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Back to Page 1 ... How Bodybuilding
Training Works ...
Bodybuilders
have learned that you can create greater visual change in the body by a
different kind of training. Instead of one maximal lift, a bodybuilder
uses less weight and does more repetitions, and does each set to failure
- until the muscles are unable to do even one more repetition. Then he
rests briefly and continuous on to do more sets, perhaps as many as 15
to 20 sets of various exercises for any given body part.
How did
bodybuilders arrive at this knowledge of how much weight to lift, and
how many sets and reps to do? After all, the legendary Eugen Sandow, who
pioneered weight training in the nineteenth century, used to do hundreds
of reps! The basic answer is that bodybuilders discovered this training
system by trial and error. No expert in the early years of bodybuilding
told them to do this; they invented it on their own.
The proof
they were on the right track was the bodybuilding physique itself. Could
anyone look at the physiques of Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, Lou Ferrigno,
Arnold etc. and claim that they didn't know something pretty special
about building muscle? More recently, exercise physiology has confirmed
the bodybuilding method. As a general rule, the best way to get maximum
development of muscle volume is by lifting about 75% of your one-rep
maximum allows you to do - that's right - about 8 to 12 reps for the
upper body and 12 to 15 reps for the legs.
Of course,
stimulating muscle growth isn't enough. To grow, a muscle also needs to rest
and to absorb sufficient nutrients for it to recover and recuperate. We
will talk about your overall training program, how much to do in a
training session, how often to schedule training sessions, and what kind
of diet provides the raw materials your body needs to grow in response
to your workouts in 101 Bodybuilding.com .
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