What Are You Weighting For? Strength or Size [Part 2: Size]

By Beau:

Ok, so back where we took off. Now that we have gone over being strong its time to get SWOLE. As I have noticed a lot lately the whole body building culture is on the rise and the appeal to be as aesthetically pleasing to the eye is a number one priority in the gym scene. There are so many different sciences on what works for getting big, how many sets, how many reps, when you train, what you take etc. It doesn’t have to be that complicated, especially for people who are beginning a training routine.

Mass/size gaining is all about the capillarisation of the muscles, where the blood vessels around the myofibril increase with sarcoplasm and which then increase muscle density and makes them larger.

Sarcoplasmic training comes after Myofibril training, in its natural progression. The normal amount of reps completed in a set are 8-15. Typically I will use strength training first in a session then move on to mass training after. This mainly depends on the type of muscles that would be used in the session. For instance lets say we are doing chest. First I would start it off with a compound exercise like bench press for my strength, then I would follow it up with a more isolated exercise like a fly and move focus on getting size through that and have it super-setted with an incline press. Then move on though until the reps are at the height of their rep range. I usually aim for 3 sets on each exercise and 6 different exercises in a session.

How many reps do you need to do for each exercise? This comes down to what you want to achieve out of the session. The bigger a muscles mass is the less reps you need. So lets say we have a back session, I would do: Chin Ups – Works: Lats, Biceps, Traps, Rhomboids (3-7 reps) Bent Over Bar Bell Row – Works: Traps (6-10 reps) Wide Grip Lat Pull – Works: Lats & Rhomboids (10-14 reps) Seated Row - Works: Rhomboids & Erecta Spinae (14-18 reps) Reverse Cable Fly – Works: Rhomboids & Rear Delts (16-20 reps)

 That’s the way I would break down and focus on different parts of the back and work them at different loads so they can define through strength, mass and muscle endurance.

Recovery time is usually very limited from 30 secs to 1 min, and depending on where you are try and make sure the machines you use if you are super setting are close and not in demand by others, other wise just focus on the one exercise and move on. Through the end of the session you should be experiencing “The Pump” muscles are swelling and filling with sarcoplasm which is the energy source of ATP, creatine, water and glycogen.

Training for size takes a lot of dedication, and requires mental toughness to push through long sets of high intensity weights. The burn is what deters most people from training and becomes very hard, so I encourage muscle endurance sets, mainly sets that have higher than 20 reps and go until you burn out. These are pretty much cardio but through hypertrophy. Along with high carb diets with in your metabolic window gaining mass wont be as hard as you think, it just takes time and effort and to stick through.

Remember to stretch and finish it off with a protein shake!

#behyperactive

Literally Can't Even Lift, Bro

Beau only took a photo of me during my cool down set, I'm not actually this weak, ahha!

5 myths about women and weight training, by Beau Bressington.

So I would say about 70% of my clients are females, and I would do at least 1 weights session a week with all of them. Building muscle and getting strong are a staple in any exercise program. Muscles do a lot more than just look nice, they provide structure and warmth to the body, burn fat, move your body place to place and protect your organs as well!

I get questions all the time about training, here are a few myths solved for you ladies wanting the gains… brah.

1) "Doing weights makes me fat." No, it doesn't. Eating cupcakes and burritos makes you fat. "But when I do weights I get bulky!" Well lets go back to the first blog I did. You are most likely a mesomorph or an endomorph, you will gain weight faster. So the intake of what you eat is important. If you are still eating relatively similar or more than what you were before, you will gain weight. A 45-min weight training session will burn approximately 300-400 calories.

2) "If I do weights I'll look like a man, yuck." No Becky, you won't, you are a woman and doing a weight session 1-3 times a week isn't going to make you look like Arnie. Women produce a hormone called oestrogen, which limits the ability to build muscle, whereas men have a lot more testosterone. Both men and women have more or less of each hormone, but the girls you see in body building comps train every day, use a lot of supplements (some are not even legal) and have very strict food plans.

3) "Does protein make me put on weight?" No, like I said, cupcakes and burritos do! But… relating back to the first post again, if you eat more than you are meant to with any diet (regardless of whether this is 'bad' or 'good' food) you will put on weight. There are so many different types of protein supplements out there as well which all do different things, so if you're going to use one of those, make sure you get the right one for you.

4) "High reps are for toning." 'Toning' isn't really a thing, looking toned is. To look toned means to decrease the fat mass laying over a muscle and to increase the muscle. This can be achieved by having a balanced fitness routine with cardio, weights and a good eating program. Choose the program which suits your body type. The number of reps you do is important though. If you are a beginner I would recommend doing about 10 reps in each set for the first 8 weeks until your body has adapted to the technique and weight. In general, reps work 3-7 for strength, 8-15 for mass and 16+ for muscle endurance.

5) "My arms are flabby, so I'll do some arm exercises to burn the fat." NO! In fact, that would make them bigger! Whilst doing the exercise will burn calories (ultimately which 'can' burn the fat around your arms, as long as you have a great food plan too), a bicep curl won't spot reduce the fat on your arms. There are other ways to tackle places that store more fat than other areas on your body, and that's by managing your hormones better. For instance, women who store more fat than usual in their arms tend to have a higher amount of oestrogen in their system. There are some exercises which can help lower your oestrogen levels, such as deadlifts and squats. For some women, very high oestrogen levels (which can be affected by birth control etc) can also have an effect on your mental ability to exercise, or even to be motivated at all. If this is you, and you think the world is about to end and have zero motivation and are depressed, talk to your doctor.

If you have any questions or myths you want busted, leave a comment below!