different methods for weight training

[ged]

just wondering what you guys/girls try to achieve with your routines, and how you achieve them.

im aiming for both strength and bulk, so in my routines, im tossing up whether to go for a few compound movements followed by more compound movements, or a few compound movements followed by machines for isolating.

any ideas/suggestions?

[Ford Prefect]

To train for max effort strength and hypertrophy at the same time, I haven't found anything better than the conjugated periodization plan of West Side Barbell. You can find a lot of info on their sister site: http://www.elitefitnesssystems.com

[ewallace]

$200 is pretty steap for the complete set of WS videos. Are all of them good or are there some that you don't really need?

[Ford Prefect]

The video's aren't absolutely necessary. They are good to see the form on everything as some of the movements are unconventional and don't lend themselves easily to description. As long as you follow the periodization plan with the recommended exercises you'd be all set. Read the "Periodization Bible Part 2" in the Articles section under testosterone magazine. It explains it well.

[ewallace]

I start to get lost when they talk about things like the romanian dead lift or the reverse hyper. Is there one or two good sources that I could use like a dictionary or do I just have to search around and figure them out?

Also, I started going to the gym again (Balley's...don't ask. Membership runs out at the end of the year) and I have always wondered how much not having a training partner hinders progress. None of my friends are into lifting either.

[Flattop Monk]

Ged:

Read "Dinosaur Training" by Brooks Kubik. Ironmind.com has it for fifteen bucks. It is probably the best book written on the subject in nearly a century. Don't worry too much about the mechanics of every single exercise out there. What works best is a few basic exercises, done to absolute muscle failure.

Something else that the Martial Arts community has not discovered yet is Olympic style Weight Lifting. This kind of lifting INCREASES flexibility, and increases explosiveness. It also increases coordination, whereas isolation exercises don't help and may actually hurt coordination. You have to look hard for a place that has Olympic Lifting, but they are around.

Good Luck in your training.

[ewallace]

Thanks. I'll look into it.

[Ford Prefect]

Dinosaur Training is definately a good book on weight training. It's a bit basic, but I think it's a must have for any weight lifters library.

Ewallace,

Romanian Deadlift is a common exercise. It's when you start the deadlift from just below your knees. Kind of like a hanging deadlift I guess. A reverse hyper is an invention of the West Side guys and it's tough to do without their equipment. Like I said above, Dinosaur Training is a good book for basics. If you want to excel, Westside is obviously a much more advanced approach. There's a reason why they have multiple guys squatting 1,000 and 900 lbs and benching 700 and 600 lbs. You can say that they know what they are talking about. BTW, Westside Barbell is an exclusive, invite-only powerlifting club in Ohio.

[ewallace]

I was checking out that article and it's probably a little more than I need for the next couple months. I am just starting to lift regularly again. All this **** gets confusing to me and outside this forum I really don't have any sources of info.

[ged]

Ford: thanks, checked out the site... can't really afford to buy anything, but those articles were helpful, especially the one about the correlation between number of sets and amount of weight/reps.

Flattop Monk - i'm going to look around for that book next time i'm near a bookstore, thanks for the advice. it's usually hard for me to find the books everyone talks about from America - most 'fitness sections' in the bookstores near me have that book by Arnie, lots of cardio books with hot chicks on the front, and maybe one or two others. i still havent found that book by Pavell everyone recommends :(

i got the general idea from your post that youd recommend doing a few simple compound movements over and over, instead of a few compound ones then switching to some isolated exercises on machines? is that for the purely strength routines that weightlifters use?

[vingtsunstudent]

ged
you can get pavels book online at dragondoor or even through amazon. if you aren't comfortable with ordering online then just go to the book store and ask them to order in 'power to the people' by pavel tsatsouline for you.
vts

[FatherDog]

I compete in grappling tournaments, and they go by weight classes, so I'm trying to achieve maximum strength with minimum hypetrophy. I've been doing a PTP routine with bench, deadlift, and lat-pulldowns, adding a shrug and calf-raise to the end of the deadlifts, to try to hit every major muscle group.

Or rather, that's what I was doing till I injured myself. Gonna be getting back to the gym pretty soon, I hope.