As most of you may know, there are various goals in the sport of bodybuilding. Particular goals can include strength, power, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, and performance enhancement. To gain each, there are principles that must be followed. I'm going to teach you the principles necessary for a drastic transformation in any of these categories starting with the basics.
**Compound Movements
Compound exercises are the most important exercises in an exercise program. For personal program and design, there needs to be a base of strength developed so that you have an idea on what to do while in the gym. Some of you may be puzzled by "compound movements" and some of you may know exactly what they are. First off, a "compound" movement is NOT defined as an exercise that uses various muscle groups. While this IS true and a huge plus of a compound movement; isolations and every other movement of the human body require utilization of more than one muscle group, as well. If you would lie down on your bed and lay perfectly fat, then raise your pointer finger you would use muscle groups from more than one source; first off, you would use your grip strength; second, you'd use strength from your forearm extensor muscles (brachioradialis, supinator, abductor pollicis longus, extensor pollicis longus). People far too often think the only type of contraction a muscle makes is concentric; it is inaccurate. The muscle makes three contractions: eccentric, concentric, and isometric. In some exercises, muscles are worked only isometrically; for instance, the upper back muscles during the back squat, the traps during weighted dips, and the forearm muscles during a bench press. The true definition of a compound movement is a movement that demands involvement of multiple joints.
Compound exercises include the bread and butter of an exercise program; bench presses, barbell rows, squats, overhead presses, deadlifts, pullups, lunges, chin-ups, push-ups, and exercises of that sort. Isolation exercises include movements are designed to isolate a specific joint from other muscle groups; for instance, lateral raises, shrugs, barbell curls, triceps extensions, calf raises, leg extensions, hamstring curls, and wrist work. One of the biggest benefits to compound movements is the coordination it creates between muscles. When you perform a vertical leap, you are working muscles in accordance to a natural movement; the quads are involved, the hamstrings, the glutes, the calves, the core, and basically muscle groups that make up the lower body. Compound movements create this coordination by teaching joints and muscles to work together. When you perform a squat, you're teaching the hamstrings to stabilize when coming down in a natural movement; you're teaching the quads to work with the glutes and coordinate those lower body muscles. When you perform a leg extension, you're isolating the quadriceps from the muscles they were designed to coordinate with and its basically going to be useless strength in the real world. That's not to say that isolations do not serve a purpose; they do and I'll get around to that point later in the article.
The next benefit given by compound movements that isolations do not do is the ability to overload multiple muscle groups at the same time. What is "overload" I bet you're asking? Well "overload" pretty much defines itself in its only pronunciation. Overload means to work a body system harder than it is accustomed to working. If you workout with 225 lbs 3 straight work outs you have failed to give the muscle something new to grow from. If the muscle is not forced to work harder each time it gives the gym, what is expected to grow? Nothing, it will only homeostasis, which means, to the stay same size. When you perform a bench press, while it's commonly referred to as a "chest exercise", you're always working the pectoralis minor, triceps, anterior deltoids, rhomboids, trapeziums, forearm muscles, and core. Think about it, the body works in accordance to its function. What is the function of pushing in front? The force is being generated from the pectoralis major as the agonist, which means prime mover; yet, at the same time, it also requires you to push, which means extending the elbows and that is the primary function of the triceps. When you teach the pushing muscles coordination, they will learn to work together in everyday tasks. This is called "functional strength". "Functional" meaning it has potential carryover into the real world.
The next benefit of compound movement training is probably the most important for mass development and that is the anabolic hormone release of testosterone. Testosterone is a steroid hormone, produced in the male body, predominantly more in the female body and is believed to be the principle cause that your average man is stronger than your average woman. In order to release testosterone, the hypothalamus must release a substance to the pituitary gland called gaunadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The formation of this hormone causes the pituitary gland to produce two other hormones, FSH and LH, collectively known as gonadotropins. LH is released into the bloodstream where it travels to the testicles and triggers the production of testosterone from cholesterol. So, when someone tells you to avoid eggs and meats, make sure you do not listen. Testosterone is released in the testicles when the body is under significant tension, it is released into the bloodstream and pumped into muscles. The reason blood is pumped into muscles is because oxygen must be present to produce energy inside of the mitochondria of a muscle; it's called aerobic energy. In the mitochondria, oxygen is carried to the muscles on a protein molecule called hemoglobin and it allows for ATP replenishment. When the blood reaches the muscle and testosterone reaches, it sneaks into the production of contractile proteins in the myofibrils (cylindrical organelles), found within the muscle cells. When contractile proteins multiply, the muscle is about to produce more force; therefore, is able to get stronger.
In these compound movements there are two movements that release more testosterone than any other exercises; these exercises are squats and deadlifts. No study has conducted which exercise has a greater anabolic release; however, there are many opinions and they usually differ from each person. Deadlifts work more muscles and show a greater display of overall strength; squats put a greater display of constant tension on the body from the isometric contraction of having to stabilize the weight on your back. The back squats frequency will increase the demand placed on the body have a consistent boost of testosterone; so the gains on a program where your lower body is worked with more frequency than a conventional split will have better overall gains.
**Program
I wrote-up a program real fast that I would recommend for someone that is just getting into training. You don't have to try this, as long as your program contains similar movements and principles:
Workout A:
1. Squat
2. Bench
3. Stiff-leg deadlift or Clean Variation
4. Barbell Row
5. Hanging Leg Raises
Workout B:
1. Squat
2. OHP
3. Deadlift
4. Pullup
5. Hanging Leg Raises
The program contains a horizontal push/pull, vertical push/pull, squat, deadlift, and optional clean variation for powerlifters, Olympic lifters, or athletes. For rep range, I'd just go with something like 5x5 or 4x5 and keep things simple.
**Principles
Routine principles are both underrated and overrated at the same time. I'm aware that I say that as an oxymoron but some principles are overrated such as "fatigue". Far too often people think you must train to absolute failure when in reality; it is used as a tool. The most under-looked principle there is progressive overload. Since the discussion of overload was gone over in an earlier paragraph; we can conclude the importance of it to gaining muscle. The only principle you should accustom to yourself as a beginner is the progressive resistance principle; what this means, is essentially a method of adding weight each workout. Assuming caloric requirements have been met this will make the muscle respond accordingly to the tension placed upon it. So if you came in the gym and squatted 225 on Monday, aim for 230 on Wednesday.
**Nutrition
It really depends on things like your goals, metabolism, and frame. If your goal is to bulk, like most people should, try to get a gram of protein in for every lb of lean bodyweight. Let's remember nutrition is the single most important thing for building muscle; let's also remember that if you do not increase your calories weekly you will not gain weight and will not continue to build muscle. Your bodyweight *'s 16 = your daily requirements. Increase by 200 if you have a fast metabolism and decrease by 200 if you have a slow metabolism. If you have sedentary lifestyle, take off another 100; if you have a job that requires a lot of movement, add 100. If your goal is to gain weight increase that by 500 and if your goal is to lose weight decrease that by 500. If you don't like the idea of cars for cutting the Paleo diet or no carbs after 5PM will work wonders for you. Make sure your carb and fat intake are higher than your protein (when cutting) to avoid ammonia and nitrogen accumulation. For supplements, just take a multi-vitamin like animal pak and/or some whey protein; creatine can be left optional but it's not always necessary.
Remember to work your exact reverse; for instance, what you push from your body pull from your body. If you are benching, start rowing; if you are doing overhead presses, start doing pullups. This method will prevent your joints from becoming imbalanced and balance the activity of the shoulder and the antagonists to pushing muscles to prevent RC injuries. So remember, the most important exercises are deadlifts, squats, benches, barbell rows, presses, and pullups; anything more is not needed but of course can be left optional depended upon other requirements; for instance, if you're an athlete cleans are beneficial and if you're a 50 yard dash sprinter calf raises can help.
Hope this helps.
