Unfortunately, not everyone has the benefits of having a
good coach individualize workouts for them. In most cases the average person’s
workout comes from some cut and paste website, some bro-scientist guessing his
way through a set of curls, or if their lucky they get good general programming
from places like EnduWod. No matter who you are, if you want optimal results
you’re going to need personalized workouts. If you’re like 99% of people, you’re
going to have to make your own workouts – and I’m here to help.
captain pose for confidence |
FREQUENCY
This refers to how often you plan on working out. If you
want to workout 3 times a week then you need to figure out how much rest you
want to have between workouts. When it comes to resistance training, the rule
of thumb is to have at least 48 hours of recovery between similar muscle group
workouts. For example, if you squat on Monday then you should AT THE LEAST wait
until Wednesday before you deadlift.
INTENSITY
Intensity can be interchanged with 1RM % (1 Rep Max
percentage). When you choose the intensity of a workout, you’re essentially
deciding how hard this workout will be on your body. If you’re looking for
hypertrophy and strength gains you should use at least 70% 1RM. Some newer
research suggests that optimal intensity may be as high as 85 % or even higher.
Just remember, the higher 1RM % you use the fewer reps you should use.
VOLUME
Sets x reps is the formula used to calculate volume. The
traditional set-rep scheme in many workouts is 3 sets of 10 reps. That’s fine
and dandy if you want to get a quick pump, but some of us want to get strong.
Strength gains are seen more in the 5 rep range as long as intensity is high
enough. Performing 5 sets of 5 is, in my opinion, the ultimate strength and muscle
mass gaining set-rep scheme. However, performing sets of 3 or 2 at 90% 1RM or
higher may be what your strength gains need. A good set-rep scheme for such a
high 1RM% would be 4 sets of 3 reps or 5 sets of 2 reps.
EXERCISE SELECTION
Picking the right exercise should be the easy part. If you
want to get better at squatting you definitely need to squat. Start with your
primary goal – back squat – and perform it at the intensity you desired. Next
you need to select your accessories; such as front squat, RDL, or Lunge.
Program your accessories at a lower intensity and volume, but not so low that
you don’t see any adaptations.
Obviously this is just a basic run-through on how to make
your workouts, but now you have the foundation to start making your workouts
and reaching your goals. Of course, if you have the resources please trust the
professionals to get write your workouts and program you to success. Just
whatever you do, don’t trust commander bro-science whose workouts do little
more than cost you money and waste your time.
No comments:
Post a Comment