Overview Of Weight Lifting
Weight training offers a multitude of benefits regardless of your fitness level or goals. Building muscle through weight lifting not only enhances your physique but also plays a crucial role in improving overall health and well-being. One of the key advantages of weight lifting is its ability to increase muscle mass, which in turn boosts your basal metabolism, making it easier to lose weight and maintain a healthy body composition. Additionally, the stress placed on bones during weight-bearing exercises promotes better bone growth, reducing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis. Strengthening muscles also enhances joint mobility, making everyday movements smoother and more effortless while reducing the likelihood of injury. Despite common misconceptions, weight training does not necessarily lead to bulky muscles. Instead, it fosters a lean, toned physique, providing long-term benefits for both appearance and functionality.
When it comes to the time commitment side, consistency is key during weight lifting and requires incremental progress achieved through regular dedicated effort. Rather than aiming to outperform others, the goal is to continually improve upon your own performance, whether by increasing reps, lifting heavier weights, or refining technique. Short and focused workouts consistently yield significant results over long workouts that were only performed every so often. By prioritizing regularity and commitment in your weight lifting routine, you can unlock your full potential and achieve your fitness goals effectively.
Where To Start
Prior to hitting the gym, having a well-thought-out plan can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your workouts. While there are various approaches to structuring workouts, one popular method is the push, pull, legs split. Even if you don't strictly follow this split, understanding how different muscle groups interact can be incredibly beneficial. By categorizing muscles into these three groups, you gain a better understanding of how they work together and can create your workouts accordingly. This knowledge allows you to focus on strengthening muscle groups that complement each other, leading to more efficient compound lifts and overall muscle development. Additionally, identifying your weaker muscle groups becomes easier, enabling you to target them specifically and work towards achieving better balance and symmetry in your physique.
Push
Push muscles are not able to extend, but the reason why they are called push muscles is due to how they pull the bones and straighten them away from the body. There are three main pushing muscle groups, which are the chest, triceps, and deltoid muscles.
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Chest - The chest originates at the clavicle as well as the ribs and attaches near the head of the Humerus located at the shoulder. When the muscle contracts it pulls the shoulder internally pushing the shoulder forward. The pectoral muscle group consists of two main muscles. The well-known Pectoralis Major and the smaller pectoralis minor which is being covered. The Pectoralis Minor is the supporting muscle and is stimulated indirectly.
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Triceps - The triceps starts up near the shoulder and attaches just below the elbow. When it contracts, it pulls the elbow joint straight extending your arm. There are three muscles that make up the triceps which consist of the long head, medial head, and lateral head. The long head is located on the back side of your arm and gets the most contraction when extending the arm with a hammer grip. The lateral head is located more towards the side of your arm and has a better contraction with a knuckles up grip. Last is the medial head which is right in-between the two and gets targeted with either grip.
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Deltoids - There are three heads of the deltoid muscles and they all reach and attach over the shoulder. This muscle works as a covering over the rotator cuff muscles and has a wide range of contractions. The front Delt is very similar to that of the Pec Major and internally rotates to raise the shoulder. The lateral Delt extends the shoulder joint out away from the body laterally, and the Rear Delt externally rotates the shoulder out and back behind the body.
Pull
Pulling movements primarily engage muscles that draw your limbs closer to your body, often resulting in a bent position, unlike push movements, which extend the limbs. The main muscles involved in pulling movements include the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, biceps, and forearms.
Trapezius: Also known as the traps, the trapezius muscles comprise three regions—upper, middle, and lower. The upper traps originate at the back of the skull and attach to the upper back, facilitating shoulder raising and shrugging. The middle and lower sections originate at the spine and shoulder blades, allowing for shoulder blade contraction and retraction.
Latissimus Dorsi: The lats originate at the spine and wrap around the inside of the arm to attach at the same spot as the pectoralis major. This muscle enables internal rotation of the shoulders, making it crucial in bench press movements, while also assisting in pulling the arms back toward the spine.
Biceps Brachii: The biceps consist of two heads (the long head and the short head) that work together to flex the arm toward the shoulder. The long head, located on the lateral side of the arm, contracts most effectively when the palms are facing up, while the short head, positioned on the medial side, contracts best in a hammer grip.
Forearms: The forearms comprise numerous small muscles, grouped into flexors and extensors. The flexors originate at the medial epicondyle of the elbow and attach near the wrist, allowing for downward hand movement. Conversely, the extensors connect to the lateral epicondyle of the elbow and facilitate upward hand movement.
Legs
Legs have their own set of push and pull muscles, but many compound lifts such as deadlifts, squats, and leg presses involve both push and pull movements. Understanding how to train the legs can be simplified by starting with the upper half and progressing down to the lower half.
• Quadriceps - The quadriceps comprise four muscles connected to the kneecap by the quadriceps tendon, which extends over the knee and attaches to the tibia (shin bone) via the patella tendon, allowing the quads to extend the legs.
• Hamstrings - The hamstrings consist of three muscles: Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, and Biceps Femoris. These muscles act as the leg's pull muscles, contracting to bend the leg towards the body. Semimembranosus and Semitendinosus, positioned on the medial side of the leg, contract best with slight internal leg rotation, while the Biceps Femoris, on the lateral side, contracts most effectively with slight external leg rotation.
• Gluteals - Similar to the deltoids, the gluteal muscles wrap around various abductors and adductors, serving multiple functions in push, abduction, and adduction movements. The Gluteus maximus is the primary muscle, with the Gluteus Medius and gluteus Minimus being indirectly trained.
• Calves - The calf muscles, responsible for foot extension, consist of the Gastrocnemius, Soleus, and Plantaris. The Gastrocnemius, the largest and most superficial muscle, is visible. The Soleus lies beneath, while the Plantaris, the smallest muscle, is located at the back of the knee joint.
• Tibialis Anterior - Often overlooked, the tibialis anterior is a significant muscle on the front of the shin, enabling foot flexion upward. Strengthening this muscle enhances ankle mobility and reduces the risk of ankle joint injuries.
List Of Movements
This is a list of some of the most effective movements to target each muscle group. While certain exercises may yield favorable results for some individuals, others may find them less effective, so it's advisable to try them all. Additionally, these movements engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, but the movement will be under the most prominent category. Numerous video tutorials are available online for each of these exercises, or you can observe me performing them during my gym sessions in my YouTube videos.
Chest
Movements on an incline will focus the upper chest while movements on a flat bench will focus the mid and lower chest:
Bench Press, Incline Press, Smith Machine Press, Dumbbell Press, Chest Press Machines, Dumbbell Pec Flys, Cable Pec Flys Low or High, Assisted or Weighted Dips.
Triceps
You can do any of these movements with a hammer grip or pronated grip to hit each head of the triceps:
Straight-Bar Cable Tricep Extension, V-Bar Cable Tricep Extension, Rope Attachment Cable Tricep Extension, Over Head Standing Tricep Dumbbell Extension, Tricep Cable Rope Kickbacks, Incline Bench Over Head Tricep Extension, and Single Arm Tricep Cable Extension.
Deltoids
Front Delt: Front Dumbbell Raise, Barbell Over Head Press
Side Delts: Lateral Dumbbell Raises, Dumbbell Over Head Press
Rear Delts: Bent Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Raise, High to Low Cable Face Pulls
Trapezius
The upper traps activate when the shoulders are raised toward the neck, while the lower and middle traps engage during narrow grip pulls and the elbows flared out slightly. This causes the shoulder blades to squeeze together.
Upper Traps: Dumbbell Shrugs, Incline Dumbbell Shrugs, Incline Barbell Shrugs.
Lower Traps: Narrow Grip Seated Rows, Narrow Grip Seated Pull Downs, Bent Over Dumbbell Raise.
Latissimus Dorsi
The lats are activated during wide grip pulls, primarily retracting the shoulder blades with a slight degree of total shoulder internal rotation, while also keeping the elbows tucked in:
Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs, Wide Grip Seated Rows, Barbell Bent Over Rows
Biceps Brachii
The biceps have two different heads, the long head and the short head, and targeting each can be altered by changing the grip. The long head is activated with a supinated grip (palms facing up), while the short head is better targeted with a hammer grip:
Dumbbell Curls, Preacher Curls, Straight-Bar Cable Curls, V-Bar Cable Curls, Rope Attachment Cable Curls, Barbell Curls, Narrow Grip Chin Ups.
Forearms
Forearms are often trained indirectly, but there are additional exercises to target them specifically. Wrist flexion activates the inner forearm, bringing the wrist downward towards the body, while wrist extension targets the outer forearm, moving the wrist upward away from the body:
Place your forearm on the bench with your hand hanging off the side. Grab a dumbbell with your palm facing up and pull it upward for flexion. Then, twist your wrist so your knuckles face up and lift the dumbbell up for extension. This exercise can also be performed using a cable machine. Align the cable with your chest, keep your arm stationary at a ninety-degree angle, and pull the weight toward your body for flexion, and away from your body for extension.
Quadriceps
There are four quad muscles that you can work but it is possible to work all four well with two variations. Rectus Femoris and vastus intermedius are activated well with both variations but The medial quad will be used more with the toes facing outwards at a ninety degree angle and the lateral quad will activate better with the toes pointed straight forward:
Squat, Smith machine Squat, Leg Press With The Legs Positioned Lower On The Platform, Leg Extension, Hack Squat, Bulgarian Split Squats With Dumbbells or Smith Machine
Hamstrings
To fully develop your hamstrings, it's important to target all three hamstring muscles. To emphasize the lateral hamstring (biceps femoris), externally rotate your foot by 45 degrees. For targeting the semitendinosus and semimembranosus, keep your feet straight or slightly internally rotated:
Romanian Dead Lifts (Can Be Performed With Dumbbells, Smith Machine, or Barbell), Laying Down Hamstring Curls, Seated Hamstring Curl, Leg Press (With Feet High On The Platform). For those who do not have machines to work with there are ankle cuff attachments that can be set up on cable machines.
Gluteals
The glute muscles are crucial but are often overlooked by men during their leg workouts. They play a vital role in maintaining stability through abduction and adduction, as well as in extending the hips. Gluteal muscles are most effectively contracted when the legs are positioned far in front of the body:
Hip Thrusts (Can Be Performed With Dumbbells, Smith Machine, or Barbell), Single Leg Glute Press Back, Full Hip Extension During Romanian Dead Lifts, Leg Press (With Feet High On The Platform), Hack Squat (With Feet High On The Platform), Hip Abductions, Hip Adductions
Calves
To fully develop the calves, it is important to target all three calf muscles. The best way to achieve this is by performing exercises with a full, deep range of motion. At the top of the movement, ensure that your toes are fully extended, and at the bottom, the heel should be fully below the toes. To engage the sides of the soleus and gastrocnemius, vary your foot position throughout your sets, alternating between toes pointing outward, neutral, and inward.
Standing Calf Raises On A Platform (Can Hold Weights For Extra Resistance), Seated Calf Raise Machine, 45 Degree Calf Raise Machine, Leg Press Machine But Leave The Heels Hanging Off The Bottom
Anterior Tibialis
The Anterior Tibialis muscle is often overlooked in training routines, yet it requires minimal resistance for effective strengthening. Simply attach a resistance band to a stable object and loop it around your toes. While seated, flex your toes towards your body. This exercise enhances mobility, adds definition to the front of your shins, and reduces the risk of ankle injuries.
Two Types Of Training Stimulus
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy is a foundational principle in bodybuilding, focusing on enlarging muscle cells through high-repetition stimulus. It's a widely embraced method where the primary aim is to increase muscle size, with strength gains emerging as a natural outcome of muscle cell expansion. Achieving hypertrophy demands specific training protocols, typically involving lighter weights and higher rep ranges. These repetitions typically fall within the range of 8 to 15 for most individuals, although some may push to perform up to 30 reps or more. Hypertrophy training often involves completing 3 to 5 sets of the same movement at these targeted rep ranges, inducing muscle burn and promoting growth by stressing the muscle tissue.
Strength Training
Strength Training focuses on rapid, powerful, and short-term muscle contractions while also enhancing bone density. Popular among powerlifters, its primary objective is maximizing strength while minimizing body weight. This is typically achieved through low-repetition sets ranging from 2 to 6 reps. The emphasis is on overall stress over muscle stimulus, with typically 1 to 3 sets per exercise to minimize possible injury due to too much stress on bones, joints, and muscles. This approach aims to fortify the bone matrix, increase stress tolerance, and cultivate fast-twitch muscle fibers for explosive strength gains.
Optimal Training Style Combining The Two
When structuring your workout sets, it's essential to begin with a preparatory memory set. This initial set allows your body to acclimate to the movement pattern without imposing significant stress on the bones or muscles. Its primary purpose is to establish solid muscle memory for subsequent sets. Following this, the strength training set comes into play, focusing on rapid muscle contraction and bone stress. You should aim to complete 5 to 6 reps with this weight, feeling a significant force on your body but not muscular failure. The subsequent two sets should see a reduction in weight, allowing you to perform within the 10 to 12 rep range. These sets emphasize time under tension, muscle stimulus, and form, requiring slow, controlled movements that result in a burning sensation in the muscles by the end. If you're experiencing effective muscle contraction and feel capable, there's the option to extend the sets or incorporate drop sets by lowering the weight and completing additional sets of 10 to 12 reps.
Workout Programs To Start Your Fitness Journey
There are several workout splits commonly used in fitness routines, such as the Arnold split, the bro split, and push-pull-legs (PPL), among others. However, my favorite among them is the push-pull-legs split for several reasons. Firstly, it's straightforward to remember and execute, consisting of only three different workouts: push, pull, and legs. This simplicity makes it ideal for beginners and experienced lifters alike. One of the key benefits of the push-pull-legs split is its frequency. With this split, each muscle group is targeted twice a week, allowing for optimal muscle growth and development. This increased frequency ensures that muscles receive adequate stimulus and recovery time for efficient progress. Additionally, the split provides enough rest between sessions, typically with a 3-4 day gap depending on your rest day schedule. The aim is to hit the gym six days a week, so it's more beneficial to take a rest day when necessary rather than planning one. Most of the time, unexpected events may arise, and if you plan a rest day but end up missing a session, you're left with only five or perhaps even four workouts a week.
Push Day
Push days are scheduled for every Monday and Thursday, or can be spaced three days apart according to individual preference and availability. On these days, beginners should focus on one primary chest movement, one tricep movement, and one deltoid movement, with an emphasis on targeting the lateral or rear delts. This approach establishes a strong foundation while maintaining interest and minimizing time commitment. Intermediate lifters may incorporate two chest movements, two tricep movements, and two deltoid movements, while advanced lifters can consider adding an additional exercise to address specific weaknesses in their physique. Click The Link Below For A Free Push Day Plan
Pull Day
Pull days are scheduled for every Tuesday and Friday, or can be spaced three days apart according to individual preference and availability. On These days, beginners should focus on one primary trap movement, one lat movement, and one bicep movement. This approach establishes a strong foundation while maintaining interest and minimizing time commitment. Intermediate lifters may incorporate two trap movements, two lat movements, and two bicep movements, while advanced lifters can consider adding an additional exercise to address specific weaknesses or add a forearm exercise to the plan. Click The Link Below For A Free Pull Day Plan
Leg Day
Leg days are scheduled for every Wednesday and Saturday, or can be spaced three days apart according to individual preference and availability. On These days, beginners should focus on one primary Quad movement, one Hamstring movement, and one Glute movement. This approach establishes a strong foundation while maintaining interest and minimizing time commitment. Intermediate lifters may incorporate two Quad movements, two Hamstring movements, one calf movement, and one Glute movement, while advanced lifters can consider adding an additional exercise to address specific weaknesses or add an anterior tibialis exercise to the plan. Click The Link Below For A Free LEG Day Plan