Bodybuilders are often creatures of habit just like anyone else. It is very easy to get into a pattern of using the same bodybuilding routines over and over again simply because you like them. But using the same workout routines over and over is not the best approach to making progress to achieve your bodybuilding goals. You don’t have to be with a bodybuilding trainer or in the process of learning the best way to achieve bodybuilding success very long before you learn that breaking up the types of exercises you do each day will move you along toward your goals much more quickly.
Depending on the training method and the approach to bodybuilding, most programs that produce real results for bodybuilders use a system called “the split” or sometimes periodization to use a wide variety of exercise over a series of days and weeks to avoid repetition. The idea is that you should put stress of different major muscle groups in rotation so at any given time, you are working out and resting various muscle groups at the same time.
We know that the process of muscle growth takes about 48 hours. During a good workout, the intensity of the exercises breaks down the existing muscle. There will be times even when you using a split approach to bodybuilding training when you will work the entire body from time to time. But those workouts will not be as intense on any one particular part of the body. The idea there is to balance the load to allow the muscles to work together well.
But most of the time you will shift from workout to workout so that you will be rotating your intensity. That means that you may have a workout that is focused on the legs and then the next exercise period the emphasis is on cardio and then the next on the upper body. In that way, the muscle groups that had the previous focus can rest and recover while the intensity moves to the next area of your body.
This method of organizing a working by splitting up the areas of emphasis is the approach used the most often by professional bodybuilders. It has been developed as a result of a large amount of research into how to build muscle mass quickly. By adhering to a split routine, you can move along much more quickly than any other bodybuilding training regimen.
The other advantage of splitting your bodybuilding training into focus areas each day is that you can keep your workouts shorter. For bodybuilding purposes, shorter workout periods of high intensity are preferable to being in the gym for hours on end doing low intensity workouts. Also, if the workouts are focused and intense, they keep your attention and you are less prone to become frustrated, bored or disillusioned with your progress. You will see steady improvement in your development, which will advance you toward your bodybuilding goals.
There is a lot of variety in the ways you can split your bodybuilding sessions to give each muscle group the attention it needs followed by adequate rest time to see the muscle development take place. Your trainer can help you design a program to try out and you can find dozens of split bodybuilding training programs online. You may need to use some trial and error to find the right split training program that fits your bodybuilding goals and that works for you. Just because a particular bodybuilding program worked for Arnold to make him a bodybuilding champion, that doesn’t make it right for you.
Be patient and find the ideal mixture of exercises that you can do safety and that give you steady results. Then give that training program 100% of your focus and effort. The outcome will be a leaner and more muscular body that you will be proud to show in bodybuilding competitions or just on the beach this summer to turn some heads.
Need more ideas? Here are some successful Body Building Techniques
The most successful body building techniques incorporate proven weight routines. A weight routine is a set of exercises, done in repetition, that develops specific parts of the body. For example, to build chest muscles, a body builder may use a weight routine that incorporates flat bench press (3 repetitions), bench dumbbell (2 repetitions) and inclined bench press (3 repetitions). The other important function a weight routine serves is to split a training program so different muscle groups are used.
Building Biceps
Dumbbells are a common piece of equipment used to build bigger biceps. The most popular technique to get the desired result is to hold the dumbbell closer to the inside of the plates. Routines for building biceps include dumbbell curls either inclined or standing, or both.
Building Chest Muscle
Good chest muscle building exercises are routines that incorporate bench presses and flyes. An even more effective way to build chest muscle is to split the chest into 3 zones – upper, middle and lower. By working each separately, using exercises that specifically target that area, you can build up some impressive chest muscle fairly quickly.
For instance, do your upper chest exercises on a 30-45% incline bench. Incline barbell and incline dumbbell flyes are excellent for working upper chest muscles. On the other hand, the lower chest muscles are best exercised using a 30-45% decline bench. You would use decline barbell and decline dumbbell flyes to build these muscles. A flat bench works best for the middle chest muscles. So you’d do flat barbell and flat dumbbell flyes on a flat bench.
Moving Onto Shoulder Training
The shoulders are made up of 3 main muscles – the lateral, anterior and posterior deltoids. Effective shoulder training to get big shoulders requires working all 3. The anterior deltoid usually gets some work in chest workouts. To build up the lateral and posterior deltoids requires additional exercises targeting these two muscles. Generally the best way to do this is with heavy barbell and dumbbell pressing in short reps as opposed to a lot of rep work with lighter weights. You should also focus on shoulder exercises that work effectively with progressive overload, a technique used to progressively add more weight to what is being lifted.
Matching Up The Back With Back Exercises
The back is one area many body builders overlook. But if you want your back to match up with those impressive chest, shoulder and bicep muscles, you will need to include back exercises in your bodybuilding routine.
Good workouts for the Lower Trapezius or lower back muscles include stiff-legged good mornings and hyper-extensions. For the middle back muscles or Rhomboids, you can do a seated cable row and bent-over barbell rows. Your Latissimus Dorsi will benefit from wide-grip lat pull-downs and pull-ups. And last but not least, try upright rows and barbell shrugs for your Trapezius.
But before starting any body-building workout, be sure to warm up properly. This will reduce the risk of damaging muscles and tendons. Stretch the muscles you’re going to be working. Also avoid lifting more weight than your body can capably handle to avoid serious injury.