Joe believed that in order for a muscle to grow as much as possible, it must be trained in isolation of the other muscles to the greatest extent possible. The muscles of the back serve as the antagonist. Using every lifter’s favorite exercise (the bench press) as an example, the chest is the agonist (primary mover) in the exercise, but it’s also aided by the muscles of the shoulder and tricep. When performing the vast majority of exercises, a large number of muscles are involved either as agonists, antagonists, stabilizers, or synergists. This exhaustion would serve as the stimulus needed for optimal muscle growth.
He suggested that workouts should involve multiple sets of the same body part exercise to fully exhaust a given muscle. That’s not how Joe believed things should be done.
#THE WEIDER SYSTEM OF BODYBUILDING JOE WEIDER FULL#
So, if you were performing a full body routine consisting of 6 different exercises (chest, back, legs, biceps, triceps, and shoulders), you would only perform 6 sets. Workout principle #2: The Set SystemĮarly bodybuilding training philosophy was that a lifter only needed to perform one set of an exercise per bodypart. Progressive overload is a cornerstone of physical fitness and one that all lifters know, use, and understand in pursuit of making gains. For increasing strength, it’s simply adding more weight to the bar.īoosting endurance can be accomplished by continually increasing the number of reps you perform before exhaustion, or shortening the rest between sets while continuing to perform the same number of sets. For building muscle, this could mean lifting more weight, performing more reps, and/or increasing training frequency. Progressive overload is the idea that in order to increase any attribute of fitness (strength, size, stamina, etc), you must force your muscle to perform more work than they previously have. Of all of Joe Weider’s principles, the concept of progressive overload is probably the most well known and well understood.
Now, let’s get to the Weider principles! Workout principle #1: Progressive Overload While rather expansive, the Weider Principles can be grouped into one of the following categories:īy utilizing these principles, you too can create your own perfect workout program. The Weider Principles consist of a vast array of training philosophies, protocols, and methods assembled by Joe Weider from his time spent around the world’s best bodybuilders. While these principles have been regarded as “bro science”, it turns out that old Joe knew his stuff. For quite a long time, these principles served as the guidelines for bodybuilders seeking to achieve their maximum potential. Today, we dive deep into the commandments of bodybuilding - The Weider Principles. During his time, Joe had the top bodybuilders under contracts guiding them to their genetic potentials through the application of his principles of lifting. But, perhaps his most well-known contribution to the sport of bodybuilding was instituting the Mr. Old Joe even dabbled with own line of supplements. Related - Arnold Schwarznegger is a Vegan? He was responsible for publishing some of the most well-known muscle magazines (including Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men's Fitness and Shape) and producing fitness equipment that many a newbie lifter used to start their life of lifting. Born November 29, 1919, in Montreal, Canada, Weider was one of four children born to Polish-Jewish immigrants.ĭespite rather humble beginnings, Weider would go onto become the godfather of fitness. Few people have had the impact on the world of fitness, and more specifically the sport of bodybuilding, than Joe Weider.