Weider Principles for Successful Training

There’s always that very moment in every fitness enthusiast when the results just stop on coming, you come into a plateau and the muscle building process becomes stagnant. One of the reasons why this phenomenon happens is when you fail to inject something new into your program design or workout. One of the best ways in order to bust this plateau is to apply the principles of weider training. Made possible by the father of bodybuilding Joe Weider, the following steps will get you to the next level of your muscle building and fitness conditioning gains. These principles have guided athletes, bodybuilders and fitness masters through the decades. So read on and apply them to your next workout.

With regards to your program design, there are several principles that you can apply. These program design principles take on the totality of your program wherein you need to take a set of steps necessary and rep schemes and sets in order to prevent boredom and gain more muscle.

• Cycle Training. This routine refers to the different goals that you must attain. You can divide your categories of training depending on the goals that you must achieve. You can apply different exercises whether you would like to gain mass, gain strength or gain more definition or cuts. Cycling periods can also be applied by performing low intensity and high intensity types of exercises in your workout. You may include higher reps and shorter rest period, or with heavier weights for your high intensity training. Low intensity may also mean lesser weights, longer rest periods or performing exercises utilizing moderate resistance.
• The eclectic training. The eclectic training may also refer to the high intensity and low intensity training workouts. The rep schemes and the set schemes are also referred to this type of training. Changing repetitions and the sets may also be applied. It also emphasizes incorporating single joint exercises and mass building compound exercises.
• The instinctive training. This type of training as the name implies, lets you train freely in the gym. This principle refers to applying the exercises that you feel are the best training methods for a certain body part. It also refers to doing exercises that you feel like you are having the most urge to do. For example, if you feel like not having any bicep exercise for the day because you are still sore, then perform another exercise that targets another body part.
• To avoid getting into a rut and avoiding plateaus, this principle refers to changing the order of the exercises, performing different reps, sets and weights with every exercise. This muscle confusion principle prevents plateau by hindering the muscles’ ability to the number of reps and sets that you usually do.

Another training principle included in the weider training principle can be applied with the intensity of your training or the so called intensity boosters. In order for you to get a good grasp of what this is all about, read on.

• The constant tension. This principle is often applied by both body builders and athletes whenever they would like to gain more definition and strength. This can be applied by maintaining constant tension during the positive or negative movement of the exercise. For example, when performing the bicep curls, at the top of the movement, not allowing your arm to reach the top most part of the curl maintains the positive constant tension. During the lowering phase or the negative part, maintaining constant tension is done by controlling the movement by not allowing your arms to lock out or fully extend at the bottom. This principle is the constant tension. When performing this principle, it is advisable to use light to moderate weights.
• The flushing training. This type of training is done by training one single body part with three to four exercises before moving on to the next muscle group. This is done in order to flush the muscles with blood, promoting tension, stress and strict movement in order to stimulate muscle growth.
• The holistic training. This training method involves different variations with your number of reps such as low reps to high reps, slow exercise to high speed exercise to your workouts. Other incorporated methods include alternating exercises. It is essential to not just approach your training with the usual 6 to 10 reps. To stimulate endurance type of muscle fibers, you can also include high rep exercises of 12 to 15 repetitions using light weights for three sets.
• The isolation training. This training principle involves targeting specific muscles while not involving adjacent muscles during the exercise. One great example of this principle is the triceps press down rather than a close grip bench press. Using the lunge exercise instead of the squats is also a type of isolation training for the legs. This is often the most popular technique and principle among body builders and athletes as well who want to attain strengthening in body parts that require more training.
• The iso tension principle. This type of principle refers to contracting or squeezing the muscles after a certain exercise. For example, after a set of chest flyes or bench press, contracting the muscles and squeezing the chests extends the contracting time of the fibers promoting sharper definition. This is also performed by hardcore athletes, beginners and body builders to promote muscle control.
• The weak point training. This is also called the priority muscle training. Inject this principle in your workout by doing exercises on body parts that you feel is your weakest. Doing exercises like the squats if your legs are your weak points during the beginning of your workout utilizes more energy and effort since this is the point in your workout when you feel the strongest. This can be performed during your total body workout or during your split training.
• The peak contraction. This is one of the toughest principles to perform. This principle involves contracting your muscles at the peak of the movement and by holding it at the top of the move. For example, holding the weights at the top of your chest fly movement for two to three seconds is peak contraction training.
• The progressive overload training. This refers to adding up weights, reps, sets and shorter rest period in your exercises to ensure that there is constant tension and to ensure that your muscles are always challenged to gain more muscle, strength and endurance.
• The pyramid training. This is done by using lighter weight for the very first sets of your sets. As you go through your sets, adding heavier weights while decreasing your reps is one example of pyramid training. Reverse pyramid is also done by doing heavier weights first, then moving down to lighter weights as you move on.

There are also advanced training principles that you can include such as the ones written below.

• The supersets. Supers sets are performed by doing two exercises consecutively without resting. For example, doing the barbell bench press for your first set, the followed by the dumbbell bench press without resting is one example of a superset. The rest period comes after finishing the second exercise.
• The tri sets. This principle is done by performing three consecutive exercises without resting for one muscle group.
• The giant sets. The giant sets can be done by doing four or more exercises consecutively without resting for one single muscle group.
• The burn sets or the training to failure. Perform a certain exercise for as many reps as you can until you can no longer perform a rep. continue performing your sets until you can only move your arms of the body part by an inch.
• The pre exhaust principle. This is applied by doing single joint exercises of one body part then moving on to multi joint exercises for a specified muscle group. An example is by performing dumbbell lunges, leg extensions, and hamstring curls then moving on to the squats.
• The negative control. This controlled movement is done by controlling the lowering movement of the exercise. Resisting the negative movement ensures muscle tension and also targets the muscle in a different but difficult method.
• The forced rep method. This is only done by having a training partner with you. Allow your partner to assist you past the moment of failure. Note that slight help or force from your partner must be utilized.

Conclusion

These are the weider principles that you can apply to your current workout to avoid boredom and plateaus. Consider this as a golden tip that you can rotate and pick which you think will be suitable for your current program. Of course, safety is always essential as a training partner or a certified trainer must be available to teach you of the proper execution of exercises and these principles as well. So move on and achieve the your best fitness condition ever.

[stextbox id=”grey” caption=”About the Author”]Jordann Campose is a fitness enthusiast and instructor. He currently works as a health care professional with part time work as a fitness instructor and weight loss teacher for people seeking results that will help boost their confidence and strengthen their whole being. [/stextbox]