REP RANGES I LIKE TO USE
For strength training - 1-5 reps
For muscle building - 6-8 reps
For stamina, conditioning - I usually don’t count reps, I do exercises for time. I might do it for 30 seconds, I might do it for 1 minute, it depends on the number of exercises I am going to do in a row.
Of course, different authors might use different rep ranges for training. Some authors put number “5” into muscle building category. But I, personally, like to use reps as I wrote above.
And rep range is not the only factor determining whether your training routine is more suitable for strength or for muscle building. You should also consider rest periods between sets, because if you do single reps with moderate weight but rest only 10-15 seconds between sets, then this type of training might also be considered “appropriate” for muscle building.
NUMBER OF SETS AND TIMES PER WEEK
Talking about number of sets, I usually do 4-6 sets for a muscle group. You can use it as reference point, if you want to, but, of course, you can add your own variations - try doing 3 sets, try doing 7 sets and see how your own body responds. Just don’t experiment too much too soon.
How often to train muscle group? It depends on a program that you are doing and your experience level. If you are beginner you might try hitting your muscle groups once per week, if it doesn’t work for you, then try doing the same muscle groups twice per week. In the beginning your muscles will become stronger pretty quickly with almost any type of training. Stronglifts 5x5 program requires beginners to do squats three times per week and they make pretty good gains doing it (I mention this program to show some people, who have just started lifting, that they should not be confused, if they see beginner workout which requires training the same muscle group three times per week). Many programs require you to hit the same muscle group 2-3 times per week. I myself like to do it 3-4 times per week. Try and see what works best for you.
EXERCISES I USUALLY CHOOSE
Back muscles: pull ups, chin ups, sternum chin ups, various progressions from two to one arm pull ups, one arm dumbbell rows, seated cable rows, deadlift.
Biceps: hammer curls, barbell curls, preacher curls, drag curls.
Triceps: close grip bench press, tricep pushdowns, weighted dips, close grip push ups.
Chest: bench press, weighted dips, push ups, Vince Gironda dips.
Shoulders: military press, one arm dumbbell press.
Legs: back squats, front squats, one leg squats.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY WEIGHTS
If you do not have any weights to train with, you can do these exercises:
1) Push up variations (you can do various progressions from two to one hand push up). Believe me, performing some types of push ups require a lot of training. So you will not get bored with push ups. Dips and Gironda dips are great exercises for training your chest, as well.
2) You can also do pull up variations. If two hand pull ups are to easy for you, try progressing toward one arm pull ups. You can also add Vince Gironda sternum pull ups. And if pull ups are too difficult for you, you might try doing inverted rows and progressing toward two hand pull up.
3) For leg strength I would recommend doing one leg squats. You could also train your explosive power doing jump squats and sprinting.
Obviously, simple push ups, pull ups, dips and bodyweight squats can get too easy and boring very fast, BUT if you try doing more difficult variations of these exercises, you will see that there is a lot of room for improving your strength with these exercises.
CONDITIONING AND FAT LOSS
If your goal is conditioning or fat loss, I would recommend circuit training. Circuit training - doing a couple of exercises one after another, with no rest between those exercises.
Exercises you can choose: jumping rope, various kettlebell exercises, jump squats, sprinting, plyometric exercises. You can also do all of the exercises you use for muscle and strength building, but, obviously, if you are doing it for conditioning, the weight you use should be lower.
CIRCUIT WORKOUT WITHOUT WEIGHTS
1) Jump squats for 30 seconds
2) Push ups for 30 seconds
3) Jumping rope for 30 seconds
4) Pull ups (or inverted rows) for 30 seconds
5) Sprinting (with moderate intensity) for 30 seconds.
CIRCUIT WORKOUT WITH WEIGHTS
1) Kettlebell swings for 30 seconds
2) Bench press for 30 seconds
3) Squats for 30 seconds
4) Seated cable row for 30 seconds
5) Jumping rope for 30 seconds
In both circuit workouts all these 5 exercises combine only ONE set. Exercises should be performed without rest in between them. After doing all 5 exercises, rest for about 60-90 seconds and repeat the set 4-6 more times.You can try doing this twice a day, if you wish to.
How to progress during circuit training workouts:
1) You may try to increase the weight you are using,
2) You may try to increase the number of reps you are able to do during those 30 seconds
3) You may try to prolong each exercise by 3-5 seconds.
SOME OTHER QUESTIONS I FIND PEOPLE ASKING
"Am I strong?"
"I can lift this and that, am I considered strong?"If you are also concerned with this question, you should :
1) Select your reference group. To whom you are comparing yourself? Do you compare yourself with people your age? Do you compare yourself with people who weigh as much as you? Do you compare yourself with "average people"?Do you compare yourself with weightlifters? Maybe you even want to see were your results stand compared to world records?
I guess, you probably understand this very well: you might be considered strong among "untrained people" and at the same time you might be considered weak or average among weightlifters.
2) Explain, how your question should be interpreted. Are you asking whether you are "strong at the moment" or whether "you have potential to be strong" (for example, you are training for 3 weeks and increased your lift by 10 kg and you are asking if it is a good strength progress?).
3) Keep in mind that it also depends on the exercise: some exercises, like bench press are very difficult to practice in "real life situations", and many untrained people I know can usually bench 60-90 % of their own bodyweight. But just with a few weeks of training they can add some decent weight to their bench press. So, because of that, just by few weeks of training you can become stronger than "average guy" who weighs as much as you.
4) You can also use the strength level calculator that you can find at http://strengthlevel.com/. Although, I do not know know what statistics this calculator is based on, so I can't guarantee that it is reliable information, maybe it is more "for fun" (but I can't say that too, because I don't know).
How to build my chest, back or some other body part?
Some things to consider:
1) Your form. It is really important. Why? Not for the sake of "perfect form Nazis", but for things like this: for example, you might think that you are training your chest with bench presses when you are actually training your triceps and shoulders. Of course, bench press should hit your chest muscles, but it can be performed in such a fashion that it puts most of the stress on your triceps and shoulders, not your chest. The same can happen with your back muscles, if for example, you are doing barbell rows and you are jerking the weight too much, by doing this you may put more emphasis on your legs than on your back. So keep it in mind.
2) Nutrition. If you are trying to build muscle it is important that you get enough protein and calories. If your body doesn't seem to respond to the calories you are already taking in, try to increase your intake by about 500 kcal.
3) Exercises. Try different exercises. If you are doing bench presses try to add dips, if you are doing barbell rows try to add sternum pull ups, etc. Try and see which exercises work best for you.
4) Reps and sets. Maybe you chosen sets and reps scheme is not good for building muscle?
I am a football player (rugby player, tennis player, etc.) - How should I train?
In many cases it is not important what type of sports you are into. If you want to add some weight training, then the main thing you should be concerned about is building strength on your compound exercises:squats, bench presses, military presses, deadlifts, etc. You could try doing stronglifts 5x5 routine, if you can spend three days a week for weightlifting. You can even make that program shorter by doing only 3 sets per exercise, instead of 5, and see if it works for you.
And because most of the sports require stamina, it would be beneficial to add (or it might be the only weight training you do for your sports training) some circuit training with weights. You can find one example of circuit training above. And if you had to choose between long low intensity cardio (like, running for 30 minutes) or circuit training - I would recommend to choose the latter. This type of training is especially beneficial for fighters, who have to spend 3-5 minutes "doing a lot of intensive stuff" in the ring. Slow running will not prepare your stamina for that. but circuit training can.
