Proper Technique. The Body Proper technique is essential to have a successful training program. It is important for two reasons: First, it provides the optimum results in the least amount of lime. Second, proper technique decreases the chance of' injury during training. This chapter contains important training principles essential for complete lower body development. The Complete Butt and Leg Philosophy To achieve successful lower body development, you need to train and condition all the muscles in your lower body. An unbalanced approach in lower body training will cause muscular imbalance and/or weakness. This can lead to structural problems and can also increase chance of injury during sports, exercise, and other favorite activities. The lower body is a system that works synergistically. in most movements, one muscle group acts as the prime mover, another group works in an assisting capacity (secondary mover), while a third provides stabilization. If you don't train for development, one or two of' the muscle groups will not perform optimally and overall performance will suffer. To achieve your full potential you must train not only the entire lower body, but the whole body, with a balanced program. STARTING OUT The most frequently asked questions when beginning a training program are: "What should I do?", "How much should I do?", and "Where should I start?" There is no single, correct answer to these. Every person is different. You must intelligently- experiment to find the answers. Let's address these questions separately. "What should I do?" You should include exercises that will train all the muscle groups in the body. This book targets the lower body but by no means should You limit your training to the legs and butt only. "How much should I do?" When starting out you should do just enough to promote fatigue, no more. Your total exercise volume (sets and reps) should be minimal, perhaps no more than one set with fifteen to twenty repetitions for each selected exercise. This will eliminate the negative physical and mental effects of excessive muscular soreness and will decrease the potential for injury from fatigue and lack of concentration. "Where should I start?" The following two principles will help you determine a proper starting place: ¸ When learning a new exercise, use minimal intensity (if possible) and perform it while you are fresh. ¸ Once you have mastered the exercise technique, increase the intensity (weight) gradually until you can no longer perform the movement for the prescribed number of repetitions, or until you have a breakdown in proper technique. After this happens, drop back to the previous, lighter weight. This will be your starting point. When experimenting with finding a starting weight, perform no more than three sets per exercise, per session. This may sound tedious, but remember that technique is the key to success. Be patient; proper execution of your exercises is not only safer, but the results will be greater in the long run. The Basic Principles OVERLOAD AND PROGRESSION For a muscle to get stronger it must be overloaded. Overloading means subjecting your muscles to more stress than they are accustomed to. Overloading muscles can be accomplished in two ways, both progressive. First, add volume. This is done by increasing the repetitions per set, adding sets, or by adding additional exercises for that muscle group. Second, increase the intensity of training: this can be accomplished by increasing the resistance (adding weight or doing a more difficult exercise) or by decreasing the rest time between sets and exercises. These forms of progressive overloading should be done separately (either increase volume or intensity), but may on occasion be done Simultaneously. When both are (lone simultaneously, YOU increase the chance of overtraining. FULL RANGE OF MOTION It is important to perform all exercises with the prescribed full range of motion. This is especially true for sports performance. Most performance skills are dynamic (in motion); therefore your muscles need to be strengthened throughout their full range of motion. To do this you must maintain resistance on the muscles throughout the prescribed range of motion. SPEED OF MOVEMENT The speed at which you do an exercise is an important part of a successful training program. Generally, movement should be slow and controlled through the negative (eccentric) phase. The positive, or concentric, phase of the movement should he as explosive as possible without creating momentum, keeping constant tension on the muscles. As you reach advanced levels of training, it is important to vary the speed of the exercise to achieve peak development. The basic concepts behind speed of movement are described on pages 107-08. CONSTANT TENSION During a movement you must maintain constant tension on the muscle, feeling its contraction throughout the full range of motion. Do not let momentum take over; feel the muscle do the work at every phase of the movement. In addition, when using a machine do not allow the weight stacks to touch, as this would eliminate constant tension. CHOICE OF EXERCISE Selecting exercises is a key component in the design of any training program. The following criteria are essential when considering which exercise to choose: ¸ Specificity (training for specific results) ¸ Injury prevention, or muscle balance ¸ Available equipment ¸ Goals ¸ Time WORKOUT LENGTH The length of a training session is dependent on sets and reps, what type of exercise you do, how much rest time you take, and what your goals are. Another variable that determines workout length is intensity. High intensity work will increase the need for recovery time, possibly increasing total workout length. Depending on your goals you may spend anywhere between ten minutes to two hours working out your legs. Part 4 ("The Routines") offers a wide variety of routines to fit your needs and goals. FREQUENCY OF TRAINING Frequency of training is dependent upon many variables, including your recovery time, your level of experience, your work or competition schedule, and your goals. Recovery time is important because strength gains and muscle growth occur during these periods. If recovery time is not adequate between workouts, your strength gains will not be optimal, and the result could be overtraining. EXERCISE ORDER There are many factors to consider when choosing exercise order. Your individual weak areas, sport-specific routines, and personal level of fitness are some of the considerations. Generally, exercises are completed in an order that moves from the highest energy expenditure to the lowest, especially when starting out. Or another way of explaining it: Work from the largest muscles to the smallest muscles. THE ROUTINES To a large extent, the problems of exercise order are already worked out for you in the routines in part four. But as you progress, you will reach a stage when you must decide what variations you need in order to get peak results. You will have to determine your own genetic strengths and weaknesses, how you want to look, and then will have to choose the exercises that will accomplish this fine-tuning. As with everything else in life, at some point you will be left alone to face the truth about your butt and legs. But have no fear, you won't fall into the butt abyss. Chapter 26, "Creating Your Own," will guide you safely through this existential experience! WARM-UP It is always important to warm up your body before exercising. This prepares your body for action in two main ways: 1. Warming up increases muscle blood flow and increases general muscle metabolism. This makes the muscles perform more efficiently. 2. Warming up allows the muscles to contract with more force and with greater speed due to an increase in muscle temperature. If the muscles are warm, contraction will be optimal. This reduces the chances of injury and positively affects performance. When a warm-up for strength training is undertaken it should proceed from general to specific. For a specific warm-up routine, refer to pages 99-102. BREATHING As in all exercise, proper breathing is essential. The breathing technique to use for resistance training is as follows: 1. Inhale before the start of the negative contraction, when you are moving against the least resistance. 2. Exhale during the last two-thirds of the positive contraction. For example, when performing the Squat you would inhale before you lower your body and exhale as you raise back up. INTENSITY Intensity is a complex subject. For our purposes, intensity means the amount of energy output it takes to complete an exercise. Intensity can be increased or decreased by choosing easier or more difficult exercises and by adding or subtracting weight. In each workout you should aim for an intensity level that will produce muscular exhaustion in the prescribed number of repetitions. VARIETY Variation is often the most neglected training principle. People get comfortable in a routine and don't want to change. We, are creatures of habit. But the body thrives on both structure and change. You will start on a routine and get hooked into the structure of it. This will be a growth period. You will see gains in one or more of the following areas: strength, endurance, and/or body appearance. But after a period of time, your body will adapt to this routine and plateau. This means it's time for a change. The body wants something new. It needs a new routine for challenge, adaptation, and growth. Variation also removes the boredom and monotony in training. And hitting the muscles from a variety of' angles gives better overall development. The routines in Part 4 have variety built into them and you can use them as a model when you are ready to create your own routine. REPETITIONS A repetition is the completion of an entire movement of an exercise. If an athlete performs ten squats, he or she has completed ten repetitions. Repetitions are commonly referred to as reps. SET A set is a series of consecutive repetitions. if You perform ten repetitions of Leg Curls, then rest, and [hen perform another ten repetitions, you have performed two sets of ten repetitions (2 x 10). HOW MUCH DO I AIM FOR? The number of repetitions and sets you do depends on your fitness level and your goals. There are no hard and-fast rules. Professional bodybuilders and top athletes get results using a wide variety of routines, differing numbers of sets, reps, and exercises. Train as hard and as frequently as you can without overtraining. Chapter 26, "Creating Your Own," will give you intelligent guidelines for achieving these goals and for meeting your individual needs. Overtraining : As mentioned, overtraining simply means doing too much and not giving yourself enough rest. It means you have worked the muscle too often and too intensely without giving it enough time to repair itself'. It is the same as being overworked at the office. You become less efficient and start to burn out. Sometimes less is more. It is easy to push yourself too hard, to become critical, always wanting more and more. Training shouldn't become an unhealthy obsession. Remember, the purpose of exercise is to improve the quality of your life (mentally and physically), not just your physical appearance. Be patient, train wisely and enjoy every repetition. Get into the process, not just the results. QUALITY OF THE REP The most important element in training Is not quantity but quality. Don't sacrifice technique for more, weight. Concentrate on quality and technique; keep your technique strict and go through [he prescribed range of motion on each repetition. Feel the contraction of each rep, keeping constant tension on the muscles throughout[ [he movement. Indulge in each and every repetition. REST PERIODS DURING WORKOUTS The purpose of a rest period between sets is to recover for the next set. In general, you should keep your rest time as short as possible. But again, this depends on your goals and your fitness level. Beginners need more rest time. High-intensity training generally requires more rest time. PAIN An important aspect of working out is getting in [ouch with your body. Part of this journey is ]earning to distinguish between "good" pain and "bad'" pain; so be smart and listen to your body. Good pain is the feeling of being pumped, of having the muscle fill with blood. And yes, even that burning sensation that comes from lactic acid buildup is a good pain. This signals fatigue in the muscle or muscles you are working, which is the goal of exercise. These are feelings you will learn to thrive on and may even come to regard as pleasurable. Bad pain is a warning sign. It means you've injured yourself. When you feel had pain, stop immediately. if you have any doubts, it's better to play it safe and stop the workout. Don't risk injury. If you have lower back problems, this is something you must be very careful about. Be aware of your lower back at all times. Warning signs are sharp pains, spasms. and periphery pain that moves into your legs, arms, feet, and hands. Don't push yourself through bad pain. Rather, take time off, see a doctor if the pain persists, or switch to exercises that won't cause such problems. See Chapter 6 for more about the lower back and preventing injury. SORENESS Muscle soreness is common after a workout. Don't worry if you're a little sore (good pain). Soreness may he caused by microscopic tears in muscle tissue. These need recuperation time and proper nutrition for repair. If you are too sore to train during your next session, you have overdone it. Most of the time it is good to train lightly through soreness, as increased Hood flow will help the area. Train hard and train smart. Exercise is for a lifetime. References Brungardt, Brett. "Spring and Summer Four Week Mini Cycles." National Strength & Conditioning Association Journal, vol. 7, no. 5 (December/January 1986), 34-35. O'Bryant, Harold, and Mike Stone. Weight Training: A Scientific Approach. 1st ed. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1984. Excerpted from The Complete Book of Butt and Legs by Kurt Brungardt, Mike Brungardt, Brett Brungardt All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
