Weider rules must have been heard by everyone who was interested in strength sports and body building. Bodybuilders - even though there are fashions in this industry every now and then - invariably rely for the classics of training, i.e., 32 rules written and developed by the father of this sport - Joe Weider. But which training methods can beginners use? Because it’s certainly not all of them.
What did Joe Weider come up with?
First, he created a system of rules and tips that allow you to shape the perfect muscular, bodybuilding figure. He designed many machines that can still be found in gyms or that have become the prototype for subsequent, improved versions. He published the first bodybuilding magazines that were not only a collection of nice photos, but above all a proven and recommended compendium of knowledge. He invented a lot of proprietary exercises designed to shape specific muscle groups. If you've ever heard of terms such as the principle of supersets, combined sets, pyramid training - Joe Weider is their author.
Not everything at once, so what is worth using?
Many of Weider's rules were created for people who are already advanced, aware of their training capabilities and, above all, who have great muscle feeling that allows them to make seemingly minimal changes that have a great impact on the development of muscles and strength. For beginners, these methods will be difficult to implement and will do more harm than good. However, there are a few rules that we can use in the first weeks of training at the gym.
1. The principle of gradually increasing training intensity
It seems obvious that the training should be more and more difficult, and when you look at some gym clients, they probably don't know this rule, because they can reach for the same dumbbells for months (even years) to perform the exact same exercise - identical in terms of number of repetitions, rest time etc. For training to be effective, it must constantly challenge the body. Therefore, the parameters need to be increased. Not all at once. We can increase the training volume, i.e., do more exercises. We can increase the weights, shorten the breaks, extend the sets. All this is to serve as a stimulus for development. And it is also a way to avoid training boredom.
2. Performing exercises in sets
To lead to fatigue of the muscle group and the resulting hypertrophy, the exercise must be based on several series (4-5) with a properly selected load - not too light, but at the same time such that the vast majority of 10-12 repetitions are performed 100% correctly.
3. Isolating muscle groups
The first and extremely important step to develop proper muscle sensation are exercises that allow you to isolate individual muscle groups. Most of the movements performed in everyday and sports activities are complex movements, based on the work of several adjacent and supporting muscles. To build a harmonious figure and develop qualitatively clear muscles, it is important to feel each muscle separately. Therefore, in the training of a beginner, a lot of exercises should be isolated, i.e., single-joint or muscle group.
4. Principle of muscular confusion
Muscle confusion is something that people described at the beginning of this article do not know, who have been doing the same training for many months. Muscles get used to the effort and when they are not surprised by new challenges, they stop responding properly. They acquire neither strength nor shape and size. To prevent this from happening, you need to force them to constantly cope with slightly modified exercises. All you need is a different position of the bench, a different type of device used or a grip when bending the forearms and the exercise is something new. This is known as muscle disorientation, which cannot be forgotten by more advanced gym users.
And which rules still have to wait?
The principle of cheated repetitions, initial muscle fatigue, resistance in reverse movement or double and triple split training - these Weider methods are tips for more advanced people.
Training is not just a type of exercise. These are a few dependencies that need to be properly planned to be able to observe progress.
Read on our blog: Training volume, length, and frequency - what do you need to know about them?