Be Fully Prepared

 

Note: I've taken the liberty of skipping the usual preamble, 

dropped what I see as a few redundant parts and added a few 

[words]. 

Also, the practice of relating "author" with "worth of information offered" does not appeal to me in the least, nor does the time period of publication. Regardless of "who" wrote it, when it was written, or what publication it came from, mag, book, anecdotal, phone call, email, experiential (etc, etc, etc.)  . . . the offered information will work for you at this point or some other, or perhaps it will not. Find out. Try things. Appreciate the element of uncertainty in all Creation, cement is for sidewalks. Stop looking to others for a map to your life, it doesn't exist. You are an individual, as is each cell in everything you see on this Earth.

If you need that info, the Name/Date/Source, use the comments and someone else may be able to fill in the gap you might find missing. 

It may make it a little more difficult to find certain material; however, I am a very firm believer in the "bumping into" of something even more rewarding/productive when our search-and-seek process is going on, in all things. Hopefully, we've come far enough to realize this blog is not just a Q&A on getting bigger, a bigger Press and/or a sixpack. Our legless long pants await their full-filment.

I don't care who offered the info, when it was presented, or anything along that line of thinking. Some of what are termed "heroes" were wonderful men, no question . . . so are You.  

The gaining of what may prove to be worthwhile advice in our training and/or life is all that interests me, hero worship is a child's game, find inspiration from within and be who you are . . . an ever-changing spirit currently in this particular physical form. 

The usual provisions apply, as they always have: 

If you don't like it, no one has locked the entry/exit door.

This is only my singular view. All submitters, authors and admins have full freedom to do what they desire here on this one small blog dealing with, on the surface, one small and, come on now, really quite minor activity. 

We are One here, those who contribute their time, energy and/or material. 
Yet we are also each individuals. 

To sum up with three Esses: 

Sharing.

Solidarity.

Serendipity.

 

Getting a good physical workout is HARD only in the PHSICAL sense. The actual method is EASY. 

Complex exercise programs and elaborate schemes of training are not only unnecessary, but they can be a real block to progress, for some. 

SIMPLE IS BEST, in bodybuilding as in so many other areas of life. A good all-round workout can be had, I SWEAR! In under one hour, when time is short; and even when you have all day, investing more than two hours would be silly and unnecessary. 

If you're serious about getting a good, productive workout, decide that two hours will be your outside limit for any exercise session, and keep most well within the 45-minute to one hour range. If you train hard, that will be plenty. 

Next: How much training should be done during a hard workout? I feel that excellent progress can be made with the practice of between five and no more than a dozen exercises. Between 2 and 3 sets are generally ideal [using this approach], and when as few as 5 or 6 exercises are used, I can see using 4 or 5 sets. 

Naturally, there is no hard and fast rule that everyone in the world can follow, but I have found that, for me, a workout consisting of a total of more than 30 sets in all is just too much [for me]. 

Let's say, strictly for an example, that you'll be training on this program: 

1) Standing barbell press (front or back]

2) Barbell curl

3) Bench press

4) One-arm row

5) Squat 

6) SDL

7) Ab exercise

3 sets per exercise will be plenty, for most lifters.

First set: Select a very comfortable and manageable weight. Your purpose in set one is not so much hard muscle-building is [the usual warmup and groove-getting]. 8-10 reps work well in this set [find out if more or less reps work best for you with this first set, and this can vary depending on the different movements; remember that some lifters may need more of a warmup than the single set . . . older guys, a fella having a sluggish day, use your fucking head].

Second set: Should be a weight that makes you fight for your life [I think we all know how to interpret this by now]. Aim for 6-10 reps. The second set should kill you [lay off with this childish over-the-top stuff already]. Work it hard enough so that the final rep is doubtful, and, occasionally [depending on factors you also are already aware of], should be done to failure. 

Third set: [2 sets cool, if that's the deal on that day; you don't need anyone to tell you that, really, it's your body and it's the kind of day you're having that day that'll tell ya, Brother. Use the same weight for set 2 and fight for them last reps. On a strong day I like to take a few breaths between the last two or so reps, no big thing here]. 

[THINK into what you do. DRIVE YOURSELF. Your mindset matters when you lift. Some guys like to divide this sort of layout approach into an upper and lower day. If you're one of 'em, keep to the set/rep layout and don't add on a ton of stuff.

[Your mental/physical energy levels are gonna vary, deal with it, and don't be a moron who kicks his ass around the block just because he was a little lacking that day. Linear progression ain't all it's cracked up to be. Be persistent and consistent, play the game like the game it is. Shit happens outside of lifting. Put on the long pants and tailor each workout to what you have available to put out, remembering to save some for days when you'll need it later for the much more important things in life. Has fun with your heavy toys . . . seek progress in ALL the endeavors in your life and stop being an anal asshat about this stuff.]

This is simple shit, this type of workout approach. Keep it that way, or go with something more complex if that's what you want to do for a while. 

No right way, no wrong way . . . only the way that works for you right now, and it'll change over time.

Enjoy Your Lifting!