Best Strength Training Programs

So what are the best strength training programs? This is a good question. Magazines, books, videos all tell you something different and this can be confusing. Who do you believe or trust? How do you know if you follow their advise that you'll get those promised results.

Most of them over promise on the kinds of results you'd get. That magazine headline that reads "10 exercises that burn 10 pounds in 10 days" or "Gain 10 pounds of muscle in 2 weeks." is most likely a downright ridiculous lie.

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. So what should you do then?

First and foremost, when it comes to the best strength training program, the best thing is consistency. If you aren't consistent then you'll never see results.

Second you have to be realistic and expect a reasonable change in a reasonable amount of time. Our body's usually take 4 to 6 weeks to adapt to new exercises. Give yourself at least this much time when you start a new program before you give up.

Third, make sure you challenge yourself and don't repeat the same exact exercise with the same exact amount of weight for more than 6 weeks. Again once your body adapts it will no longer change.

Several ways to challenge yourself are ..

1. Change the exercise.
2. Increase the weight.
3. Increase the number of sets.
4. Increase the number repetitions.
5. Change the tempo. Do the exercises faster of slower.

Here are some answers to some very common questions about the best strength training programs.

What exercises should I do?

The best exercises are compound exercises. These are exercises that work more than one muscle group and require more than one joint movement.

Some examples include squats, pushups, pull-ups, dead-lifts, bicycle crunches, shoulder presses, and Bent rows.

How many sets and reps should I be performing?

This depends on your goals. Generally for weight loss and toning you'd stay in range of 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions. For strength and muscle gain you'd perform 3 - 5 sets of 5 to 12 repetitions. Variety is best.

Higher repetitions work the smaller muscle fibers and increase your muscular endurance. Lower number of repetitions work the larger muscle fibers and generally increase the size of the muscle. Its a good idea to do both and rotate your workouts.

How many total exercises?

You don't need to perform 3 or 5 or 10 different exercises for one muscle group to get results. If your aim is just to tone and lose weight 2 - 3 exercises and performing 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions is more than enough. That's 2 exercises for each body part. For Strength and Muscle gain 1 to 2 exercises and 5 - 10 repetitions is best.

How often should I strength train?

You can do it as often as you like but give your muscles at least 48 hours before you work them again. So don't workout your chest muscles two days in a row. The recovery time is just as important as the exercise time.

How often should I work out each body part?

Once or twice a week is more than enough for each muscle group or body part. If you are trying to increase muscle mass once a week is more than sufficient. For weight loss, 2 or 3 times a week is better.

The best strength training program is the one that you follow consistently and the one that you perform with some variety. Don't change it too often and don't do the same thing for too long.

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