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Old July 28th, 2006, 06:23 PM posted to alt.support.diet.weightwatchers
Nunya B.
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Posts: 615
Default How Many Exercises and Sets Do I Perform for my Strength Training?

Eddie,

Looks like your workout is very arm intensive. What are you doing for your
traps, shoulders, and lats besides the alternating dumbell rows?

Take a look at this site: http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html for some ideas
on how to hit those other groups.

Everyone is different in their weightlifting, but an overall good thing is
to think about the specific muscle groups you're trying to hit and do it. I
do full body twice a week due to time constraints. Some do upper one day,
lower the next. My workout is generally geared from the neck down. This
means I get to the gym and figure out what I'm going to do for my traps,
then do the pecs, etc. and I work on big muscles before the small ones so I
save my shoulder specific and arm specific exercises until after the pecs
and lats. Totally not a requirement by any means, it's just the habit I've
gotten into. It's an efficiency thing

Smith squats are great in that they take the need for balancing out of the
equation - you probably won't fall over like you could with regular squats.
Just make sure your legs are in the correct position and that your your form
is spot on or else you can cause shearing in the knee.
--
the volleyballchick

"Eddie-Type2" wrote in message
...
Hey Ray,

I think you probably know that I've also been lifting weights since
January.

If you don't mind, can you please share your routine...........I'm really
curious to know what you're doing because in my case, I am pushing heavy
weights for 3 sets each and I'm also superset.

I start out with the Bench Press
135x10
155x8
175x6
Sometimes, I will try to push a 4th set at 190 with someone spotting
me......

But I superset the bench press with straight barbell curls
40x10
50x8
60x6

Then I do a 3rd superset for my triceps with overhead dumbbell tri
extensions
35x10
35x10
35x10

After those 9 sets, I then do 3 sets of alternating dumbbell curls
15x10
20x10
25x10

Then I do preacher curls superset with overhead preacher bar tri
extensions
55x10 curl, then 55x10 O/H tri ext (some people call them head crushers!)

On alternate days, I do bent over dumbbell lifts/row
40x10, 3 sets superset each arm

I recently started doing squats with the smith machine - what a
killer!!!!!!
my thighs feel like some too a baseball bat to them!! hehehe
But I hear squats are also very good for cardio as well - I hate the
treadmill and bike, but I still fit them in on alternate days........

I try to change my routine so that it doesn't get stale.........in time,
when I lose another 100lbs, I plan to show off all my huge muscles with my
ultimate goal of walking on the beach wearing a Speedo!!!
hehehehahahaha!!!!!! the girls at my WW meeting just love it when I say
that
grin

Eddie
Weight June05-359.0lbs
Current Weight-291.8lbs
Loss to date=67.2lbs
Goal Weight-180.0lbs

"rmr" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:52:51 +1000, "Gary Matthews"
articles@maximumfitness wrote:

snip

Compound exercises are much more functional and superior to isolation
exercises and promote natural movement of your joints. Heavier loads can
also be lifted using these exercises. Some benefits a

. More functional
. Higher muscle activation
. Higher hormonal release
. Less stress on joints.



Yes. Compund exercises are the way to go. Squat, deadlift, bench,
chin-up, dip, and a few others.

snip Performing three to four exercises with high intensity
during a session are what most people are capable of during a high

intensity
strength-training workout. All the main muscle groups are thoroughly
exercised with these exercises and they have an overall growth effect on

the
body as a whole i.e. a total body workout.

After rest and recuperation is allowed to take place and at the next
exercise session if you can push out a few more reps then you will have
become stronger, thus allowing for more muscle growth. i.e. more lean

muscle
and a higher metabolism.

It only takes one of these workouts to target the entire major support
muscles of the body. Exercises should be chosen from the more complex and
challenging to the less complex and challenging. Remember, as you get
stronger in your upper body exercises i.e. Dips, Bench Press and Lat Pull
downs, you will also add size to your upper arms as well as to your
shoulders. There is no need to train the arms and shoulders with isolation
exercises.

Did you know that current research shows that performing one set per
exercise is as beneficial as multiple set workouts!!


Not really. You must do one or two warmup sets of each exercise first
then a minimum of one challenging set. There's not much return on
doing more than three, except that you will expend more energy.

Really it depends on your goal. If you are looking for endurance then
do more lighter and longer sets. If you are looking for maximum
strength, then go for a few shorter, heavier sets.

If you think that volume training (multiple sets) is more effective then
you're wrong! The latest research shows that single set training is as
beneficial as multiple set training. Also by performing the one set
decreases the chances of over training and saves valuable energy for other
exercises required during that particular workout.


This is not the case. Especially since you are advocating one set to
failure. That is a guarantee of injuring yourself. You should adjust
the weight to do 5-15 reps per set and still have enough strength to
do one more rep. You should never lift to failure.

So all you need to do is ONE SET only of each strength training exercise,
this is accomplished by performing as many repetitions as you possibly
can.


After performing one complete set to total failure, it should be just
about
impossible to generate the same force and intensity for another complete

set
of the same exercise. If you're able to generate the same force and
intensity for this second set then it is pretty obvious that not enough
effort has been put into the first set. If you give each set per exercise
100% effort (e.g. you cannot move the bar after the last rep) then there
will be no more requirement for further muscle stimulation on that
specific
exercise.


NO. This is really bad advice. NEVER lift to failure. You will injure
yourself. Can you imagine a newby trying tto squat to failure. recipe
for a broken back. Or trying a bench press to failure - broken neck!

DONT DO IT.

Multiple Sets can be used in the following circumstances.

. The initial stages of learning a new exercise.

. During rehabilitation


Definately.

Remember it is the intensity that is important, not the volume when it

comes
to gains in strength. One warm up set of 50% of maximal weight can be done
for 5-10 repetitions to oil the joints for the big work set that is to
follow. After completing a set and when your breathing has returned to
normal proceed to the next exercise. There is no time limit here just what
you feel comfortable with, be it 3 or 5 minutes etc.


again it depends on your goals.

Make no mistake about it put what you have leaned here to practice and you
will start to finally make those long awaited gains you have been after.
snip url


Use google to get advice from several different sources and go with
those who make the best case. But be conservative in what you do.
Lifting weights can be dangerous. Above all be careful and always
underestimate how much you can lift.

ps. Isolation exercises can be useful too. You should generally do
isolation exercises at the end after doing the compound exercises. But
you should have a good reason for doing isolation exercises. I
generally do a few isolation exercise to make a session up to an hour.

Ray