Get Faster Fitness Result In (tai chi techniques) The Weight Room

Written by Webmaster

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

By Ben Needles

What is better for building and sculpting muscle?
A. Free Weights
B. Relative resistance
Or
C. Machines
Well I believe that for healthy individuals with no injuries, free weights and relative resistance followed by machines are optimal.
Free wieghts are generally better because you are working with functional movement, and you have a lot more ways to perform a routine. You are working on stabilizing one set of muscles while primarily working on another. You can work with relative resistance as well as outside resistance during the workout.
There are also a lot more choices in a free weight workout with an easier transition from one exercise to another.
This multiple joint workout can keep your heart rate elevated during the strength training phase. Using this technique, you could have a very efficient workout with free weights, or free weights coupled with machines. I, myself, am working out in less than half the time it used to take me a couple of years ago by using this technique in my Cool Iron Yoga workouts. I am also getting double the results. The same could be said and done in a workout using the gym area also.
Flow, Form, and Sequence:
However, you do need to know what youre doing. There are the right ways of making this happen, and definetly the wrong ways of making this not happen.
You see, flow, form, and sequence are everything in a workout. Those are the three things that make a workout go from great to bad if done incorrectly.
Knowing the whys and the hows is the key to doing it right.
There are also trainers who are great at this and lets be honest; there are trainers out there who are really bad. And it is important to know the difference. The reason is usually because of lack of knowlegde in these particular areas of training.
And guess what, most people do not get all the results they want in their workouts. Many feel and look the same they did the first month or two after they started a year or more ago. Even the ones spending more than sufficient time in the gym. Unfortunatly, it is only because of the lack of knowlegde of a few tricks of the trade.
You want off this treadmill dont you? You want to get the most out of your workouts right? You want to see results right?
With a little knowlegde you can use free wiegths and machines to your best advantage or improve the workout you are doing now.
Back to free weights vs machines.
Ok, so you know that you have more options with free weights than machines and that you can create a multi- joint and relative resistance workout that also can bring your heart rate up to make for a really efficient workout.
So, why use machines?
There are advantages to the machines. The same reason that puts machines at a disadvantage to free wieghts, gives them an advantage. Mainly, it takes away the activation of the core muscles and makes the primary movers more concentrated when you are either tired or injured. So you can actually optimize your workout with adding the machines on to your free weight workout. But save it for when your stabilizers are tired.
I would personally suggest that a person use their time in the wieght room like this: (If they are injury free and healthy)
A. Get a good personal trainer who can optimize your workout at least in the beginning.
B. Tell the trainer you would like to know about combining free wieghts with machines. Or just givse them this article. I am not saying it is the only way or trying to tell your trainer how to do their job. I am merely giving them information as to the sequencing of the workout that has worked for me in the past and for my clients. Only you and your trainer know if this will work for you. I am only the middle man.
C. Then, if you are a healthy person, make sure that the work out goes a little something like this:
1. Start out by warming up or stretching with perhaps a multiple joint movement, like a squat with a wide stance. Or maybe a walk.
2. Do your squats, lunges, and plie like movements (relative and multi joint movement) coupled with your arm presses and curls. Then in between these exersices do things like push ups, pull ups, mountain climbers, maybe calestetics, etcAnything that is relative and multi joint. Your trainer should know how to combine all of these things.
3. After sequencing these exercises out, from 12 reps at a given wieght to 10, to 8 with higher and higher wieghts, do 6 reps on the machines and the highest weight. To total four sets so far.
4. If you are doing a whole body workout (A split routine) or a
5. Then for your fifth set, do a set of 12 reps using free weight followed by 12 reps on a machine for the same body part. This will almost take you to failure or should. Make sure you start out with the appropriate wieght. Now do this for each body part.
6. Then go down for core, floor, stretch and meditation. I, for one, think this is the best part.

*Keep in mind that simply putting together a bunch of free weight exercises, and machines together and calling it a muscle building program wont bring you consistent results. There are a lot of factors to consider when designing a training program, and knowing which exercises to do is just one of them.