Disclaimer: This article is fairly long (I’m sorry!), so if you would like a quick summary of how to properly strength train scroll to the bottom! Otherwise I hope you enjoy it!
Hey everybody!!
Working in a large community center as a fitness specialist, I get asked all sorts of questions regarding exercise and training, and whether or not there are any tricks to get a desired result. A lot of times many of the members are looking for specialty exercises to help “lose my belly”, “tone up my arms”, “build a butt”. The list goes on and on. Many are surprised when I answer with what I call “fundamental exercises” that they have most likely already heard of, or have even tried already.
The fundamental exercises I am referring to are the ones that have been around for decades if not centuries. These are the compound movements that work multiple muscle groups at once with an emphasis on the major ones. Anyone who is looking to get stronger, leaner, or add muscle mass should be training with these movements because they have been proven time and time again to be the most effective, regardless of your fitness goal.
So frankly, no. There are no tricks to getting lasting results and the body you want. There is only hard work, and strength training! And I’m not just saying this because of my deep passion for lifting weights, I promise! Strength training is what is going to define and/or build up your muscles while also helping you to burn off excess body fat. If you are looking to improve your physique for whatever reason, strength training is absolutely necessary. There is no way around it. This however does not need to be a complex process.
It seems to be human nature to over complicate things, but the truth is working out does not need to be complicated at all. Anyone can build a strong, fit, and capable body by simply sticking to compound exercises and following a few exercise rules.
As stated before, compound exercises work multiple muscle groups at once. These exercises include upper body push exercises, upper body pull exercises, squats, and deadlifts. Upper body push examples are the pushup, bench press and shoulder press. Upper body pull examples are the pull up, lat pulldown and cable row. These exercises cover pretty much every major muscle group in the human body. With proper form, proper intensity, and consistency these exercises will work wonders for anybody.
The easiest way to set up your training, especially if you are a beginner at strength training, is to dedicate three days a week to strength training where you can do a full body workout. Space your full body strength training workouts out throughout the week so you have a least one day between lift sessions. This will allow your muscles to recover properly. Now, these workouts by no means need to be long and grueling! Simply choose one upper body push exercise, one upper body pull exercise, and add the squat and deadlift. Four moves. With proper form, proper intensity, and consistency. That’s all you need!
Your strength training workouts should always begin with a dynamic warm up and warm up sets. This will get your body prepped for exercise by increasing your heart rate, getting your blood flowing, establishing the proper movement patterns for each exercise, and preparing your body for heavier lifts.
Your dynamic warm up can be any movement that gets your joints moving through their full range of motion (or as far as your’s allows). I commonly use body weight squats, arm circles, spidermans, and push ups, but there are many other of warm up exercises you can use.
Your warm up sets will be the exercises you have chosen for the workout, starting at a lighter weight and progressively working up to your working weight for the exercise. The number of warm up sets you use will vary depending on how heavy you are lifting and how warmed up you need to be as an individual. I typically cut the working weight in half and start there.
Once you have your four exercises, it is time to pick the proper repetition scheme. Sticking to three to four sets per exercise is a great place to start with anywhere from one minute to three minutes rest between sets depending on how heavy you are lifting. If you are lifting heavier with less reps, rest will be longer to allow your muscles to get more recovery and shorter for lighter lifts with more reps.
Try to keep your repetitions between five and twelve reps per set. If you are a beginner, starting with lighter weight and more reps is best to help establish the proper movement patterns for each exercise. Regardless of the rep scheme, the weight chosen should be heavy enough to where you would be able to perform one to two more reps after the last rep. This will ensure you are training with the proper intensity.
The order in which these exercises are performed does not matter so much. Completing them one after the other would be the easiest way, however you can perform supersets to make your workout a little more challenging and save even more time in the gym. A superset is simply performing a set of two different exercises in a row without stopping. You can superset the upper body exercises together and the lower body exercises together, or you can superset an upper body and lower body move together as well. I use supersets a lot when I train my clients because it’s time effective and can add some intensity to the strength training portion of the workout.
As you progress with your strength training, your body will become adapted to what you originally do. There are several things you can do to keep your body guessing and changing in a positive way. Below is a list of ways to keep your workouts challenging.
Although you can combine any of the following progressions for even more intensity, try not to do too much at once, as this can increase your risk for injury. Your training must always be challenging your body in one way or another to be effective and yield the results you are looking for. Listen to your body, and challenge it as you see fit.
1.Increase the load or weight that you are lifting. For upper body movements, adding 2.5 to 5 pounds to your lifts is a good range. For lower body exercises , try adding 5 to 10 pounds.
2. Change the rep scheme. If a beginner and performing more reps with lighter weights, try lifting a bit heavier for less reps. Aim for 8 to 10 reps instead of 12. The same idea applies to those that may be seasoned lifters and are already moving a lot of weight with less reps. Try lightening up the load and adding a light training day to your regimen. It may surprisingly help you out with your bigger lifts.
3.Decrease the amount of rest you give yourself between sets. Giving yourself less rest between sets will force your muscles to perform more work volume in less amount of time. This can definitely add intensity to your training if you are not quite ready to add more weight to your lifts yet. If you usually rest for one minute between sets, try cutting that rest time back to 30-45 seconds for example.
4. Change the tempo (how fast or how slow) with which you perform the exercises. Performing resistance exercises more slowly gives your muscles more time under tension, requiring more work for your muscles to perform a given exercise. When speeding up the tempo, I would only suggest using this progression if you know your form is excellent because form tends to break down when you try to lift faster. This progression will allow you to do more work in less time and will add to the intensity of the workout.
5. Increase the exercise volume. Completing more exercise per training session will place your body under additional stress, and it will have to adapt (don’t worry, this is good stress!). Try adding a set of repetitions to each exercise.
Okay, this article turned out a little bit longer than I intended, so I will condense everything I just said into easy to follow bullet points below!
- Strength train at least 3 times/ week; full body (at least)
- Use compound exercises: pick one upper body push, one upper body pull, squat and deadlift
- Perform dynamic warm up and warm up sets for each exercise
- Perform 3-4 sets with 5-12 reps depending on fitness level (should be able to do 1-2 more reps after last rep)
- Rest longer for heavier lifts and shorter for lighter lifts
- Progress your strength training (load, volume, rest, tempo, rep scheme)
- PERFORM EVERY EXERCISE WITH CONSISTENCY AND PROPER FORM!
So there it is. All the basic information you need to know about designing an effective total body strength training program. It can be as simple as four exercises, three days a week. Make sure you are using proper form and challenging your body with the guidelines provided. Happy training!
WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!
If you have any questions, or would like more guidance and are interested in online coaching or personal training, please feel free to email me at brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com.
Brie Ogletree
B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science
Owner, Ogletree Form and Function
Certified Personal Trainer, WC Fitness
Fitness Specialist, Salvation Army Kroc Community Center
Ogletree Form and Function 