I don’t fault these people because it is how they have been taught and it is all part of the misinformation that is perpetuated in the gyms around the world. In fact, I overheard a trainer the other weekend explaining to a new member that if he used higher reps and isolation exercises, he would tone up a lot faster. Hmm, I wonder where the trainer heard that one.  Obviously not from me!

I was not immune to poor exercise selection and in my early days I did some of the same mistakes I see people doing all the time. Again, it is all a part of the misinformation you have to sift through until you finally understand what is really going on in the gym and what you are really trying to accomplish with weight training.

For some that can take years of trial and error, and for others that are luckier they might get better information early on or have a great training partner that knows what they are doing.

Cut To The Chase

Weight training is about stimulating muscle growth, plain and simple. It is not about shaping the muscle, toning the muscle or spot reducing any fat. With that in mind, your workouts should always be designed to stimulate maximum muscle growth and physiology tells us that is best accomplished by overloading the muscle.

Weight training is also about building muscle and increasing strength, so why would you approach your workouts in any way that is less than optimal for causing the desired training effects? There should ALWAYS be a component of overload in your weight training program and you should select the exercises that best allow you to achieve overload.

The overload principle refers the observation that a tissue or system must be subjected to levels of exercise beyond what it is accustomed to in order for a training effect to occur. It’s also noted that muscles increase their strength by systematic overload of being forced to contract at tensions near their maximum.

The " Max-Load System" 

That will sound pretty familiar to those of you who have heard of the Max-Load Training Method. Max-Load Training, or MLT, as I like to call it,  is based on the overload principle and stresses high intensity and progressive overload in each workout. It’s no mystery why Max-Load Training is the most effective approach for increasing strength and packing on muscle. There are no secrets here, just basic physiology in action!

When I designed the the Max-Load program for the first time it was an easy transition for me to make because there were so many similarities with other weight training  principles I had learned in exercise physiology, plus I had already been training in a similar fashion. It all made perfect sense and I’ve been training 100% MLT style ever since and achieving outstanding results.

You need to remember what you are trying to accomplish with the weight training aspect of your plan. Your focus in the gym should be on maximum muscle stimulation. You’re not toning, shaping or spot reducing fat. You are in the gym to build muscle and increase strength so approach your workouts in a manner that will best accomplish those training effects. Babies and wimps need to apply unless they are ready to suffer and build that stubborn muscle!

There is no need to start adding or substituting exercises just for the sake of doing different movements and there is no need to mess with different set and rep schemes. Choose compound free weight exercises and progressively overload the muscle in a 4-6 rep range. You will also want to make sure along with following this workout outline, you are taking in enough protein and amino acids every day to enhance muscle growth and recovery. You would also be well advised to load up on glutamine, especially after especially intense, hardcore workouts.

Keep It Simple!

Don’t make the process of building muscle more complicated than it really is. I think the simplicity of MLT workouts when you think about it and it's inclusion of basic exercises scares some people because of their need to feel like they are doing some advanced, high tech workout with specially designed exercises to “shock” their muscles into new growth.

Don’t succumb to that way of thinking or the gobs of training misinformation that is floating around because physiology and real world results tell us basics are best. Just get in the gym, do basic, heavy movements, and remember to keep the reps in the 4-6 range. Do that, and watch your muscles explode out of your skin!

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