Front picture clickable for chest, arms, legs and abs. Back picture clickable for back, shoulders and legs again. Training for Body Builders The following is a collection of workouts and the theories behind them. I stress that there are many different training philosophies because many people have all had success with them. It's more of a matter of finding which one will work for you. More often then not, it's best when a person varies his workouts. Now as you read through these workouts, you'll notice that there really are only two types; Split routines and full body routines. You can mix and match any way you like, but it always comes back to those two. Incidentally, these workouts are certainly not limited to the exercises you see here. One can easily be substituted for another as long as you targeting the intended muscle group. But never substitute a compound movement (double jointed exercise) for an isolation exercise (single jointed movement)... it's a bad trade. One final word: you should always warm up before beginning any workout! The Split Routine: Even though the split routine is advocated in a lot of muscle magazines, they usually neglect to mention that they're really meant more for the intermediate to advanced lifter. Having said that, I want to point out that many a beginner has made great advances with this type of routine. The theory behind this type of routine is that as your muscles grow bigger, they'll obviously work harder due to that that fact that you're lifting more weight! The harder they work, the more time it will take for them to recover! by working each muscle group only once every 6 or 7 days, it will give them ample time to do just that. Here's a typical split routine: Day 1: Chest & Biceps 3 x flat bench 3 x incline bench 3 x barbell curls 3 x hammer dumbbell curls 3 x bench fly's Day 2: Legs 3 x squats 3 x leg press 6 x calf raises (3 sets toes pointing in, 3 sets toes pointing out) 3 x leg curls Day 3: Rest Day 4: Shoulders & Triceps 3 x shoulder presses 3 x lateral raises 3 x bent over lateral raises 3 x tricep extensions Day 5: Back 3x dead lifts 3 x pull ups 3 x bent over dumbbell rows Day 6: Rest Day 7: Rest (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - General Training Sets The best number of sets on average for an excercise is 3, rest should be between 1-5 minutes, and the sets done until failure, you should do warm up sets first. Repetitions These should be between 3-12 depending on the excercise, for bulking up and on major muscle groups, lower reps and higher weight, and the reverse for training the minor muscles and weaker areas. Progression is achieved by incrementing small weights and more reps on the set each time and in general. Fast contractions produce the best results as long as they are strict and smooth. The experienced weight trainer should usually train no more than 3 x a week, and the newer weight trainer up to 5 x a week. Training when the muscles are sore usually aids recovery, as long as there is no pain or an injury. Plateaux Training needs to be changed every 2-3 months or sooner, to allow the muscles to continue to be shocked into growing. Abdominals The abdominal muscles are the rectus abdominis, which flexes the trunk of the body towards the pelvis. Under the rectus abdominis is the transverse abdominis which keep in the internal organs, the external oblique muscle fibers stretch diagonally over either side of the trunk of the body, and help the rectus abdominis in turning the body trunk when assisting each other, or turn the trunk sideways and rotating to the opposite side when working on it's own. The internal oblique muscle fibers oppose the external obliques, other than helping the rectus abdominis with trunk flexion; they are side flexors and rotate the trunk to the same side. Abdominal curls are best done from about 15 degrees of hyperextension, using an incline bench or stability (swiss) ball, also try different twists and medicine ball throws. Colds and Flu When you are suffering from a cold or flu you should be aware that your body will not be able to cope with the loads that exercise creates.  Basically take it easy, and be aware listen to what your body is telling you.  If you continue training then it may actually take you longer to get over your illness than if you take the time to look after your self and rest. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -