RIPPED
I've found over the years that the key to success in the gym is
to constantly adapt and change our routines. and in doing so,
preventing our bodies from becoming accustomed to a particular
exercise. It's natural for us to develop get comfortable with
a particular routine or to fall into habits; but the last thing
we want is for our work-outs to become monotonous and boring.
To prevent this we must incorporate a variety of techniques and
maybe even apply a bit of creativity.
I very rarely
do the same workout routine two weeks in a row; and its not uncommon
for me to wake up in the middle of the night just thinking up
a new plan of attack.
If you belong
to a gym, there is probably a variety of weights and machines
that will allow you to constantly introduce new exercises into
your game plan. The following section will allow you to download
and print workout routines to bring to the gym. Be sure and record
the date and amount of weight you used for future reference. It's
both helpful and informative to come back to the original routine
every now and then to see what kinds of progress you've made!
Here are
some training terms that every gym body should know.
 Superset:
This refers to grouping 2 or more exercises together without resting
between sets. For example - doing a set of 10 reps of close grip
bench presses followed immediately by weighted dips. The muscle
is thus attacked from all angles; and by the end of the set your
muscles will be screaming.
Drop Set: This refers to starting with a very
heavy weight, enough to get only a few reps, then progressively
moving down weight scale without rest between sets. For example,
when I do shrugs, I grab the heaviest dumbbell I can find and
pump out a few shrugs; then, I'll grab a lighter weight and do
a few more; then, an even lighter weight with still more reps,
and so on. By the end I will have done about 30-40 reps and my
traps are screaming at me. Don't even think about drop sets til
you've been training for some time and are "seriously warmed
up!"
Negatives: When you lift a weight you are performing
a contractile movement with your muscles. When you lower the weight
and extend your muscle fibers you are performing a negative exercise.
Your muscles must work harder during a negative exercise; and
this allows more stress to be put on the individual muscle fibers
and tendons. . . ultimately resulting in a bigger, better and
stronger muscle group. To do negatives properly you must have
a partner and use strict form. For example - do a set of heavy
barbell bench presses in which you need your partner to lift the
weight for you. Try to lower the weight back down to your chest
in a slow and controlled manner. When you've reached the bottom
of the rep, have your partner lift the bar back up for another
rep.
 Reps
and Sets: All muscles are not created equal; and every
muscle group in your body will react differently. Here again I
stress variety. If you only do heavy bench presses with never
any more than 6 reps you will definitely see an increase in your
strength; but striations and vascularity/ - not likely!.
My own training
philosophy has evolved to a point where I try to incorporate strength
exercises and toning exercises into the same routine. For size
and strength you will want to do low reps and high weight. On
the workout cards you will see the words "to max". This
means that by your last few sets you'll be lifting the maximum
amount of weight of which you're capable, (with a good spotter,
of course!), and doing as many reps as you can to total muscle
failure.
Supersets
and drop sets are definitely toning exercises and by doing these
your vascularity and muscle detail will improve.
Remember that if a
workout card lists 6 sets, this means the first set is a warm
up set followed by ascending weight loads. This will help to avoid
injury by warming up the muscles and tendons. Unless you're doing
"Drop Sets" - after getting seriously "warmed up"
- best not to start an exercise set at your maximum weight!
A click
on the body part will open it's particular workout card in a new
window
(MuscleChef
BLUE subscription is required except for work-out cards designated
"Public" 
)
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