My strength advice (from an ex-powerlifter)
The following are some suggestions and thoughts on an a strength building routine.
It may be a little wordy, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I practiced and studied bodybuilding and powerlifting for about 10 years,
and most of this information is real world stuff, or the methods that work
for non drug-using lifters. I hope it helps.
1) Nutrition
Nutrition is just as important as a proper strength training plan. Without
the proper amount of complex carb and protein intake, your efforts will
often plateau, or creep slowly forward. It is best to get about 3 quality
servings of complex carbs during each day (rice and pasta are my favorites).
Complex carb intake should be spaced out evenly during the day. One serving
early in the day, one serving midday, and one around dinner time. The next
most important issue is protein intake. Your body needs protein to rebuild the
torn muscle tissue from a hard workout. Generally, a body can only assimilate
28-35 grams of protein every 2.5 to 3 hours, so it is best to spread out your
protein 'meals'. I recommend a minimum of 120 grams of protein a day, up to
200 grams if you really want to pack on extra muscle tissue as well. Eat
protein 4-6 times a day, spread apart by 2.5 to 3 hour intervals. The rest
of your caloric intake should depend on your physique and your nutritional needs.
Don't cut your fat intake to 0 grams, as your body needs a marginal amount of
fat to function. Also, drink plenty of water. Water helps the body recover
faster between workouts.
The following are some protein foods I used during my 10 years of training:
Eggs: 7 grams of protein ea. 75 calories ea.
Protein powder in powdered milk, w/20 ounces of water: Mix to 30 grams protein, 200 calories
Can of tuna packed in water: 28 grams of protein, 180-ish calories, no fat
Met-Rx bars: 28-ish grams of protein, 200-ish calories. Good nutritionally.
Chicken breast: 30 grams of ptotein, low calories.
...and when I didn't have access to these foods, I would grab a huge stick of
beef jerky from a quick-mart...alot of them have 25+ grams of protein and are
low calorie.
2) Sleep
Try to get 7-8 hours a night, or an amount that keeps you feeling good when you
wake up. Nuff said.
3) Training frequency.
Do not train each bodypart 2-3 times a week. This seems like the macho approach,
but it does not works for a non drug-using lifter. Look at all the guys in your
gym that have trained with this program for 5-10 years...they make little or
no progress.
Train each bodypart once every 5, 6 or 7 days. Each muscle needs at least 72
hours of proper recuperation to grow stronger, and the most growth in strength
will occur at 72-100 hours after training. For the five years before my
daughter was born, I trained each bodypart once a week. Which is best? Once every
5-6-7 days? Play around and see which pattern yields you with the biggest improvement
in strength from the last workout. Each body is different.
4) Training Intensity
Fewer sets, and far greater intensity.
Push each set to failure. Use strict technique and heavy weight. Nuke your
body. Life heavy and use heavy compound movements. Do not do more than 10 sets
for any bodypart. More than this is a waste, and actually breaks down tissue
negatively, as well as over-taxes joints.
5) My recommended workout: (Go heavy, and keep trying to go heavier each workout)
Monday: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Bench Press 4 sets to failure. 10-12 reps, 7-9 reps, 7-9 reps, 4-6 reps
Dumbbell bench press 4 sets to failure. Same rep pattern as above
Overhead dumbbell press or overhead barbell press (alternate each workout) 6 sets. 10-12, 7-9, 7-9, 7-9, 7-9, 4-6
Closegrip Bench press (hands together or close together) 4 sets. 10-12, 7-9, 7-9, 4-6
This workout when used with maximum weight and intensity will nuke your shoulders, chest
and triceps. It includes basic compound movements which are the key to strength training.
Pec decs, flyes, and other movements are not needed. To Get strong you must life big,
no exceptions.
Wednesday: Back/Biceps/Calves
Dumbell Rows, or Low pulley rows (alternate each workout) 4 sets, same rep pattern
Half deadlifts, (or complete deadlifts if no access to a squat rack) Bar should
rest about 4 inches below your knees at the bottom of the movement. 4 sets, same rep pattern.
Dumbell or barbell curls (alternate each woorkout) 4 sets, same rep pattern
Favorite calve movement 4 sets, same rep pattern
This workout pre-exhausts the back muscle with the rows, and frys the back with the deadlifts.
Again, basic compound movements which will work all back muscles, traps, biceps, obliques, and lower back.
Friday: Legs
Squats 6 sets, 10-12, 10-12, 7-9, 7-9, 7-9, 4-6, maximum weight. Use strict form and no bouncing!
Favorite hamstring movement, 4 sets. I like alternating machine hamstring work with good mornings,
(or straight leg deadlifts).
6) Notes
-Heavy compound movements are the best natural anabolic, as they force the body to release
massive amounts of testosterone. Max weight to failure always. Squatting, deadlifting,
and the other heavy weight movements make your entire body stronger, as they put you in an anabolic state.
-never do more sets. If you have the extra energy, use it elsewhere in life. Strength
training is not endurance training. Lift big and get out of the gym.
-once every month and a half to 2 months, shock a bodypart, or do something different.
For example, instead of your normal chest workout, do pushups until your arms fall off, or do
no resting between sets, with a partner peeling weight off of the barbell, etc. Get creative,
but nuke and shock your body every couple of months. This helps break strength plateaus. ANother
good plateau breaker is super slow motion sets. 5 seconds lifting up, 5 seconds coming down for each movement.
-Lifting without proper nutrition and protein intake is useless. They must go hand in hand.
-Once every 6-7 days is plenty. Rest.
-The monsters in the bodybuilding/strength magazines feature insane routines, which can only be
beneficial under the influence of roids, hormones, and more.
At the end of 1999, (my last training log) my lifts were:
Bench Press, 440 by 5 reps
Deep squat, 600 by 6 reps
Dumbell rows, 190 lb DB's by 6 reps
Overhead DB press, 160's by 5 reps.
My upper body was always naturally weaker than my legs.
I hope this helps some. You may know alot of this, so I hope nothing is redundant.
This program is effective and simple, and has pushed my body to life weights I never thought
possible. My body was not genetically built for power. At the age of 18 (when I first started
lifting), I couldn't bench press 100 pounds for 4 reps. Using this program exclusively
from 1997-1999 (I stopped lifting when my daughter was born :( ), I could lift more than anyone in the gym.
Most guys thought I was on steroids. The same guys overworked and underfed their bodies.
Please try it, it really works well...and give it a year. My numbers were after many years of intense training.
But with this simple program, my strength never stopped increasing.
Good luck!
Destrous9
"Deep down inside of all of us is the power to accomplish what we want to, if we'll just stop looking elsewhere."
Powerlifters vs. Bodybuilders
"Don't you think that the power lifter who's lifting maximal weights will have far greater neurological muscle fiber recruitment than a bodybuilder who uses less weight? After all, I've seen 185 lbs powerlifters that could out squat many a monster bodybuilder"
No. Someone who lifts a heavy weight (obviously for fewer reps), ie powerlifters, will NOT recruit as many muscle fibers as someone who lifts for 6-8 reps (moderate range), with more sets and who lifts to failure.
The purpose of bodybuilding is to get big. On stage, no one cares if you can squat 200lbs or 700lbs. The only thing you're judged on is how you look. Dr. Hatfield, the first man to squat over 1000lbs has skinny legs. Why? Because he doesn't train to failure on multiple sets and therefore doesn't use as much TOTAL muscle fiber.
A sample bodybuilding chest routine might involve first bench press for 5 or 6 sets, never exceding 10 reps per set. And no more than 1.5 minutes rest inbetween sets. Then he may move on to dumbell flies to further use MORE muscle fibers that haven't already been "damaged" by bench press, altho he will use less total weight because there are less fibers left, and then he might move on to cable flies with a relatively lighter weight to further use up as many remaining muscle fibers as possible. The reason for this? The most muscle fibers he uses, the more will grow back, bigger, which is the ultimate goal of bodybuilding.
Powerlifters, on the other hand, use far greater weight, but do less reps, fewer sets, and more rest inbetween sets. Why? Because their ultimate goal is to be able to lift as much weight as possible, with no regard to how they look.
You are right when you say powerlifters can squat more than their much larger bodybuilding counterparts. The reason is because they train differently, because they have different goals. A (typical) bodybuilder would get his arse kicked in a powerlifting comp., as would a powerlifter in a physique contest.
Make sense?
And as for the Eastern strength training stuff, have you read any books by Pavel Tsa-something. You can find his stuff at dragondoor.com. He's a russian powerlifter or trainer or something who writes books about their system of training. I haven't read any yet, but I've only heard good stuff about it.
Ironman
Lifting weights, vs. getting big
"But i still think i could go and do it if i have some agenda to get stronger like i really want to know, however all these excersizes you mention seem to involve a LOT of muscle growth, and wouldnt that make me heavy as hell? "
I'm a personal trainer here at my college, and I like to tell people this story who are afraid of lifting weights for fear that they'll get too big. I'll point to somoene who is lifting weights and I'll say "see that skinny guy over there? He's been coming here every other day for the past 3 years and he hasn't gotten any bigger at all."
The point is, training to be a bodybuilder (ie. adding SIZE as opposed to raw power) is a specific type of training. Not everyone who lifts weights wants to get big, and even fewer people who want to get big actually do :)
Isn't 10kgs like 20 or 30 pounds? Sorry, I'm over here in America and they don't teach us metric conversions, and I'm too lazy to go look it up. Well, 20 or 30 pounds of muscle is a good goal for a bodybuilder to add in a YEAR or so of training, if he trains hard, eats hard, rests hard, and knows exactly what he is doing. If you are training with weights to supplement your martial arts, you should have nothing to worry about. Besides, added mass like a bodybuilder doesn't come unless you eat like a bodybuilder. My point is, you are not eating like a bodybuilder unless you're consuming upwards of 4 to 5,000 calories a day (unless you're on the juice, in which case it's up to 8,000 cal/day).
Bottom line(s):
Unless you are specifically trying to put on muscle mass, it's not going to happen (other than maybe a few pounds, tops).
You will, however, notice extended muscular endurance, and increased strength. Size will come, but slowly.
When you are lifting, especially if you have low bodyfat percentage, you will notice that you get a "pump" in whatever muscle you are training, say, biceps in this example. Your muscle will appear fuller and bigger. This happens because the muscle fills with blood during training. A few hours after the muscle will go back to it's normal size. Remember that growth occurs when you eat and sleep, and NOT in the weight room. Don't think that because your bicep gets big when you train it that it has now become that size.
Hope this helped. If you have any more questions just ask :D :D :D
Iron