來自 新北市
磅數 2947.6磅
(嚇威姨度假中)
發文 1800
註冊 2002/8/31
量級 超重量級
★★★★★
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By: Jason E. Cohen
WNBF Pro Bodybuilder
How often do you go to the gym and do the same basic workout on the same day every week? You would be surprised because most of us fall into this category. I literally used to do chest every monday, legs tuesday, back thursday and arms friday. I would do the same basic exercises in the same order every workout. Think how many guys you see in the gym start with bench presses every time they train chest.
People generally feel very comfortable sticking to a routine. Most of us get very nervous if we stray too far from our daily routine. Think how stressed you are the first day of work when you get back from a vacation. Obviously your weekly routine was thrown out of wack and it caused you to become stressed out. What if you returned to work and things were actually running smoothly? Or, how about when you change your routine around and the change is a more efficient way of doing things? What I am proposing is to make variation a part of your regular routine.
When I refer to variation, I am referring to three types of variation. The first type of variation is actually changing the exercises you perform, or changing the order of the exercises you already perform or simply changing the days you train a particular bodypart. The second type of variation is changing your repetition range or pattern. You know, high rep versus low rep training. Finally, the third type of variation has to do with training tempo. This simply refers to the speed in which perform your repetitions or your workouts.
Mix Up Your Exercises
You would be surprised if I told you how many people I have trained that have been doing the exact same workout year after year. They have not added a single exercise or changed the order in which they perform their exercises. If you do not change your workout frequently, your body will adapt to the way it is being trained and resist progress. I suggest you do at least one thing different in every single workout. I am not suggesting that you do something drastic each workout. For example, the next time you are in the gym change the order in which you perform your exercises. Lets say your regular chest workout begins with flat bench dumbell presses, then you do incline dumbell presses, then you do Hammer Strength incline presses and you finish off with cable cross-overs. Your next workout you could start off with a pre-exhaust of cable cross-overs, then do flat bench dumbell presses, then do your Hammer Strength incline presses and finish off with incline dumbell presses. Or, better yet maybe do wide grip, weighted dips instead of the incline dumbell presses.
As you can see, you do not have to make big changes in your workout to add variation. The key is to keep your body guessing each and every workout. I like experimenting with new exercises from time to time. For example, if you like doing a flat bench movement and an incline movement for your chest alternate between barbell and dumbell exercises each workout. You can even do your incline pressing on a Smith Press from time to time. Don't be afraid to mix it up!
Finally, it is important to switch the days you train your body parts. Don't train chest every Monday. I have noticed that most people are fresher in the beginning of the week and tend to become more fatigued at the end of a work week. Therefore, if you train back every Friday your back is not benefitting as much as if you trained it on a Monday. I know a guy whose legs were his weakest bodypart. I asked him which day he trained them and he answered Saturday mornings. It turned out that this guy went out drinking on Friday nights and was hung over on Saturday. If he simply changed his leg day to Tuesday he would be better off. The point is that this guy was so used to training legs on Saturady that it didn't even occur to him to make a slight change.
CHANGE YOUR REP RANGE
You have probably read over a hundred articles about which type of training is more effective high reps or low reps. You have read everything from the Heavy Duty theory which advocates very low reps to German Volume training which advocates extremely high repetitions. Do you want to know which is more effective? They are both equally ineffective. That's right ineffective. If you are using only high reps or only low reps every workout then you are selling yourself short. On the other hand, if you mix up some Heavy Duty training and some German Volume training they both can be very effective. If you try each of these training methods you will see that they are both very intense the first couple of times you do the routines. However, each time you perform one of these routines your body adapts to the routine. Therefore, if you alternate between them you will keep your body guessing.
Once again, the key is to mix it up. Don't get me wrong, I love to train heavy. However, training heavy isn't the only way to grow. If you are one of those people who enjoys to primarily train heavy, then throw in a high rep day once every three or four times you train a particular body part. If you are one of those people who trains in the ten to twelve rep range, then throw in a day where you do not go above four to six reps. Finally, there is nothing wrong with mixing your rep range up during the same workout. For example, if you do four sets of a particular exercise, your rep range could be 12, 6, 6, 24. This means you warm up with a moderately heavy set of twelve reps, then go to a heavy set of six reps, then another heavy set of six reps, then a burn out set of twenty four reps. You could pick three exercises for the body part you are working and stay in the 12,6,6,24 rep range.
CHANGE YOUR REP TEMPO
Repetition tempo refers to the time it takes you to do the eccentric and concentric portion of a repetition. More simply put, the time it takes you to lower the weight and then raise the weight. It is funny how many people have literally never changed their rep tempo or even gave it much consideration. You may have heard of a principal known as time under tension. This refers to the amount of time the muscle is being contracted. The reason why repetition tempo is so important is because it directly affects the amount of time your muscle is being contracted.
If you walk around the gym and watch people performing their exercises, the average repetion takes about a second to lower the weight and a second and a half to raise the weight. I suggest that you vary your rep tempo frequently. In my opinion, the slower and more controlled your tempo the better. The next time you train, actually count to three when you the lower the weight and count to three when you raise the weight. Better yet, have your training partner count for you. You will be surprised at how long three seconds is. Think about it, your muscle is now under tension three times longer than it is used to.
A great routine to practice time under tension or rep tempo is a routine I refer to as 666. I like to use this routine for squatting. Basically, you will perform six sets of squats, counting six seconds going down and then six seconds going back up. Use a weight that you can usually handle for about twelve regular reps. When you go down to parallel or below, have your partner count to six, then squat up to the starting position for a count of six. Do not rest at the top, go down for six seconds and back up for six seconds. You will perform six sets in this manner. This routine takes a little getting used to. The first time you try it you will have a tough time going down for a count of six. If the weight is too heavy, lighten it up. The key is the six second tempo. I guarantee that if you perform this routine correctly you will experience pain like you could never imagine.
PLANNED VARIATION
As you can see, varying your routine can be a lot to think about. I keep a training log that is in a calendar format. This way I can see the entire month in front of me without flipping the pages of a traditional log book. I plan my routines at the beginning of each month. I train each body part once a week which comes out to be roughly four times a month. For example, I will plan in advance to train legs on Mondays in a particular month. The first Monday I may do the 666 routine. The second Monday I may do the 12,6,6,24 rep scheme starting with leg extensions instead of squats. The third Monday I may do a squat rotine consisting of 10 sets of 10 reps with 250 lbs. The fourth Monday I may do a traditional power lifting leg routine consisting of low rep, heavy weight squats, heavy leg presses, and heavy leg extensions. In addition to my calendar training log, I keep a standard traing journal that I write down the specific exercises, weight, reps and tempo that I did on a particular day. This way, I can go back and plan a routine different than the previous one.
Your solution to adding some new muscle growth may be as simple as making some minor changes in your existing routine. If you train by yourself, be creative and really mix it up. If you train with a partner, challenge your partner to come up with a different routine every other workout. Most of all, adding variation keeps your routine mentally challenging every workout
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