What is the best strength training program?
In simple terms, the best program is the one that you will follow... that being said in this series of posts I am going to outline some of the best program design layouts that have worked for both myself and clients over the last 10 years and give some basic principles for deciding which program is right for you're individual situation.
Before choosing a program you should be able to answer a few questions....
- How many days per week can I dedicate to working out? When will these days be?
- How many days of rest can I take ? When will these days be?
This is very important because we will need to have a balanced ratio of work out days mixed with rest days so that the body will be able to recover and get stronger. If you want to get more technical this process is called "super-compensation" which is a fancy way of saying that you need to rest after a hard workout to grow and recover stronger than you were before that session.
EXPERIENCE & STRENGTH LEVEL
-As a beginner you will not be strong enough to create the same level of disruption as an experienced lifter. This means that while you may be very sore from the workouts, the body will adapt quickly and you will be able to train that muscle again soon.
-Keeping in mind that this article is written for the beginner/novice... a good rule of thumb is to give the muscle group at least 48 hours between session
-To get a little more advanced on this topic... each muscle group will have a different level of tolerance. Think about the difference between your biceps vs your legs. The amount of disruption you can create during a lower body workout will be much greater than doing bicep curls. This means that you might be able to train the biceps 3-5 days per week but only train you're quads and hamstrings 2x per week.
Alright... that's enough of a lesson for this post.... let's get to some actionable advice. This post is going to cover the ideal set up to use an Upper/Lower Split.
Let's use an imaginary client, we will call him Mike.
Mike works the typical Monday to Friday job and has a family with kids to take care of. Mike can devote 4 days per week to working out for 60-90 minutes. These workouts have to be during the week and not the weekends because he has family obligations.
MIKES SCHEDULE OVERVIEW:
-4 days per week (60-90 minutes)
-All workouts have to be done during the week and not the weekend
MIKES WORKOUT SCHEDULE:
Mon- Upper Body A
Tues- Lower Body A
Wed- REST
Thur- Upper Body B
Fri- Lower Body B
Sat- REST
Sun- REST
UPPER BODY WORKOUT EXAMPLE:
**keep in mind these workouts are just simplified example
CHEST
-Flat Bench Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
or
-Flat DB Chest Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
or
-Incline Bench Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
or
-Incline DB Chest Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
BACK
-Pull Up- 3 sets of near failure
OR
-Lat Pull Down- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
-Barbell Bent Row- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
-Dumbbell Single Arm Row- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
SHOULDERS
A) -Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
*rest 30 seconds and perform the next exercise
B) -Seated Dumbbell Military Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
*rest 30 seconds and perform the next exercise
C) -Standing Dumbbell Shrug- 3 sets of 12-15 reps
BICEPS:
-Standing Barbell Biceps Curl- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
-Seated Dumbbell Curl- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
TRICEPS:
-Lying E-Z Bar Skull Crushers- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
-Lying Dumbbell Skull Crushers- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
LOWER BODY WORKOUT EXAMPLE:
**keep in mind these workouts are just simplified example
QUADS:
-Barbell Back Squat- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
-Leg Press- 3 sets of 8-23 reps
OR
-Feet Forward Smith Machine Squat- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
Hack Squat Machine- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
HAMSTRING:
Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
OR
Back Extension- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
CALVES:
Standing Calf Raise- 6 sets of 12-15 reps
or
Seated Calf Raise- 6 sets of 12-15 reps
CORE:
Knee Raise (Hanging or Supported)- 3 sets to near failure
or
Plank- 3 sets to near failure
or
Decline Sit Up- 3 sets to near failure
