BEFORE YOU START… Read This!
Training Tips
- Consistency is the most important factor in establishing and maintaining fitness. 2 to 3 non-consecutive workouts per week are recommended. Note: Two training sessions per week produce about 90% of the muscle and strength gains achieved in 3 weekly workouts.
- When Strength training, movements should be slow and controlled. At the “top” of a move – when joint alignment allows for optimal muscle contraction – hold briefly (about 1 second). Then release the contraction without losing tension on the muscle until the entire set is done.
- Master you form and technique before increasing weight, resistance or intensity. Proper technique will increase the effectiveness of the exercise and reduce the risk of injury.
- Increase resistance or weight load by 1 to 3 kg’s when 12 reps can be performed without fatigue.
Basic Guidelines
- Frequency 2 to 3 days per week
- Duration Start out slowly. Aim to work up to about 60 minutes and include a few minutes for warm-up, cool-down and stretching
- Recovery One minute between sets. 48 – 72 hours between sessions on the same muscle groups.
- Sequence Start working larger muscles first, followed by the smaller ones (e.g. legs, chest/back and then biceps/triceps etc)
- Sessions can include 8 to 10 seperate exercises and 8 to 12 repetitions to fatigue per exercise. A minimum of 2 resistance sessions per week are recommended and you can workout up to 5 days per week but is recommended to vary between resistance and cardiovascular exercise to minimise risk of injury. Research shows no significant gains in muscular strength or endurance by increasing the frequency of resistance training sessions of the same muscle groups per week.
- For muscle endurance use a low to moderate resistance with higher repetitions. 1 to 2 sets of 15 – 20 repetitions to fatigue.
- For strength training increase resistance and do fewer reps with multiple sets. 3 sets of 6 – 8 repetitions with a more than moderate weight load. Note: Muscles get stronger when you demand them to work harder than what they are used to doing. Choose a weight that fatigues the muscle you are working and aim to increase weight (not reps) gradually.
- Finding the right weight or resistance will take some experimentation. Start with a light weight or low resistance and if at the end of 12 reps you feel that you can still perform more reps, choose a heavier weight or increase the resistance.