Step 1: What’s the Objective?
Any training you embark on, no matter what your level of experience, needs to have a way of measuring progress. It sounds cliché but setting short, medium and long-term goals is actually a really good idea. I started doing it recently and managed to really piss myself off because it made me realise just how much time and effort I had wasted by not having structure previously. Not only that, but as a PT trying to encourage other people to do it whilst not bothering to do it myself – well, that’s just double standards, and I don’t like double standards. That’s behind me now though, I have done some self-reflection, sorted out my goals, and got some size as a result.
Below are some guidelines that outline the very basics of 3 different training goals. Although they’re very generic and about 20 years old, they’re probably not a bad starting point if you are new to fitness. If you are just getting into training, I would spend 3-4 weeks running an endurance training cycle using big compound moves (exercises that utilise more than one joint, e.g. squats, bench press, deadlifts), to get some base strength and stability. After that, progress to a hypertrophy cycle, and so on. Seems to make sense to me…
Training Goals
If your goal is to build strength: train at a high intensity, with a load that is 85% or above of your 1 rep maximum. Aim for 1-5 reps per set, 2-6 sets per exercise, with 3-5 minutes rest in between. Train each muscle group 1-2 times per week.
If your goal is muscle hypertrophy: train at a moderate intensity, with a load that is 67-85% of your 1 rep maximum. Aim for 6-12 reps per set, 3-6 sets per exercise, with 1-2 minutes rest in between. Train each muscle group 1-3 times per week.
If your goal is to build endurance: train at a low intensity, with a load that is 67% or below of your 1 rep maximum. Aim for 12 or more reps per set, 1-2 sets per exercise, with 30-60 seconds rest in between. Train each muscle group 2-3 times per week.
Take the above guidelines with a pinch of salt and remember there isn’t really a ‘magic number’ when it comes to training. Whatever your goal, the best way of approaching it is to be sensible – don’t be that dickhead ego lifting with horrific form. If you cannot finish a rep with good form, then your set is done. Even if you’re not ego lifting, this rule still comes into play. The real hard work is reflected in the form (control) of the lift, not the amount of weight moved.
Step 2: Execution
Get your shit together before you start. Don’t just go to the gym and hope for the best. Always ask yourself questions. The minute you stop asking questions is the minute you will stop learning. A few of my ‘go-to’ questions are:
What’s my end goal?
What’s my time frame?
Can I maintain the training style, or will it fuck me up within 3 weeks? (I’m not getting any younger)
Is there enough stimulation and recovery per muscle group?
When will I modify the programme?
Get these questions answered before you get started and always make sure you have your ‘next step’ in place at least 2 weeks before you intend on actually taking it.
Step 3: Pushing Through the Plateau
Biiiiiig thing, a plateau. It has the potential to put you off training altogether. As a newbie, you’re likely to make your gainz quite quickly because you’ve gone from doing fuck all, to shifting a bit of weight, so progress is inevitable. However, once your ‘training age’ (lifters way of saying ‘experience’) increases, your progress may start to plateau, and you might start to think ‘what’s the point in continuing this?’. Don’t feel bad – we’ve all been there. The point is your body has adapted to your current style of training and you need to change your stimulus. There are a number of ways that you can do this. Think about:
Number of exercises: add an extra exercise to your programme
Number of sets: you don’t always need to put the weight up, you can add an extra set and utilise extra volume
Target rep range: up the weight and lower the reps, or lower the weight and up the reps
Recovery period between sets: use the same weight but take a shorter rest period to make the set more taxing
Workout frequency: add an extra training/recovery day
Movement speed: make the movement slower. Time under tension (TUT) can absolutely destroy a muscle using very little weight
Split routines: change the way you break up your training days. E.g. going from a full body workout to a push/pull/legs split
Any single one (or more) of these variables can be altered to make the stress on the muscle more taxing. So when you hit that plateau (and it will happen), step outside of your comfort zone, make a few changes, and stay focused. Progression will follow.
Step 4: Progression
Ok, so this is where that ‘long-term training plan’ I was talking about earlier comes in handy. You obviously know where you started, and you know where you want to go, but the path will be most likely be littered with self-doubt and negative barriers. So track your progress and then every time you feel you’ve had a setback or you get frustrated, you have a ‘training history’ to refer back to. This might help you realise that although you’re not quite where you want to be just yet, you’re definitely not where you were before.
Training Levels… Simplified
Strength: put the weight up and the reps down and get some strength gainz for heavier lifts
Hypertrophy: grow those muscles and get swole
Endurance: work on extending the endurance of those newly activated muscles
Stabilisation/base strength: getting used to the movements and the muscles that are required
My Take On It
As an absolute beginner, I would run a cycle of all 4 training levels (beginning with stabilisation and base strength) over a course of about 3 months. Once you have done that, you might just want to pick 1 or 2 areas to specialise in. I personally run a strength cycle followed by a hypertrophy cycle on repeat, but I’m having a mid-life crisis and chasing a pipe dream of looking like The Rock… you need to make your own choices. If you are just looking for muscular fitness, you might run endurance with hypertrophy, get yourself nice and lean and have some definition. You can do whatever you like, and don’t let some bell end off Instagram tell you otherwise.
Whatever you do, you just need to make sure you enjoy it. If you get bored easily, think about switching up some exercises. If you like the routine of the same workout, then just alter the variables we discussed before. More weight, less reps, same weight, more sets. Whatever it takes, just stay focused, stay consistent and remember – no half measures.
Stay swole,
GetRed.
