Eight elements of a bodybuilding training program

★ Posted on 12-14,2024

The eight major elements refer to 1. Parts 2. Movements 3. Number of groups 4. Times 5. Weight 6. Group intervals 7. Speed ​​8. Frequency. Briefly described below.

 1. Part

Refers to the muscle parts to be trained in an exercise. For beginners, the concept of parts is relatively rough and general. Such as the chest muscles, back muscles, biceps, etc. as a whole. For professional athletes, the concept (meaning) of parts must be more detailed and precise. For example, the upper edge, lower edge, middle bundle, outer edge, inner edge, lower outer corner, lower inner corner, etc. of the pectoralis major muscle.

 2. Action

It’s about using several exercises when training a certain muscle group. For beginners, it is enough to do 1-2 exercises for each part at a time. For athletes, sometimes there can be as many as 6-8 training movements for a certain part.

 3. Number of groups

In bodybuilding training, the number of groups for each action ranges from 1 or 2 groups to 7 or 8 groups, or even more than a dozen groups. It depends on the training stage, purpose and level. Generally speaking, beginners should do 1-4 groups of each movement, and intermediate and advanced athletes and bodybuilding enthusiasts should do 4-6 groups/movement.

 4. Times

Refers to the number of repetitions that can be completed when a certain set of exercises is performed to failure. (Also called effective reps) Generally, 4 reps or less is a small number of reps, mainly used to improve strength. 5-15 reps are moderate reps and can be used to increase muscle size and circumference. More than 16 times is a high number of times, which is mostly used to improve muscle separation, fineness and fat loss.

5. Weight

It refers to the weight used during training (depending on the movement, it is usually different from the actual resistance load on the muscles). If the maximum weight (the weight that can be lifted with all one's strength) is used as a reference, more than 85% of the maximum weight is a heavy weight; 65%-80% is a medium weight; and a weight below 65% is a small weight. Training with medium and heavy weights can increase strength and muscle size. Training with medium or small weights can improve the definition, separation and fineness of muscles and reduce some fat

 6. Group interval

This is a factor that is less valued, but is very important. Refers to the rest time between the previous set and the following set of exercises. This time is actually an indefinite amount, not 30 seconds or 1 minute. In actual training, it should depend on your age, the size of the muscle groups being trained, and your physical condition at the time. It is usually based on heart rate. When the heart rate returns to 50-60% of the limit heart rate (220-my age), the next set of training can be started. (Of course, under normal physical conditions) Usually short intervals are about 20-40 seconds, medium intervals are about 1 minute, and longer intervals are 1 and a half minutes or more.

7. Speed

Refer to doPractice the speed of movements (including the whole process of rising and falling). Generally, the explosive speed of each action is less than 1 second, which is fast, the speed of about 1-2 seconds, which is medium, and the speed of more than 3 seconds, which is slow. Bodybuilding training generally uses even, slow and moderate speed. Various swing movements that use inertia during exercises, as well as free falling movements are wrong.

8. Frequency

Practice frequency refers to how many times a week you train. Depending on the level of training, the frequency of practice is different. Usually beginners can practice 3 times/week, intermediate level practitioners can practice 3-4 times a week, and high-level athletes can practice every day during the season, or even 2 times/day. However, for a certain muscle group, the training frequency should not be too frequent, and the higher the level, the fewer training times per week. Because experiments show that after a strenuous and large-volume exercise, the body function will be at a reduced level for 2-3 days, return to the original level in 3-5 days, and over-recovery will occur in 5-8 days! Therefore, many high-level elite athletes use Perform regular training by training each muscle group only once a week.

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