Now, if you have the time to do nothing but workout, you can workout five days a week, but if you are like me, you don't have that much free time. So we must work muscles in groups to maximize our workout time.
Grouping involves training muscles that normally work together into the same workout. This is great because it decreases the number of times you need to workout, decreases your workout time and increases your muscle fatigue.
This is because when you're working one muscle group, you will also be working other groups in that area. This is how I group my workouts:
Session 1: (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
Session 2: (Back, Bicep)
Session 3: (Legs)
For example, when I perform the bench press for my chest, it will also be working my shoulders and triceps. So, when I am ready to work my shoulders or triceps, I will only need to perform a few exercises to fully exhaust those muscles, because they already have been partly fatigued by the bench press.
This is how I can get away with having to workout only 3 days per week! That gives me plenty of time to rest. It also allows me to keep my workouts very short — about 60-75 minutes. This is very important.
75 minutes or Less
Try to keep your workouts as short and as intense as possible. Studies have shown that during weight training, testosterone levels peak after about 60 minutes and begin to decline rapidly thereafter. People who perform those long 2-3 hour training sessions are not only wasting their time, they are setting themselves up for injury and possible muscle loss. My goal is to get in there, blast my muscles quickly, and then get out. No chitchat, just work. I've got more important things to do, like eat and rest!
Concentrate on the Negative
Believe it or not, the eccentric (negative) portion of an exercise is what stimulates the most muscle growth — not the positive. Unfortunately, most people ignore this movement. During my 12-week program, I concentrated a great deal on the eccentric movement, stretching it out as long as I could.
This is far more difficult, but highly recommended. You will not be able to lift as much weight as normal, but you will put more stress on your muscle fibers. I use a tempo of 3/0/1. I do the positive for a count of one, no pause at the top of the motion, and stretched the negative out to a count of three. Using pullups as an example, I would pull-up for a count of 1, and then immediately begin to lower myself slowly to a count of three until I reached the starting position. There are many variations of this that you can use to vary your training.
Rest, Rest, and Rest
I not only advocate resting as much as possible when not working out, I recommend resting while working out also. Because your training is not a cardiovascular event and you want to be as strong as you can be for your next set, I advise you to rest three minutes between each set. If it takes a bit longer to catch your breath and get ready, then take the time. Don't let others rush you. You must stay confident and go at your own pace. Just don't wait so long that your muscles get cold and you lose your focus.
Stay Focused
I know it's difficult sometimes to simply go workout and not be influenced by others in the gym. But the lifted that much so I have to do it too" stuff has got to stop. This is not a strength contest; everyone has different levels of strength. How much you lift is irrelevant. It's only a concern of your ego. Yea, the next guy may be stronger than you, but so what? Does that mean he's a better person than you? Of course not! It just means he bench presses more than you. But that also means thousands of guys bench press more than he does. So what? You are not training to be a powerlifter. You are in there to improve your body. I'm not the strongest guy in the gym, nor am I the biggest, but I can honestly say that I have a better looking physique that 98% of the guys I see working out. So stop worrying about how much you can or can't lift, and
concentrate on working your muscles. Also, stick to the exercises in my plan. I've seen guys at the gym doing six and seven exercises for chest alone. That is insane! They wonder why they don't get bigger! It's because this is not necessary. You should only do a maximum of 3 exercises per body part. That's it.
You have a very specific schedule that you must get into the habit of following, and it does not include foolishly over-training. So for a few months, at least, just cut it out. If you have to, go to another gym.
Soreness
Regardless of what anyone tells you, never work a body part if it is still sore. Soreness means that muscle has not fully recovered. If you are working out again without adequate recovery time, you will be destroying more muscle than you build. I cannot say how long it will take you to recover, but if I really blast my muscles, I am typically sore for the next 3-5 days. And during that, time my main focus is to rest that area.
Body Statistics (You MUST do this. It is not optional)
To make sure that you are progressing, it is very important that you take your measurements and fat loss reading at regular intervals — every 2 weeks or so. If you don't do this, you will never know exactly how much you gave gained or lost. Also, this is a gauge of how well your diet is working. For example, if you notice a dramatic increase in body fat from the last two weeks of your mass diet, then you might want to cut back slightly on the calories. This is also essential for those on fat loss diets. Sometimes when you are dieting you will not see a change in weight. The scale will read the same each week. But what you will find out, if you take your body fat measurements, is that your body fat is getting lower. What is happening is that your muscle
mass is increasing, while at the same time you are losing body fat. You would never know this was happening if you did not regularly take your body fat measurements. You might even get discouraged and quit the diet, thinking it was not working!
Can I Just Work My Upper Body?
If one more person says to me that they don't want to work their legs, and that they just want a bigger chest and arms, I'm gonna scream. The leg muscles are your largest, most powerful muscle group. You cannot put on substantial mass without working them. They stress your entire skeletal structure, spurring growth all over, not just in the lower body. This is also very silly looking. I see too many guys walking around in the gym unbalanced. They have nice upper bodies, but their legs look like a couple of twigs! What are they thinking? They just ignore that entire area because the don't want to "bother." Do not let this happen to you. You will not reach your full potential without blasting those muscles. Legs are and always have been, my first priority when working out. Performing exercises like heavy squats and deadlifts have been major contributors to my overall mass gains.
From the Desk of A n t h o n y E l l i s
Grouping involves training muscles that normally work together into the same workout. This is great because it decreases the number of times you need to workout, decreases your workout time and increases your muscle fatigue.
This is because when you're working one muscle group, you will also be working other groups in that area. This is how I group my workouts:
Session 1: (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
Session 2: (Back, Bicep)
Session 3: (Legs)
For example, when I perform the bench press for my chest, it will also be working my shoulders and triceps. So, when I am ready to work my shoulders or triceps, I will only need to perform a few exercises to fully exhaust those muscles, because they already have been partly fatigued by the bench press.
This is how I can get away with having to workout only 3 days per week! That gives me plenty of time to rest. It also allows me to keep my workouts very short — about 60-75 minutes. This is very important.
75 minutes or Less
Try to keep your workouts as short and as intense as possible. Studies have shown that during weight training, testosterone levels peak after about 60 minutes and begin to decline rapidly thereafter. People who perform those long 2-3 hour training sessions are not only wasting their time, they are setting themselves up for injury and possible muscle loss. My goal is to get in there, blast my muscles quickly, and then get out. No chitchat, just work. I've got more important things to do, like eat and rest!
Concentrate on the Negative
Believe it or not, the eccentric (negative) portion of an exercise is what stimulates the most muscle growth — not the positive. Unfortunately, most people ignore this movement. During my 12-week program, I concentrated a great deal on the eccentric movement, stretching it out as long as I could.
This is far more difficult, but highly recommended. You will not be able to lift as much weight as normal, but you will put more stress on your muscle fibers. I use a tempo of 3/0/1. I do the positive for a count of one, no pause at the top of the motion, and stretched the negative out to a count of three. Using pullups as an example, I would pull-up for a count of 1, and then immediately begin to lower myself slowly to a count of three until I reached the starting position. There are many variations of this that you can use to vary your training.
Rest, Rest, and Rest
I not only advocate resting as much as possible when not working out, I recommend resting while working out also. Because your training is not a cardiovascular event and you want to be as strong as you can be for your next set, I advise you to rest three minutes between each set. If it takes a bit longer to catch your breath and get ready, then take the time. Don't let others rush you. You must stay confident and go at your own pace. Just don't wait so long that your muscles get cold and you lose your focus.
Stay Focused
I know it's difficult sometimes to simply go workout and not be influenced by others in the gym. But the lifted that much so I have to do it too" stuff has got to stop. This is not a strength contest; everyone has different levels of strength. How much you lift is irrelevant. It's only a concern of your ego. Yea, the next guy may be stronger than you, but so what? Does that mean he's a better person than you? Of course not! It just means he bench presses more than you. But that also means thousands of guys bench press more than he does. So what? You are not training to be a powerlifter. You are in there to improve your body. I'm not the strongest guy in the gym, nor am I the biggest, but I can honestly say that I have a better looking physique that 98% of the guys I see working out. So stop worrying about how much you can or can't lift, and
concentrate on working your muscles. Also, stick to the exercises in my plan. I've seen guys at the gym doing six and seven exercises for chest alone. That is insane! They wonder why they don't get bigger! It's because this is not necessary. You should only do a maximum of 3 exercises per body part. That's it.
You have a very specific schedule that you must get into the habit of following, and it does not include foolishly over-training. So for a few months, at least, just cut it out. If you have to, go to another gym.
Soreness
Regardless of what anyone tells you, never work a body part if it is still sore. Soreness means that muscle has not fully recovered. If you are working out again without adequate recovery time, you will be destroying more muscle than you build. I cannot say how long it will take you to recover, but if I really blast my muscles, I am typically sore for the next 3-5 days. And during that, time my main focus is to rest that area.
Body Statistics (You MUST do this. It is not optional)
To make sure that you are progressing, it is very important that you take your measurements and fat loss reading at regular intervals — every 2 weeks or so. If you don't do this, you will never know exactly how much you gave gained or lost. Also, this is a gauge of how well your diet is working. For example, if you notice a dramatic increase in body fat from the last two weeks of your mass diet, then you might want to cut back slightly on the calories. This is also essential for those on fat loss diets. Sometimes when you are dieting you will not see a change in weight. The scale will read the same each week. But what you will find out, if you take your body fat measurements, is that your body fat is getting lower. What is happening is that your muscle
mass is increasing, while at the same time you are losing body fat. You would never know this was happening if you did not regularly take your body fat measurements. You might even get discouraged and quit the diet, thinking it was not working!
Can I Just Work My Upper Body?
If one more person says to me that they don't want to work their legs, and that they just want a bigger chest and arms, I'm gonna scream. The leg muscles are your largest, most powerful muscle group. You cannot put on substantial mass without working them. They stress your entire skeletal structure, spurring growth all over, not just in the lower body. This is also very silly looking. I see too many guys walking around in the gym unbalanced. They have nice upper bodies, but their legs look like a couple of twigs! What are they thinking? They just ignore that entire area because the don't want to "bother." Do not let this happen to you. You will not reach your full potential without blasting those muscles. Legs are and always have been, my first priority when working out. Performing exercises like heavy squats and deadlifts have been major contributors to my overall mass gains.
From the Desk of A n t h o n y E l l i s
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