what's a good training regime for beginners?

Out of curiosity what are your certifications?

There are lots of 'big gyms' that have absolutely crap trainers. Just a well known fact of the fitness industry. The fitness industry as a whole is driven by sales numbers. Both for membership packages and for PT sessions. It's not performance driven. This is why you have PT's working gyms that hand out deadlifts to clients but can't do them themselves.

So in all seriousness... which coursework did you do that suggests isolation over integration? Surely it wasn't PTA global, NASM, or CSCS certs. It's also not likely that what you are putting forth is backed up by people like Paul Chek, Peter Twist or Gary Gray... and it's certainly not supported by any of newer findings done by Tom Meyers.

I'm curious which gym you worked for as we get lots of Aussies here in HK both that work in fitness industry management and as PT's.

 

Starting Strength
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

WS4SB
http://www.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=459321
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/38-articles/65-westside-for-skinny-bastards-part3.html

Bill Starr 5 x 5
http://www.wackyhq.com/madcow5x5/geocities/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

These are very good, respectable and proven programs.

Your program should be based around compound lifts if your serious in regards to your training.

 

I was a shift manager for a local gym for several years before I began police work, and one of the qualifications was to get a PT license through two different organizations. I can tell you that 90% of what they teach is absolute bollocks. It's more for business success than customer success, which is why they stress isolation movements and machines that way the customer is in and out quicker.

This is absolutely terrible advice. If you take someone and train them on nothing but say leg extensions, leg curls, pec dec movements, concentration curls, and triceps kickbacks for 3 months, then compare them to someone who trained on benches, squats, chin-ups, deadlifts, and presses, which one do you think will be much stronger and have developed more muscle?

Compound movements work the most amount of muscle in one exercise. As athletes, compound movements mimic what we are likely to do in an athletic endeavor. Isolation exercises are used for rehabilitation or strengthening a particular weakness, not for overall strength development and increased athletic ability.

So what about all the other muscles used for stability and proprioception that you can only develop when doing a compound exercise?

A barbell back squat and a leg extension still have the same main function of working the quadriceps. However, while the leg extension basically only works the quadriceps, back squats are also working your hips, midsection, glutes, lower back, hamstrings, and calves, not to mention once you get an appreciable amount of weight on your back your upper back also gets more than a tickle due to just holding the weight there.

Sounds like the waste of a perfectly good first year. In my first year of weight training I added a good solid 30 pounds of bodyweight, doubled or tripled most of my basic lifts, and took 3rd place in my weight class in a local strongman contest. All I cared about was training to get strong.

What is your certifications just out of curiousity? If I was one of your customers, I'd ask for my money back.

Better yet, I posted previously a routine I think is good for beginners. Why don't you do the same so we can critique it? Here's my recommendation again in case you missed it:

DAY ONE.
Squats (5 sets of 6 reps, as deep as you can go)
Chin-Ups (4 sets of max reps, have a friend assist you beyond what you can do)
One-Arm DB Rows (4 sets of 10-12 reps per side)
Decline Sit-Ups (4 sets of 15 reps)

DAY TWO.
Dumbbell Bench Press (5 sets of 5 reps)
Dumbbell Clean & Press (4 sets of 6 reps, palms in during clean, palms forward to press)
Dumbbell Farmer's Walk (2-3 sets of 100ft with at least one turn)
Full Contact Twists (4 sets of 15 reps)

DAY THREE.
Deadlifts (5 sets of 5 reps)
Dips (4 sets of max reps)
Barbell Curls (4 sets of 6 reps)
Hanging Knee Raises (4 sets of 15 reps, at end of set hang until your grip gives out)

 

BuddhaPalm - I haven't seen your qualifications, but being a certified physical trainer doesn't mean hardly anything these days.

 

The amount of "Fast track" courses pumping p.t's out in 8 weeks or less with a certification is rediculous. (not directed at you buddhapalm)

Took a few years of study for me, and i have a few more ahead of me for furthur qualifications.

One year of isolation? I couldnt think of any thing more boring, unmotivating, and time wasting.

 

First up, I'll do you a favour and assume that either:

a) English isn't your first language.

or

b) You are so passionate about your response you forgot what grammar, punctuation and paragraphs are for.

This one's already been worked over by the other responses.

You're already showing a lack of knowledge/experience here. Some of the best PTs I know are 'ripped whippets', with a hoodie on you'd be forgiven for thinking they were 'skinny'.

I'm guessing whoever employed you had a degree in kinesiology/exercise science/etc and were a successful PT themselves? Or were they a number cruncher with a degree in management and accounting (see the previous responses about big chain gyms).

Absolutely. But they will all have some very common elements, for those wanting to build strength for fighting these will be something like:

i) Lift big
ii) Lift often
iii) Eat lots
iv) Sleep lots

An intellegent discussion about strength training may involve me declaring that on a 5x5 that you should aim to peak on the second set, whereas someone else may say that all sets should be equal, blah, blah, blah, etc.

IMHO 90% of 'traditional martial arts fitness training' is BS (hell, 90% of all martial arts is BS). We live in an enlightened age where fighters (I stress 'fighters' not 'martial arts and crafts wannabes) have look left and right into the professional sports and seen how they achieve their fitness training. For some reason martial arts seems to be struggling to be dragged into the 20th century (yes, the 20th century) with regards to fitness training.

Having read your post I have no doubt that I don't want you anywhere near my training programme.

Yep, you worked for a 'leading gym' and didn't realise that it was a business...

If you jump straight to the second year that doesn't sound too bad!

This is your poor WC training showing through. Anyone who knows anything realises that trying to define a motion like this as an 'isolation' is misguided.

Shame, you may have learned something.

By focusing on isolation you are sacrificing body mechanics (literally) and risking injury when you take your body to sparring, as all your synergists will be poorly prepared.

Or you could lift big weights over your head, anyone who can do this without aids will develop their 'core' whilst learning a functional motion.

Your method would potentiall have an athlete waste over a year.

 

I don't think he's going to reply. I think we broke him... so what do you think of those 5x5's?

 

I believe it helps with establishing body feel. I would prefer to feel my muscles working seperatley before putting them together. I know some people don't have the sensitivity to realize how that could work.

 

I got my certicificate at AIF, 8 weeks. I know what your thinking now and i fully understand. AIF only taught me a few things i didn't know and i don;t think it's a waise idea to enroll if you havn't stepped a foot in a gym.
They didn't teach my my theory, i came. up with that My theory doesn't need believe from others really, i like it.

 

I know, i'm a big believer in that type of strenght training. I've done my share of it.
My favourite program to do was to start of with a weight i could only do for a couple of reps and build on that every week. Long rest periods.

 

They didn't stress isolation excercises with me the way you think.

 

I know that. Like i said i knew most of the stuff before i did AIF. I did that course so i can teach what i enjoy to do.

 

English is my fourth language. If you have to know i was in the top three of my english class. Go figure.

Your comment about PT is subjective. I said it to impress that i a reasonable idea of what i'm talking about.

I know what strength training is. I just don't see the hurry to move into compounds first. I believe isolations is the way to go for a good start but you already know that.

 

I considered myself to be the brightest student at AIF. There was a girl that that had never been in a gym and i couldn't believe it. A lot of these new trainers don't have a full understanding of what it takes to be a succesfull trainer but if you know the basic then AIF can give ytou what you are looking for.

I can see how most people don't have the patience to do a year of isolation. I think a year is a enough time to become very good at it.

 

Like i said before Kuma man, i believe it's best to start of with pilates. I assume you havn't tried pilates. Theres no need to hurry into those type of lifts.

 

'Body feel' is a pretty abstract and entirely subjective term. So it doesn't really go toward a deeper understanding of what we're trying to get at here.

I also don't think it's down to other peoples lack of sensitivity.

When you favor isolation over integration you are working hard to ignore the way kinetic chain and myofascial pathways in the body actually work. The body is smart enough to realize that for it's own safety and preservation that it needs to disperse loads and stresses over the largest amount of muscle fiber possible. This is why the strongest, most athletic movements that humans have are compound movements. It simply stands to reason when one begins to understand the neural pathways and their relation to movement.

The concept is a solid one... well accepted by those who deal with human movement and sports and athletic development. Kineseologist know this, some physiotherapists know this, athletes by and large understand this, fighters mostly understand this, sadly though...

Many personal trainers are on the late train. Many have done a 3 week home study course and gotten a job. Very blue collar in their approach. They want a job at a gym... they type of work where there isn't too much stress. And they get to workout. Most of what they know goes back to the bodybuilding mindset that dominates most fitness gyms.

Bodybuilding is fine... but the focus is totally different than sports performance or martial arts focused training. The type of hypertrophy they go for has very little carry over to martial arts. The egos... in that form of training can be just beyond universally stupid. Not all.. but many of them. And if you've worked in a top fitness gym then you'll know how threatened they feel when someone starts talking about integration over isolation for sports development.

You might want to do a rethink on what you're suggesting. It's not very well backed up by sports science and there is a ton of information out there that suggests it has very, very little carry over to combat sports and martial arts.

 

I'm not talking about bodybuilding, i'm talking mainly about martial arts training. I never said compounds are useless i just see the hurry to get into them.

I believe a skilfull fighters ability will come down to their body feel. Some have a natural sense of rythm, etc while other may have to work at. Those that have to work at may never get to the same level as the person before.

Have you ever tried to to a compund movent, without weights, by trying to contratc one muscle and the other. I have and i think it's a fantastic tool for developement. That's the type of body feel and sensitivity i'm talking about.

 

fixed

 

Actually that's not a theory if you just came up with it, that's a hypothesis. a theory is something that has been tested scientifically and may be true.

You might want to do a lot more research as it's clear you have a lot to learn. Try taking an associate's degree in exercise physiology. I earned my degree in exercise phys before I changed to criminal justice and I can tell you there's an awful lot to learn. I think you'll also find it difficult to find any credible studies in a peer reviewed source that support your idea.

Ever been to rehab for anything? I injured my lower back in a car accident years ago and had to get physical therapy for it. One of the rooms in the PT area looked like a gym because it had all these machines in there used to isolate specific body parts. Isolation exercises on machines were designed to rehabilitate you back from injury first and foremost, not for athletic training.

If you want to get into some serious training for martial artists, you should look into such fellows as Martin Rooney, Alwyn Cosgrove, Ross Enamait, and even Budd Jeffries.