OK, you could argue that lifting heavy is not a technique at all because its what most people do all the time. Most people make the mistake of overusing this technique, your body cant handle this technique 12 months a year and besides, you need to mix up your training for optimal results.
If you are over 40 like me, I would only recommend using this technique 3 weeks at a time maybe twice a year. If you are in your twenties you can probably get away with doing it every other month. The concept is simple, lift as heavy as you can and take lots of rest between sets. What this means is that you will only be doing two to four exercises for a given body part but doing it very intensely. The most important thing when doing heavy weights is to use perfect form.
Showing posts with label Advanced. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advanced. Show all posts
Drop Sets
Drop sets are a good alternative to a training partner and essentially serve the same purpose. A training partner is there to help you do those extra 5 reps when you couldn't possibly do more by yourself. With drop sets you do as many reps as you can, immediately lower the weight and continue.
When you have ceased making progress and are getting frustrated, drop sets may be just the thing to get you to the next level. What drop sets allow you to do is to train more intensely which will mean you will need more rest between sets and you will need to keep your workout short (under an hour). When I train, I do at least one third of the sets in my workout with drops sets. Drop sets take a lot of both physical and emotional energy.
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Whether we are lifting heavy or light, drop sets are the same. After lifting to failure on a set, we immediately jump up, decrease the weight by about 40%, and do as many reps as we can - this takes incredible focus. Don't just choose an arbitrary number of reps you will do, do as many as you possibly can while keeping perfect form. If you didn't do at least 6 reps with good form then next time try dropping by 50% so you can. Now take a well deserved break.
When you have ceased making progress and are getting frustrated, drop sets may be just the thing to get you to the next level. What drop sets allow you to do is to train more intensely which will mean you will need more rest between sets and you will need to keep your workout short (under an hour). When I train, I do at least one third of the sets in my workout with drops sets. Drop sets take a lot of both physical and emotional energy.
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Whether we are lifting heavy or light, drop sets are the same. After lifting to failure on a set, we immediately jump up, decrease the weight by about 40%, and do as many reps as we can - this takes incredible focus. Don't just choose an arbitrary number of reps you will do, do as many as you possibly can while keeping perfect form. If you didn't do at least 6 reps with good form then next time try dropping by 50% so you can. Now take a well deserved break.
Mix It Up!
When you stop gaining strength and mass, dont do more of the same but instead mix things up. This idea is not new and has gone under many different names: "muscle confusion", "confusion principle", etc. The basic idea is that if you always do heavy weights or always do light weights, the muscles adapt and stop growing. Find some way to vary high weight low rep workouts with low weight high rep workouts.
You can vary it within the workout or you can make entire workouts low rep or high rep. Personally, I favor the latter. I am an advanced bodybuilder so I workout each bodypart once a week so I have adequate recovery time. Since I am older, I workout three weeks in a row with low weight high reps and on the forth week I go heavy with low reps. The reason that I do more high rep workouts than low rep workouts is to reduce the chance of injury. The older you are, the more likely it is that you will suffer from overuse injuries or other problems.
Zero Rest Technique
The "zero rest alternate" technique is surprisingly difficult and will probably give you the most amazing pump you have ever had and you will be very sore the next day, I personally love this technique. Chose two complimentary exercises that are within a few feet of each other, for example a mat for pushups near the pec deck machine or a dumbbell for rows at the lat pull-down machine. It should not take you more than 10 seconds to get between the first exercise and the second.
Do 6-10 reps of the first exercise, then immediately do 6-10 reps of the second exercise and keep this up for 15 minutes! Lower the weight if you have but don't stop, don't slow down and continue to use perfect form, do pushups from your knees if you have to. Take a 5 minute breather and then choose two other exercises and do them for 15 minutes. You will probably be dead by now even with this short 35 minute workout but if you still have energy choose another two and do another 15 minutes. This is a killer workout and will make you really sore the next day if you are accustomed to lifting heavy - give it a try! If you find you completely lose your pump, its time to stop the workout even if it has only been 30 minutes.
Do 6-10 reps of the first exercise, then immediately do 6-10 reps of the second exercise and keep this up for 15 minutes! Lower the weight if you have but don't stop, don't slow down and continue to use perfect form, do pushups from your knees if you have to. Take a 5 minute breather and then choose two other exercises and do them for 15 minutes. You will probably be dead by now even with this short 35 minute workout but if you still have energy choose another two and do another 15 minutes. This is a killer workout and will make you really sore the next day if you are accustomed to lifting heavy - give it a try! If you find you completely lose your pump, its time to stop the workout even if it has only been 30 minutes.
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