So you know that you want to do some weight training. What should you do though?
First off, you want to figure out what your goal is. It could be that you want to get stronger, it could be that you want to put on muscle, or it could be both.
Reps (repetitions): doing the specified movement one time. If you’re doing squats, doing one squat means you did one rep.
Sets: the clusters of specified amount of reps. If you do fifteen squats, rest for a minute, and then do another fifteen, you have done two sets of fifteen reps.
Strength Building
If you want to get strong, focus on doing fewer reps with more weight and focus more on lifts that work a lot of muscles, mainly compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, bench press, military press. Try to do one of those lifts per workout and make that the focus of your training. For example, my bench press workout when I am focusing on strength is:
- Barbell Bench Press
- 10 reps of 135lbs (warmup set, doesn’t count towards 5 sets)
- 10 reps of 225lbs
- 6 reps with 275lbs
- 5 reps of 295lbs
- 3-4 reps of 315lbs
- 3-4 reps of 315lbs
- Barbell Bent-Over Rows
- 12 reps of 100lbs
- 10 reps of 120lbs
- 10 reps of 120lbs
- 8 reps of 130lbs
- 8 reps of 130lbs
- Upright Rows
- 10 reps of 135lbs
- 10 reps of 135lbs
- 10 reps of 155lbs
- 8 reps of 175lbs
- 8 reps of 175lbs
- Dumbbell Lunges
- 12 reps of 60lbs
- 10 reps of 80lbs
- 8 reps of 100lbs
- 8 reps of 100lbs
- 8 reps of 100lbs
- Kettlebell Swings
- 15 reps of 75lbs
- 15 reps of 100lbs
- 15 reps of 125lbs
- 10 reps of 150lbs
- 10 reps of 175lbs
The exercises that I do to build strength focus mainly on working a ton of different muscles at once. My goal here isn’t to target one specific muscle, but to get my whole body to work as one cohesive unit so that I can get the most bang for my buck. With strength, you’re only as strong as your weakest link, so if you have any muscles that are lacking, lifts that engage a lot of muscles will do a good job of exposing those weaknesses and fixing them.
Adding Size
If you want to put on muscle. you’re going to want to use less weight and do more reps. The compound lifts are important, but you’ll also want to do a lot of accessory lifts that are more specialized and work fewer muscles, such as bicep curls, lateral raises, or calf raises. When I’m trying to add muscle, my workouts look something like this:
- Barbell Bench Press
- 10 reps of 135lbs (warmup set, doesn’t count towards 5 sets)
- 10 reps of 225lbs
- 10 reps with 265lbs
- 10 reps with 275lbs
- 10 reps with 275lbs
- As many reps as possible with 155lbs
- Cable Pulldowns
- 15 reps of 100lbs
- 15 reps of 120lbs
- 15 reps of 120lbs
- 15 reps of 130lbs
- 15 reps of 130lbs
- Lateral Raises
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- Leg Extensions
- 25 reps of 110lbs
- 25 reps of 120lbs
- 25 reps of 130lbs
- 25 reps of 140lbs
- 25 reps of 150lbs
- Bicep Curls
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
- 25 reps of 30lbs
As you can see, these lifts involve a lot more reps, and fairly low weight. You’re definitely going to feel the last few reps and probably will be sucking a little bit of wind, but for growing your muscles, it’s all about volume; you want to do a lot of reps, and hit those muscles often.
Chances are, you’re probably looking to build both strength and size. If that’s the case, you want to incorporate both of these approaches into your training. I find that I have the most success with alternating each of them from week to week, but you can also break them up so that you’re doing a little bit of each one during your workouts. You might do a few higher-rep sets of bench press and a few lower rep ones, and mix in both barbell rows and lateral raises. Ultimately, the most successful plan is the one that you stick to, so don’t be afraid to try out both and see which one you prefer.
Seaotter Fitness 