You’ve pretty much gotten the idea if you’ve been trying to do your research, there are thousands of routines out there that promise supreme results. And yet, you’ll still find two people who did the same routine and got different results.
It might seem confusing at first, but the key is to understand that different body types react differently to exercise and diet. Their requirements are also different, as are the personal goals each of them wants to achieve. So how do any of these factors affect the workout routine?
How Different Physiques Require Different Training Routines
While some people are genetically blessed with fast metabolism and quick ability to gain and keep muscles, that’s not the case for everyone else. This is why understanding your body needs, type, and the best way to train, is important to get results quickly and effectively. If you’re a skinny guy who wants to build more muscle, it makes sense that you’ll need to do something different from an overweight guy who wants to lose weight yet build strength at the same time.
According to our genetics, body types have been classified into three categories: Ectomorphs, Endomorphs, and Mesomorphs.
Ectomorphs
Ectomorphs are characterized by their long and lean body build. They have a fast metabolism that enables them to stay slim no matter how much they eat. The downside of their genetics is that, they can’t build muscle mass easily, and their gains can be lost easily if they quit training for a while.
Endomorphs
Endomorphs have a slow metabolism, which makes them prone to storing fats and gaining weight very easily. On the upside, however, they can also gain muscle easily when they start training.
Mesomorphs
Mesomorphs are blessed with both a fast metabolism that burns away fats easily, and responsive muscle cells that make muscle gains easy to access too.
What’s Your End Goal?
Whichever category you fall into, we’re assuming that your main goal is to gain muscle and strength (otherwise you wouldn’t be checking out the ultimate 6-week muscle and strength workout). But the real question here is, do you just want to build muscle and strength? Or do you want to slim down too?
Depending on your body type and your end goal, there are two main differences you’ll need to variate in your routine: which is the your diet and the cardio sessions. With mesomorphs on the safest side, we’re talking mainly about ectomorphs and endomorphs.
During following the routine, ectomorphs need to put extra care into increasing their diet intake. While both need to maintain a wholesome diet that provides all of the essential vitamins, proteins, carbs, and essential fats, ectomorphs need to increase the portions and the frequency of their meals. Endomorphs, however, need to follow a more carbs and fat restrictive diet if they want to lose some fats.
The second difference is in the cardio sessions. Ectomorphs should minimize those sessions as much as possible, perhaps just one session a week, so they can avoid losing any body mass. On the other hand, cardio sessions will be very beneficial for endomorphs, which can go up to three of four session a week.
Here’s the Ultimate 6-Week Muscle & Strength Workout:
Now let’s start with the real work! Your ultimate 6-week muscle & strength workout plan focuses on hitting the major muscle groups in your body. This form of muscle training is known as “Split Training”. You’ll workout 3 to 4 days a week, with rest days in between. The only rule is that you’re not allowed to train the same muscle group two consecutive days.
Your week goes as follows:
Day 1: Legs and Lower Back (3-4 sets each)
Day 2: Chest, Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, and Upper Back (3-4 sets each)
Day 3: Rest Day
Day 4: Legs and Lower Back (3-4 sets each)
Day 5: Chest, Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, and Upper Back (3-4 sets each)
Day 6: Rest Day/Cardio
Day 7: Rest Day
And then you repeat this routine for 5 more weeks.
Before thinking about how boring this is going to be, it can be as boring or exciting as you make it to be! We’ve kept it vaguely general on purpose. When it comes to every set of muscle group training, you can choose from a big variety of exercises. Through the variation between the exercises that target the same muscle group, you can add new flavors to your routine every day of the week.
Training Frequency
You’ve probably heard one very common misconception about how it’s best to train each muscle group only once weekly for maximum gains. That’s because, they explain, that training them more often makes the muscle fibers break down and so you lose the gains you were supposed to have. However, scientific evidence says otherwise, according to Stefan de Kort from anabolicbodies.com, research has found that bodybuilders, powerlifters, and individuals training for hypertrophy generally, achieve double or triple the gains when they increase the frequency of training the same muscle group more than once a week. The key, research says, is to do that at least 48 hours apart. That’s why it’s important to not train the same muscle group two consecutive days.
Gaining Strength Vs. Building Muscles
Another important point to ponder when it comes to muscles, is that you can do the same exercise and number of sets, and yet get different results. That’s because the key lies in the number of repetitions you perform, which should differ depending on whether you’re training for strength or for hypertrophy (increased muscle mass).
If you’re training for gaining muscle strength, the range of your reps should fall between the 6 to 8 range. For hypertrophy training, your reps should fall between 8 and 12 reps. In this sense, the weight you’re training with shouldn’t be too easy for you, neither should be impossible to last you through the reps. It should be moderately challenging, so when you start getting used to the current weights, it’s time to hype them up.
Usually, you can’t train for one without the other, especially if you’re going for hypertrophy. So it’s a good idea to start your first two weeks of training with building your strength, and then start your hypertrophy training starting the 3 week.
Getting Your Beach Body Ready
No matter your genetic disposition, there are always ways to override them – if you insist on doing so. To do so, it’s important to understand how different your body can react to training and diet, the training frequency you should follow, and how to train to get the results you want. Once you figure out your workout schedule, all that’s left is to start pumping.