Weightlifting Question

Factual Questions
1

I have an online friend and she and I have been discussing different theories about weight training.

We had both been training according to Bill Phillips method in his book Body for Life.

On the weight training days each muscle is worked like this:
1st set, 12 reps, level 5 intensity (that is you’re supposed to choose a weight that represents a 5 out of possible 10 in terms of difficulty. 10 being the heaviest thing you can lift)
wait one minute
2nd set, 10 reps, more weight, level 6 intensity
wait one minute
3rd set, 8 reps, more weight, level 7 intensity
wait one minute
4th set, 6 reps, more weight, level 8 intensity
wait one minute
5th set 12 reps, lighter weight (back to the 1st or 2nd set weight) but should achieve level 9 intensity due to muscle fatigue
6th set, 12 reps alternate exercise for same muscle group, level 10 intensity.

No wait time between 5th and 6th sets. The goal is to push yourself to the limit in each muscle group and work the muscle to failure, where you can’t do one more.

My friend was told by a weightlifting friend and by a personal trainer that Bill Phillips method is all wrong. She was told that the way to do it is start with the heaviest weight you can lift for 12 reps and then step the weight down.

1st set, 12 reps, heaviest weight you can sustain for 12 reps
2nd set, 12 reps, subtract 5 lbs from 1st set
3rd set, 12 reps, subtract 5 more

Her friend only recommended 3 sets.

I’m always thought that if you’re looking to build muscle, then if you work the muscle to failure that’s good no matter how you get there. But now I’m not so sure.

Any weight lifting dopers out there want to share their wisdom? I’m just wondering if I should change my routine.

2

Bill’s ‘pyramid’ techniques have been used to build muscle for years…but so have ‘step down’ methods.

Generally, working with weights that force you into the 6-12 rep range and keeping the correct number of sets is most important.
For beginners, just about anything works! Seriously…many techniques are for the last 10% of growth you can get…or as part of a program to switch things up to stimulate growth.

Most important is keeping the right number of sets, the right number of times per week/weeks, and keeping the reps right. Pyramids, step-downs debates are for advanced users. Either will work. Bill’s plan is good. Are there better? Is there value in switching sometimes? YES! And that is almost universally understood to be true.

3

They’re both good. You wouldn’t want to stick with any program for too long, so switching is good.

I’ll type a more complete answer a little later.

4

As has been stated, no matter what routine you chose, switch it up after 8-12 months. And when I say switch it up I don’t mean switch Monday from being leg day to back day, but instead go from a high rep/low weight routine to a low rep/high weight routine. The key to muscle growth is to not let them get complacent, to shock them into doing something different and challenging. A lot of people fall in love with a certain excercise or machine, which is not a good thing. Try everything and see what your body responds to. You may find that certain movements cause “bad” pain, so you should avoid those, but even a movement that may not feel very productive might still be forcing your muscles to develop certain areas that you couldn’t otherwise tap into.

One more piece of advice: I have found that taking a week off every 3-4 months helps my body to fully recover. If I don’t take that week off, I tend to reach that overtrained area where you don’t recover as quickly after a session, thereby making shoulder day difficult because my forearms and biceps are still sore from arm day.

5

Ok, I have a little bit more time to write now.

As I said before, it’s good to switch up your program every once in a while. Rather than give a hard and fast guideline, I’m just going to say that you should switch once your progress slows down. This is probably going to be in the range of 2-4 months, although it varies by individual. I know I can’t go much more than 3 months on the same program.

It’s good to take a rest week every once in a while. I’d do it at least every 2 months, and whenever you think you may have injured yourself.

There are more training schemes than high weight/low rep and high rep/low weight. I can think of five training variables off the top of my head:

Intensity: This is the most important variable of all. It’s a measure of how much weight you’re lifting compared to how much you can lift, and is usually expressed as a percentage of your 1RM (the most weight you can lift for 1 rep in good form). A strength program would involve an intensity around 80-95% of your 1RM, while a hypertrophy program would be more like 60-75%.

Sets: The number of groups of reps you do. A strength program would involve 3-5 sets, whereas a hypertrophy program might involve more or less.

Reps: The number of times you lift the weight. Strength programs involve 3-5 reps, while hypertrophy programs involve more or the same, depending on how many sets are performed.

The total number of reps you do per exercise/bodypart is the training volume. As you might have noticed, strength programs are low volume. Hypertrophy programs have to be higher in volume, and that’s why they require lower loads. A high-intensity, high-volume program will cause you to burn out, and a low-intensity, low-volume program isn’t worth much.

Frequency: How often do you perform a given exercise, or work a given bodypart? The higher a volume you use, the more rest time you’ll need. It’s generally not a good idea to work a muscle more often than every other day.

Tempo: This is the one that most people ignore, and probably the most important after intensity. How fast do you lift the weight? How slowly do you lower it? Do you pause at the top? Do you pause at the bottom?

I’d write a tempo as (W, X, Y, Z), where W is the lowering time, X is the pause at the bottom, Y is the raising time, and Z is the pause at the top. A strength program would look like (2, 4, X, 1) (X means as fast as possible), while a hypertrophy program would look more like (5, 1, 3, 1).

If you play around with these variables, it’s probably not necessary to switch around the exercises too much, although trying new exercises is always good.

6

Thanks everyone. Your comments and suggestions are very helpful.

7

You can also adjust the rest time between sets to vary your training even more.

8

I found Bill’s workout plan very beneficial. While I didn’t follow it to a T (I never worked on legs, never took suplements) I picked out what worked for me and was pleased with the results.
Bill’s plan is very arobic in nature and while building muscle also builds stamina and increases your heart rate to burn fat. The one minute rests between exercises is crucial by not allowing you to let your heartrate go down between exercises with extended rest periods.
I did hit “walls” however with the amount of weight lifted. I fixed this by changing the order of the exercises. If I was hitting a wall with triceps and they were done toward the end of the workout, I moved them up front and found I could break these walls.

Oh, and correct me if i’m wrong, but if your going strong with an arobic/weight lifting plan, carbs (along with protein) are a good thing. I don’t think muscle building can be done on a protein/fat diet.

9

Carbs are important for building muscle, but so is working legs.

10

At the gym I am going to, one of the supervisors there told me to do just one set of 15 reps. However another guy told me to do three sets of 10 of everything.

Considering whatever I do kills, and leaves my flabulated non-muscles aching, I figure the numbers don’t matter too much for a beginner like me. My only goal is to strengthen and tone, but I am not interested in becoming “strongman” (eg lifting a car with one hand) or getting massive biceps, etc.

And despite being on Atkins, I’ve specifically increased carbs along with the weighttraining. I found that training after a low-carb, high-protein, medium-fat meal I am just weak, tired and faint. So I add a small bowl of strawberries and cream beforehand now, and am fine for the whole session.

11

You almost certainly should include the mass building exercises as a rule (and the legs are a must):

shoulder press
squats
bench press
dead lifts

These exercises are high on the bang for the buck scale. Great results for maximum parts of the body.

Leaving out legs is scamming your body. Incredible strength can be developed in the legs, increasing metabolic rates and as the legs get trained, you’ll be amazed how other body parts come into play, including abs, back and others.

12

I’d add bent-over rows and chinups to Philster’s list to balance out the upper body work, but yeah, those are the core of almost any good program (unless you’re doing olympic lifting).

Don’t be afraid of getting big, even though they’re called mass-building exercises. Women in particular just don’t have high enough testosterone levels to even consider getting huge. If I offered istara $1,000,000 to get huge without steroids in five years, the money’d be safe.

13

Yes, that’s why I’m not afraid to go for the muscle building because I know that there’s a limit to how bulky I’m going to get without really trying to be a body builder.

Right now I’m doing Bill’s rotation which is upper body Monday, cardio Tuesday, lower body wed, cardio thurs, upper body Friday, cardio saturday (though I almost never get the sat cardio in)

Switch every other week so that lower body is mon and fri and upper on wed.

Workout buddy and I have recently switched exercises but are still working the same muscle groups in the same order. UBWO (upper body workout) is Chest, shoulders, back, tricep, bicep
LBWO is Quads, Hamstrings, Calves and Abdominals.

Now I’m thinking about changing the order of the workout, especially the upper body.

Also, I’m not especially diligent about how long I wait between sets. I always forget my watch so I end up counting. It’s probably close to a minute sometimes longer more often shorter.

Right now UBWO is:
Incline Chest Press
Shoulder press
Lat Rows
Tricep Dips
Bicep Curls

LBWO is:
Leg Press
Hamstring curls
seated calf raises
Crunches and Leg Raises

I’d love to hear comments or suggestions on my routine if you have any.

Thanks for helping.

14

Crunches are worthless, so those are right out.

Leg curls are good, but only if you’re doing deadlifts or full squats as well. The hamstrings are a biarticulate muscle–meaning they contract at both ends–and it’s important to keep them balanced.

Seated calf’s good, but only if you’re doing some kind of regular calf work as well. The squat, deadlift, and standing barbell shoulder press are all excellent calf moves. Might also want to throw in a reverse calf press for balance.

I went from a 700 lb leg press to a 135 lb squat. The squats are significantly harder, which makes them a better exercise.

I don’t see any need for direct arm/shoulder work if you’re doing your rows, chinups, bench and shoulder press. I prefer a close grip chinup because that gives you a better range of motion.

15

OK, Crunches are worthless so what do you recommend for abs? I’m doing leg raises on the equipment that you basically hold yourself vertical on your arms then leg your legs swing and raise them from there but that’s more of a lower ab workout.

Sounds like adding squats to my workout would be beneficial in general. The gym I go to has several really good squat machines as well as a couple of free weight squat racks. I’m going to add that next week.

About the arm workout, are you saying that the bicep curls and tricep dips are unnecessary with the other three exercises I’m doing?

16

Squats, deadlifts, chinups, and standing barbell shoulder presses. You’ll only think they don’t work abs until you try them.

**

Pretty much. I’d prefer the exercises that Philster and I listed, but it’s your call.

As far as squats go, find an online tutorial so you can see proper form. That’s really important there.

17

OK, I can see where those exercises work abs. I guess crunches are one of those habits that die hard.

Can I ask you why you think crunches are useless? When I do them it certainly feels like I’m working. Just wondering since this is the first time I’ve ever heard that. What about the crunch machines?

I used to have a personal trainer so I know the proper form for squats, just haven’t been doing them. One of the squat machines at the gym is designed such that it almost forces you to use the proper form just the way the mechanism moves.

Again, thanks a bunch for your help. I appreciate your input.

18

Useless isn’t quite the right word, but they don’t do what most people want (flatten your stomach or bring out your abs) and as a strength builder they’re inferior to heavy standing lifts.

19

OK, that makes sense. Thanks.

20

Is a standing lift the same thing as a dead lift?