A little about the basics strength training again.
LOWER BODY. Basic exercises. Exercise technique. Lower back, knees, injuries
Core exercises for the lower body are: Squats; Traction; Lunges.
People perform movements similar to these three dozens and sometimes hundreds of times throughout the day.
Therefore, they have primary value for human health.
In fact, these are the two most natural movements for humans since “cave” times - to sit down and bend over in order to pick up something from the ground.
And therefore, ideal technique is extremely important not only in order not to cause irreparable harm to yourself in gym, but also in order for the correct stereotype of movement, the skill of performing movements in ideal technique to be reflected in our Everyday life, which is an excellent means of preventing many health problems.
Ideal form requirements are especially important for core exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, as well as core upper body exercises such as bench and standing presses, rows and pull-ups.
The more useful the exercise, the more technically difficult it is! And all the more carefully you need to be careful about setting up the ideal execution technique!
TAKE YOUR TIME! The correct technique useful exercises It doesn't take two weeks to perfect!
There is a myth that the so-called. isolated exercises supposedly they will help “form the desired muscle shape”, this is the fault of various kinds of “bikinists” with no more than a couple of years of experience, but with their own video channels)
Remember - muscle shape is 99% genetic.
I’ll quote D. Kalashnikov
“The only external changes that we can make with muscles are to increase them in size (hypertrophy) or decrease them (atrophy). A muscle cannot change its shape (unless it consists of fibers or bundles located in different directions and carrying out different movements of the bones to which they are attached). It cannot increase in one part, it cannot become longer or shorter. which can be seen in bodybuilders standing on stage is not due to the fact that they train them differently, but to their genetics.
One has a short, peak-shaped bicep, while the other has a flat, long bicep, ending almost at the elbow. One has the widest ones, like the hood of a cobra, going down almost to the pelvis, and the other has them so short that they look like armpit mounds spreading out to the sides of the arms. Everyone does approximately the same exercises, but what shape the muscles will be when they grow (if they grow...) will depend on what the athlete inherited from his parents."
In everyday life - pick something up from the floor, move a cabinet, hit, run away, catch up, or in sports - snatch and push, gymnastic movements, wrestling, boxing, swimming - all these are multi-joint movements!
So we have three core exercises for the lower body - Hip-dominant thrust. Squats. Lunges
Deadlift and Romanian Deadlift.
Why is the “Romanian deadlift” option shown in the video?
A variation of the classic deadlift, this is a competitive exercise. One of its main “properties” is that in this style you can lift more weight; exactly what you need at powerlifting competitions. In general, this option is very difficult technically.
Therefore, within the framework of fitness, for the purpose of health training, fat burning, or gaining muscle mass It is optimal to choose the Romanian traction option.
In the gym, the most “overtrained area” is considered to be the lower back. High volume deadlifts can both stop progress in the gym and cause lower back injuries!
In addition, you need to forget forever about such bizarre “exercises” as all sorts of oblique body turns in machines or with a barbell - these strange “mutant exercises” are extremely harmful to the spine, and can cause very serious back problems!
Therefore, be careful with direct load on the lumbar (do not forget that they receive the lion’s dose from deadlifts and squats, as well as all kinds of leg presses, etc.),
Also, the experience of many leading powerlifting schools says that this approach will also be beneficial in increasing strength: often athletes there do bench presses and squats 2-3 times a week, and deadlifts no more than once every two weeks, replacing them with similar ones in morphology hyperextension movements, reverse hyperextensions, etc.
Traction
Another useful deadlift variation is the King Row. This exercise has been used fruitfully in gyms in the West for a long time, while in our country it has not yet found popularity.
Squats
Squats This is the “alpha and omega” of strength training.
The correct ones are “full” squats.
There is an outdated belief that a full squat is bad for your knees. In fact, the opposite is true - in a half-squat a person can lift much more weight (for which his ligaments are not yet prepared), and the knees are least stable approximately somewhere in that part of the amplitude when in half-squats the vector of movement changes from lowering to lifting - and This means using more weight than possible, in the most unstable position of the knees, the movement changes to the opposite.
Beginners, of course, should not immediately try to squat “on the floor” like competing powerlifters, but perform the movement as far as flexibility allows. But gradually, over time, using ideal technique, try to “build up” the depth of the squats. Do not rush! As mentioned above, perfect technique is the most important thing.
An easier version of squats is front squats.
They will not replace the classic squat, but how additional exercise quite useful for working out legs.C
It should be noted that in the front squat, compared with classic squats, the load on the lower back is reduced, but at the same time the load on it increases. top part.
Lunges
Lunges. It so happened that the glory of “feminine” was mistakenly assigned to this exercise for a long time. In fact, the exercise is basic, unilateral, and generally extremely useful! But, unfortunately, one of the most popular types of execution is still “walking lunges,” although this type of exercise is extremely harmful to the knee joints, and can be potentially dangerous to the hip joints.
The correct execution of the exercise is lunges in place or reverse lunges. It is these types that are absolutely safe for the joints, and at the same time are extremely useful for the development of the muscles of the lower extremities.
As an additional workout for the hamstrings, you can use hamstring curls in the simulator
You should also remember about the health of your knee joints! One of the main tasks in preventing knee joint injuries is precisely learning the ideal squat technique. And also the exclusion from training of exercises harmful to the knee area, such as “hack squats” in a smith or in a special machine. “Gakki” is another type of extremely harmful “exercise”.
I’ll quote D Kalashnikov again
"Hack squats include all squats in which a load is applied to the back, directed along the spine, and the legs and feet are brought forward. These include squats in the Hack simulator, squats in the Smith machine with the feet extended forward, squats with the Leg Blaster "(Frank Zane's squats, currently practically not used), etc.
As for the emphasis on the muscles of the front of the thigh, here bodybuilding enthusiasts have fallen into one of the traps, mistakenly believing that while some muscles (in this case, the hip extensors) work less, others (the knee extensors) work more. This is one of the common misconceptions, which we have already discussed in one of the previous articles.
At the same time, when performing this exercise, a very unfavorable situation arises associated with a very unnatural load on the knee joint. The fact is that with additional support of the back, in addition to the force of gravity of the burden, another force acts on the skeleton - the support reaction force. When bent knee joint it creates a force transmitted by the femur and directed horizontally forward. In mechanics it is called shear force. This load, which is absolutely unnatural for the knee joint, most likely leads to injuries."
UPPER BODY. Basic exercises. Shoulders, elbows, injuries.
It is important to remember to keep your shoulder and elbow joints healthy.
To reduce the risk of injuries to the shoulder and elbow joints, you need to remember about load balance:
Physical activity shortens muscles. By loading one of the muscle groups that perform a specific function, for example, moving shoulder girdle forward - large and small pectorals, performing the bench press, beloved by many, there is a danger of moving over time shoulder joint from a healthy position and even disrupt your posture thoracic spine, causing hypertrophied kyphosis. By the way, train the lats as &;antagonists&; the pectoral (which is even anatomically incorrect) will not solve this problem, because the lats in a number of movements serve as synergists with the pectoral and also rotate humerus inside. That’s why it’s important to remember these exercises for your upper body and above your head.
This usually results in overextension in bench presses and in general. horizontal presses, and exercises that rotate the humerus inward, and a lack of deadlifts, and exercises that rotate the humerus outward.
For a balanced load, you need to perform approximately the same volume:
- Vertical push (from yourself upward, for example, standing/sitting barbell/dumbbell bench press)
- Vertical thrust(downward, for example, pull-ups/pulls of the upper machine to the chest with narrow/straight/reverse grips)
- Horizontal push (bench press on straight benches/incline benches, barbells/dumbbells, push-ups from the floor/parallel bars)
- Horizontal row (seated block row to the waist, barbell/dumbbell row bending over to the waist)
Core exercises for the upper body are
Bench press- for pectoral muscles
For some reason, most gym goers make a strong bias in their training in favor of horizontal presses. While most gym goers with less than a year or two of training experience, to work out the pectoral muscles, it is enough to do the bench press and another multi-joint exercise, for example, dips.
Press up for deltoid muscles
Vertical thrust for back muscles
When training the latissimus muscles and other muscles of the upper back, it is very important to work in both vertical and horizontal pull vectors.
Examples of vertical rows are pull-ups - Squeeze your shoulder blades together before starting the movement. At the top point, your back should be straight; under no circumstances should you slouch while performing pull-ups.
Horizontal thrust for back muscles
An example of a horizontal row is the waist row. During the exercise, the torso should be parallel to the floor and the back should be straight. Chest forward, perfect posture.
Also remember about specific exercises for developing the “rotators” of the shoulder. For example, about such L-dilutions, which have an extremely beneficial effect on the health of the shoulder joints.
The health of the elbows is also directly related to the balance of loads - as a rule, the elbows begin to hurt due to an excessive imbalance in favor of bench presses. And bench pressing a lot is for some reason an “unspoken tradition” in gyms. And adding to this “isolation” on the triceps in the form of also potentially harmful exercises like the French bench press or standing, the chance of injuring your elbows increases even more. Triceps, in basic movements - bench press, standing press, dips, receive a fairly decent load, and often “finishing off” them with large volumes of isolating exercises is not only unproductive, but often harmful ( Interesting fact: in the old “Lyubertsy rocking chairs” they did not provide isolation for the triceps at all until a man could bench press one and a half of his own weight, and standing his own weight), so it is better to minimize isolation for the triceps, and choose the following for it safe exercise like the cable press, rather than the potentially more dangerous French presses.
To work out the biceps of your arms, it will be enough to perform a classic biceps curl while standing.
MUSCLES OF THE MIDDLE BODY
oblique abdominal muscles transverse abdominal muscles rectus abdominis small and medium gluteal muscles adductor muscles m. back surface femur infraspinatus m. coracobrachial m., etc.
"any complex movement begins with a contraction of the core muscles. Only after they are involved in the work is the force transmitted through the arms and legs to the barbell or dumbbells or put into the blow. The "weak center" sends "weak commands", therefore, if to increase results in strength exercises or to strengthen the blow, you need to train your core muscles." (WITH)
“Core training is the strengthening of a whole complex of stabilizer muscles (primarily the transverse abdominis muscle), which perform micro-movements during exercises where you need to constantly maneuver and maintain balance.
In this case, attention should be focused on the lower part abdominals and stabilization lumbar region spine.
It is very important to follow the technique of doing the exercises, this will allow you to avoid injuries and constantly progress."
One of the most popular exercises for the “posterior chain” of the core muscles is hyperextension.
And also the gluteal bridge
For the "anterior chain" these are exercises for the abdominal muscles
Besides dynamic exercises on the abdominal muscles, you can perform static ones, for example, such as plank pose 
Thanks for sharing!
INTRODUCTION
I'm sure you're already sick of training programs, which are sold on the Internet by every second person who bench pressed 100 kg yesterday!
As for me, I don't do this: yes, I sold books and manuals , translated by me personally, from famous authors from abroad, but these were not “programs”, but full-fledged training manuals.
However, as for the first split, everything is simpler here: for those who have just started training, the adaptations will be more versatile and less specialized. That is, it is quite possible that training in the TZ (gym) according to one program will improve you in everything (you will become stronger, and bigger, and more athletic). But over time, the incentive needs to become more specific to your goals in order to make progress in the area you need.
For now, let’s agree that our beginner has just entered the gym and has no specific goals. Most often, this is what happens - they want everything at once, but what is stronger is not clear. Maybe so that the biceps grow faster than the legs, and cubes appear on the stomach.
PLAN PARAMETERS
Training frequency – 2 times a week
To train once a week, I think, is completely frivolous. Everyone can visit TZ twice a week: even schoolchildren, even students, even the working class. Stop making excuses!
The duration of each workout is 1-1.5 hours
Stop listening to smart people who say that you need to train for 40-45 minutes! No serious load in terms of strength exercises, you will not be able to receive it during such a period of time. Acidify the muscles and fill them with blood - yes, but this is not the essence of growth.
Program goals:
1. Familiarization with the technique of “basic” exercises/patterns
2. Increased level of voluntary muscle activation (neuromuscular strength)
3. Creating a “foundation”
4. Initial hypertrophy
Paragraph 1– “basic” exercises usually mean movements from powerlifting – squats with a low barbell on the back below parallel, bench press of the barbell on a horizontal bench with a competitive grip, and deadlift of the barbell from floor level.
However, our beginner doesn't want to be a powerlifter. Perhaps he never will be. However, it is required to perform other “basic” movements - these are the so-called motor patterns, which are the most natural movements for us as organisms. Many muscles work in them, they are characteristic of various types of activity (sports, and everyday life), in them we can demonstrate maximum muscular effort. What are these patterns?
Lower Body Patterns
1) Squats - joint flexion and extension of the hip and knee joint, with the participation of the ankle, in which the center of body mass drops down and then returns to its original position.
An example would be any “squats.”
This pattern is considered knee-dominant (knee extensor muscles work), although hip extensor muscles (gluteus, adductor magnus) also work.
2) Hinge - these are exercises in which you perform the movement, for the most part, hip joint without bringing your knees forward. You move your pelvis back, keeping your back straight neutral position. When lifting a load, you move your pelvis forward.
if we compare squats and hinges, the latter have less amplitude in the knee joint, the joint itself does not move forward, the body tilt is stronger
An example would be deadlifts in various variations, incl. deadlifts, barbell curls, glute bridges, and kettlebell swings/swings.
This pattern is considered pelvic-dominant, and most of the stress is received gluteal muscles and muscles of the back of the thigh.
3) Lunges - These are essentially all movements performed on one leg (unilateral exercises) where you need to move the load in a squat style, but on one leg.
These are lunges, walk-ups, and Bulgarian split squats on one leg.
The working muscle groups are similar to squats, but the muscles that adduct and abduct the hip are also more active (adductors, gluteus medius/minimum, others). Plus, balance develops and muscle power output increases due to bilateral deficits.
Upper Body Patterns
4) Horizontal pull - you pull an object towards you (or reach for a support) in a horizontal vector.
These can be bent over or horizontal barbell/dumbbell rows, or horizontal pull-ups.
Works the latissimus, middle trapezius, rhomboid, teres, and flexor muscles elbow joint(brachioradialis, biceps, brachialis), posterior deltoid muscles
5) Vertical pull - you pull an object towards you (or reach for a support) in a vertical vector.
It could be cravings upper block in various versions, as well Various types pull-ups.
Works the teres muscles, lower trapezius, latissimus, rhomboids, elbow flexors (brachioradialis, biceps, brachialis), posterior deltoid muscles
6) Horizontal press - you push the load away from you in a horizontal vector.
It may be horizontal or slightly inclined options barbell or dumbbell presses.
Large/small work pectoral muscles, triceps, anterior deltoids, serratus muscles.
7) Vertical press – you push the load away from you in a vertical vector.
These are vertical presses of barbells or dumbbells while standing or sitting.
The anterior and slightly middle sections of the deltoid muscles, serratus muscles, triceps, muscles that lift the scapulae, and the upper section of the pectoralis major muscle work.
Additional moves
Yes, seven basic patterns perfectly load most muscles, especially large groups. However, some muscle groups that many exercisers are eager to develop will clearly suffer from the lack of significant load.
1) Middle sections of the deltoid muscles. They work very weakly in vertical presses. I advise you to additionally perform dumbbell lateral raises.
2) Posterior sections of the deltoid muscles. Should work in deadlifts, but in reality, stronger muscle groups will always take almost all the load. Bent-over dumbbell flyes will improve the situation.
The anterior sections of the deltoid muscle work very well in both vertical and horizontal presses, and do not require additional load.
3) Biceps. In deadlifts, flexion of the elbow is carried out mainly by brachioradialis muscle. Let's supplement the plan with arm curls with a supinated grip.
4) Triceps. Overall, he trains quite well with bench presses. If desired, additional arm extensions will help increase the load.
Point 2– increase in the level of voluntary activation. That is, we practice in such a way as to develop the ability to activate maximum amount fibers in the muscle. If we do not learn to do this, then, firstly, growth muscle strength in all movements will be severely limited, and secondly, muscle growth too, because if you are not able to activate the fibers, then they will never be able to grow from the load (since they do not overcome it).
For this reason, you need to train patterns with heavy weights and low reps! However, given that this is a beginner, we will focus on 8-5 repetitions in the main exercises. Even in this (actually not very low rep) range, a beginner will feel an increase in strength (weight of the projectile).
Point 3– we pay attention to the abdominal muscles and spinal extensors, joint mobility and muscle flexibility (the latter are beyond the scope of this article)
Point 4– it is obvious that our training should increase muscle size, especially at the beginning, when the adaptation window is still very large.
SPLIT OPTIONS
Since we only have two training days per week, I see only two reasonable options:
1. Two full-body workouts (for the whole body)
2. One upper body workout, one lower body workout
Let's first consider the “full-buddy” option
— Full-body training is good because you teach your body to work together (in real life, there are no concepts of “upper body” or “lower lats”), such training is closer, so to speak, to combat conditions.
- Also, you can do two completely different workouts using a different set of exercises - variety is good.
However, there are also disadvantages:
- It will be quite difficult to work hard in all exercises. You train your legs, your back, your chest, and something else - the training turns out to be long, voluminous, and also difficult.
- It will also be difficult for you to recover. you will experience muscle pain all over the body at once, so if they haven’t passed before the next lesson, you won’t be very pleased.
The whole point of a split is to separate groups, allowing some to be loaded while others have not yet had time to recover.
Two full body workouts can require up to 4-5 days of full recovery between them, which reduces the frequency of exercise.
TWO FULL-BADI TRAININGS
Lunges - forward lunges in motion, backward lunges, stepping with dumbbells on a stand, repetitions are given for each leg
Horizontal press - barbell press on horizontal bench, dumbbell press on a horizontal bench, barbell press on incline bench
Horizontal row – standing barbell row, standing dumbbell row, horizontal pull-up
Biceps – standing barbell curls, standing dumbbell curls
Press crunches, feet on the floor
Spinal extensors – “boat” on the floor, arms in front
The press and “boat” are performed with a super-set - press approach, without rest - boat approach, rest until a new super-set.
Hinge – supported deadlift, deadlift, kettlebell swing/glute bridge
Vertical row - straight grip pull-ups, straight pull-ups wide grip, pull-ups reverse grip(or similar lat pull-downs if you're very bad at pull-ups)
Vertical press – standing barbell chest press, standing dumbbell press, seated dumbbell press
Dumbbell lateral raises – standing, sitting
Bent-over dumbbell raises – sideways, backwards
Regarding the progress of the load and changing exercises, perform 8 repetitions in the main movements, progressing from week to week in a weight of 2.5-5 kg. For the first month you can easily do this. Then, as you feel, continue to progress in weight, lowering the repetitions, when 3 sets of 5 repetitions are already extremely difficult for you, change the exercise, and start again with 8 repetitions. When the exercises are over (about 3 months), you can start again (six months), or switch to a different scheme (top-bottom) or a new split of three workouts per week, which I will post next time.
In other exercises, leave the weight with which it is quite difficult for you to do a given number of repetitions. Progress in weight may be extremely weak, or absent altogether - nothing to worry about.
SPLIT "UP-BOTTOM"
In this version, as you might have already guessed, on one day we train the upper body (presses, deadlifts) on the other – squats, lunges and hinges.
The disadvantage of an upper-lower split (in the case of two training days) is that the upper body will be heavily overloaded relative to the lower body day, therefore, exercises on deltoids It would be better to do it on bottom day (although I hate doing anything on leg day other than legs).
Here we have the opportunity to add triceps on Day 1. Choose from EZ Bar French Press, Dumbbell Bench Extension, or Cable Bar Extension.
The progression of loads and rotation of exercises remains the same.
I almost forgot to tell you about warm-up approaches. 12,10,8 means that before the working sets you need to do a set of 12 reps, 10 reps and 8 reps, each of which will gradually increase the weight to the working one, and on the first working set you take the weight that you are doing hard 8- 5 times.
12.10 means only 2 warm-up sets of 12 and 10 reps. 20 or 15 – one warm-up set of 20 or 15 repetitions.
Rest periods – about 2-3 minutes between light exercise and up to 3-5 minutes between main ones. If you are ready earlier, there is nothing wrong. If you only lift your weights at the same time.
RESULTS
In general, I admit that the split with two workouts per week is not as beneficial as with more training days, and you can easily work out three months according to the full-body schedule that I gave above. Then, you can repeat it, or go to “top-bottom”, or directly to three day split which I will describe next time.
I’ll add, perhaps, that beginners can progress from ANY load. Therefore, there can be a lot of options here. Mine only offers more optimal loads, which do not exceed the ability of a still inexperienced organism to recover, and give gains in such a way that it will help in the future.
Remember that quality rest and nutrition are just as important as well-planned workouts. Use vitamins, minerals, sports supplements Moreover, hormones are not needed at this stage of training! Only if your doctor prescribes it for health reasons.
Well, I think we can charge schoolchildren two thousand rubles for this, because it’s so difficult to write a plan for two days! It probably takes a lot of time and resources, but I wrote about 10 pages of Word! For free! With exercise variations, progressions and everything in between.
I’m not asking you to give me 2000 rubles for this “titanic” work. But you can, if you wish,
In one of our previous materials, we already mentioned that the most effective strategy for quickly gaining muscle is based on four workouts per week, dividing muscle groups into upper and lower ones. The upper body is worked out twice a week, and the lower body twice a week.
Starting with this week of the Beginner's Guide, it is recommended to switch to a similar training strategy. If you absolutely cannot train 4 times a week, train 3 times. In this case, in the first week, workouts A, B, C are performed, and in the second - D, A, B, and so on.
Bottom training
The muscle groups of the lower half of the body include primarily the muscles of the buttocks and legs. In addition, the muscles of the core and lower back are conventionally included in this category, given their indirect involvement when performing many basic exercises, and, first of all,.
Abdominal abdominal training also traditionally refers to the lower body, since most abdominal exercises also actively involve the leg muscles in the movement - for example, when hanging leg raises, both the abs and the muscles of the front of the thighs are involved in the work.
Squats or leg press?
In order not to combine two of the heaviest strength exercises for the lower body (deadlift and squats) within the same workout, on one of the days of the program an exercise is used that is similar in its mechanics to squats with a barbell - a leg press in a machine, performed with an average weight.
When performing the leg press, remember that the exercise is one of the most dangerous, since many people tend to use maximum weights(more than 200 kg), which is extremely dangerous for the spine. Don’t chase records and put safety in execution and correct technique to first place.
How to pump up your calves?
Key role in development calf muscles What plays first of all is that this muscle group belongs to the class - it requires low-intensity, but long-term loads. This is why runners most often have developed calves.
If you want to achieve big and pumped calves, you will be helped not by isolating exercises (calf raises with a barbell or dumbbells), but by basic ones - squats and deadlifts. In addition, a 40-minute jog will benefit both your calves and sculpted abs.
Training program: week 11
Workouts A, B and C can occur on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. In the first case, training D will take place on Saturday, and in the second - on Friday, which will leave the weekend free.
Workout A: Upper Body
- : 2 warm-up, 3-4 x 6-8, rest between sets 3 minutes.
- : 3-4 x 6-8, rest 3 minutes.
- : 2-3 x 10-12, rest 2 minutes.
- : 2-3 x 10-12, rest 2 minutes.
- Triceps pull-down
- : 1-3 x 12-15, rest 1.5 min.
Workout B: Lower Body
- Leg press in the simulator: 3-4 x 6-8, rest 3 minutes.
- : 2-3 x 10-12, rest 2 minutes.
- : 2-3 x 10-12, rest 2 minutes.
- Calf raises with a barbell: 1-3 x 12-15, rest 1.5 min.
- : 1-3 x 12-15, rest 1.5 min.
Workout C: Upper Body
- : 2 warm-up, 3-4 x 6-8, rest 3 minutes.
- : 2 warm-up, 3-4 x 6-8, rest 3 minutes.
- : 2-3 x 10-12, rest 2 minutes.
- : 2-3 x max, rest 2 min.
- : 1-3 x 12-15, rest 1.5 min.
- : 1-3 x 12-15, rest 1.5 min.
Workout D: Lower Body
- : 2 warm-up, 3-4 x 6-8, rest 3 minutes.
- Barbell calf raises: 3-4 x 8-10, rest between sets 2 minutes.
- : 2-3 x 10-12, rest 2 minutes.
- : 2-3 x max, rest 2 min.
- : 1-3 x max, rest 1.5 min.
- : 2-3 x 12-15, rest 1.5 min.
Exercise "Bicycle" for the abs
According to scientific research, the “Bicycle” exercise tops the ranking. Starting position: lying on the floor, lower back pressed to the floor; hands behind the head, but not fastened; knees bent at an angle of 45 degrees; breathing is normal and calm.
Alternately touch your left elbow first to your right knee, then your right to your left (while the opposite leg is extended); At the lowest point, touch the floor with your shoulder blades. Feel the work of your abdominal muscles. Do 12-15 repetitions at a rhythm of 2-3 seconds each, perform 2 to 4 sets.
***
The main exercises for training the lower body are deadlifts and squats. However, these exercises are best done in two different workouts to increase their effectiveness. Training your calf muscles requires both strength training and running.
Many women love and know how to train their legs and buttocks, but are not entirely sure what and how to do with them. top part bodies. In this article I will try to explain to you, dear ladies, how to make good workout for the upper body (arms, shoulders, back and chest) and how to work with these programs.
Upper body training is necessary for absolutely everyone, but it seems that many women prefer to work exclusively on the muscles of the legs and buttocks in almost every workout.
However, the fact is that women, by their nature, are weaker in the upper part of the body relative to the lower (maybe that’s why it’s so tempting to regularly pump up your legs, I don’t know) and if you want to achieve a harmonious physique, balanced muscles, have beautiful posture, you need to take a little break from regular leg training and focus on the muscles of the upper part.
In fact, sculpted, beautiful shoulders and arms look beautiful in any outfit when there are muscles on the bones, and not just skin and fat. In addition, a well-trained body (upper part) visually “tightens” your waist, and you look more “fitted” and very attractive! Who among you doesn't like it?
If you want to start working on your upper body, there are a number of great ways to accomplish this specific task.
Choosing the right exercises.
Depending on your goal and preferred training styles, you can organize your workouts in a variety of ways.
Let's start, perhaps, with the choice of exercises themselves. In bodybuilding and fitness, there are hundreds of exercises to pump up all the muscles of the upper body, but I have highlighted the most effective ones in my opinion.
Back
Breast
Shoulders
Biceps
Triceps
If you prefer other exercises, be sure to include them in your training program. The exercises above are just suggestions.
Organization of training.
Before we get into creating your training regimens, there are a few things you should know about upper body training.
- If in your general program training does not include “chest day” and this is the case, because some women are afraid that this will cause their breasts to decrease in size, then in this case, perform more pulling movements than shoulder presses. Why If your front deltoids predominate in development, which are mainly involved in bench presses, and the rear deltoids lag behind in development, this will give your figure a stoop. A The best way to avoid this, train your back to a greater extent, of course, not forgetting about your shoulders, but with priority on the back and middle beams. I think you get the point.
- Biceps and triceps exercises should never be the bulk of your upper body work. These are the smallest muscle groups, and they should be involved in work only a quarter of the time. general training upper body. But the chest, back and shoulders are large muscle groups and their development will have a greater impact on your body.
- Incorporate upper body training into your training regimen at least twice a week.
Training schemes
Circuit training.
For the development of body milestone muscles, good fit circuit training, because you get the necessary load on both muscles and cardio vascular system due to the intensity of the training, which in turn does not require additional cardio training.
To create a training plan, choose about five exercises (1-2 from each list above) and perform them one after another, without rest. Work in the range of 8-12 reps per exercise for 2-4 full circles, depending on your starting level of training.
Since you'll be performing five exercises in a row, you may need to use lighter weights than usual.
Remember that you do not rest between exercises, but only between circles for 2-3 minutes. If you're creating multiple circuits, make sure you're training your body evenly and choosing exercises for each major muscle group.
Training scheme (circular principle)
2 - 4 laps:
1. 8 – 12 repetitions.
2. 8 – 12 repetitions.
3. 8 – 12 repetitions.
4. 8 – 12 repetitions.
5. 8 – 12 repetitions
Rest 2-3 minutes between circles.
Normal execution.
There's nothing fancy about this training scheme, you do all the sets and reps of an exercise and then move on to the next one and so on.
Some upper body workouts are structured to prioritize the lagging mice and work them early in the routine. 
So, if your shoulders are a weak link, start with a heavier exercise before moving on to lighter isolation movements.
To maximize muscle growth, do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise, resting 1-2 minutes between sets.
This rest time will allow you to lift heavier weights, which will increase your strength. If you want to increase your heart rate, rest 30-60 seconds between sets, thereby increasing the intensity of your workout.
If you want to focus on strength work, choose a compound exercise such as the bench press. Do fewer reps and focus on training with heavier weights.
Workout scheme (regular execution)
1. – 3, 4 sets of 5 – 8 repetitions.
2. – 3, 4 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
3. – 3, 4 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
4. – 3, 4 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
5. – 3, 4 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
6. – 3, 4 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
7. – 3, 4 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
Rest 1-2 minutes.
Supersets.
I think everyone is familiar with the superset training technique. To implement it, perform two exercises one after the other, without rest. The essence of the superset is to work the antagonist muscles, which perform opposite functions (pulls/presses)
For example, you can combine chest and back exercises or biceps and triceps exercises to get the most out of this technique.
The great thing about supersets is that they add intensity to your workouts and allow you to train two body parts at the same time.
Train in the 8-12 rep range with 1-2 minutes rest between supersets. Complete all sets for one superset before moving on to the next pair of exercises.
If you want to add strength work for this type of training, choose one basic exercise, such as the bench press or push press, and do a few heavy sets of singles before you start working on supersets.
Training scheme (supersets)
Superset:
Superset:
Superset:
3A. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
3B. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
Superset:
4A. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
4B. (emphasis on triceps) – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
Rest 1-2 minutes between supersets.
Complex sets.
Complex sets are similar to supesets, but instead of training opposite muscle groups (antagonists), you will combine exercises that work the same muscle group.
Doing two exercises per muscle group is a great way to add intensity to your workouts. Not only will your muscles be completely exhausted after a few sets, but the cardio load from such training will help you burn even more calories.
As in the previous workout, use 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Because these sets are quite intense, you may need to tone down the load a little to make it through the workout, especially on subsequent sets. Rest 2-3 minutes between complex sets.
In this case, you can combine multi-joint exercises with isolation exercises. Or heavy exercises with weights and exercise by hanging your own body.
Many people like to start with a heavy exercise and then hit the same muscle group with a lighter movement. This choice can be endless and will depend on your goals.
Training scheme (complex sets)
Complex set:
1A. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
1B. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
Complex set:
2A. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
2B. – 2, 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
Rest between complex sets, 2-3 minutes.
What's next?
Now all that's left to do is do it all! Choose one of the given test workouts and go to the gym. Once you feel comfortable with the types of data complexes that you like, you can start making your own. Just follow these templates and don't be afraid to experiment!
And when you feel more confident, you can add others training methods to these upper body workouts: such as drop sets, where you take the muscle to failure, then reduce the weight of the apparatus by 20-25% and work it to failure again.
You can also do a one-minute cadio between exercises, or do one set of exercises for the abs or buttocks, also between exercises in the program, to further work on lagging muscles.
Or in other words, a two-day training program is a type of separate training system, according to which you divide the work of all the main muscle groups of the body into two separate workouts. As a rule, the upper body is worked out in one workout, and the lower body in the second. What is the advantage of a two-day split training program and why is it so popular among naturals?
Two-day training program
Two-day split on the ground is great for both beginners and more experienced pumps who do not use anabolic steroid. As you know, the growth of muscle mass without the use of steroids is possible only if the working weights in the exercises are constantly increased. However, most gym goers are in a deep state of stagnation. Due to the blind copying of champion training programs with which the entire Internet is littered, a natural’s body simply does not have time to recover, which leads to a state of overtraining in which there can be no talk of any progress. A two-day mass split allows for full recovery between workouts, which will have a positive effect on increasing the athlete’s working weights and muscle mass. With this help you are guaranteed to be able to break through stagnation and reach a new level. Tested by personal experience!
The most common options for constructing a two-day split are “TOP-BOTTOM” and “PULL-PUSH”. According to the first option, in the first workout you work the muscles of the upper body (CHEST, BACK, ARM), and in the second workout the muscles of the lower body (LEGS, PRESS). According to the second option, in one training session you work out pulling muscle groups (MUSCLES OF THE BACK AND BACK OF THE THIGH, BICEPS OF THE ARMS), and in another training session pushing muscle groups (CHEST MUSCLES, TRICEPS, FRONT DELTO, QUADRICEPS). For clarity, I will give examples of both options for a two-day weight split.
Two-day weight split “TOP-BOTTOM”
Workout #1 (TOP)
1. Bench press on a horizontal bench 3x8-10
2. Incline dumbbell press with head up 3x8-10
3. Pull-ups on the bar with a wide grip 3x8-10
4. Bent-over barbell row 3x8-10
6. Standing barbell curls 3x8-10
7. French press with bar 2-3x8-10
Workout No. 2 (LOW)
2. Bench leg press 3x8-12
3. Deadlift with a barbell 3x8-10
4. Calf raises standing or sitting 3x12-20
5. Hanging leg raises 3x12-20
Two-day PUSH-PULL mass split
Workout No. 1 (PULLING EXERCISES)
1. Deadlift with bar 4x8-10
2. Pull-ups on the bar 3x8-10
3. Bent-over barbell row 3x8-10
4. Standing barbell curls 3x8-10
5. Hanging leg raises 3x12-20
Workout No. 2 (PUSHING EXERCISES)
1. Squats with a barbell on the shoulders 4x8-10
2. Bench leg press in the simulator 3x8-12
3. Calf raises standing or sitting 3x12-20
4. Bench press on a horizontal bench 3x8-10
5. Seated barbell or dumbbell press 3x8-10
6. French press with a barbell lying or standing 3x8-10
Notes on the 2-Day Mass Split Program
The number of workouts per week will depend on your body's recovery abilities and other factors. The optimal amount of training is 2-3 times a week. If you have a busy work schedule and other problems that are preventing you from fully recovering, then you will need more time to recover. In this case, I recommend training only 2 times a week, for example on Monday and Friday. If you recover quickly, then you can exercise 3 times a week every other day (Mon, Wed, Fri or Tue, Thu, Sat) alternating workouts. For example, on Monday the upper body, on Wednesday the lower body, on Friday the upper body again, etc. So in the first week you will have two workouts for the top and one for the bottom. In the second week there will be two workouts for the lower body and one for the upper body, etc. There are many options. The choice is yours.
Frankly speaking, I prefer the first option for constructing a two-day split training program for mass “TOP-BOTTOM,” although both options are equivalent. At one time, I did a two-day weight split in order to break through stagnation in working weights and muscle growth. And I succeeded. I hope you succeed too. I wish you good luck, friends!
