Stick to the Basics

Last post I blasted body-part training and talked about the superiority of hitting the big, compound exercises regularly. Today, I'm going to talk about the specific exercises you should be doing multiple times per week.

If you just started training, congratulations, you're likely in for the biggest and best gains you will ever make in your life, especially if your 16-22 years old. A lot of these gains will be due to your neuromuscular system getting more efficient at doing the exercises. Also, the amount of testosterone that males are producing are at a high point for your life, so take advantage of it! Females, no reason to worry, your test levels do not increase at all during this time.

Even if your an intermediate level lifter, you can see great progress by sticking to the big exercises. If you lift three days a week, you should be doing full-body routines. If you lift four days, split body is the way to go, but there can be a little carryover, like doing the Olympic lifts on an upper body day (if you have not learned these from a good coach, check out Dan John here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l9mlcbmrAE&feature=related).

So, the exercises you need to focus all your attention to should be: squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, pull up, row and any Olympic lift.

These exercises are not only great for building strength and muscle, they are also recommended for increasing bone mass, tendon and ligament strength and can be used in an endurance routine. So no matter what your goal, these exercises should be used as the foundation of any resistance training program.

But right now, I'm talking strength. Do these exercises until you can squat 1.5x your bodyweight and you will not be disappointed in your results. It's likely that you will want to keep going. That's right, no overhead, single arm, reverse, cable tricep extensions. You'll thank me later.

It is recommended to perform multiple sets in the 4-6 rep range.

If you're an athlete, I know I am leaving out a very big part of traditional training: single-leg exercises. Well I have found a way to get around training the traditional way for one-leg strength and power that can be trained on the same day or off-days and doesn't leave you unable to get out of the seated position for 3 days like doing sets of heavy lunges.

For more details about what my current programming looks like or how to implement the big lifts to reach your goals, leave a comment here or on the NHaFC Facebook page, email me at bobby.fisk@yahoo.com, or come by NHaFC to get a first hand look.