Start the Year Strong

Start the Year Strong Monday Wednesday Friday Fitter Through Food Why Weight Training? Cardio On Demand	Page 1 of 7 • Next

With some deft maneuvers of a computer mouse, the “information superhighway” can retrieve every conceivable bit of information you need in, well, a click, right?

Actually, we’d argue that the Internet advances of the last three decades have actually made it more difficult for you to begin a fitness program. That’s because now there’s so much noise in the world of physique-building that it’s nearly impossible to know where to start. There are countless infomercials pitching miracle products, gurus at every turn preaching about overnight change, and know-it-alls spewing about their can’t-miss workouts. That’s a lot of information (and misinformation) overload because the change you’re likely seeking is a simple one — more muscle, more strength, less body fat — and can be had by relatively simple means.    

Weight training is the most basic, sustainable and effective way to transform your body for the better. That’s right — resisting heavy weight against the force of gravity is more beneficial to your body than a thousand fad routines. That’s because more strength means more muscle, which has plenty of other advantages for your build.

“Traditional weight training is the most efficient way to train, especially if you’re coming off a long layoff,” says Sean Waxman, CSCS, a former national-level Olympic weightlifter and president of Pure Strength. “Performing compound exercises such as barbell squats, deadlifts and bench presses affects more systems of the body more effectively than any other form of training, period. I’m not saying that other forms of training, such as yoga, Pilates and fitness cardio classes, are bad. I am saying that weight training is the complete package.”    

The Three-Month Transformation

The following 12-week program — crafted to help pure beginners to the world of fitness and those who used to train but fell off the wagon for whatever reason — is designed to help you create a solid foundation of muscular strength, power and endurance. This progressive four-phase scheme will challenge your body with new variables each week in order to ensure steady and continuing change.

>> Exercise selection. Fundamentals win out in this program. Most exercises are of the free-weight, multijoint variety in order to recruit the most muscle possible. (Multijoint exercises rely on more than one muscle group to perform, such as a bench press, which recruits your pectorals and triceps, for example.) Isolation movements like curls and pushdowns for your biceps and triceps, respectively, are included.    

You won’t find machines here, either. Waxman believes that early over-reliance on machines can inhibit the amount of muscle you can grow by limiting stabilizer muscle recruitment. (Stabilizer muscles don’t participate directly in an exercise, but they tense and flex to keep your body stable during a movement.) Don’t despair at the program’s lack of exercise diversity — the moves Waxman has chosen will more than adequately stimulate your body and reap results.

>> Weight selection. Choose a weight that brings about muscle failure at the listed rep range. By failure, we mean the point at which you can no longer complete reps with good form. If you hit the target number and still have enough in the tank for a few more reps, you didn’t choose a heavy enough weight. Achieving positive failure is key to maximizing the breakdown — and subsequent rebuilding — of muscle tissue. (Note: For the first two weeks of the program, do not go to failure; simply choose a challenging weight and focus on doing the exercises with perfect form and a steady two-seconds-up/one-second-pause/three-seconds down cadence on every rep.)

>> Frequency. You’ll work your entire body each week in three workouts (a Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule is a prime example of how you could approach it, although you should do what’s best for your particular work and life balance). Just be sure to take a day off between sessions to recover and grow.

>> Intensity. During each of the program’s four phases, your intensity (another way of saying “weight selection”) will increase, while your reps will generally decrease.

>> Volume. Initially, your volume of work will be high. Lighter loads with higher reps will condition your connective tissue to handle the heavier weights ahead. “Some undertrained or inexperienced lifters’ nervous systems may be able to move heavier weight, but the connective tissue isn’t ready, which can result in injury,” Waxman says. Over the 12 weeks, your total reps per set will decrease.    

Week 13 and Beyond   

These 12 weeks don’t represent the totality of your new physique and fitness levels; they represent the starting line. This program provides a solid base of strength, stamina and experience. At the end of Week 12, take a week off to recuperate and to reassess your goals.    

So what’s next? You can always dive right back into this program, using heavier weights or shorter rest periods, or you can tackle one of the other programs that appear on these pages each month. The point is this: You’re only a beginner once, so make these weeks count. 

START-THE-YEAR-STRONG PROGRAM

PHASE 1 = Weeks 1-3
PHASE 2 = Weeks 4-6
PHASE 3 = Weeks 7-9
PHASE 4 = Weeks 10-12

Start the Year Strong Monday Wednesday Friday Fitter Through Food Why Weight Training? Cardio On Demand	Page 1 of 7 • Next