Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Gordon Chandler


A Plateau Should Be a Geographical Land Mark…Not A Limiting Factor In Your Weight Training

“Plateau” is not the way you want to think of your weight training program.  Especially when the internet defines plateau as “a period during training when there is no apparent improvement in performance even though practice continues”.  This is sometimes referred to as the “plateau of despond” and when you pump arm-curls out day after day with no visible gains then you know exactly why it is so named!  We all know the reason muscles grow is that they are asked to perform tasks that are outside their current level of capability.  When these muscles become too accustomed to the kind of work asked of them they become stale and a plateau is reached.    Until you discover the reason for the staleness and correct it you remain at this stand-still and further growth will elude you.

If your training program has remained the same for too long you invite a plateau into your life.  Perform the same exercises with exactly the same number of repetitions lifting the identical weight day after day and you are inviting a plateau into your life.  The muscles you work with these exercises become accustomed to the work and deny growth.  As long as you deny change your body finds that increased growth is not necessary to complete the tasks.

Change your workout routines.  Plateaus generally are reached when the workout intensity no longer challenges the body.  Solution: increase the intensity of what you are doing.  If you are not experiencing desired growth then increase the amount of work you are asking your body to do.  Rather than four or five repetition sets of ten bicep curls increase this amount to eight or nine reps (or the other choice would be to increase the number of curls in a set).  You muscles will respond to the change and growth should resume.  However, do not make the mistake of decreasing your workout demands.  Your muscles have already slacked off so why give them reason to slack off more?

Perhaps you are at this plateau because you are bored?  This might be a hint to explore a bit of cross-training in your routine.  If you enjoy bicycling then incorporate a “power-ride” into your weekly workouts for a change.  Or perhaps swimming is one of your loves.  It will not hurt one bit to take a swim or two each week as part of your daily workouts.  Cross-training should keep your programs interesting and as well may help reduce your body fat or increase the oxygenation abilities of your pulmonary system. 

The one thing you do not want is to let this weight training plateau become a pitfall to your future health.  Your body has adjusted to your demands and is looking for something different.  Vary your work out method, vary the type of food you eat or the amount of sleep per night.  Change something; change the type of included exercises, include different types of workout machinery you use or alter your schedule to a different hour of the day.  Whatever you do this is not the time to quit.  Discover other methods of challenging your body and your rewards will be two-fold. First you will work yourself off this plateau and resume the muscle mass growth you are after.  And secondly you will allow yourself additional knowledge in the area of bodybuilding and weight training.

Guest Author: Jerry Ryan, Ph.D.


Weight training can be a fun and energizing way to maintain strength, lose weight, and keep a healthy, good-looking body. Listed below are a few tips on setting up a great muscle-building, fat-burning workout.

The 640+ muscles of the body are divided into upper body muscles and lower body muscles. The upper body has a greater number of muscles but they are smaller than those of the lower body. The largest muscles are contained in the lower body and subsequently, there are fewer of them.

To work each group properly for maximum results, we need to work them a little differently. Let me explain. An “exercise” is a series of movements that either pushes or pulls a weight through a range of motion. A “repetition” is one complete movement through that particular exercise. A “set” is a grouping of repetitions. So, each exercise is done in repetitions which are part of a set. You can work each of the muscle groups one at a time, doing one set per group, and rest for 30-60 seconds before repeating the routine. This series is called a “circuit.”

While all sets of exercise will be done in repetitions, the amount of repetitions and sets can change. For best results, each body part should be exercised 2-3 times a week but NEVER on consecutive days. The muscles require at least 24-48 hours of recovery time for optimal performance.

Upper body muscles need to be trained at 8-15 repetitions per set for a total of 2-3 sets. Lower body muscles are trained at 8-15 repetitions per set for a total of 3-4 sets. Circuits can be repeated 3-4 times. The lower body muscles are worked harder because they are larger and can adapt to a higher load more rapidly than the upper body muscles.

To set a good training weight load, men should do 75% of the absolute maximum that they can handle for 1-3 repetitions in each exercise. Women should only use a weight that is approximately 60% of her maximum.

It’s really hard to overtrain your abdominal muscles since you use them all day in twisting, turning, and other torso movements. So, your abdominal muscles can be worked 4-7 times per week. Studies have shown that using a variety of crunching exercises is the best workout for the abdominal muscles. Do the 10 Crunch Variations listed and you’ll have rock-hard abdominals. Do 1-2 sets of 10 repetitions for each of the 10 crunches and you’ll hit every abdominal muscle. Remember to focus on proper form and the intensity of the exercise instead of the number of repetitions or sets. You will definitely feel a “burn” in the abdominal muscles on each set. Keeping your arms crossed on your chest with your hands on the opposite shoulder, you should lift only your head and shoulders up off the floor. This technique will not cause the typical pain in your neck or back.

Stretching is extremely important, both before and after a workout. It avoids injury and helps release toxins caused by the stress of working out. So make sure that you stretch to keep from aching after a workout and you’ll increase the likelihood that you’ll be back for more.

Below is a list of the most common exercises used to tone and strengthen each muscle group. Start out slowly using 1-2 exercises each for the various muscles. As you progress, add more exercises for variety and challenge.

EXERCISES FOR THE UPPER BODY

Chest/Shoulders: Front deltoid raise, lateral deltoid raise, Bent rear deltoid raise, Dumbbell shrug, Upright row, Bench press, Flyes, Inclined press, Dumbbell pullover, Parallel dip, Cable crossover

Back: Chin-up, Lat Pull-down, Bent barbell row, Bent one-arm dumbbell rows, Seated cable row

Arms: Biceps curl, Preacher curl, Machine curl, Cable curl, Triceps dip, Triceps pressdown, French curl

EXERCISES FOR THE LOWER BODY

Legs/Buttocks: Squats, Lunges, Leg press, Leg extensions, Leg lifts, Leg curls, Calf raises

Abdominals: Abdominal crunches in all 10 variations, Abdominal flexor machine, Leg lifts, Leg scissors

10 CRUNCH VARIATIONS

1. Knees bent, feet flat on floor

2. Knees bent and out to sides in a frog-leg position, soles of feet flat together

3. Legs at 90o to body, knees bent, calves parallel to floor

4. Legs at 90o to body, knees bent and out to sides in a frog-leg position, soles of feet flat together

5. Legs at 90o to body, toes pointing to ceiling

6. Legs at 90o to body, toes pointing to ceiling with legs spread wide

7. Left leg straight and held 3” off ground, right leg bent to chest

8. Right leg straight and held 3” off ground, left leg bent to chest

9. Turn on left side, do side crunches

10. Turn on right side, do side crunches

This article is just a small portion of an eight week online class that I teach called ‘The Answer’s Right Under Your Nose.’ You can find out more under the Personal Coaching section of my website – www.jerryryanphd.com.



Secret of Youth