Friday, January 4, 2013
Getting Acquainted with Sets
Beginners should start with one set for each of the major muscle groups
listed under “Previewing Weight Routine Essentials: Working all of your major
muscle groups.” That’s roughly 11 sets per workout. The ACSM recommends
one-set training because most of your gains occur from that first set. You’ll, of
course, gain more strength and faster results with more sets, but your program
takes more time. After a month or two, you may want to increase the
number of sets. But then again, you may not. If your goal is to gain moderate
amounts of strength and maintain your health, one set may be as much as
you ever need to do.
If you want to continue to increase your strength over time, studies show
that trained individuals require multiple-set training of at least three or more.
A trained person is someone who’s been lifting consistently for at least three
months. In addition to increasing the number of sets, you should also vary
your training volume and intensity over time with periodized training as
explained later in this chapter. Increases in training should be gradual to
avoid injury from overtraining.
However, if your goal is to become as strong as you can or reshape an area
of your body, you need to perform more than three sets per muscle group.
Some serious weight lifters perform as many as 20. (However, they don’t do
20 sets of the same exercise; they may do 5 sets each of 4 different exercises
that work the same muscle.) See Chapter 21 for more guidelines on how
many sets to perform if you’re an experienced lifter.
The principle of specificity of training determines how much rest you should
take in between sets. Beginners should take all the rest they need because
you’re just becoming acquainted with your body and want to avoid injury.
New exercisers may take up to twice as long to rest as those who’re more
experienced. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends
that your rest period be based on your training goal. If your goal is to
increase endurance and you’re lifting 12 or more reps, your rest period
should be up to 30 seconds. If your goal is to increase size, and you’re lifting
between 6 to 12 reps, you should rest between 30 to 90 seconds. If your goal
is to increase strength and you’re lifting fewer than six reps, you should rest
between two to five minutes. People who train for pure strength are going for
all-out lifts — a very intense approach. Circuit training, which emphasizes
muscular endurance or what is sometimes described as cardio-resistance
(see Chapter 18), involves taking little or no rest between sets.
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