Today we continue our series on the 29 principles of bodybuilding laid out by Joe Weider.
Weider Principle 4: The Muscle Confusion Principle
Every now and then pyramid from heavy to light rather than light to heavy. Your muscles won’t know what hit them
Joe Weider realized that for growth to be constant and to avoid plateaus the muscle can never get a chance to settle into any particular training regimen. The body is an incredibly efficient machine. This is why the WB Fitness program constantly changes throughout the time we are in season (look out boys, the next one is coming in a week). Sets need to be changed and staggered. Rep ranges need to change. Angles that you hit the muscles need to change. Arnold liked to “shock” the muscle sometimes by going for a 1RM first and then working down into high volume. Anything to confuse the muscle and make it work over time is good.
Weider Principle 5: The Muscle Priority Principle
This is one that Arnold really took to heart and that we have spoken about here at WB Fitness many times. Prioritize your weakest muscle. Increasing muscle mass and strength takes an insane amount of intensity and training and everyone has their hard growth spots (mine is my chest) so hit those hard growth spots first while you have a full tank of gas. My shoulders are my strong spot so if I am doing shoulders and chest in the same day I need to get my benches in prior to my rows and lat raises because I need to be able to give them my all.
Weider Principle 6: The Pyramiding Principle.
It really is almost hard to believe that someone had to invent this it is so second nature to everyone who lifts at this point. Muscle fiber growth is a direct result of contractions against high resistance. The pyramid principle helps handle the problem of moving maximum weight for highest resistance while avoiding injury. Weider believes that a workout should begin with 60% of ones one rep max with a high volume of 15-20 reps. After this weight is added until the same exertion is put out in fewer reps. So x for 15 reps should be as much effort as X + 20 for 12 reps and then X+40 for 10 reps and x+60 for 8 reps. Weight should be increased until 80% of maximum is achieved.
Weider Principle 7: The Split-System Principle
Here is another one that has become so common it is hard to think that someone had to invent it. Weider was a pioneer in saying that it doesn’t do any good to work the whole body every day or even every other day. He came up with the three day split. One day would be chest and back, one would be arms and shoulders and a third would be legs. Or it could go chest and shoulders, back and arms and then legs (in fact, following principle 4 it should be changed up periodically). Arnold took this to the next level doing the 3 day split twice a week and that is, essentially, what we follow here at WB Fitness. However, Weider was the one to realize that if you isolate certain areas on certain days you can go at them full tilt boogie and still avoid over training and injury.
Weider Principle 8: The Circulation Principle
Muscle growth requires stimulation by blood being circulated around the muscle being worked on. When blood floods the muscle, this is what we call the pump. Focusing on one muscle and just totally destroying it (see the WB 500 rep challenge) allows for maximum pump, maximum circulation and maximum growth.
Weider Principle 9: The Superset Principle
Here we have another Weider principle that has just become part of everyone’s workout knowledge. The superset principle puts two separate workouts, often time with antagonistic muscle groups (groups that work against each
Arnold doing one of my favorite antagonistic supersets: Incline Bench Press and T Bar Row. I love T bar Rows.
other like biceps/triceps, back/chest, quadriceps/hamstrings), and works them back to back without rest. Supersets are not just effective from a muscular standpoint, but also a neurological one. Study after study has shown that the biceps, for instance, regenerate more quickly if the triceps are done immediately after. This has to do with the way the nervous system transmits signals through the body and the stress on the body created by working antagonistic muscle groups together without rest between them.
Weider Principle 10: The Compound Set Principle
Much like the superset principle, the compound set principle focuses on doing two back to back exercises with no rest in between. However, in the compound set principle, rather than working antagonistic muscles, the work is done on sympathetic muscles or the same muscle. Unlike the superset which is focused on recuperation in the aftermath of the workout, the compound set is focused on the pump received from working the same muscle back to back without rest. An example of a compound set for biceps would be the combination of barbell curls and then, without rest, dumbbell curls on an incline bench.
Next week we will be taking a look at principles 11-20 so definitely check it out. I really hope going through these is giving you guys an idea on a) just how influential to weight lifting the great Joe Weider has been and b) a new focus on how to get in there and build and define those muscles.
Meanwhile, for your enjoyment, here is a video interview of Arnold explaining how without Joe Weider that Arnold never gets to where he is
Grind on!