Of the PT Persuasion: Weightlifting
Have you ever wished for a resource that helped writers cut back on hours and hours of researching how to accurately portray injuries and medical conditions? Look no further. In this blog series, I’ll be discussing just that. What makes me qualified to do so? Well, I’m a Physical Therapist! Or, rather, I’m a writer…Of the PT Persuasion.
Tahereh Mafi has blessed us with many things, most important of which is Aaron Warner. If your mind goes straight to his signature, swoony line “lift your hips for me, love,” then you’re not alone. Unfortunately, this isn’t a blog about Love Interest Lines That Make Us Weep. No, it’s about Character Injuries, and while we’re not talking about Warner getting injured in Ignite Me, we do get an up-close and personal look at his workout routine. Call it ‘injury prevention.’
I think Juliette is just as infatuated as we are with Warner’s How to be Hot and Muscly 101 class, but aside from the impressive results, most of us probably don’t understand what the process is. Thankfully, Warner is happy to explain. What a prince.
Monday is leg day
Tuesday is chest
Wednesday is shoulders and back
Thursday is triceps and deltoids
Friday is biceps and forearms
Every day is for abs and cardio
So…what does this even mean?
Warner is using a type of strength training regimen, well-known in the lifting and bodybuilding worlds. Weightlifters use this thing called “training splits” to maximize their bodies’ abilities to use energy and recover adequately. A training split distributes workouts through the week by focusing on something different every day; it can be divided by movement type, muscle groups, or by the types of lifts.
Warner’s specific program is a 5-day split (we can tell because it’s only Monday through Friday—five days), with a focus on muscle groups and movement patterns. Roughly, the breakdown is as follows… Chest is for pushing. Shoulders and back are for pulling. Triceps and deltoids are for pushing. Biceps and forearms are for pulling. And legs are, well, legs.
This is clearly very upper-body heavy, and there’s a bit of overlap between upper-body muscle groups. I’d love to see more balance in the upper- vs lower-body ratio, here so Warner doesn’t end up looking like an upsidedown triangle.
Additionally, the 5-day training split tends to be a good fit for lifters with some experience, and I think we can all assume our boy Warner has experience. In lifting, that is. *ahem*
By varying each day’s focus, the lifter can target individual muscle groups more effectively, training them hard one day and allowing them to rest afterward. For example, Warner does chest on Tuesday, and we all know he’s bench-pressing 315 because Juliette told us so, and now we can very well assume that Warner’s pects (Pectoralis Major and Minor—the “pectorals”) will be quite fatigued by the end of chest day. Obviously, those muscles need time to recover, so instead of doing chest day every day, he switches to shoulders and back the day after.
Yes, of course, we understand that muscles need to recover after a workout. We’ve all been there. But why? What is this process muscles go through to get stronger, and how are gym rats using that to their advantage?
Every time we exercise, our muscular system (and other body systems that we’re not focusing on today) is taxed. Strength training is a damaging process, and it’s supposed to be. Muscles only adapt to the level of stress they’re introduced to. For example, if you only ever lift things lighter than five pounds, guess what? You will only ever be able to consistently and comfortably lift things lighter than five pounds. Muscles only adapt to the level of stress they’re introduced to. So, if Warner wants to be able to, I don’t know, carry a girl to bed (or to the bath, or to the desk, or…wow, they were busy), he has to be able to consistently and repetitively lift that weight and more. This requires stress on the muscle.
In order to build muscle, it actually has to get broken down a little. This is the body’s cue, “hey, we’re not strong enough over here—gotta build more muscle so dude can keep lifting heavy things!” and it heals the damaged muscle fibers and grows new ones. The process of building new muscle is known as “hypertrophy.” It takes two to three days for muscles to mend and make repairs after a good lifting session. For easier workouts, muscles can make light repairs in 24 hours. And this, my friends, is precisely why training splits allow at least a day between workouts that have the same focus (muscle group, movement pattern, type of lift).
If someone gets too aggressive with the lifting, it can take longer to recover and may leave the muscles susceptible to injury. In a worst-case scenario, over-lifting or over-working-out can cause a serious, acute medical problem known as rhabdomyolysis, which is when the muscle breaks down so badly, its proteins end up in the bloodstream and damage the heart and kidneys. This is precisely why heavy lifting routines should be performed under the guidance of a certified and experienced professional.
Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, let’s talk about why this specific five-day split works well with hypertrophy. Well, working one muscle group at a time shocks the body into thinking that it’s a very important muscle group because of all the stress it’s receiving. And since we know muscles adapt to stress, the body lays down more muscle, thinking “oh, we’re gonna need this extra strength here to keep lifting heavy things!” It’s essentially a way to bulk up.
Then why does all this matter to your characters?
If you have a muscled character (preferably the LI, thank you), know that muscles don’t just pop up out of nowhere. Why? Because muscles only adapt to the level of stress they’re introduced to. (Can you tell that’s a mantra I use a lot as a PT?) So, if you’ve got a strong, sexy, bodyguard type who exclusively runs for workouts and does not do lifting or push-ups or anything remotely resembling strength-training…there’s no way he’s going to look like Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Rather, he’ll likely be pretty wiry and skinny.
Furthermore, if your characters like going to the gym, chances are they’ve researched how to do it properly. So should you. There are tons of ways to workout, weight lift, and use a gym effectively for exercise and health. Make sure you do your research on what your character is doing for a workout and what the physical effects should be (e.g. are their goals cardio? strength training? bulking up? —these are all different goals with different processes).
Let’s also not forget that anyone with a consistent workout regimen needs proper nutrition, good stretching and warm-up/cool-down habits, and adequate hydration. These are, of course, highly preferable but many people skip out on them and still manage to survive. (If you’re reading this, please don’t be that type of person. Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood PT.)
Okay, folks! That’s a wrap on Aaron Warner’s weight lifting routine and the science behind it. I hope you’ve all enjoyed rehashing this scene as much as I did, and don’t forget our mantra! Muscles only adapt to the level of stress they’re introduced to!
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this installment to Of the PT Persuasion.
Disclaimer:
If you’re seeking medical advice for yourself or someone you know, you should speak to a medical professional. This blog is not intended for diagnosing or treating real-life medical conditions, only fictional ones.
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