this way, you achieve the best result. You start with a relatively light weight, which gives the muscles the opportunity to fully warm up for this exercise. Then you move on to fewer reps with more weight, which causes blood to rush to the muscles and gives you a pumping effect. И, наконец, вы максимально увеличиваете вес и тренируетесь для развития мускульной силы с меньшим количеством repetitions.

SERIES

In Core Training Program #1, I generally recommend doing four sets of each bodybuilding exercise, unless otherwise noted. I consider this system to be the best for several reasons:

1. You need to complete at least 4 sets in order for the training volume to fully stimulate all available muscle fibers. If you perform more series per exercise, then the volume of training will be too large. and there is a danger of overtraining.

2. Performing 4 sets per exercise for a total of 12 sets per body part (for large muscle groups) in the main training program and 20 series in the intensive training program allows you to do enough variety of exercises to develop all the muscles of this body part - for example, external muscles of the upper and lower back, the outer edge of the latissimus dorsi and internal muscles of the back.

3. Fifty years of bodybuilding experience proves that the maximum weight that allows you to perform 4 series at the limit of strength is the best way to stimulate muscles and make them grow.

Small muscles require a different amount of training compared to large muscles or muscle groups. For example, if I work out the back, this does not mean that only one muscle is involved in the training. There are many different muscles in the back, such as the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, and spinal extensor muscles. Each of these areas requires specific training. The same applies to the thigh muscles. The thigh consists of four powerful processes of the quadriceps muscle and the adductor muscles of the inner thigh. To fully develop this part of the body, you need both power and isolation movements. You have to develop individual elements of the quadriceps from different angles, and this cannot be achieved with just a few series.

On the other hand, when you are training smaller muscles such as biceps and triceps, you need to perform fewer movements, since these muscles are not so complex. You can do a full biceps workout with 8 to 12 sets, while most bodybuilders do 16 to 20 sets of hamstrings. The posterior deltoid is even smaller, and 4-5 series are usually enough for it.

However, muscle physiology also plays a role. The biceps recover faster than other muscles, so if you train them for a lot of series (I always did), they still retain the ability to quickly restore strength. And the relatively small calf muscles were naturally designed for virtually endless repetitions when you walk or run, so you can achieve superior results by exposing them to increased load.

But don't bother remembering exactly how much work each muscle should receive from the very beginning. We will talk about this in later chapters, in the section on recommendations for exercise programs.

FULL RANGE OF MOTION

In most cases, when doing bodybuilding exercises, you should go through the fullest range of motion (there are some exceptions, which we will talk about later). It is necessary to ensure that the muscles are extended to their full length, and then make a return movement and contract completely. This is the only way to stimulate the entire set of muscle fibers. So when I ask you to do eight, ten, or more reps, in each case, I ask you to complete a full cycle of the movement.

QUALITY OF ABRUMNS

Bodybuilding is about training and developing muscles, not about lifting weights. You use weights and certain methods to develop individual muscles or muscle groups. Weight lifting is just a means to an end. To effectively develop individual muscle groups, you must isolate them from others. Remember how often you've been told to lift weights with your legs, not your back muscles. This technique specifically engages as many muscles as possible to protect you from injury. It has a deep meaning if you are a loader or work at a construction site. But the bodybuilder sets himself other tasks. He chooses not the easiest way to climb, but rather the most difficult! He wants certain muscles to do all the work with little or no help from other muscle groups.

Good technique and the right weight allow you to solve this problem. If you work with a weight that is too heavy for a given muscle, the body automatically recruits other muscles. This is how your nervous system works. So just because you can lift weights doesn't mean you're doing the exercise correctly. You should choose a weight that only works the muscle you want to work.

How to do it? One way is to start with a very light weight and focus on the sensations that the muscles experience when moving. Gradually increase the weight. If you get to the point where you no longer feel like your muscles are working in exactly the same way as when you exercised with a lighter weight, then rather all you have to do is shed a few pounds until the right “feeling” is restored.

WARM-UP

Often when people talk about warming up, they don't understand what it is. We know that during a warm-up, muscles warm up, but why does this happen? The process of oxidation in muscles is actually a type of combustion. Therefore, when you subject the muscle to intense stress, the temperature of this area increases, and the ability of the muscle to contract powerfully also increases.

Warming up increases the flow of fresh, oxygenated blood, raises blood pressure and speeds up the heart rate. Thus, the maximum supply of oxygen is created in the body, which allows you to eliminate the by-products of exercise from working muscles.

And finally, proper warm-up helps protect the body from excessive stress, prepares it for the demands of intense training, and reduces the risk of sprains and sprains.

There are many ways to warm up. Some do a short session of cardiovascular exercise ("treadmill", stationary bike, jog, etc.) enough to get the heart beating faster and warm up the muscles without depriving them of the energy they need. Gymnastics and other light exercises also allow you to warm up without putting a lot of stress on different parts of the body. But the most popular way to warm up is still the shells themselves (barbells and dumbbells). First you need to perform a series of stretches, and then do several relatively light movements with a barbell or dumbbells, kneading each part of the body in turn, until the body is ready for something more serious.

Then, before starting each exercise, you conduct a warm-up series so that a particular muscle or muscle group has time to get used to this movement. Когда вы проделываете 1–2 серии с большим числом повторений и меньшим весом, ваши мышцы подготавливаются к мощным усилиям при работе с тяжелым весом в сериях из 6 repetitions.

Warming up becomes even more important before intense training sessions, as you are about to put even more stress on your body. In this sense, there is nothing better than a series of relatively easy exercises until your body switches to a higher "gear".

Time day is also a factor in determining the duration of the warm-up. If you train at eight in the morning, then your body is likely to be more constrained and more in need of stretching and warming up than at eight in the evening. So schedule your schedule accordingly.

Make sure you have warmed up properly each time. For example, if you are going to perform bench presses while standing, then you will involve not only the deltoids and triceps. The muscles of the neck and trapezius muscles will also contract intensely during the movement, and they need to be given time to prepare.

There are two main causes of injury in the gym; either the bodybuilder suffers from technical problems (he tries to work with too much weight or has poor weight control), or he did not perform the stretching and warm-up properly.

It should also be said about the influence of age on the body and athletic abilities. It is widely known that the older you get, the more important it is to protect the body before strength training with warm-ups and stretches. Young athletes can get away with something that will be detrimental to their older comrades. However, knowing the correct technique for warm-up and stretching exercises is important for all athletes, regardless of age. The sooner you make all this a habit, the less problems you will have to experience in the long run.

STRENGTH BUILDING

There are different ways to evaluate strength. If I can lift 300 pounds and you can only lift 250 pounds, then I'm stronger than you at a single max effort. However, if you can lift 250 pounds 10 times and I can only lift the same weight 8 times, then that is a different kind of strength; you surpass me in muscular endurance, in the ability to maintain strength after a series of movements.

For развития и формирования мускулатуры необходимо выполнять значительный объем тренировки на выносливость — то есть соответствующее количество серий и repetitions. But I believe that if you do not include heavy strength exercises with low reps in your training program, you will not be able to achieve the hardness and density that is necessary to create a truly first-class physique.

During the time of