Where do we start? (Part 2) - Training Program Fundamentals

We wrapped up our last post with: "you can't out-train bad nutrition." But, as critical as nutrition is, a well-formed training program is necessary to complete the circle. Or - rather - the triangle.

Nutrition, Training, and Rest - the fitness triad

Let's deal with "rest" right up front. Your training program, supported by your nutrition plan are going to be driving your body to adapt. You can only capitalize on those adaptations if you are getting sufficient amounts of quality sleep. Since six hours is the norm for many of us, this may seem a little daunting. Commit to getting a solid eight hours (or more if you can swing it) every night. That's what DVRs are for, right?

For Michelle and I, sleeping has always been an issue. We would collapse more out of mental exhaustion than anything else, and usually lie awake thinking about all the other things that needed to be taken care of. But, since we started training, we sleep like the dead. It's a different kind of tired than you may be used to, but a good one.

We have adopted the term "training" rather than "go to the gym" or "exercise." As you read more articles and forums, you'll see that's pretty common. Training implies a goal - a purpose. You've got a purpose: to get stronger, healthier, have more energy, enjoy life.

Training Principles

There are lots of good books you can buy or programs you can join online and almost infinite variations on them. If I was going to point you to one, I'd probably recommend "New Rules of Lifting", but we're going to cover some of the basics here.

Note: we will assume that you have no experience in the gym and just cover everything from scratch. Also, if you're not interested in or able to join a gym, fear not! You can do all of this at home with minimal equipment or use a body weight regime, such as "You Are Your Own Gym". The same principles apply.

Key Terms:

• Repetition (rep): One complete cycle of an exercise. (Pickin' it up and puttin' it down).


• Set: one full count of reps. Most routines involve "x" sets of "y" reps, so you go back to that same exercise "x" number of times. You'll see this expressed as 5x5 or 3x10 (five sets of five reps and three sets of ten reps, respectively).


• Super Set: combining multiple sets of exercises targeting different groups one after the other, before returning to the next set of the original exercise. The workout below allows you to pair exercises into super sets for a more time-efficient workout while still resting the muscle between sets.

Scheduling/Duration: Arrange your training sessions to fit into 5-6 days a week, one hour per day. More than that and you're going to be interfering with your recovery. There's good evidence that you get diminishing returns pretty quick beyond this point anyway. If you work out for an hour and feel like you should be going longer, that just means you get to up the intensity next time. Mixed blessing, I know.

Arrangement of your routine: Each routine should have a specific purpose that is planned out in advance. For strength days, you should focus on two muscle groups, preferably in opposition to each other, like biceps/triceps, chest/back, for example. This allows you to alternate exercises and rest one muscle group while working another. Each muscle group should get no more than three exercises per day. You only have to work out a particular muscle group once every 5-7 days to see gains. For cardio days, consider doing an ab routine before hitting your cardio routine.

Choosing your weight: You want to select a weight that's heavy for you. By heavy, I mean that, somewhere around rep 8 or 9, it really starts to suck. That's the right level. When you can get to ten without it sucking, it's time to increase weight. This way you continue to build on the adaptation you've created. Your workout never really gets any easier, but it is incredibly satisfying to see the numbers steadily go up.

In the guidelines I've outlined below, I've chosen dumbbell exercises, rather than barbell. There are a couple of reasons for this, but one of them is that you could easily stock your garage or rec room with the kind of weights you'd need.

Here are a couple of examples based on this guidance. All exercises can be found, complete with animated demos, on ExRx.net:

• 5 Day Schedule: (3 Strength/2 Cardio) All exercises are three sets of 8-10 reps.




• Monday: (Strength) Goblet Squats, Lunges, Step-ups


• Tuesday: (Cardio) Crunches, Russian Twists, Leg Raises, then cardio per your preference. (Read "Why I abandoned jogging for HIIT" for my personal preference here.)


• Wednesday: (Strength) Dumbbell bench press, seated rows, dumbbell flys, reverse flys, push-ups, let-me-ups


• Thursday: (Cardio) - same as Tuesday


• Friday: (Strength) side shoulder raises, dumbbell curls, front shoulder raises, pull-ups, dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell curls.




• 6 Day Schedule (3 Strength/3 Cardio) Same as above, except add another cardio day on Saturday.


• 6 Day Schedule (4 Strength/2 Cardio)




• Monday: (Cardio) Crunches, Russian Twists, Leg Raises, then cardio per your preference.


• Tuesday: (Strength) Goblet Squats, Lunges, Step-ups


• Wednesday: (Strength) Dumbbell bench press, seated rows, dumbbell flys, reverse flys, push-ups, let-me-ups


• Thursday: (Cardio) - same as Monday


• Friday: (Strength) side shoulder raises, dumbbell curls, front shoulder raises, pull-ups, dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell curls.


• Saturday: (Strength) barbell deadlift, shrugs, leg press, dumbbell bent rows

Why this works: Each of these routines rotates muscle groups with adequate recovery time and provides a variety of exercises to work the muscles in subtly different ways. Using dumbbells as the foundation allows anyone to begin training at virtually any weight load. Just as importantly, working with dumbbells helps develop smaller supporting muscles through the control of the weights independently. This last point is often overlooked in someone starting weight training later in life with a decade or two of relatively sedentary living behind them.

Follow your routine for at least a month before considering switching. Remember, you're building specific adaptations (getting stronger) in response to specific exercises, so you need to repeat the routine enough to reinforce the adaptation before changing things up.

Keep a log. Write down your weights and reps for each day you train. It can be as simple as a spiral notebook. This lets you go back and review your progress - what worked and what didn't. Keep notes to yourself about how you felt during a particular routine as well. It will give you clues later.

If you feel you are in better shape or have some (not too distant) experience in the weight room, and you feel like you'd like to try something more challenging, then consider the "Starting Strength" program. It's very tried and true and simple to follow, but it will require access to a full set of Olympic weight equipment.

On soreness

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is something I think we are all familiar with. After a day of overdoing it, you wake up the next morning walking like Rip Van Winkle. It can be really discouraging at first. To deal with DOMS you need to do four things:

1. Have Motrin (or your preferred alternative) ready


2. Drink LOTS of water


3. Treat especially sore spots with ice packs, not heat.


4. Keep moving! The fastest way to defeat DOMS is to keep those muscles busy to break up the lactic acid buildup.

That's it for today's post. Keep those cards and letters coming. And stay tuned for upcoming posts on motivation, women and weightlifting myths, book reviews and more.