How much to do bench press. How to increase weight in the bench press - training features, overcoming plateaus

4. Pay more attention to recovery

7. Nutrition is the basis of gaining muscle mass

If you want to know how to do it right and how to increase your bench press, this article will tell you everything you need to know about it.

"How much do you press?".

If you've been exercising for a certain period of time, then you've probably been asked this question a lot. And you know without further ado that they ask about the results in the bench press.

Like it or not, nothing catches people's eye like lifting an impressive weight on the bench press. And nothing seems to be more frustrating for beginners than poor results in this exercise.

There's a reason every well-designed training program includes the bench press as one of its main exercises. The importance of this exercise cannot be overestimated.

The fact is that the bench press is one of the best exercises in the world. upper part a body that develops the pectorals, lats, shoulders, triceps, and even to some extent the muscles of the legs.

If you are reading this article, then perhaps all this is not news to you. You are here because you want to improve your bench press, and I can help you with that.

The first thing you need to know, although it may sound simple enough, the bench press is an exercise that requires a certain amount of technique. If you do not know what and how you are doing, then sooner or later stop in progress unless of course you manage to avoid it injuries.

In this article, we will talk about everything you need to know about the bench press in order to increase your bench press performance and get the most out of this exercise.

Video on how to reap the most.

Let's start with a discussion of technique.

The bench press looks like a simple enough exercise, but what is the right way to do the bench press?

You lie on a bench with your feet on the floor, remove the bar from the racks, lower it to the center of your chest, and then press up.

This exercise can be done different ways, but, unfortunately, in most cases it is performed incorrectly.

So in order to break down this exercise in detail, let's start with the equipment.

What equipment is suitable for the bench press?

The right equipment has a significant impact on efficient execution bench press.

First, if possible, do not use Smith simulator.

The main disadvantage of the Smith machine is that it provides a smaller increase in muscle mass and strength compared to free weight.

One of the main reasons for this shortcoming is the movement of the neck exclusively along a vertical fixed path. On the other side, free weight must be stabilized to prevent it from deviating from the correct trajectory.

When I used to bench press on the Smith machine, I never lifted more than 110 kg in several repetitions. But when I first switched to free weight, I struggled with 80 kg.

That was a few years ago and since then I've been benching up to 130kg for 2-3 reps. The result is not outstanding, but quite decent.

Power rack is the best choice

A regular power rack is an excellent choice if you are training with a spotter partner, because if you train without one, you will most likely not be able to lift your maximum weight for fear of dropping the bar on yourself.

Even if you are an experienced athlete and know your strengths well, when training to muscle failure there may be a situation where you feel that you can do one more repetition, but fail.

Train in a power rack. Here is a classic example of a bench press power rack.

This simulator is made safe by the barbell lifting control system. Set the restraint bars to the right height and they will prevent the projectile from falling on your chest when you do not master the repetition.

Here's how to do it:

The Bench Press and the Bar Matter Too

Since we're on the subject of equipment, let's talk about the bench and the bar.

You need to make sure the bench is large enough to support your upper back and stay stable while doing the exercise. A bench 30 cm wide is fine.

If you are training at home, then I suggest getting a high quality bar with sleeves that can rotate independently of the bar. This way the weight discs can spin without the bar spinning, which would put a lot of stress on the wrists.

Correct body position for bench press

With the equipment ready, it's time to talk about proper body position when doing the bench press. The first two steps are:

1. Lie down on a bench with your eyes under the bar.

1. Raise your chest, squeeze your shoulder blades together and press them against the bench.

You should feel tension in your upper back and maintain this position throughout the exercise.

1. Grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width.

Take the bar in the palm of your hand closer to your wrists than to your fingers and squeeze it as hard as you can.

The wrists should be straight and not bent towards the head. This will help prevent wrist pain.

A good way to test your grip width is to have someone stand behind you and look down at the position of your forearms at the bottom of the exercise.

Forearms should be perpendicular to the floor. That is, like this:

As you can see, on the far left photo, the position is too wide, on the middle one, too narrow, and on the far right, the position is correct.

1. Bend your lower back slightly and place your feet shoulder-width apart at a right angle to your knees.

The back should not lie flat on the bench, and at the same time, you should not bend it so much that the pelvis is almost under it.

Just maintain the natural curve that occurs when you arch your chest.

1. With straight arms, remove the bar from the racks, and then move it in a horizontal line until it is directly above your shoulders.

You are now ready to perform the bench press.

Do these movements every time you bench press, whether you're warming up or preparing for a personal best.

This is a good practice for developing correct technique, which will not only improve the exercise, but also reduce the risk of injury.

How to lower weight properly

The first thing you need to know about arm movement when doing the bench press is proper elbow position.

Many people make the mistake of flaring their elbows out to the sides, which can lead to shoulder injury. This mistake is the main reason the bench press is considered dangerous exercise for shoulders.

A less common mistake is to keep your elbows too close to your body, which makes you less stable and less able to exert maximum effort.

It is necessary that the elbows are located at an angle of 50-60 ° to the body. This will prevent the risk of injury and is also a stable and secure position to perform the exercise. To better visualize this, look at the diagram:

If in the lowest phase of the exercise the elbows are at an angle of about 20º, then this is too close a position, and at a 90° angle it is too wide. The middle position at an angle of about 60° is optimal.

So, now that you know the correct position of the elbows, let's get back to the exercise.

Keeping the correct position of the elbows, lower the bar to the lower part of the chest in the nipple area.

Yes, the bar must touch the chest! Forget about incomplete repetitions!

You must control the movement of the bar as you lower it, but you should not lower it too slowly because it not in the best way affects the set of muscle mass. Lower the bar for about 2 seconds.

How to remove the barbell and put it on the rack

Now that the vulture has touched the chest ( touched, but not rebounded away from it), you are ready to press the bar up.

Although the name of the exercise suggests that you should "push" the barbell, it's better to imagine that you are pushing it.

That is, imagine that you are pushing your body away from the bar, and not vice versa. This will help you maintain proper technique and apply maximum effort.

The bar should describe a small arc, moving from the chest to the starting position, in which it is easiest to balance.

Straighten your arms at the elbows, and do not keep them slightly bent. This will prevent the risk of you dropping the weight.

When lifting the weight, the body maintains the above position: the shoulder blades remain pressed to the bench and brought together, the elbows are at the right angle to the body, a slight deflection in the lower back is maintained, the buttocks are on the bench, and the feet are on the floor.

How to properly place a barbell on a power rack

Do not try to put the barbell on the racks, squeezing the weight towards its limiters, as you risk dropping the projectile in your face.

Always, finish the rep first, and when the bar is over your shoulders and your arms are extended, transfer it in a horizontal line to the racks.

Summarizing the above

For a better idea of ​​the whole process, watch the video. Here's what it all looks like in action:

Types of bench press

The standard barbell bench press is a core exercise in many programs. strength training, but it is usually accompanied by several varieties.

Let's look at the most common options.

Although this exercise is not a direct replacement for the bench press, it is nonetheless dumbbell press is an exercise that deserves attention.

One of the main problems that athletes face when doing this exercise is maintaining heavy dumbbells in the correct position.

Here's what it looks like:

If speak about training program, I usually alternate between dumbbell presses and barbell presses. shoulder workout.

For example, I do 3-4 sets of dumbbell presses for incline bench, 3-4 sets per horizontal bench, 3-4 sets of weighted dips for 8 weeks. Then for 8 weeks I will do 3-4 sets of flat bench press, 3-4 sets of incline bench press, and 3-4 sets of dumbbell flat bench press.

Close Grip Bench Press

The narrower the grip, the more load falls on the triceps.

This grip is not desirable if you are focusing on chest training, but this is one of my favorite ways to train triceps. And by the way, strong triceps guarantee good results in the standard bench press.

A narrow grip means you should grip the bar slightly narrower than shoulder width.

You can see some lifters holding the bar with their arms just a few inches apart. This is a bad idea because it puts the wrists and shoulders in a very weak and risky position.

All other recommendations regarding the technique of performing the exercise remain the same: the shoulder blades are firmly pressed to the bench, a slight deflection in the lower back, feet on the floor, the bar describes a small arc when lowering, touches the lower part of the chest, and then rises back.

If you feel discomfort in your wrists or shoulders in the lower phase of the exercise, then simply widen the grip by about the width of a finger and continue the exercise.

If discomfort is still felt, once again increase the width of the grip by the width of a finger and repeat this until you find a comfortable position for yourself.

Here is a good tutorial video:

Incline Bench Press

The discussion about the upper chest is one of the "controversial" aspects of bodybuilding.

Do I need to do chest exercises to work out the upper part of it? Or do all chest exercises to pump all possible muscle fibers? And even more than that - is there such a thing as "upper chest" at all?

I'll try to explain briefly.

There is a part chest muscle, which is what we call the "top of the chest". It is located in the clavicle area and looks like this:

Although these muscles are part of the pectoralis major, their fibers are quite different. Thus, some exercises can focus on the main muscles of the chest, while others - on her clavicle.

Notice what I said emphasize, and not isolate, because exercises that work the first or second part of the muscles affect both parts to a certain extent.

Nevertheless, proper development chest muscles require working out the muscles of its upper part for two simple reasons:

1. working out these small stubborn muscles takes more time;

1. The best exercises for these muscles are also great for developing large pecs.

The best way to ensure that the upper chest does not lag behind the rest of the chest muscles is to often bench press on an incline bench.

bench press reverse grip will also help you with this, and we will talk about it soon.

This is why the incline bench has such a large place in my programs. "Bigger, Slimmer, Stronger" And "Slimmer, Slimmer, Stronger" so the same I will recommend to you here.

When performing the bench press on an inclined bench, the angle of the bench should be 30-45 °.

I prefer an angle of 30°, others like an angle of around 45°. I recommend you try different angles tilt in this range and choose the most suitable for yourself.

• The bar should go past the chin and touch the body just below the collarbones. This will provide a vertical trajectory for the movement of the neck.

Here is a video showing how to do the incline bench press correctly:

And also with dumbbells:

Bench press on an incline bench upside down

The Bent Over Bench Press is a popular exercise for some lifters, but I'm not one of them. Due to the reduced range of motion, this exercise less effective than regular or incline bench presses.

The main argument that is made in favor of this exercise is that it develops the lower part of the pectoralis major muscle, however, for this, I prefer to do push-ups on the uneven bars.

The bottom line is that you will never get a great chest if you only do bent over presses.

Reverse Bench Press

The reverse grip press has its merits, which are often overlooked.

You should clasp the bar with your palms facing you, which will not only reduce the load on your shoulders, but also more effectively work the upper part of the chest.

Here's how to do it:

Calculator for calculating one rep with a maximum weight (1RM) in the bench press

The only 100% accurate way to know how much weight you can bench press for a certain number of reps is to simply perform the exercise. But there are several formulas that can predict results with a fair amount of tonality.

The most commonly used formulas Brzycki, Batchley And dos Remedios.

Use a calculator to predict your 1RM.

lifted weight: _____ ○ pounds. ○ kilograms.

Number of repetitions: ____

If you're wondering how to measure your performance, here's a handy guide.

The following figures are figures that can reasonably be expected from people with different levels of training.

The "no training" column shows the expectation for those who have not benched before.

Column " average level” demonstrates the standard level of strength for someone who has several years of bench press experience.

The "professional" column contains figures for competitive athletes (1% of athletes).

10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Improve Your Bench Press Performance

Knowing the correct technique does not guarantee that you will increase the weight lifted over time.

On this path your progress will stop, and these 10 strategies will help you avoid such situations.

Correct mental attitude

The right mental attitude will positively affect all your results.

Don't be sluggish while doing the set. Catch pumping and drive ( right music might be a great help).

One study showed that all this can increase performance. It also found that absent-mindedness, on the contrary, reduces performance.

Before you start doing the approach, put on your headphones, set yourself up, and at the same time the whole room as it should, and go!

Another simple but effective "trick" for increasing strength is to visualize the success of a set before you do it. I know, I know it sounds lame, but research show that the visualization actually works.

Use heavy weights

Ronnie Coleman said it best:

Debate about "ideal" number of repetitions for building muscle mass are infinite, but there is little argument that heavy weights best for increasing strength.

But what does “heavy” mean then?

A "strength" rep range usually starts around 80-85% of your 1RM or around 4-6 reps and rises in line with your 1RM.

If you are currently doing mostly light weight bench presses (for example, doing 10-12 reps), then great benefit you can get by focusing on heavy weights. You don't have to completely stop doing your 10-12 reps, but do them better. after hard approaches.

Here's how I would do it in my workout:

Incline Press: Warm up, then 2 sets of 2-3 reps (≈ 90% of 1RM).

Incline Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (≈ 80% of 1RM).

Dumbbell bench press on a horizontal bench: 3 sets of 4-6 reps.

Flat Bench Press: 2 sets of 8-10 or 10-12 reps (≈ 70% of 1RM)

This is known as "periodizing" training, which you can read more about. Here.

Lift weight explosively

Many trainers advise very slow reps for better muscle building, but research shows otherwise.

• Study, conducted by scientists from the University of Sydney, proved that those who performed the bench press at the traditional "fast" pace built strength faster than those who performed the exercise slowly;
• Study, conducted by scientists from the University of Connecticut, proved that those who trained at a very slow pace had more low level peak strength and energy compared to those who trained at a normal pace.
• Study, conducted by scientists from the University of Wisconsin, proved that even untrained people who performed workouts at a normal pace had higher strength in the squat and showed more peak force in the high jump.
• Study, conducted by scientists at the University of Oklahoma, proved that 4 weeks of training at a traditional pace was more effective in increasing strength compared to training at a very slow pace.

Besides, research show that when performing a press, a quick lowering of the bar (within 1 second), and then, without a pause, its explosive rise leads to a greater increase in strength than with slow descent followed by a pause and an explosive rise.

Don't make the typical beginner's mistake of bouncing the bar off your chest at the bottom of the exercise. This is incorrect and may result in injury.

How to lower the bar

Here is another old advice from powerlifters that has found its scientific confirmation.

The idea is simple:

1. When lowering the bar, don't let it just fall down.

Instead, imagine that you are pulling the bar towards your chest in a controlled manner. This will help maintain the correct position of the body and generate maximum force in the vertical direction.

1. When you lower the bar, imagine that you are bending it in half or tearing it apart.

To do this, it is necessary that the shoulder blades are in the correct position, that is, they are brought together.

The latissimus dorsi will help generate more vertical force while lifting the bar. It is for this reason that you can lift more weight with a barbell press than with a dumbbell press. You won't be able to apply that much effort with dumbbells because they require stabilization during the exercise.

Bench Press More Often

The ideal training frequency for gaining muscle mass- a contentious topic. And here's what we can know for sure.

If you want to be successful in any exercise, you must do it often.

This is why any training program is valuable if it includes squats, deadlift and/or bench press 2-3 times a week. Many programs for bodybuilders as well as mine " More Leaner, Stronger », include them.

You see, while the increase muscle strength is an integral part of the overall growth of the body, muscles can get stronger without increasing in size.

This is mainly due to neuromuscular adaptation. Muscle fibers can "learn" to work more efficiently and vigorously, and, as with any type of physical activity The more often you do something, the better you get at it.

So, if you are currently doing the bench press once a week, then doing this exercise 2-3 times a week will increase your strength.

However, when you increase the frequency of the exercise, remember to do it carefully to avoid overtraining.

Read on to learn more about this.

Change grip width

This, too, comes from the world of powerlifting, and there is research to support its effectiveness in improving bench press results.

Research prove that a grip that exceeds the width of the shoulders by a few centimeters allows you to shift the emphasis on big muscles chest, while a narrower grip shifts the focus to smaller muscles such as triceps and shoulder muscles.

By practicing both grips, you will be able to work and strengthen each of these muscle groups. This, in turn, will help you overcome possible stumbling blocks in this exercise.

An easy way to do this is to include in the program chest workouts 2-3 sets of bench press with wide grip and 2-3 close grip sets per program arm training.

Eat enough calories

Whenever someone complains that or to increase strength, I immediately have a suspicion that he is not taking enough food. And very often I am right.

There is one simple fact about muscle growth that many do not understand:

If you want to gain mass and build muscle as quickly as possible, then you need to consume enough calories. If you don’t do this, you will never gain mass and build muscle.

For example, I know that I need to consume 3300-3600 calories per day in order to gain weight consistently. Perhaps it may seem too big amount, However, it is not.

I can't complain because I've seen much worse situations. I've worked with hundreds of skinny guys who couldn't put on a single pound until they were eating more than 4,000-4,500 calories a day. Every day! Seven days a week!

It's just that some people's bodies burn calories very quickly, and they need them in in large numbers to support weight gain and muscle mass.

Therefore, increasing your calorie intake is an easy way to improve your weight gain and strength gains.

At the same time, you should not eat everything indiscriminately. If the process gets out of control, you will begin to gain fat in large quantities.

Here how to do it right.

Practice the rest-pause method

In general, I am not a fan of any kind of drop sets, supersets, giant sets, etc., as I think it is better to perform heavy power sets instead.

However, one "unconventional" method should be included in the training program. It is called "rest-pause", and I will now tell you what it is.

You perform the exercise to muscle failure (the point where you can't complete another rep) and then rest for a short period of time before doing another set. Then again a short rest and a new set to failure, etc.

This method, like many others described above, came from powerlifting, and research prove that it effective method increase strength.

A few tips for incorporating the rest-pause method into your training program.

1. Do these sets with heavy weights that are 80% or more of your 1RM;
2. If you are using 80-90% of your 1RM then rest 20-30 seconds between sets. If you are using over 90%, then rest 45-60 seconds;
3. Do not perform more than 3-4 of these sets per workout, as they require a lot of effort.

If you want to gain muscle mass and increase strength, your number one goal should be to increase your working weight over time.

The bottom line is that if you want to get bigger, you have to get stronger.

A good way to do this is to work within a predetermined rep range (4-6 for example) and, once you can, increase the weight. That is, once you can do 6 reps with a certain weight, add 2kg (if you train with dumbbells) or 4kg (if you train with a barbell) and work with this new weight until you can do 6 reps, etc.

Repeat this simple process over and over again to ensure you progress in your workouts.

Sometimes this process can stall, and you find yourself working with the same weight for several weeks and cannot increase it. This is where microbooting can come in handy. The term was coined to refer to adding less than 2kg of weight to the bar.

For example, let's say your bench press progress stops at 80kg for 5 reps and hasn't changed in weeks. You tried to increase the weight to 85 kg, but you can not perform more than 2 repetitions.

Using light weight weight plates, you can add 1kg to the bar, bringing the weight of the projectile to 81kg. Let's say you can do 4 reps with this weight.

Then, a few weeks later, you press 81 kg for 5 reps and at that point add another 1 kg to the bar. Now you can do 4 reps with this weight again and continue to build your strength.

This is a useful strategy.

Here are some high quality discs that I recommend:

Strengthen your triceps and shoulder muscles

Many athletes feel that progress in the bench press is not being held back enough. developed muscles chest. They do not understand that the reason is in the muscles of the shoulders and triceps.

The front delts play a huge role in lifting the bar off the chest, and the triceps are actively working in the upper phase of the exercise.

So if any of these muscles are lagging behind in development, then there will be no progress in the bench press. Strengthen them and bench press results will follow.

• Army press is the best exercise to strengthen the muscles of the shoulders. You should do it at least once a week.

• My favorite triceps strength exercises are close grip bench presses. french press , extension of the arms from behind the head while sitting And crossover arm extension. You should do at least 2-3 of these exercises once a week.

Simple and effective training program for the bench press

Day 1:

• Incline Bench Press: warm up, then 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM);
• Incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps;
• Bench press on a horizontal bench: 3 sets of 4-6 reps.

Day 3:

• Close Grip Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps

Day 4

• Bench press on a horizontal bench: 3 sets of 8-10 reps (70-75% of 1RM);
• Military bench press standing or sitting: 3 sets of 4-6 reps;

Yes, just 15 heavy chest sets per week. Such a load may seem easy to you, but try it out - it's harder than you think.

Rest 3-4 minutes between sets.

This time will allow the muscles to recover so that you can put maximum effort into the next set.

As soon as you can perform the required number of repetitions in the approach, increase the working weight.

For example, if you do 6 reps on the first set when doing the bent press, add 2kg to each side of the bar for the next set and work with that weight until you can do 6 reps, and so on.

Conclusion

At correct execution the bench press is one of the best and most useful exercises to increase upper body strength.

If done incorrectly, this exercise is not only ineffective, but also dangerous.

So learn correct technique bench press, use the strategies in this article and be patient. Building a strong body takes several years, even if you do everything right.

8-12 - for mass, 12-15 - for relief. 15-20 - for girls. The first approach is a warm-up, then we add to the workers. If you want to grow, do a “pyramid” from 15 to 8 repetitions. Approximately such recommendations on set-repeated schemes can be heard in any provincial rocking chair. Yes, it makes some sense, but let's look at how professional bodybuilders train. It can hardly be said that Chris Duffin is a girl. But he also does 50 leg presses to blow up his quads. But Valentina Mishina is just a girl. But you can watch her squat with a heavy barbell for 8 reps. Where is the truth?

You can watch how beginners perform 10-12 working approaches, literally "killing themselves" in the gym. Do they become more physically fit? It is unlikely that usually those who like to shake biceps in 10 approaches remain with branch arms until a competent trainer sets them on the right path.

Important: the training process must be periodized. Macroperiodization is the division of workouts depending on the global goal. The macrocycle in fitness can be aimed at practicing technique, reducing body fat, gaining muscle mass, or general weight loss and the formation of healthy habits. Depending on the purpose of the macrocycle, mesocycles are built, that is, training months. And they paint set-repeated schemes in a microcycle, that is, the number of “sets and repetitions” of each exercise

You need to understand that all these rules are not invented by some athlete based on their experience. They are scientifically based, and come from the methodology of a slightly different sport - weightlifting. The closest thing to fitness is load planning in bodybuilding. But the method of this sport is strongly influenced by such a factor as the use of pharmacology. You can talk as much as you like about the fact that bodybuilding requires hard work first, and then doping, but the latter changes a lot. The athlete recovers many times faster, his physical abilities higher than the average person. From there, terrible drop sets of 6 “drops” of weight come from, and workouts that load one muscle group in 10 exercises and 5 working approaches.

Professionals operate in the categories of "time under load", "training volume", "training intensity" and "rest time". The most important for us are the second and third criteria, if the goal is to transform the figure. The volume is total repetitions, in all working sets. If we are talking about muscle hypertrophy, it makes no sense to exceed 32-36 repetitions.

With such a volume, the intensity, that is, the working weight, cannot be very high. In sports terms, “very” is 80-90% of a one-rep max in an exercise. For muscle building purposes, it makes sense to train in the 70 to 80% range.

If it's about "losing weight", that is, burning fat and maintaining muscle mass, you will need to reduce the volume to about 16 repetitions in total, but not reduce the intensity. These rules apply to basic multi-joint exercises. "Isolation" can obey others.

Strength training aimed at developing only physical quality- strength, performed in a volume of 15 to 25 repetitions. With good recovery abilities, the volume can be raised to 36 repetitions, but no more.

Another factor that matters is the rest time between work sets. It is optimal for non-strength training to rest 60 to 120 seconds between sets. Powerlifting-style strength training may require more rest time.

This is in theory, but in practice a variety of layouts are possible. In practical training, such a factor as the general recovery of an athlete is important. Therefore, approaches and repetitions can vary individually.

Different goals - different number of repetitions

How to write layouts? Based on general information:

1. To develop strength, perform from 1 repetition to 5-6 in the approach. strength training- the most "precise", it does not allow the athlete to practice "intuitively" in most cases, and does not require work to be done in failure. Strength training means that 4-6 repetitions are performed in the range of 70 percent of the one-rep maximum, "triples" - up to 80%, "deuces" and singles - above. This uses "technical one-rep sets" where the lifter does 1 rep work with a lighter weight that they can lift for 4-6 reps. The difference here is that each repetition is performed in competitive technique, that is, from the starting position as at the beginning of the set, and not as in bodybuilding, from a position in which the joints can be slightly bent;
2. For hypertrophy, that is, muscle growth - from 6 to 12 repetitions. In sources, the data varies, the “golden mean” here is to do the exercise at a normal pace, and try to detect how many repetitions will be completed in 30 seconds. Approximately as much as a beginner needs for hypertrophy. More experienced can go up to 40 seconds and near-failure repetitions;
3. Losing weight does not need much, we have already found out. But bodybuilding sources insist they do 15-20 reps. Actually, it doesn't make much sense in a fitness situation. Most non-professional athletes find it difficult to maintain a safe starting position. They seriously break equipment, and can be injured. Or another option - they are engaged in "aerobics with dumbbells", that is, they perform power movements with minimal weight, and are not able to maintain muscles because of this. To ensure fat burning, and not provoke muscle breakdown, it is still recommended to do two or three six-rep power sets. basic exercises at the start of the workout. And after that, you can do anything, for example, 20-rep "aerobics with dumbbells."

The main problem of a fitness specialist is an adequate choice of weights. Some tend not to work out, others make each set too close to failure and overtrain. Still others avoid normal barbells and dumbbells altogether, and being healthy, for some unknown reason, work out with rubber bands or something like that.

Ideally, you need to make at least a “estimate” in triples and calculate your PM from it in basic exercises. But those who are afraid to lift hard can do one “failed” approach with ordinary weights and find a 1 RM calculator on the Internet.

It is better to follow the percentages indicated above and lift the working weights in proportion to the increase in strength, and not as you please. The approach when in one workout a person lifts 100 kg in squats, and in another with terrible technique tries to stand up 150, because the girl of his dreams has come to the gym, is not acceptable when it comes to fitness for health.

Imagine a runner on long distances. He needs the strength of the legs, and sufficient power of their work. But he does not need to carry 100 kg of muscle mass on himself. Super-volume training is used when you need to develop strength endurance, and the skill of functioning effectively enough under a long repetitive load.

In this variant, training schemes with 1, 2 or more minutes under load can be used. A similar methodology is used for weight loss workouts with mini barbells - Hot Iron and Body Pump.

Various methods can be used:

• For the development of strength endurance, for example, for middle distance running, long sets with long rests can be used;
• "Slimming" is usually prepared with the help of various pyramids, "ladders", and other techniques that allow you to increase the number of repetitions in the approach and extend the time under load

How many approaches to do? There is a rule of 12 - one muscle group should not have more than 12 working approaches in general. This applies to both weight loss and recruitment. For strength training, such rules do not work, where the load is measured in KPSh, that is, the number of barbell lifts, and take into account individual characteristics. There are athletes who are not suitable for volume training, but there are those who cannot train intensively, and are forced to stick to constantly medium intensity and high volume with rare peaks.

In practice, the following schemes are used:

1. 3-12 sets for strength training;
2. 3-4 for hypertrophy and fat burning;
3. "cross-training" schemes, and circuit training for the purpose of increasing strength endurance

Time relax

Few people observe this, but if you relax in the hall according to the timer, and not at the behest of the heart, then the results will be more impressive.

The rules are simple:

• 45 second rest periods for high rep strength endurance training
• Minute for hypertrophy;
• 90 seconds for basic hypertrophy exercises;
• Anything more is for developing strength and power

If the rest time is observed, but it does not work out all the planned repetitions, the weight of the weight is incorrectly selected. In this case, it is recommended to reduce it and observe the time intervals for rest more carefully.

In training for beginners, it is recommended to reduce the number of approaches by 1, but remain true to the “layouts” for repetitions per set. This will avoid overtraining, but will help to activate the muscle fibers sufficiently for growth. In general, beginners need to follow the technique more, so at the very beginning of training, an 8-12 week strength cycle is recommended to develop exercise technique. Then they move on to the schemes "to ground" and "to relief".

Recovery from injuries should occur according to the recommendations of a doctor. If the period of absence of training was more than 12 weeks, it is worth starting with the program for beginners, and choose working weights intuitively, based on the absence of discomfort.

Important: sometimes with injuries, pain goes away from warming up, that is, when blood circulation is accelerated. This does not mean that you need to train with a high load right away, but it may well mean that it is better for the trainee to warm up and do simple exercises exercise therapy

Meaning coaching- in the individual selection of exercises and set-repeated schemes. If you can’t make a choice on your own, it makes direct sense to contact a coach to draw up a program.