I'm a huge fan of people watching, especially in the gym. I look at everybody training and analyze how they're doing things to determine how they could optimize their training better.
Based on what I see most, here are my top three tips to build muscle and strength faster:
1) SLOW DOWN YOUR REP SPEED
The majority of folks simply worry about lifting a weight and neglect the lowering (eccentric portion). In my opinion, this is not very efficient because the eccentric portion is where a lot of the strength and hypertrophy adaptations occur.
The reason for training the eccentric portion is to increase your strength POTENTIAL. When going back to your previous rep speed after 6 weeks of eccentric training, you should experience a significant increase in strength.
Eccentric training also places greater tension on the muscle fibers. Fewer motor units are activated during the eccentric portion, however the load is the same, meaning the load per motor unit is greater than during the concentric portion. Greater load will result in greater strength improvements.
2) SPEND TIME TRAINING OTHER STRENGTH QUALITIES
Another mistake I believe many people make is that they spend ALL their time training the same rep/intensity bracket. You get good at what you train - I think everybody can agree with that. So if you train 10-12 reps all the time, you're going to get good at 10-12 reps.
My favorite method of developing size and strength is with undulating periodization. More specifically, I spend 3-4 weeks in an Accumulation phase building up my tolerance to volume, then 3-4 weeks in an Intensification phase building up my strength and neural output.
For building muscle, the Accumulation phases are where the significant progress is made. However, the Intensification phases are incorporated to increase your strength. If you get stronger (greater 1RM) while maintaining your strength-endurance from the Accumulation phase, you will most likely be able to use heavier loads for your given "hypertrophy" rep bracket.
In a 12-week cycle, it may look like this:
INT 1 - Week 1 - 3 : 5 sets x 4-6 reps (6-sec eccentric)
ACC 1 - Week 4 - 6 : 4 sets x 8-10 reps (4-sec eccentric)
INT 2 - Week 7 - 9 : 6 sets x 3-5 reps (4-sec eccentric)
ACC 2 - Week 10 - 12 : 5 sets x 6-8 reps (4-sec eccentric)
As you can see, the Intensification phase potentiates the Accumulation phase so you can use heavier weights for the ideal hypertrophy rep ranges.
More weight + More reps = More muscle
The opposite holds true as well. If you're strong but lack muscular endurance, your ability to handle heavier loads for longer duration sets (40-60 seconds), your ability to add size will be limited.
3) PICK BIG BANG-FOR-YOUR-BUCK EXERCISES
What will build your triceps up more? Heavy Decline Close Grip Presses or DB Kickbacks?
If you said DB Kickbacks, we've got a problem...
Some people perform a long list of exercises in a session. From experience, if you truly train hard, the quality of training goes to shit after 4 movements. If you want to create a stimulus that will elicit a change, you need to hit it hard enough to do so.
Imagine going to get a massage cause your pecs are tight. For it to get better, do you think it's better if the person treating you lightly slaps your pec for an hour straight or gets to the source and digs in there to loosen the musculature up?
Same thing applies to training.
Next time you go in the gym, try to limit yourself to 4 exercises. That way, you will be forced to choose movements that will create the strongest stimulus.
For example:
Pec Deck Machine --> Dips
Standing DB Curl --> Supinated Grip Chin Ups
Rope Tricep Pushdown --> Decline Close Grip BB Press
Leg Extension --> BB Cyclist Squat
Summary
Slow down your reps on the way down
Train a different strength quality periodically
Choose big-bang-for-your-buck exercises (4 maximum).
Give these three tips a try and see your lifts quickly climb.
Train hard folks.
Coach Max
Comments