BASIC TYPES OF MOVEMENT
Bodybuilders train their muscles in a variety of ways. And by understanding the basic types of movement they employ to build muscle and train their bodies, and understanding how those movements benefit the body, you’ll better understand how the workouts in this book work.
COMPOUND MOVEMENTS
Compound movements involve the engagement of multiple joints through the entire range of motion of an exercise. From an aesthetic viewpoint, compound movements help tie a physique together by training large muscle groups in unison. Most muscle-building training sessions should begin with compound movements, and more often than not you should opt for bigger compound movements over isolation movements to maximize the muscle-building effectiveness of your workouts. There are six basic lifts—squat, deadlift, bench, row, pull-up, and military press—and all are compound exercises, and each will be at the foundation of your workouts.
ISOLATION MOVEMENTS
Isolation exercises engage only one joint through the entire range of motion of an exercise. Biceps curls, triceps extensions, and leg extensions are all examples of isolation movements that will help sculpt or fine-tune only one muscle, or a small group of muscles. The “quad sweep,” a smaller group of muscles located within the larger quadriceps, is an example of a small group of muscles that can be fine-tuned through isolation exercises.
ECCENTRIC AND CONCENTRIC MOVEMENTS
You may have heard the term “negatives” as it relates to weight training, and you will see this term used throughout this book. The negative, or eccentric, portion of an exercise is where the muscle lengthens during a movement. Conversely, when the muscle contracts during a movement, it does so during the concentric portion of the rep. A good example is a biceps curl: as you pull the weight toward you, the muscle is working concentrically, as you lower the weight back down to the starting position, the biceps is working eccentrically.
NONTRADITIONAL CARDIO
Cardio is an important component of any muscle-building program, and nontraditional cardio techniques are the ideal way to add cardio to your training program—they’re fun, challenging, and much harder for the body to adjust to than steady-state cardio activities. Nontraditional cardio creates a greater calorie burn than steady-state cardio, which means that less of your time will be spent in the gym on the cardio portion of your workouts. And because it’s tougher for the body to adapt to training that changes frequently, there’s less chance of hitting a training plateau. Following are some common nontraditional cardio methods you can integrate into your workouts.
HIIT
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the toughest form of nontraditional cardio, but it generates the best adaptations and quickest results. HIIT can involve a variety of exercises, but at its foundation it requires all-out effort for short bursts of exercise for 7 to 30 seconds, with only enough recovery time in between sets to allow your heart rate to drop to 60% of max. Your heart rate should reach 90% of max when measured immediately after a sprint, and sets should range from 4 to 8, depending on the complexity of the workout.
TABATA CIRCUITS
In addition to traditional HIIT, you’ll find Tabata circuits in the workouts. A Tabata circuit is similar to a HIIT circuit, but is 4 minutes long and comprised of 8 rounds of all-out effort for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest between rounds.
TIMED WORKOUTS
Timed workouts can be a challenging way to simply focus on each exercise. You can create a timed workout by choosing a time cap and then selecting the exercises to perform in a series or complex during that time cap, with some additional time built in for recovery. For example, you may choose to do 15 total minutes of 30 seconds each of burpees, lunges, jump rope, and jumping jacks, with 1 to 2 minutes of rest between each set. Timed workouts can be planned in any working ratio, but most use 1:1, 2:1, or 3:1 work-to-rest ratios.
FINISHERS
Just as the name implies, finishers are 5 to 10 minutes of high-intensity work that are done after your weight training session is complete. Finishers can help build mental toughness, burn fat, and help you see results more quickly. Medicine ball slams, shuttle runs, body weight circuits, and stair runs are all great examples of finishers. Finishers are best done after upper body training days, or on lighter leg days when your legs aren’t completely fatigued from a vigorous training session. The work-to-rest ratio tends to be a bit higher for finishers: 3:1 or 4:1 works well, as the overall working time is lower compared to other forms of nontraditional cardio.
METABOLIC WORKOUTS
With metabolic workouts you choose a mix of high-intensity exercises and low-intensity exercises, and then combine them into timed circuits. The circuits can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, with recovery times in between sets ranging from 1 to 2 minutes. A sample metabolic workout might combine box jumps, burpees, lunges, and planks. Or, you could combine sprint accelerations with lower-intensity moves like lunges. The total workout should take about 20 minutes, and can be performed after weight training or as a standalone workout.
STEADY-STATE CARDIO
Steady-state cardio activities, such as running, swimming, and biking are great tools for stress relief and active recovery, and also can help a bodybuilder lean down during the last 3 to 4 weeks of contest prep. However, because the body can quickly adapt to steady-state cardio, it’s necessary to continuously increase the duration of the activity in order to continue to see benefits. It’s for this reason that nontraditional cardio techniques are more effective and force the body to adapt more frequently. Nontraditional cardio also can improve metabolic flexibility, or the ability to burn both fats and carbs for fuel. If you do plan to integrate steady-state cardio into your program, you should perform it separately from your weight training sessions and opt for a stationary bike or stair climber, instead of the treadmill. Both of these machines focus more on concentric movement and hip flexion, so you won’t get as sore, and you’ll also be moving in ways that are more similar to how you’ll be lifting.
HOW MUCH CARDIO IS ENOUGH?
When you’re trying to build muscle, moderation is the key with all cardio. As a general rule, performing 1 to 2 days of nontraditional cardio during a training week is sufficient, and steady-state cardio should be limited to no more than 20 to 30 minutes per workout, and to no more than 1 to 2 days per week. Performing too much cardio can make it much harder to gain muscle, and it also can slow down recovery. Even if your goal is to only maintain muscle, performing too much cardio may actually lead to a decrease in muscle mass. If you’re opting to include nontraditional or steady-state cardio in your plan, it’s best to wait a few weeks before integrating it into your program so your body can adapt to the training.