Sets/Reps

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NooneKnows07

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whenever i lift ive been taught to do 4 sets of ten reps...should i keep this up or should i switch? i know this might seem like a dumb question but i wanna do things right
 
nooneknows......see my replies under the bench press topic--there is some basic periodization program info posted there....
 
right now i lift m/w/f and do biceps and back on monday, triceps and shoulders on wednesday, and chest and legs on friday..and i do 4 sets of 10 reps for each lift and generally do 2 different lifts/machines for each muscle group...what would a better split look like? im fairly new into my program so im open to any changes
 
Pick exercises for more specific body parts. For example, this might be a sample training program for myself:

Monday

Chest
Triceps
Lower Back
ABS

Tuesday

Biceps
Upper Back
Forearms
Traps

Wednesday

Quads
Hams
Calves
ABS

Thursday

Chest
Triceps
Wrists

Friday

Biceps
Lats
Deltoids (front, mid, rear)
ABS
 
If you want to stick with a Mon, Wed, Fri routine, just do each body part once, such as:

Monday

Chest
Triceps
Lower Back
Lats
ABS

Wednesday

Biceps
Upper Back
Forearms
Wrists
Traps

Friday

Quads
Hams
Calves
Deltoids
ABS


Keep doing at least 2 exercises per bodypart, but learn more about periodization so that you know how to switch up the reps and the percentage for intensity. Also, find you your one rep max in your core lifts. Finally, if you want to go more advanced, add some olympic lifts and dynamic exercises for variety.
 
Lastly, I should add the following disclaimer: if you're not sure HOW to do something, seek out someone who does, before you go trying a bunch of stuff that someone on the internet recommends :)
 
could you try to summarize periodization..im not dense or anything its just been a long day and its kind of a lot to read :)..im not trying to get big im just trying to maintain some muscle while i burn fat off...lookin to be more lean
 
MAXX said:
If you want to stick with a Mon, Wed, Fri routine, just do each body part once, such as:

Monday

Chest
Triceps
Lower Back
Lats
ABS

Wednesday

Biceps
Upper Back
Forearms
Wrists
Traps

Friday

Quads
Hams
Calves
Deltoids
ABS


Keep doing at least 2 exercises per bodypart, but learn more about periodization so that you know how to switch up the reps and the percentage for intensity. Also, find you your one rep max in your core lifts. Finally, if you want to go more advanced, add some olympic lifts and dynamic exercises for variety.
Click to expand...

I would say that is overtraining. 2 exercises for each of those muscles is way too much isolation work. Rather, you should have more compound movements in there. An example of a full-body workout routine would be something like:

Squats (Lower body compound)
Pullups (Back/Biceps) - Pull Movement
Bench Press (Chest/Triceps/Shoulder) - Push Movement
Shoulder Press
Deadlifts (Lower body/Lower Back compound too)
And throw an exercise for abdominals/obliques in there for the core

You don't need all of that isolation in there to work all of the muscles you need to. Your splits should be centered around compound movements as well - not just some random muscles.
 
lol ive gotten like 3 different sets of adviced and now im a little more confused then i was to begin with...i was fine w/ my split program just need to know how many sets of how many reps really...
 
ShaftedTwice said:
I would say that is overtraining. 2 exercises for each of those muscles is way too much isolation work. Rather, you should have more compound movements in there. An example of a full-body workout routine would be something like:

Squats (Lower body compound)
Pullups (Back/Biceps) - Pull Movement
Bench Press (Chest/Triceps/Shoulder) - Push Movement
Shoulder Press
Deadlifts (Lower body/Lower Back compound too)
And throw an exercise for abdominals/obliques in there for the core

You don't need all of that isolation in there to work all of the muscles you need to. Your splits should be centered around compound movements as well - not just some random muscles.
Click to expand...


I never said in my post that someone should train those bodyparts in isolation--i listed them that way so that nooneknows would understand that there are other bodyparts than the ones he/she listed.

i do not believe it is overtraining at all. i've used that type of program for myself for 18 years and athletes for 11 years, with great success.

I like a combination of single joint movements and multi-joint movements for those body parts listed. however:

1- i would prefer a newbie start out with single-joint exercises.

2- i prefer single joint exercises when i want to isolate a particular area to give it extra emphasis. for example--if i really want my biceps to blow up, it is necessary for me to do bicep work--it just isn't going to happen JUST doing pulling exercises. and that would be more for looks than it would athletic performance, mind you.

these are just my personal beliefs and opinions.....
 
MAXX said:
I never said in my post that someone should train those bodyparts in isolation--i listed them that way so that nooneknows would understand that there are other bodyparts than the ones he/she listed.

i do not believe it is overtraining at all. i've used that type of program for myself for 18 years and athletes for 11 years, with great success.

I like a combination of single joint movements and multi-joint movements for those body parts listed. however:

1- i would prefer a newbie start out with single-joint exercises.

2- i prefer single joint exercises when i want to isolate a particular area to give it extra emphasis. for example--if i really want my biceps to blow up, it is necessary for me to do bicep work--it just isn't going to happen JUST doing pulling exercises. and that would be more for looks than it would athletic performance, mind you.

these are just my personal beliefs and opinions.....
Click to expand...

Why do you prefer a newbie start out with single joint exercises? I understand that you might want to ease them into resistance training. That said, unless someone is completely wasted away in terms of muscle, balance, strength, etc.... they should be able to start our with light compound work as the core of the program no matter what.
 
stroutman81 said:
Why do you prefer a newbie start out with single joint exercises? I understand that you might want to ease them into resistance training. That said, unless someone is completely wasted away in terms of muscle, balance, strength, etc.... they should be able to start our with light compound work as the core of the program no matter what.
Click to expand...


As you said, I can use single joint movements to introduce them to resistance training. Also, many single joint exercises can be used to help build up to compound movements. For example, when trying to teach power cleans to high school athletes, I start them out by doing calf raises, shoulder shrugs, and upright rows separately. Then we start to put those exercises together--calf raises and shrugs first, and then all 3 together. For many females, performing an upright row with any amount of weight can be difficult. Once they have mastered good form with an appropriate amount of resistance on those exercises, then we can progress to the more complex movements.

And as I mentioned earleir, I still believe that single joint exercises have their place in a COMPLETE training program.
 
MAXX said:
As you said, I can use single joint movements to introduce them to resistance training. Also, many single joint exercises can be used to help build up to compound movements. For example, when trying to teach power cleans to high school athletes, I start them out by doing calf raises, shoulder shrugs, and upright rows separately. Then we start to put those exercises together--calf raises and shrugs first, and then all 3 together. For many females, performing an upright row with any amount of weight can be difficult. Once they have mastered good form with an appropriate amount of resistance on those exercises, then we can progress to the more complex movements.

And as I mentioned earleir, I still believe that single joint exercises have their place in a COMPLETE training program.
Click to expand...


I agree with you in that single joint movements hold their place in COMPLETE training programs. I do not agree that for the average individual compound movements must be broken down into single joint movements until each single joint movement is mastered.

This said, results speak for themselves. If you have done it this way forever and have gotten the results with your clients, then great. I like to teach proper form/execution of compound movements from the get-go, and most do fine with it unless there is some underlying physiological problem.

Thanks for replying.
 
If your clients have some natural athletic or training ability, then that approach would be fine. But some of my "clients" include the players on my high school softball team. Some of them don't know the difference between a barbell and a dumbbell, let alone have an idea what a power clean is :) So we basically start from scratch.....

Again, the programs that I have on my website are all very basic and don't include most of the compund movements, olympic lifts, or dynamic movement exercises that I incorporate into my more advanced programs. I put those on my site so that the beginning lifter would have an idea what a basic program should look like with some periodization.
 
MAXX said:
If your clients have some natural athletic or training ability, then that approach would be fine. But some of my "clients" include the players on my high school softball team. Some of them don't know the difference between a barbell and a dumbbell, let alone have an idea what a power clean is :) So we basically start from scratch.....

Again, the programs that I have on my website are all very basic and don't include most of the compund movements, olympic lifts, or dynamic movement exercises that I incorporate into my more advanced programs. I put those on my site so that the beginning lifter would have an idea what a basic program should look like with some periodization.
Click to expand...

Right, and you are elaborating on the point where you and I differ. If I am working with an individual who is already an athlete, I would rather teach them proper form/technique on a compound movement opposed to breaking it down into isolation movements. Regardless of "training age," if they are an athlete, I assume that they are capable of performing a compound resistance training movement.

Let's face it, most compound resistance training exercises are designed to mimic real world movement, so, as I stated before, anyone without some physiological hindrance should be able to learn and implement them from scratch in my opinion.
 
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