Bodybuilding Workout Routines

Bodybuilding Workout Routines

There are likely as many bodybuilding workout routines out there as there are bodybuilders. Everyone has there own little twist and variation that they like to use in the gym. The longer you workout the more likely it is that you will discover what works for one person may not work for you. Before you can vary the techniques you have to know what the basic techniques are. This article will cover some of the basics.

One of the keys to successfully building muscle is to not let your muscles adapt to the forces you are placing on them. So when considering these workout tips for bodybuilders simply add one or two of these suggestions per muscle group per week to your normal routine. This will shock your muscles and "keep them guessing" forcing them to grow and develop.

Here are four basic techniques:

1. Negatives - performing negatives is a great way to shock your muscles and stimulate fibers that you may not effect with a standard lift. You'll need a training partner for this one. Use a weight that you can't lift yourself. Your partner assists you in lifting the weight. Hold it at the top of the movement for a few seconds. When you can't hold it any longer resist its movement back to the start position. Repeat this for as many reps as you can until you can't resist the weight any longer.

2. Drop Sets - this is a great technique to give you that pumped up feeling and look. This technique will usually exhaust a muscle group completely so it is recommended to save this last in your workouts. You perform this technique by loading the bar with enough weight that you can only perform 2 or 3 reps. When you can't do anymore have a partner strip off 10 pounds quickly and you perform as many reps as you can. Continue this cycle until you are just down to a very light weight and so fatigued that you can barely lift it.

3. Giant Sets - this is another great bodybuilding workout routine that will take a little preparation but is well worth it. Giant sets involve performing three exercises for the same muscle group in a row without rest in between sets. The best way to do this is to choose three exercises for a muscle group. Let's use pecs as an example. You'll perform flat bench, incline bench and dumbbell press. Determine how much weight you can lift for each of these exercises and subtract 5 pounds from this. You'll perform the exercises in this order - heaviest weight first, least weight last.

In this case you would likely perform bench press first, followed by inclines then dumbbell press. Perform 10 reps each without rest in between. When finished with all three rest 2 to 3 minutes then perform another giant set.

4. Partial Reps - normally when you perform a weight lifting exercise you move the muscle through a full range of motion. A partial rep exercise involves working a muscle in a limited or part of the range of movement. For example with the bicep curl. Most commonly this is performed starting with the weight held at your thighs then lifting it to just in front of your shoulders. A partial rep would be performed lifting the weight from your thighs to about 80 or 90 degrees of elbow bending. This will help develop different bicep muscle fibers that may be lagging behing.