The Mind-Muscle Connection

Joe Weider, along with his brother Ben, are considered the founding fathers of bodybuilding.  Together they founded the International Federation of Bodybuilders and created competitions like the Mr Olympia, Ms. Olympia and Master’s Olympia.  He is the publisher of several bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men’s Fitness and Shape, and is the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements.  But perhaps the most important of his contributions to the health and fitness industry is his series of training methods collected over many years, which became widely known as the Weider Principles.

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Don’t worry about missing a workout. It takes at least 10 days of skipping the gym to see fitness regression.  The bigger concern would be of a time-constraint where missing the gym will become a regular occurence.  Fix the schedule conflicts so you have a time planned out just for going to the gym.

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Making the commitment to your health and fitness is a big step in ensuring your well-being for years to come.  Most people will automatically hire a trainer to tell them what to do and what to eat and when.  This is fine, but not totally necessary.  The gym can be a scary place for a newbie.  Lots of machines, stations, racks, dumbbells and most of all, people.  Most people will be tolerant of a rookie trying to find his or her way around the maze of iron.  But there will always be some people who want to use the machine you are on or don’t take kindly to your lack of gym ettiquette knowledge, even if you have a trainer by your side telling you what to do (not all trainers are experts in gym ettiquette either).  Don’t let these people or this environment scare you away from your transformation goals.  With a little preparation and know-how, you can survive in the iron jungle, without a trainer or helping hand.

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Building the perfect workout is alot like building a house.  You start with the foundation and move upwards.  A precisely engineered workout plan can be the difference between reaching your goals and falling short.  A solid workout plan has a good balance of active and rest days and are scheduled logically.  It also has training of muscle groups scheduled efficiently to allow for sufficient rest and recovery between workouts.  See below for a breakdown of each aspect that is important to building the perfect workout

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There are many reasons to workout and eat healthy, but it is alot easier to come up with reasons why you blow off the gym or a meal on a particular day.  Creating a positive mindset will help you avoid these excuses ever entering into your head and will keep you on your path to success

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Sometimes, less is more when it comes to making progress in the muscle-building game. This is especially true when it comes to recovering from hard workouts day after day. Unless you are getting some chemical assistance, your body usually needs at least 5-7 days to recover per muscle group.

Over-training muscle groups can slow progress and even prevent muscle growth, because your body doesnt have the proper nutrition or rest/recovery time to fully repair the muscle.

Try taking 5-7 days off between muscle groups and then a whole week off every 12 weeks. You should feel refreshed, rejuvinated and even a bit larger after this rest period.