Recovery of the body – As a result of the training, a significant energy expenditure of the organism causes its weakening, requiring an immediate regeneration. It is the third of the decisive factors to increase muscle the mass and reduce body fat (along with planned, well-thought-out training and diet supplements). This is because the increase in muscle mass takes place during the resting phase - relaxation. Resting after training must create the right conditions for development. These include, but is not limited to:

- resting time proportional to the workout effort (cf. table 1);
- wellness, recovery (sauna, massages, swimming, water exercises, etc.);
- proper diet, depending on the effort made in during training and goals set in the training plan (supported with appropriately selected supplements).
 

Intensity – The intensity of training is defined as the smaller (lower intensity) or bigger (higher intensity) number of series of exercises, repetitions in each series, the pace of each exercise, the weight used, and the length of breaks between series, exercises and workouts. Changing any of the factors causes a change in training intensity. For example, the use of lower weight will reduce the intensity of training, and reducing the resting periods increase intensity, etc.

Applying variable intensity of training results in greater efficiency over a longer period (over weeks, year) and allows to avoid weariness with a monotonous cycle. Switching from low intensity training to high intensity (and vice versa) should be avoided, as this can lead to stagnation in muscle development or overt training.

Training plan – The training plan is the foundation for future success, a short-term and long-term goal should be set up in it, that we intend to achieve. The mini-cycles should be planned (ie plans for 2 - 3 workouts) as well as macro cycles (eg annual training plan). The goal should be recorded in a training notebook (detailed description of exercises during training, rest period necessary for regeneration, etc.). The training plan is subordinate to the goal we want to achieve. So it should answer the question: how many training in the micro-cycle (2-3 days), week, in the macro-cycle (month or year) we have to perform; how many workouts and what should be their distribution for each intramuscular group, what exercise intensity will be used (exact calculation of series, series, repetition and weight, length of regeneration intervals during training and between training sessions). Previously, however, we need to determine the goal of training in a given training cycle. For example, it may be: building of muscle mass, improving endurance, strength, regeneration, etc. When planning training cycles for particular muscle groups, it should be remembered, that it is not advisable to combine some muscle groups during a workout (or mini-cycle) (the problem will be discussed in greater detail later).

Warm up – Proper warm-up is an essential part of the workout, and omission or slack performance may result in dangerous injuries. The warm-up should be applied regardless of the intensity of the training, ie, when planning any training should stimulate the body to anticipate the effort.

Proper warm-up should be made in three phases and include, in particular, those muscle groups and body parts, that will participate in the training effort.

First phase of the warm up (3-5 minutes)
Introduction to warm-up should include general exercises that stimulate the cardiovascular system and joints and muscles to hard work, for this purpose a stationary bicycle can be used, treadmill and running in the place, skipping rope

Second phase of the warm up (actual warm up)
Exercises stimulating the area of the body that will be covered during the scheduled training. They have to prepare specific muscles, joints and tendons for strenuous work. The detailed scope of the exercises is discussed in the section on training specific muscle groups.

Third phase of the warm up (stretching of muscles)
Exercises that increase the range of joints mobility, muscle blood supply and tendon strengthening. The detailed range of exercises is discussed in the chapter Stretching of muscles.

After a properly done warm-up, we can start the training, starting from 1 to 2 warm-up series of basic exercises (e.g. bench press or incline barbell press, squats with a weight smaller than the maximum expected by about 40-50%, straightening the legs on the machine etc.), making more repetitions (12 - 15 repetitions in series). It is only now that you can move on to perform series with the heavier weight.

A mass-gain training (4-8 weeks cycle) – Training to increase muscle mass is based on basic exercises: squats, pressing, straightening of the shoulders, and bending with a small weight (barbell, dumbbell). Each muscle group is trained once a week. The number of series should be at the level of: 1 - 3 warm-up series followed by 12-16 series for large muscle groups (chest and back muscles, thighs) and 9-12 series for smaller muscle groups (e.g. biceps brachii muscles and triceps brachii muscles, calf muscles). In each series, 6 to 12 repetitions of exercise should be performed, keeping 2 - 3 minutes regeneration intervals between series.

(Note: the range between the number of series and the number of repetitions in the series is due to the individual needs of the body responding individually to the same external stimulus, which should be included in the training plan. This remark refers to the following types of training.)

A strength training (4 to maximum 8 weeks cycle) – Strength training involves pressing of heavy weights with small number of repetitions (1-8). Training is based on basic exercises: squats, pressing, straightening of arms and bending with weight. The number of series should be at the level of: 2 - 3 warm-up series followed by 8 - 10 series for large muscle groups and 6 – 8 series for small muscle groups, keeping 2 - 3 minutes regeneration intervals between series.

Body definition training (intense, short training 6 times a week) – Each muscle group is trained up to 2 times a week. Intensive exercises with minimum intervals between series (30 to 60 seconds). In addition to the basic exercises, isolated exercises are added to the training (e.g. dumbbell flys, crossing of the cables, exercises on the training machines). During exercising, series of the exercises can be combined (so called superseries, gigantseries, combined series - for the same muscle groups at a short resting time). For larger muscle groups, 9 to 12 series are performed, for smaller muscle groups - 7 to 10 series, performing not less than 10-12 repetitions. At the end of the training, gymnastics, are recommended gymnastic exercises (aerobics), for 30 - 45 minutes.

Training during recovery period – Regeneration period is required after each heavy cycle (e.g. training cycle of strength training), depends on duration and intensity of training (see Table 1) and it lasts from 2 to 4 weeks. During this period we reduce the number of basic training series (by 2 - 3 repetitions). The amount of series is similar to the muscle mass training with a weight that allows you to perform 12 - 15 moves in each series. Interval length between series: 2 minutes for basic exercise, 3 to 2.5 minutes for strength training. Each muscle group is trained once every 5-6 days. The training plan should be adapted to your own predisposition and your current state of health (e.g. the need to treat an injury, or convalescence during an illness).

Pyramid training (of increasing intensity) – Pyramid training concept is grading the number of exercises in the series while increasing the weight, i.e. the first series is performed with the biggest number of repetitions with the small weight, in each subsequent series we reduce the number of repetitions, increasing the weight; The last series with the least, permissible through the training series, with a series of repetitions with maximum weight.