There is no perfect weight training routine, in my opinion. However, we can make it perfect if we are consistent with our program so that our body will adapt to it. Frequently you read that you should keep changing your routine every few weeks to "confuse" your muscles. For a lot of people, this is a mistake. There is no point in variety for the sake of variety. The best way to make absolutely no progress at all is to keep jumping around from one routine to the next.
I recommend a push-pull routine which encourages muscle growth and prevents over-training by grouping the muscles you train each day into categories based on their primary function. I also recommend combining routines such as a superset within a push-pull routine to develop a particular muscle group. If you have a decent "base" of muscle and want to improve certain muscle groups, then the push/pull/legs split is one of the most effective routines out there.
Blitzing your muscles with a lot of forced reps and descending sets (otherwise called drop set routines) might leave you feeling sore. There is no proven link between soreness and growth, and no rule that says you have to kill each muscle group in order to make it grow. It also leads to greater stress on the neuromuscular system, which only extends your recovery time. But this does not mean you will grow any faster. There's no single training frequency that will work equally well for everyone.
I recommend a push-pull routine which encourages muscle growth and prevents over-training by grouping the muscles you train each day into categories based on their primary function. I also recommend combining routines such as a superset within a push-pull routine to develop a particular muscle group. If you have a decent "base" of muscle and want to improve certain muscle groups, then the push/pull/legs split is one of the most effective routines out there.
Blitzing your muscles with a lot of forced reps and descending sets (otherwise called drop set routines) might leave you feeling sore. There is no proven link between soreness and growth, and no rule that says you have to kill each muscle group in order to make it grow. It also leads to greater stress on the neuromuscular system, which only extends your recovery time. But this does not mean you will grow any faster. There's no single training frequency that will work equally well for everyone.
A beginner can train each muscle group more frequently than someone with a few years of training under their belt. This is mainly because they can not recruit as many muscle fibers in each workout, as they do not create as much muscle damage, and can recover more quickly. The longer you train, the more recovery time you will need. This is why a great routine for beginners is to train total body three times a week on alternate days.
The biggest secret to building muscle, is to keep getting stronger in the 5 to 15 repetition range on a few basic exercises for each major body part. Strength is a true indicator that you building more lean muscle.
All you need to increase muscle size and strength is a total of 30 to 100 repetitions per muscle group per workout, distributed across two or three exercises. It is not necessary to do more than 100 repetitions per muscle group, contrary to a lot of the training advice.
I would recommend most of your training should be done using heavy weights in the 5-8 repetition range. However if you want to increase muscle size, you should also include some higher rep (10-15) sets in your workouts. There are different ways to do this, for example doing sets (10-15) and short (30-60 seconds) rest periods to a couple of back-off sets at the end of a series of heavy sets. Even using light weight and slowing your reps down has been shown to help muscles grow (or time under tension).
The biggest secret to building muscle, is to keep getting stronger in the 5 to 15 repetition range on a few basic exercises for each major body part. Strength is a true indicator that you building more lean muscle.
All you need to increase muscle size and strength is a total of 30 to 100 repetitions per muscle group per workout, distributed across two or three exercises. It is not necessary to do more than 100 repetitions per muscle group, contrary to a lot of the training advice.
I would recommend most of your training should be done using heavy weights in the 5-8 repetition range. However if you want to increase muscle size, you should also include some higher rep (10-15) sets in your workouts. There are different ways to do this, for example doing sets (10-15) and short (30-60 seconds) rest periods to a couple of back-off sets at the end of a series of heavy sets. Even using light weight and slowing your reps down has been shown to help muscles grow (or time under tension).
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