Resistance Training - What to do?

[bodylogicbyjeff]

BandsDumbbellsBodyweight

Resistance Training - What to do?

Should I use free weights?  Should I use my body weight?  Should I use resistance bands?  YES!

You should use whatever you like the most and what doesn’t hurt your joints.  I use a combination of bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells and resistance bands.  You should try many different resistance exercises and decide what works best for you.

Below is what research shows is the optimum number of repetitions per week for each muscle group:

•    Chest (Large Muscle): 60-120 reps per week.

•    Back (Large Muscle): 60-120 reps per week.

•    Quadriceps (Large Muscle): 60-120 reps per week.

•    Hamstrings (Large Muscle): 60-120 reps per week.

•    Shoulders (Small Muscle): 30-60 reps per week.

•    Biceps: (Small Muscle) 30-60 reps per week.

•    Triceps: (Small Muscle) 30-60 reps per week.

•    Calves: (Small Muscle) 30-60 reps per week.

•    Abs: (Small Muscle) 30-60 reps per week.

You can break up the repetitions any way you like.  I do 1 set of 12 repetitions, 1 set of 10 repetitions and 1 set of 8 repetitions for the small muscle groups, twice per week.  I do 2 sets of 12 repetitions, 2 sets of 10 repetitions and 2 sets of 8 repetitions for the large muscle groups, twice per week.

Training each muscle group twice per week.

If you are training each muscle group/body part twice-per-week, you would do:

•    30-60 reps for each big muscle group per workout, with about 2 workouts for each muscle group per week and

15-30 reps for each small muscle group per workout, with about 2 workouts for each muscle group per week.

[WendyB]

I have bands and weights. I use various DVDs and switch off using both

[WavyDavey]

Also, don't be afraid to listen to your body.

For someone doing barbell squats and deadlifts with moderate to heavy weight, 60+ reps will likely be too much to recover from. Those number of reps would work fine for bands or dumbbell work though.