Hey guys, how many sets and exercises should i do for each body part? Also, how often should exercises be changed around or new exercises be added in to challenge your muscles?
How many sets and exercises
- Thread starter coolkidd123
- Start date
As a beginner to weightlifting (I assume), you should not think about breaking your body into individual parts, i.e. biceps, triceps, quads, hams, etc. These are called isolation exercises, and won't be effective until you've first built significant mass and strength with compound exercises.
Compound exercises use multiple joints and multiple muscles, and will stimulate the most growth in any weightlifter. They should be the cornerstone of any program. Here are a few essential lifts:
Squat
Deadlift
Dips (or bench)
Chinups (or pullups)
No bodybuilder or powerlifter has ever gotten big and strong without employing the lifts above.
^ I promise you that Arnold did not get strong enough to do those bicep curls without doing these:
Compound exercises use multiple joints and multiple muscles, and will stimulate the most growth in any weightlifter. They should be the cornerstone of any program. Here are a few essential lifts:
Squat
Deadlift
Dips (or bench)
Chinups (or pullups)
No bodybuilder or powerlifter has ever gotten big and strong without employing the lifts above.
^ I promise you that Arnold did not get strong enough to do those bicep curls without doing these:
^ Squats affect your ability to put on mass all over your body. They've been touted incessantly by bodybuilders and powerlifters for years as the absolute best exercise for overall development and strength, not just in the legs.
You can't get Arnold-sized biceps by starting with isolation exercises like curls. You have to do the big stuff first!
You can't get Arnold-sized biceps by starting with isolation exercises like curls. You have to do the big stuff first!
Why not do both?
I understand performing compound exercises with high intensity stimulates the endocrine system to produce anabolic hormones (HGH, IGF-I, testosterone, ect), though it seems that it would be best to do these compound movements, then with isolation movements afterwards. or am i mistaken?
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^ From what I've read and exerpienced, isolation exercises are only effective once you've put on enough muscle to work with. The big compound exercises build the substance of your strength and physique. The isolation exercises focus on refining details and small gaps in the basic compound movements.