Your muscular system is typically broken down into different muscle groups. These subsections of your muscular system refer to parts of your body that share muscles. They can also refer to certain groups of muscles that all share similar functions or other attributes. When training your body to increase your strength, many people make the mistake of only working on a few well known exercises. In reality, the best way to build up your overall body strength to the highest level possible is to spread out your workout across as many different muscle groups as possible. Read on for some advice on how to best take advantage of muscle group training in order to increase your strength.
Rotate the Muscle Groups You TrainMuscle groups are typically defined by parts of your body. Do not fall into the tendency to work on the same groups of muscles every day. Rather, it's better to come up with a schedule that works two or three different muscle groups each day. Provide at least one day of rest in between each workout of a major muscle group. This is necessary in order to give that muscle group time to rebuild itself. Since the rebuilding process is what contributes to strength gain overall, this will help you to avoid feeling sore while simultaneously ensuring that your muscles grow to their strongest.
Use Low Repetitions and Heavy WeightTo build up strength in your muscles, find a group of exercises that target a specific muscle group. Work to include small sets of only a few repetitions of each of those exercises, but perform them all with a weight that is on the heavy side of what is reasonable for you. Do not overexert yourself by putting too much weight in each exercise, as this can cause injury. Make sure to always stretch and warm up before you begin, and to cool down after you finish an exercise.
Target Reciprocal Muscle GroupsReciprocal muscle groups are those that are unrelated but which can mutually benefit one another. One prime example of a pair of reciprocal muscle groups are those that support your core and stomach muscles and those that support your back. Without a strong back, you'll place limitations on the maximum amount of strength you can build up in your stomach, and vice versa. Therefore, it's a good idea to work on those two muscle groups equally so that they both build in strength simultaneously.
Change Individual ExercisesWhen you're working on a particular muscle group, it's a good idea to change exercises that target that group every month or so. This will continue to work different parts of your muscles and helps to prevent injury from repetitions of the same motions too many times.
For more information on how to best make use of strength training by focusing on individual muscle groups, speak with a personal trainer or a gym representative.
