Weider rules for the advanced If you are a person with quite a long and rich experience in the gym, you have done many training plans and you know very well which exercises are good for you and which are not... you can check the effectiveness of the rules developed by Joe Weider for those who already use a ton of iron…
Advanced - who is it?
Can you describe yourself as an advanced person? Yes, if:
- You easily create or correct a training plan due to the goals you have set.
- The movement patterns of your exercises are impeccable, and if you make any deviation, it is conscious.
- You know how important the regularity of training is, but you are also aware of the situations in which this regularity should be abandoned.
- You have the knowledge of anatomy and physiology necessary to properly plan training and recovery.
- You have all the features we wrote about, characterizing people at the intermediate level (in the previous episode of this series).
The principle of resistance in retrograde motion
It consists of maximally extending the eccentric phase of the movement (i.e., the phase returning to the starting position). It can cause excessive fatigue of the trained muscle group, stimulating the muscles to grow. This method is used for quite short sets of exercises with a heavy load. Due to the heavy load on the muscles, it should be used only cyclically and on selected muscle groups.
The principle of forced and cheated repetitions
This is a method that can be used by people who present excellent exercise technique and know their strength capabilities. It consists of performing the last two or three repetitions of the set with a little help when the muscles are no longer able to complete the full movement on their own. For example: when pressing the barbell lying on the bench, we use a little help from a spotter (necessary for this method), who will slightly push the weight up with a grip under the elbows, it will help to overcome the most difficult moment. On the other hand, in pressing the barbell/dumbbell above the head in a standing position, we can help ourselves in the last repetitions by bending the knees and getting some dynamic upward movement, causing the first phase of the movement to be broken, which is the most difficult to perform.
The principle of great series
One of the most demanding methods to improve the quality of muscles of the trained group. It consists in performing from four to even six exercises for one muscle part without breaks or with maximum short breaks (30 seconds) between sets. It is important that the exercises are arranged in such a way that each of them has a slightly different effect on the selected group. And of course, they all must be technically perfect. Not all muscle groups are suitable for working in large sets, but the chest, back, legs and abdomen are.
The principle of maintaining constant muscle tension
Applying this principle allows you to recognize an advanced person. It is the ability to concentrate on an exercise and perform it 100 percent. During the entire movement, we fully control muscle tension and make sure that the work is done by the right muscle group. Any tosses, swings, accelerations of movement, swinging the torso, bending it to shorten the movement, free fall of the weight - all this is contrary to this principle.
Drop Sets.
To perform such exercises, a training partner is necessary, and sometimes even two. After completing the series until muscle failure, training partners immediately reduce the weight (e.g., remove part of the load from both sides of the barbell). This allows you to do two or three more repetitions until the movement collapses. The pace is important (reducing the weight must be done in such a rhythm so as not to extend the time between repetitions). What counts here is excellent cooperation and awareness of one's own capabilities. After such an exercise, the muscles are usually "unusable".
Summary: These are not all the rules developed by the father of bodybuilding. We have selected the most popular ones, but if you want to test them yourself, feel free to do so. Maybe not all of them will appeal to you, because they will not be fully compatible with your training goal or approach to strength sports. However, there is no doubt that thousands of lovers of strength and physique sports have trusted these principles and have used them to be successful.