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Welcome to the Freak Show (Bodybuilding 102)
Part II: Introduction to Training & Kinesiology
By Victor Lasato
OK,
so you’ve read part one, went out and bought some over-priced workout
gear, gloves, a belt, etc. Or maybe you’re old school, a cut-off
T-shirt and jogging pants or sweats; no fancy “under armor” for you.
Right now the visions of bulging muscles and throwing iron around like
pillows are most likely dominating your thoughts. Well get those
fantasies out of your head… for now. Right now and for the rest of
your lifting career (but especially right now) you need to concentrate
on avoiding injury. After all, you’re not going to be making any gains
with a torn biceps. I seriously recommend you go out and pick up a
copy of Gray’s Anatomy. You can buy it used at Amazon.com for anywhere
from $4 to $179! Sure it’s old, but human anatomy hasn’t changed very
much in the last thousand years, so it’s still a great resource. Or
you could find some good anatomy charts on the Internet, but Gray’s
Anatomy has a lot of useful information on how stabilizer muscles
function, the location and function of nerves, etc. If anything, it
will help you impress those 280 lb gym-rats who think you don’t know a
thing. First, learn the names of the muscle groups, and then learn how
they interact with each other. This knowledge will help you to put
together a “split” routine once your initiation period of full-body
workouts is up. It will also help you design new full-body routines
when you decide to venture back into that territory via the training
techniques that employ full-body, advanced training. Hey, whatever
suits your individual needs, the sport’s called bodybuilding, and as
long as you’re not a trainer, it’s your body being built. So invest
some time getting to know it. And not just the names of skeletal
muscles; learn exactly how voluntary muscles work and the chemicals
that fuel them. Learn what the terms anaerobic and aerobic mean, and
how they apply to bodybuilding. Read about the digestive and the
endocrine systems. These body systems all play vital roles in
bodybuilding. Like I said in Part I, knowledge is power, and in
bodybuilding this is not a metaphor, it’s a literal translation.
I
should’ve mentioned this in Part I, but when you see a doctor to get
cleared for a weight-training regimen, request the following blood
work: Thyroid Stimulating hormone (TSH), serum and free testosterone,
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), aromatase, “total estrogen,” and
HCG. If he asks why, tell him your cousin, neighbor, etc. is an
endocrinologist and you’ve been having erectile dysfunction; hell, you
may even get some Viagra out of the deal. The reason for all this
blood work, in addition to the usual workup doctors do for a physical,
is to make sure your metabolism is “primed” for making gains in the
gym. You may have the testosterone levels of an 80 year-old man at the
age of 20, and wonder why nothing is working for you, or the TSH levels
of an 800 lb shut-in, and be wondering why you can’t seem to loose any
weight. Unless you’re a female, in which case excess estrogen would
also block fat-loss, and yes, even you have some testosterone that will
help in the gym. Chances are, if you’re a woman with a healthy sex
drive, your testosterone is in the normal range; and the only time
you’d get tested for HCG is if you think your pregnant. Still, blood
work is always good to get regularly, especially if you decide to
indulge in some of the newer supplements that don’t have an established
safety record. OK, so you’ve been to the doc, you’ve read your
nutrition book, your anatomy book… you’re a real bookworm. It’s time
to move some iron. But don’t get too excited, your “initiation period
will be boring at first, until you stand in front of a mirror naked,
then I promise you, it will all be worth it.
A good “comeback”
or beginner routine consists, as I mentioned, of full-body splits.
This includes 5-10 minutes of warming up, either on a treadmill, doing
super light sets to warm your joints up, or even crunches to “squeeze”
the blood out of your gut and into those muscles, followed one or two
warm up sets, plus two working sets (sets that you really have to work
at) for each body part. Sure, you’ll look like a pansy, but don’t let
pride get the best of you. Pride is a crutch of the insecure. Pride
in the gym will get you injured, or embarrassed… further damaging your
pride. This “two set per body part” routine need only be applied for
the first week. During week two, try 3-4 sets for larger muscle groups
(legs, chest, back) and 2-3 sets for smaller muscle groups. As you
progress with the full-body workouts, 4 sets for large muscle groups
and 3 for smaller ones should be the max, however after easing your way
into the iron, you can up the intensity and volume.
What’s
volume? This is important: Volume equals: weight x sets x reps. During
these two months, you’ll most likely see some dramatic increases in
strength and body composition- one of the main reasons people get
“hooked” on body building in the first place. If you were ever serious
about bodybuilding in the past, even twenty years ago, you’ll most
likely reclaim a good part of your old physique within this period,
given you’re under 60 or so, and providing your diet is precise and
your training is religious (or at least regular). This phenomenon is
known as “muscle memory,” and gives you a significant advantage over
people just starting out in the sport. What kind of strength gains can
a those of you true beginners expect in the first two months of your
initiation into bodybuilding? Depending on whether the lift is a
single joint movement (barbell curl, leg extension) or a compound
movement (bench, squat, any Olympic lift), you should be able to
increase the weight anywhere from 5 to 10% each workout; considering
three, full-body workouts a week, with one “off” day in between. If
you’re able to increase your weights by 5% each week, you’re doing
things right. If you’re able to pump out a 10% or more increase each
week (naturally), consider yourself genetically gifted, and give
serious consideration to bodybuilding or power lifting as more than
just a hobby. Unless, and this is a big “unless,” you were
previously, seriously involved in lifting or bodybuilding. In that
case, strength gains upwards of 15-20% a week once you get back into
your groove can be normal.
As a final note, I cannot stress
the importance of stretching: before, during, and after exercise. For
some reason, most people only stretch their legs. Have you noticed
that? Stretching, in addition to helping prevent injury, helps stretch
the fascia (layer of elastic coating which holds the muscle in place),
which some people believe creates more room for the muscle to grow.
While that has yet to be proven, stretching does wonders to prevent
injury, especially between sets. If by chance you do feel you’re
stressing a joint too much, there are many joint support options
available, including USP Labs “Cissus Rx,” and most formulations containing glucosamine and/or MSM.
However these supplements work better when used to protect joints than
to repair them. With proper warm up sets (40-60% of your working
weight, or less) lifting technique (which you simply cannot learn from
an article, pictures or no pictures), and adequate stretching, it is
quite probable that you can lift your whole life and never get
injured. That’s an entire lifetime of injury free lean-mass gains and
adipose tissue (fat) loss as opposed to “almost getting there,” before
succumbing to a torn muscle or joint separation.
Coming Next
Installment: Phenotypes! Why Some people look like pears, others look
like twigs, and still others who’ve never touched a weight in their
life look like amateur bodybuilders!
-V
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content included in this article,
including but not limited to text, graphics or code is copyrighted as a
collective work under the United States and other copyright laws, and
is the property of Planetary Nutrition, LLC. You may not copy,
duplicate or redistribute this information without the permission of
Planetary Nutrition, LLC
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