Paced Weight Training

Paced Weight Training with Pace Weights is the most exciting advance in strength training and body shaping since the invention of barbells. The technique involves “pacing” your weight increments (in size and frequency) to match the rate at which your muscles can grow, so you can keep performing the same number of repetitions as you increase the resistance, thus continually stimulating your muscles to grow further.

Paced Weight Training requires the ability to quickly and easily adjust the weight of barbells, dumbbells, and weight machines in combinations of one-half pound increments, so you can select, to the nearest one-half pound, the optimum weight increment for every exercise. It is the training technique for which Pace Weights were specifically designed. Paced Weight Training can be performed with any weight training equipment capable of accommodating Pace Weights.

Introduction:

It doesn’t matter who you are, male or female, your muscles are an important and significant part of your body’s shape, and developing the size of your muscles (within reason) can significantly---even dramatically---improve the physical attractiveness of your body. Having developed and strengthened muscles also burns calories and intensifies your enjoyment of other physical activities. Whether you’re male or female, there is only one way to develop your muscles, and that is through Progressive Resistance Exercise, or strength training with progressively increasing resistance, because strength and muscle size are directly related.

Pace Weights were designed to enhance the effectiveness of strength training and body shaping for men and women by “pacing” resistance increments to match the rate at which muscles grow, for faster results and more satisfaction. With the ease and convenience of magnetic attachment and the versatility to work with different types of metal weight training equipment, Pace Weights let you use the technique for all your weight training exercises.

Paced Weight Training is based on the concept that you can stimulate the fastest muscle growth by maximally increasing the resistance for an exercise in every workout without reducing repetitions. Pace Weights make this possible by letting you control both the size and frequency of your weight increments. The technique allows you to increase resistance more often as the muscles grow, while maintaining an optimum number of repetitions.

This differs from traditional weight training where you spend most of your time trying to build up repetitions between weight increments. Once you reach a certain number of repetitions, you increase the weight by as much as 5 or 10 pounds at a time, again reducing repetitions and impeding progress. Paced Weight Training, by contrast, is Progressive Resistance Exercise in its purest form, where resistance increases frequently, due to pacing, and repetitions remain constant.

The Five Principles of Strength Training:

Exercise is merely stimulus. In strength training, the primary stimulus is resistance. The number of repetitions you can perform indicates whether you’re using the right resistance. Your body responds to the stimulus of exercise by giving you a slight margin (percentage) of strength and endurance beyond the demands you place on it. This small margin is what allows you to gradually intensify your workouts, if you choose, depending on the results you want.

Pace Weights were designed to let you increase the resistance for an exercise within, or without exceeding, the muscle’s strength margin, so you can perform the same number of repetitions with greater resistance. Not only does this encourage you by letting you know you’re getting stronger, but it stimulates your muscles to grow further in order to reestablish their strength margin beyond demand, so you can add still more resistance. Pace Weights were designed to make Paced Weight Training possible using conventional weight training equipment.

Paced Weight Training gives you the exciting option to develop your muscles at the fastest rate at which they can grow, because Pace Weights let you adjust the size of your weight increments to match each muscle’s strength margin. In this case you keep adding as much resistance as you can, and as often as you can, without reducing repetitions, using whatever number of Pace Weights you need for each exercise, and this stimulates your muscles to grow at their fastest rate. You can even reduce the number of heavy sets you perform, and this will greatly reduce the time you spend working out, giving you more free time for other activities.

Of course, you don’t have to advance at your fastest pace if you don’t want to. Using Pace Weights, you can advance at the pace of your own choosing.

1. How to Develop Lean Muscle and Strength:

Increasing the resistance for an exercise stimulates your body to add lean muscle and strength to handle the additional resistance. This is the way you develop your muscles, whether your purpose is to improve your appearance (lean body shaping) or enhance your performance (strength and “absolute” muscular endurance). You can get the fastest results by adding resistance frequently, as you become stronger, without lowering the number of repetitions you perform. Pace Weights let you apply this principle directly and efficiently, because they let you add resistance for each exercise at your own pace, as rapidly as your body can add strength, with little or no change in repetitions. This is called Paced Weight Training.

2. The Role of Repetitions:

The number of repetitions you can perform indicates whether you’re using the right resistance. According to scientific studies you get the best results by doing somewhere between four and eight repetitions, with some claiming five is the most effective number. Pace Weights let you fine-tune the resistance for each exercise to keep the repetitions at the number you choose.

3. The Downside of Performing Higher Repetitions:

According to scientific studies, performing higher repetitions (more than 10) is less effective for developing muscle and strength. Higher repetitions get into the realm of “relative” muscular endurance, or greater endurance at your present strength level, which the body accomplishes primarily through capillarization to increase blood flow through the muscles.

Some people enjoy performing high repetitions to get a temporary “pumped” look in front of mirrors in the gym. But the effect is only temporary. Paced Weight Training, by contrast, focuses on developing the muscles themselves, so your body looks good all of the time, and not just when “pumped up” in front of mirrors. Developing the muscles themselves develops both strength and “absolute” muscular endurance. You can always increase the repetitions, if you like, after you’ve reached your development goals.

4. The Downside of Adding Too Much Resistance At Once:

When you add too much resistance for an exercise at one time, the weight increment exceeds the muscle’s strength margin, so you can no longer perform the same number of repetitions. Instead of stimulating your body to add strength, it merely reduces the number of repetitions you can perform, so now you must spend your time trying to rebuild your repetitions with the increased resistance.

One of the problems with this is that attempts to increase repetitions fail more often than they succeed, especially in the low repetition range needed for strength development, and the failure to make regular progress leads to frustration and discouragement.

The other problem is that working to build up repetitions, even if you do succeed, only stimulates your body to increase “relative” muscular endurance, or greater endurance at your present strength level. It does little to improve your strength, because you’re already strong enough to lift the weight, albeit for fewer repetitions. So adding too much resistance at a time actually works against you and impedes your progress.

Pace Weights let you increase the resistance without reducing repetitions, so you no longer waste your time trying to rebuild repetitions between weight increments. By holding repetitions constant, Pace Weights let you concentrate on progressively increasing the resistance, which stimulates your body to keep adding muscle in order to increase your strength and “absolute” muscular endurance.

Of course, if you add too little resistance, it can also impede your progress. Pace Weights let you quickly and easily adjust the size of your weight increments for each exercise just by using the number of half-pound Pace Weights you need in each case, so you can add just the right amount of resistance for each exercise to get the results you want.

5. How to Maintain Muscle Without Loss:

Doing an exercise regularly without changing the resistance maintains the muscle’s condition, tone, strength, and size without change. This is the way you maintain your lean body at a given level without developing unwanted size. After reaching your development goals, Pace Weights let you use exactly the right resistance to maintain your muscles at the level you’ve chosen.

Getting Started:

It is important to begin with light resistance and intensify your workouts gradually. This will stimulate your body to condition and tone your muscles at its own pace and help avoid stiffness and soreness. Your progress will be rapid at first, because initial strength gains are mostly due to conditioning. (Well conditioned muscles are stronger than poorly conditioned muscles.) Once your muscles are in good condition, your body must add lean muscle to increase your strength further. This is the time to begin using Pace Weights.

Pace Weight Training Tips:

1. For each exercise, always warm up by performing the exercise with lighter weights first, before doing any heavy sets. Do this for each exercise whenever you work out.

2. Try five repetitions for your heavy sets. If you can add weight and still perform five repetitions in correct form, you will be adding the right amount. The amount you can add will vary from one exercise to another, so use whatever number of Pace Weights you need in each case. If your repetitions drop below four, you’re probably adding too much at one time for that exercise. Remember, the point is to add resistance at the same pace at which your body can add strength, giving you the fastest results possible.

3. The exact rate at which your body can grow lean muscle depends on a number of factors, including heredity, diet, sleeping habits, and stress. You can improve that rate by eating a proper diet, getting adequate rest, and avoiding stress.

4. Your body needs several days to grow lean muscle after a good workout. Try adding weight for an exercise once every four or five days, with no more than a light workout in between. Don’t be surprised if you can add more weight on some days than on others. That’s perfectly normal. Always perform your exercises in correct form.

5. Give yourself an occasional break by doing your exercises without adding weight. The same percentage strength margin that lets you intensify your workouts will make the workouts slightly easier when you don’t add resistance.

6. Do not skip workouts! Quitting is the worst thing you can do. When you’re tempted to skip workouts --- and everyone is --- it’s a good time to continue your training for a while without adding resistance.

7. When you’ve reached your target strength level for a given exercise, simply stop increasing the resistance for that exercise, but continue doing the exercise to prevent losing what you’ve gained.

Important Note

Consult your physician before beginning or changing any exercise program. Use Pace Weights only as directed.