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So one subject which came up both on the recent podcast and on one of our forums was the 'time in the gym' subject. Essentially new guys will make a statement like 'dude... I'm in the gym hours and so..' they will add 'yet I'm not hench' or 'so I MUST be training harder than x or y'
On the podcast I freely admit that my 2+ hours consists of 50% of the time down by the counter, chewing the fat or helping/coaching members and the other 50% is training. Now I train for strength and I'm quite a bit of an HIT (High Intensity) type trainer. That mean, other than quads, I rarely do more than two exercises and rarely more than 2 warm up sets and 3 work sets.
Take my Friday session recently. Shoulders, biceps, triceps and forearms
Iso Press - facing into the machine. 1 arm at a time. 18 reps with the arm, +20-kilos x 8 reps, +40-kilos x 6 reps, +65-kilos x 6 reps. Done
Hammer DB Curls (ends up in an across the body style) - 15-kilos x 8 reps, 25-kilos x 8 reps, 35-kilos x 8 reps, 45-kilos x 8 reps, 55-kilos x 8 reps and 65-kilos x 8 reps. The 45, 55 and 65-kilo dumbbell curls are one arm at a time. The number of sets is less work but more that the first 3 are more warm ups
Tricep Pressdowns - I use the smoother of two lat machines we have and a cambered bar. 8 stack plates x 8 reps, 11 stack plates x 8 reps and 14 stack plates x 8 reps. On the heavy sets of presses and pressdown I wear a pair of elbow sleeves.
Over the knee forward and reverse wrist curls. 3 sets of 8-12 reps working to 22.5-kilos a hand on reverse and 35-kilos a hand x 8 reps forward.
Now as a lifter the science is that my sets take a little less than a bodybuilder. Speed equals power. My rest can be longer - 5 minutes again according to the science.
As a bodybuilder your reps will be a little higher. Where I'll rarely do more than 8 reps and typically less yours will be 8-12 reps. The set should have a slower negative rep portion and the rest should be about 2 minutes.
The endurance and conditioning athletes will get their reps into the 12-20 count, take even less time on their rests and do a lower percentage of a 1 rep max (1RM). If my 1RM is 80% plus and a bodybuilders is 60-70% then an endurance person is sub 60%.
Arthur Jones was writing about this stuff and throwing out some numbers for us to work with back in the 1970's. There's been a ton of stuff since including HIT vs Volume done by guys who actually like to train too.
Trust me - time in the gym doesn't equate to actual work done.
On the podcast I freely admit that my 2+ hours consists of 50% of the time down by the counter, chewing the fat or helping/coaching members and the other 50% is training. Now I train for strength and I'm quite a bit of an HIT (High Intensity) type trainer. That mean, other than quads, I rarely do more than two exercises and rarely more than 2 warm up sets and 3 work sets.
Take my Friday session recently. Shoulders, biceps, triceps and forearms
Iso Press - facing into the machine. 1 arm at a time. 18 reps with the arm, +20-kilos x 8 reps, +40-kilos x 6 reps, +65-kilos x 6 reps. Done
Hammer DB Curls (ends up in an across the body style) - 15-kilos x 8 reps, 25-kilos x 8 reps, 35-kilos x 8 reps, 45-kilos x 8 reps, 55-kilos x 8 reps and 65-kilos x 8 reps. The 45, 55 and 65-kilo dumbbell curls are one arm at a time. The number of sets is less work but more that the first 3 are more warm ups
Tricep Pressdowns - I use the smoother of two lat machines we have and a cambered bar. 8 stack plates x 8 reps, 11 stack plates x 8 reps and 14 stack plates x 8 reps. On the heavy sets of presses and pressdown I wear a pair of elbow sleeves.
Over the knee forward and reverse wrist curls. 3 sets of 8-12 reps working to 22.5-kilos a hand on reverse and 35-kilos a hand x 8 reps forward.
Now as a lifter the science is that my sets take a little less than a bodybuilder. Speed equals power. My rest can be longer - 5 minutes again according to the science.
As a bodybuilder your reps will be a little higher. Where I'll rarely do more than 8 reps and typically less yours will be 8-12 reps. The set should have a slower negative rep portion and the rest should be about 2 minutes.
The endurance and conditioning athletes will get their reps into the 12-20 count, take even less time on their rests and do a lower percentage of a 1 rep max (1RM). If my 1RM is 80% plus and a bodybuilders is 60-70% then an endurance person is sub 60%.
Arthur Jones was writing about this stuff and throwing out some numbers for us to work with back in the 1970's. There's been a ton of stuff since including HIT vs Volume done by guys who actually like to train too.
Trust me - time in the gym doesn't equate to actual work done.
