it. 

Much has been written about this connection, the mind/muscle connection, over the years but many people do not practice it.  The human body is extremely adaptable and tries to perform tasks as easily as possible.  Often this results in other muscles kicking in to aid in an exercise.  Since we are trying to focus one muscle group at a time, we cannot let this occur.

You have to make the movement as hard as possible rather than as easy as possible in order to force your body to adapt and look the way you want it to. You have to mentally focus on the muscle working at all times and try to shut down any other muscle trying to help out.  The more you can focus and feel the muscle work the more you will work that muscle and the faster your results will come.

This will take some time to get the hang of but you will develop this connection.  Make sure you feel the muscle stretch as you lower a weight and feel it contract as you raise a weight.  Focus on the full range of motion (ROM) with every repetition and you will start to isolate muscles more effectively.

You must warm up the muscle before working it, but keep it brief

First off, I don’t consider walking for 10 minutes on a treadmill as a warm up.  It might get the heart pumping and the blood circulating a bit faster but it isn’t going to get your chest ready for a workout.

I want to warm up the specific muscle group we are going to be working by performing small sets with lighter weight to prepare our muscles for the coming workload.

I don’t like to perform many warm up sets with clients.  I find that it tires them out even before we hit our first working set.  This means that we can’t handle as much weight and therefore don’t stimulate as much of a growth response. 

Most of my clients will perform a few minutes (5-10) of cardio of some sort prior to our session.  From there I will usually have people perform the first warm up set of the movement we are doing with about 50% of the working weight for 5-10 reps. The second warm up set will be performed with approximately 75% of the working weight for 3-5 reps. The third and final warm up set will be performed with approximately 90% of the working weight and will only be 1-2 reps. 

This approach will get the blood pumping to the muscles being worked as well as develop your co-ordination for the exercise you are about to perform.  By performing the last warm up set near your working weight, you can get a good barometer of your level of strength that day.  You may feel strong and want to raise your intended working weight or your last warm up weight might have been a struggle and you may want to lower your working weight to stay in the proper rep range.

If you are lifting a heavy weight (for example you are squatting 405lbs), then you would perform more warm up sets starting with a lower percentage of the working weight.  I would, however, follow the same amount of reps per warm up set.  So by the third warm up set, I would just continue to perform 1-2 reps per set leading up to your working weight. This way you will not tire yourself out with millions of reps performed prior to your working set.

I will generally just perform one warm up like this per muscle group.  So if you were working chest, you would follow this warm up for your first exercise and when you move on to your second just perform a couple reps at a weight 75% of what you expect to lift.  From there, you can determine if you need a couple more reps to get the co-ordination down.

You must perform exercises to cover the entire muscle group.

When lifting weights, you want to think of the muscle as a whole and what the basic purpose of that muscle is.  Once you establish this, you want to work it through its full range of motion.  I like to start with a big movement for the first exercise and work my way down to smaller ones to finish the muscle off.

Using our chest as an example, I would start off with a flat bench press (which covers the entire group of muscles within the chest) ensuring that I work the muscle hard right off the bat.  I would then move on to an incline bench press (sometimes I might start with this if I am trying to build the upper portion of the chest more) and finish off with something like dumbbell flies.  By having dumbbell flies as my last movement; use the lightest weight, keeping me in a safer environment while isolating the chest very well.

I will provide a list of movements that I think will produce the best results in the shortest amount of time.  I will also list alternatives in case a certain exercise is not available to you or you want to change things up for some variety.

I will also list them in the order they should be performed, starting with the biggest movement.  This way, you get the most work done while you are fresh and can lift more weight once again forcing the body to change to meet the demand.

You must perform more than one set per exercise.

I would like to address the amount of sets to perform for each exercise.  By sets I mean groups of repetitions.

There are many theories out there regarding how many sets you should perform.  On average they range from one set to ten, sometimes more. I like my clients to perform three sets per exercise.  This way I ensure that I have hit their full potential with each exercise.

In many cases, your first set may not be your best.  You are still developing that co-ordination required to perform the exercise.  It is also your first set you’re using your actual working weight.  Usually the second set feels the best on the muscle.  You have adjusted to the working weight and can focus more on each rep.  The third set is where you ensure you fatigue the muscle.  Ideally, I like to see muscle failure in the lower part of your rep range.  So if you are working in the 8-12 rep range, I would like to see my clients hit muscle failure somewhere between 8-10 reps.

You must train in your goal specific Repetition Range

Rep ranges will vary from muscle group to muscle group depending on what your goals are for those individual muscle groups.  Your body responds to internal or external changes by adapting to these changes. 

If your body is challenged to lift a greater amount of weight on a regular basis your body will adapt by increasing the amount of skeletal muscle to make this new demand easier.  On the other hand, if your body is required to lift less it will respond by ridding itself of some muscle mass.  It’s the old “use it or lose it” philosophy.

The rest you require between sets will depend on the rep range you are in as well as the muscle group you are working.  A larger muscle group will require a longer rest period than a smaller muscle group.  It obviously is more demanding doing a set of heavy squats than a set of heavy barbell curls, therefore, more rest is required after the squats.

• Muscle Mass and Strength

If you are trying to add mass and increase strength in a muscle group, keep your reps low (4-6) and weight heavy.  This rep range should produce the greatest strength gains.  Working in this rep range will require the longest rest times between sets.  Depending on your intensity level, you can give yourself up to 5 minutes rest or until your heart rate and breathing return to normal (or close to) levels.

• Muscle Mass

For primarily increasing mass gains your rep range should be moderate (8-12).  This rep range should produce slightly greater gains in mass to the low rep range but will not increase strength as much.  Rest between sets at this rep range should be 1-2 minutes at most.  Once again, your heart rate and breathing should be relatively close to normal before your next set.

• Maintenance and Endurance

To maintain and or refine a muscle group, your rep range should be high (15-20+).  This rep range will increase the muscle group’s endurance to enable your output for a longer period of time.  It will cause the least muscle gain and have the least impact on your level of strength.  Since you aren’t lifting much weight, your rest between sets here will be in the 30-second range.  The lighter weight isn’t very demanding on your body and your breathing and heart rate should be fairly stable throughout the set.

You must train at a high intensity level.

This is the one thing most people lack in the gym.  They think they are pushing themselves.  They are lucky if they are tapping into 70% of what they are capable of.  Without the proper level of intensity, your body will not be forced to adapt and change.  It has no reason to. 

Your intensity level is not only how hard you work your muscles but how hard you mentally push yourself.  Your body will naturally make physical tasks easier by incorporating other muscles to help perform a movement.  Your mind set can do a similar thing, only with negative or lazy thoughts that make you stop prematurely.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect someone walking into a gym for the first time to start grunting and spitting all over the place to get through a set.  You will obviously build up your intensity level over time.  When you first start, you want to take your time to learn the exercises and develop your technique.  I don’t want you pushing too hard and hurting yourself.  After approximately 4 weeks of consistently working out (about the time you start to feel confident with your technique) you should start to kick up your intensity level.

Most people (myself included) will tend to stop a set a couple reps shy of where they should.  They will often give in to the burn or the fatigue setting in instead of pushing past it.  I usually get mad at myself if I finish a set and I know I could have done more.  When this happens, I will make sure I give it my all for my next set.

You should do whatever you have to do to get you past that point.  Think of something to inspire you.  Think about the hottie across the gym looking at you in the mirror or think about someone who has a body you admire.  Sometimes thinking about something that gets you mad will help squeeze out a couple extra reps. Then again you could always refocus on the goal that has you there in the first place! 

Use whatever it takes to motivate you and if your intensity level drops for one set, don’t let it drop for the next.

You must achieve muscle failure

Most people I watch in the gym don’t reach muscle failure.  As a matter of fact, they don’t come close.  As I stated earlier, you must fatigue the muscles when you work out.  By fatigue, I mean annihilate them!  It frustrates me when I see people perform their last repetition and it looks like it was no more of a struggle than the first rep.

Your last rep should be exactly that, your last!  You couldn’t perform another if someone offered you a million dollars for one. This is how we force the muscle to adapt, to grow, to become stronger and more toned.  If we fail to reach this point, our muscles have no reason to adapt.  They are already capable of performing the task required at their present level.

If you are not hitting at least concentric (when the muscle contracts, or when we are lifting the weight) muscle failure with each set, you are not challenging that muscle.  For absolute muscle failure, you must reach eccentric (when the muscle stretches under stress, or when we are lowering the weight) muscle failure.  This shouldn’t be done on a regular basis as it is so taxing on the body and a spotter is a must with certain exercises when performing absolute muscle failure.  Performing absolute muscle failure on a regular basis can definitely lead to over training.

Bottom line, when it comes to muscle failure, it is to make sure you can’t perform another rep in good form if your life depended on it.  You should make sure you use a weight heavy enough to hit this point before you reach the end of your target rep range.

You must use perfect form… most of the time.

For the most part, we want to move the weight in perfect form to ensure proper recruitment of the targeted muscles as well as training injury free.  However, if you are an experienced lifter then there are times that you may sacrifice form (somewhat) to go a little heavier with the weight you are using.  By sacrificing form or “cheating” you can handle more weight, you don’t want to go overboard with this technique though.  Here are two examples of cheating.  One is acceptable and the other is not.

Lets say you are doing a barbell curl and the weight is a little more than you can move in perfect form.  It is acceptable to sway the body a little bit at the start of the movement to get the bar moving upward.  The minor cheat will enable you to get the weight moving past your sticking point so you can stress the muscle more than you would with a more manageable weight. 

It is not acceptable to swing the weight up with a huge rocking motion and arching of your body.  The major cheat will only increase your chance of injury and incorporate so many other muscles that you will not hit your targeted muscles as effectively.

You want to be able to feel the muscle go through its range of motion at all times during the lift.  You want to feel it engage and contract as you lift the weight and you want to feel it stretch while under resistance as you lower the weight.  Basically, that’s all you do as you lift weight, contract and stretch under controlled resistance.

You must train the muscle’s full range of motion

It is very important to train a muscle through its full range of motion (ROM).  You have to feel the muscle stretch on the negative portion of the lift and fully contract on the positive portion of the lift.  Only by training the full ROM, can you strengthen and develop the muscle to its full potential.

Now there may be times when you don’t want to do this.  One time that comes to mind, is when you may have some sort of injury.  I have had many clients with bad shoulders who can perform a shoulder press but if their upper arm goes any lower than parallel to the floor, it causes them great discomfort.  If this is the case, it is fine to just bring your arms parallel to the floor.  You are getting the majority of the benefit of this exercise by doing so. 

It is one thing to slightly decrease your ROM due to injury but it is another to decrease it due to laziness.  Remember, you always want to make an exercise harder not easier.  Don’t sacrifice your ROM to make the movement easier.  It is only sacrificed when the risk outweighs the benefit.

Use a training partner or spotter

Having a training partner is a very valuable asset.  A partner can help keep you motivated and especially help keep you safe.  Whether you are working out in a gym or at home, you can find yourself in a situation where an extra pair of hands would come in very handy. 

Saying that, sometimes we are better off without a training partner.  This is when we choose someone who doesn’t want to achieve his or her goals as much as you may want to.  I often see people spending more time goofing around in the gym or not spotting each other properly.  This is not only a waste of your time but it is also unsafe.

I have had many training partners over the years and have great workouts with some and terrible workouts with others.  When working out on my own, I find that I don’t push myself as hard as I should.  For an extra kick, I will get someone that I see in the gym that looks like they know what they are doing to spot me.  This will often force me to push a little harder because I don’t want to look bad in front of this new person.

I will usually instruct the person on how I would like them to spot me as well.  Not everyone spots the same way and not everyone knows how to spot.  I will discuss proper spotting technique later.

If you are working out at home, you are going to have to be careful not to push yourself too hard.  Unless you can call someone to help you on a couple lifts (just in case), I would keep the weight at a level you know you can handle safely.

Keep in mind that when you are pushing your limits, a spotter is not just a convenience but a necessity.  If you do not have a spotter and are going to push your limits with a heavy weight, I suggest using a machine-based exercise for the majority of your workout.  Using a safer free weight exercise at the end of the workout will hit the stabilizers around the major muscle group you are working.

You must keep your workouts short and effective.

From the time you step on the gym floor and pick up your first weight to the time you walk out the door on your way home, no more than one hour should have passed.

The main reason we want to limit our workout to an hour or less is because of muscle tissue damage.  At around 45 minutes to one hour after we start weight training and breaking down muscle tissue, our body sends cortisol, a catabolic hormone, to eat away at this damaged tissue.  After all, we don’t build muscle in the gym.  We only break it down in the gym.  We build and repair damaged muscle outside the gym through proper rest and nutrition.

So, we want to prevent this catabolic phase from doing too much damage.   We do this by ingesting a combination of quickly absorbed protein and carbohydrates as soon as possible (within an hour) after working out. 

I have my clients bring a post workout shake (specifically designed for that client) to the gym with them.  They bring it in powdered form, add water after they workout and drink it in the locker room while getting changed.  This starts to repair the muscles and speed up the recovery process right away.

Since we want to be in and out of the gym in one hour, I design programs that, including rest times between sets, should take approximately 45 minutes to an hour to complete. 

You must change your workout frequently

 You not only have to challenge your muscles with increased weight to make them grow and prevent them from adapting, you also have to change the way you workout from time to time.  Usually, it takes about 3-4 weeks for your body to adapt to a workout, no matter how simple or complex it may be. 

These changes do not have to be major, something as simple as changing the order in which you perform the exercises will be good enough.  You can also change your rep range from month to month.  By changing your rep range, you will target different muscle fibres, this will not only prevent your muscles from adapting but also develop strength and endurance. 

I find that many people trying to build muscle (myself included) tend to stay in the lower rep ranges for too long a period.  This often results in injuries to the joints and connective tissue from constant overload and stress.  It isn’t a bad idea to go from the lower rep ranges to the higher rep ranges every few weeks.  You can stay in the higher rep range for a couple weeks then go heavy again.  This way you can give the joints a break from the constant beating they take and prevent injury.

So keep mixing up your workouts every 3-4 weeks, whether it’s changing the order, the exercises, the rep range or trying something completely different.  The more experienced you get and the higher your goals and expectations are, may require you to come up with a long term plan of attack with these changes in mind.  This type of plan in called Periodization.

So there you have it, as long as you follow all of those rules you should do just fine.  Sounds easy doesn’t it?  NOT!  This is why so many people come to see us at Emerge, because its not easy and it can also be very dangerous if you are working at the level you should be to make your body change.  If you aren’t following all of these rules right now you aren’t seeing the results you should, stop wasting time and do what so many others have done and join Emerge.  Let us make sure you are following all of the rules to resistance training and start seeing results today.