Weight Training - moving from strength to size
Discussion
I want to find out whether my thinking is correct when it comes to strength vs size type training.
Strength training I know concentrates on compound excercises using maximum weight with low reps, and long rest periods between workouts.
Ive been working on my strength for a while now, and would like to move towards a workout more geared towards gaining muscle size for the next 8 weeks. My understanding is that this is done by increasing the reps, decreasing the sets, and hitting more isolated muscle groups.
Is is this simple? and if so, what would a good structured workout look like?
I was thinking along the lines of doing 3 sets of 8 reps, possibly 10 reps for things like biceps, but would appreciate some input on what should put on size most effectively.
Strength training I know concentrates on compound excercises using maximum weight with low reps, and long rest periods between workouts.
Ive been working on my strength for a while now, and would like to move towards a workout more geared towards gaining muscle size for the next 8 weeks. My understanding is that this is done by increasing the reps, decreasing the sets, and hitting more isolated muscle groups.
Is is this simple? and if so, what would a good structured workout look like?
I was thinking along the lines of doing 3 sets of 8 reps, possibly 10 reps for things like biceps, but would appreciate some input on what should put on size most effectively.
Basically you're correct.
You still need all the compound stuff in there as they are critical for gaining size. Some people will recommend 4/5 day spilts where each muscle gets trained once a week. My preference is 3 day spilt, trained 4/5 times a week so each muscle group is getting hit every 4/5 days rather than every 7.
Reps wise your looking at 8-12, sets wise IMO depends on what other exercises you're doing, and the nature of the exercise. Bench press, or squats for example I would do 4 sets, bicep curls 2 or 3. You don't need to do too much isolative (is that a word?) work on arms for example as they will get hit hard with all the other work.
Make sure your diet is right, without a good diet no matter how hard you train you won't see the results that you're looking for.
A split I have used is (these workouts generally take about an hour and a half, less if you don't faff)...
Chest and arms
Bench Press x 4
Incline Press x 2/3
Flyes x 4
Dips x 4
Close grip x 4
Standing curls x 4 (relatively high number of sets for biceps, but as there is no back work to supplement it I'd keep them in)
Hammer curls x 2
Back and Shoulders
Bent over row x 4
Wide grip pull ups x 3
Close grip lat pulls downs x 3
Low row x 2/3
Reverse Flyes x 4
Shoulder press x 4
Upright row x 4
Lateral raise x 4
Legs and Core
Squats x 4
Lunges x 3
Deadlifts x 4
Leg extensions (optional) x 2/3
Dumbell leg curls x 2/3
Calf raise x 3 (higher reps)
Crunches x 3 (again, sets of 20 for all core/ab work)
Jackhammers x 3
roll outs x 3
russian twists x 3
They're fairly big workouts, the leg one in particular (which may take slightly longer than and hour and a half especially if you are pushing hard with the weights.) I would never do any more than this, but would advise a bit less for more of a beginner as I would give this to someone who is fairly advanced. Even if you advanced it might be a bit much (I tend to do bigger than most workouts) and cutting out a couple of the less important exercises would be fine, byt just swap them for others every few weeks to make sure all the angles are getting hit.
You still need all the compound stuff in there as they are critical for gaining size. Some people will recommend 4/5 day spilts where each muscle gets trained once a week. My preference is 3 day spilt, trained 4/5 times a week so each muscle group is getting hit every 4/5 days rather than every 7.
Reps wise your looking at 8-12, sets wise IMO depends on what other exercises you're doing, and the nature of the exercise. Bench press, or squats for example I would do 4 sets, bicep curls 2 or 3. You don't need to do too much isolative (is that a word?) work on arms for example as they will get hit hard with all the other work.
Make sure your diet is right, without a good diet no matter how hard you train you won't see the results that you're looking for.
A split I have used is (these workouts generally take about an hour and a half, less if you don't faff)...
Chest and arms
Bench Press x 4
Incline Press x 2/3
Flyes x 4
Dips x 4
Close grip x 4
Standing curls x 4 (relatively high number of sets for biceps, but as there is no back work to supplement it I'd keep them in)
Hammer curls x 2
Back and Shoulders
Bent over row x 4
Wide grip pull ups x 3
Close grip lat pulls downs x 3
Low row x 2/3
Reverse Flyes x 4
Shoulder press x 4
Upright row x 4
Lateral raise x 4
Legs and Core
Squats x 4
Lunges x 3
Deadlifts x 4
Leg extensions (optional) x 2/3
Dumbell leg curls x 2/3
Calf raise x 3 (higher reps)
Crunches x 3 (again, sets of 20 for all core/ab work)
Jackhammers x 3
roll outs x 3
russian twists x 3
They're fairly big workouts, the leg one in particular (which may take slightly longer than and hour and a half especially if you are pushing hard with the weights.) I would never do any more than this, but would advise a bit less for more of a beginner as I would give this to someone who is fairly advanced. Even if you advanced it might be a bit much (I tend to do bigger than most workouts) and cutting out a couple of the less important exercises would be fine, byt just swap them for others every few weeks to make sure all the angles are getting hit.
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