Training Goals

There are many different answers to all fitness questions, it just depends upon who you talk to, and which articles you enjoy reading.  Basically, everyone’s advice (and beliefs) is different – just like in life, in general.

Here are my opinions, on your personal goals.  I have acquired these particular views on goal-training through my own research, but also through family who went to school for Physical Education, and also through my professors at school.  The three categories of “training goals” below are the most common I have found.  Here are some of the things I have learned, that I believe will most affect you and your decisions about them:

Let’s say that you are someone who simply wants to stay small, and simply “tone” up your musculature.  This is usually the case for most women.  What you’re going to want to do in this case is first find out your “one-rep-max” – (This just means you need to find out what the maximum amount of weight is, that you can lift only once before failing, and muscular fatigue sets in).  Then you need to take (approximately) 60% of that number [times the number by .60, and you will have 60%].  After having both of those figures on paper, you need to perform between 2 and 3 sets of each particular exercise that you choose to do, for each part of your body; and they can be whichever exercise you like the most.  It is my recommendation that you perform each set with 12-15 (or more) repetitions.  It takes a lot of endurance to be able to perform that many repetitions, especially if your one-rep-max is up there, and that 60% ends up being quite a large figure.  But, it’s doable.  I believe in you.

Next, let’s take someone who wants to get extremely strong and powerful by their weight training, and yet doesn’t care one bit about getting “bigger” or “bulky” or acquiring a lot of muscle mass.  This person is going to want to find out their one-rep-max (just as above) first.  Then, they are going to want to take between 80-85% of that number to find what they should be lifting, per set.  [Again, simply multiply that number of your one-rep-max by .80 or .85 and you have your answer] … Lastly, they are going to want to perform between 4-6 SETS.  Within those sets, you should perform 4-8 repetitions.

Lastly, and more frequent within the bodybuilding community, and (most) men, in general, is the long list of people who want to get BIG!  For that person, I would reccomend that they find out that one rep max is for each particular exercise, and then take about 65-75% (depending upon how strong you are) of that number.  After you have the normal information printed on paper, and at hand, you should perform between 3-4 sets of approximately 8-12 repetitions.

As I mentioned previously… there are a lot of people that will disagree with me here, as with anything.  But, this information is acquired through my own research and findings, and also through my own experiences in training in all three as well.

Just remember to always have a spotter while figuring out your one-rep-maximum in any and ALL exercises.  You don’t want to be another statistical figure in polls, of how many people were killed while weight training – and YES… there are such polls out there.

Many “tough guy” men will say, “Eh, I don’t need a spotter, nothing’s going to happen,” but let me just say one thing… no matter how “strong” you think you are, have you ever had a groin (or other muscle) pull, creating a strain?  It’s possible to happen in EVERY muscle.  Which means, if you’re lifting something too heavy for you, and you tear too many muscle fibers and it DROPS… guess what.  That’s 200 (or whatever the weight may have been) lbs of steel crushing your chest, other other body part.  Wonderful stuff, huh?

Just be careful, cautious, and intelligent in your actions!