The Army Training System - AskTOP

the proper form for each exercise.Using light weights also helps minimizemuscle soreness and decreases thelikelihood of injury to the muscles,joints, and ligaments. During thesecond week, he should use progressivelyheavier weights. By the end ofthe second week (4 to 6 workouts), heshould know how much weight on eachexercise will allow him to do 8 to 12repetitions to muscle failure. If he cando only seven repetitions of an exercise,the weight must be reduced; if hecan do more than 12, the weight shouldbe increased.Conditioning PhaseThe third week is normally the startof the conditioning phase for the beginningweight trainer. During thisphase, the soldier should increase theamount of weight used and/or theintensity of the workout as his muscularstrength and/or endurance increases.He should do one set of 8 to 12repetitions for each of the heavyresistanceexercises. When he can domore than 12 repetitions of any exercise,he should increase the weightuntil he can again do only 8 to 12 repetitions.This usually involves an increasein weight of about five percent.This process continues indefinitely. Aslong as he continues to progress and getstronger, he does not need to do morethan one set per exercise. If he stopsmaking progress with one set of 8 to 12repetitions per exercise, he may benefitfrom adding another set of 8 to 12repetitions on those exercises in whichprogress has slowed. As time goes onand he progresses, he may increase thenumber to three sets of an exercise toget even further gains in strength and/or muscle mass. Three sets per exerciseis the maximum most soldiers willever need to do.Maintenance PhaseOnce the soldier reaches a highlevel of fitness, the maintenance phaseis used to maintain that level. Theemphasis in this phase is no longer onprogression but on retention. Althoughtraining three times a week formuscle endurance and strength givesthe best results, one can maintain themby training the major muscle groupsproperly one or two times a week.More frequent training, however, isrequired to reach and maintain peakfitness levels. Maintaining the optimallevel of fitness should become part ofeach soldier’s life-style and trainingroutine. The maintenance phase shouldbe continued throughout his careerand, ideally, throughout his life.As with aerobic training, the soldiershould do strength training threetimes a week and should allow at least48 hours of rest from resistance trainingbetween workouts for any givenmuscle group.TIMED SETSTimed sets refers to a method ofphysical training in which as manyrepetitions as possible of a given exerciseare performed in a specified periodof time. After an appropriateperiod of rest, a second, third, and soon, set of that exercise is done in anequal or lesser time period. Theexercise period, recovery period, andthe number of sets done should beselected to make sure that an overloadof the involved muscle groups occurs.The use of timed sets, unlike exercisesperformed in cadence or for aspecific number of repetitions, helpsto ensure that each soldier does asmany repetitions of an exercise as possiblewithin a period of time. Itdoes not hold back the more capable3-7