drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Smash Through Your Plateau
Let me guess. You've been training your ass off and still stuck with the same freakin weight on the bar month after month? Aren't you sick of never adding any more plates? Here are a few ways you can smash the shit out of that freakin plateau and before you know it you will be back slamming more 45's on the bar than they have in the fuckin gym.
Pre-Exhaustion Training - Prefatiguing a larger muscle with an isolation, single-joint movement so it can be even more exhausted by the compound movements to follow. When you do an exercise like the bench press that works not only the chest, but also smaller muscles, one of the smaller muscles might fail before your chest is fully exhausted. By doing a chest isolation exercise beforehand, you can fatigue your chest so you can do bench presses to chest failure, which is what you want.
Muscle Priority Training - Training your most underdeveloped muscles first, so as to subject it to the maximum possible effort. If you have a weak body-part you want to improve, train it first in your workout, before you begin to fatigue.
Pyramiding - When using multiple sets for a given exercise, doing your first set with less weight for more reps, gradually increasing the weight and decreasing the reps over the remainder of your sets. This allows you to gradually warm up a muscle group, preparing it for the resistance to come in the next set.
Supersets - Working opposing muscle groups in back-to-back fashion, taking as little rest as possible in between sets. Alternating sets between opposing muscle groups - such as biceps and triceps/chest and back - greatly increases intensity. When you train one muscle group, the other is recovering (sometimes even being stretched) as you complete the set. With two muscles or muscle groups being worked, more blood is pumped into the area.
Tri-Sets - Doing three sets in a row for the same body-part with as little rest as possible in between sets. Three exercises in a row more thoroughly exhaust the muscle. This training technique is so demanding that it should only be done on occasion, and is more often used by bodybuilders in their pre-contest training. It is not optimal for muscle building.
Giant Sets - Doing 4-6 exercises for the same body-part with as little rest between sets. Giant sets are used to create overwhelming stimulation to a body-part and totally exhaust the muscles involved. This technique should only be used occasionally as your body needs time to recover from this level of effort. This type of training is used more for muscular endurance and calorie burning then for putting on muscle size.
Instinctive Training - This involves experimenting with your workouts and paying attention to how your body reacts to certain types of training. The fundamentals of bodybuilding training are the same for everyone, but we are all unique. The further along you get in your training, the more you have to fine tune your workouts to suit your needs. It takes time to develop this "feel" and have this type of knowledge. Whatever you are used to is going to feel best for you, but you have to figure out what really produces the best results for you and make adjustments accordingly.
Compound Sets - Alternating two exercises for the same muscle group, taking as little rest as possible between each set. Each same-bodypart exercise fatigues the muscle involved in slightly different ways, so doing two exercises in a row with little rest inbetween achieves a deeper level of stimulation and muscle pump. Keep in mind that I do not personally agree with the rest aspect of this principle.
Staggered Sets - Training smaller, slower-developing bodyparts like calves or forearms in between all sets for your major bodyparts. Arnold Schwarzenegger relied on this principle early in his career to develop his calves. He would do a set for chest, back or shoulders, then he would do a set of calf raises while his major muscle group was recovering for the next set. He'd then alternate sets for the working bodypart and calves. His calves got plenty of time to recover in-between sets and by the end of his workout, he would have subjected them to as many as 15-20 total sets of various calf raises.
Descending Sets - This is done by starting with the heaviest weight you can use for at least 8 reps (or more) and once you fail you drop the weight and get a few more reps and then again and even drop the weight again. This is commonly done on the standing calve raises. I generally start with 400lbs get 12 reps, drop the weight to around 350 get around 8 more, drop the weight again to about 300 and do it until I fail. This should be done with no rest when dropping the weight. After you did a few weight drops and failed after the third drop, take about 2-minute break and go at it again.
Burns -This is a great way to break past barriers if you have no partner. This can be done by dropping the weight after you have came close to failure, to weight in which you can handle for around 20 or so reps. Rep it out to break through your barriers. This should be done on you last set of that particular exercise.
Partial Reps - Performed when you have came close to failure but can still get about half the movement in. Do not perform too many of these for these can cause injury. Perform about 3 of these at the end of the set or until you can no longer move the bar. Only do these with a partner.
Forced Reps - This is done after you have failed on a set and your training partner helps you move the weight as you just go through the motions trying to do it. This should be done only after you have failed completely and can not get another on your own. This should be done after you have done the partial reps and failed. Perform no more than 3 of these.
Rest/Pause - Pyramid up to the maximum weight you can do for two or three reps, rest 30-40 seconds, then squeeze out another two or three reps, rest 40-60 seconds and get another two reps, rest 60-90 seconds and get one or two more reps; you will have done one long set of seven to 10 reps, all of which have been at or near the most weight you've ever lifted." The effect is one of extending maximal effort over a high volume of sets and reps, all in the intensity range that produces the best results. In other words, think of it as being able to use your single-rep maximum weight for seven to 10 reps.
Even then, rest-pause must be approached with respect. Try it initially with one exercise in your bodypart workout; keep in mind that, since this technique is primarily for maximum mass gains, it should first be used with the most basic compound movement in your workout for that day. Once your muscle conditioning and cardiovascular efficiency have caught up with your rest-pause performance for that exercise, you can try using it for a second heavy basic movement in that workout. Of course, always remember that since your intention is to spend most of your workout in the maximum-poundage register, you need a thorough warm-up and protracted pyramiding.
Let me guess. You've been training your ass off and still stuck with the same freakin weight on the bar month after month? Aren't you sick of never adding any more plates? Here are a few ways you can smash the shit out of that freakin plateau and before you know it you will be back slamming more 45's on the bar than they have in the fuckin gym.
Pre-Exhaustion Training - Prefatiguing a larger muscle with an isolation, single-joint movement so it can be even more exhausted by the compound movements to follow. When you do an exercise like the bench press that works not only the chest, but also smaller muscles, one of the smaller muscles might fail before your chest is fully exhausted. By doing a chest isolation exercise beforehand, you can fatigue your chest so you can do bench presses to chest failure, which is what you want.
Muscle Priority Training - Training your most underdeveloped muscles first, so as to subject it to the maximum possible effort. If you have a weak body-part you want to improve, train it first in your workout, before you begin to fatigue.
Pyramiding - When using multiple sets for a given exercise, doing your first set with less weight for more reps, gradually increasing the weight and decreasing the reps over the remainder of your sets. This allows you to gradually warm up a muscle group, preparing it for the resistance to come in the next set.
Supersets - Working opposing muscle groups in back-to-back fashion, taking as little rest as possible in between sets. Alternating sets between opposing muscle groups - such as biceps and triceps/chest and back - greatly increases intensity. When you train one muscle group, the other is recovering (sometimes even being stretched) as you complete the set. With two muscles or muscle groups being worked, more blood is pumped into the area.
Tri-Sets - Doing three sets in a row for the same body-part with as little rest as possible in between sets. Three exercises in a row more thoroughly exhaust the muscle. This training technique is so demanding that it should only be done on occasion, and is more often used by bodybuilders in their pre-contest training. It is not optimal for muscle building.
Giant Sets - Doing 4-6 exercises for the same body-part with as little rest between sets. Giant sets are used to create overwhelming stimulation to a body-part and totally exhaust the muscles involved. This technique should only be used occasionally as your body needs time to recover from this level of effort. This type of training is used more for muscular endurance and calorie burning then for putting on muscle size.
Instinctive Training - This involves experimenting with your workouts and paying attention to how your body reacts to certain types of training. The fundamentals of bodybuilding training are the same for everyone, but we are all unique. The further along you get in your training, the more you have to fine tune your workouts to suit your needs. It takes time to develop this "feel" and have this type of knowledge. Whatever you are used to is going to feel best for you, but you have to figure out what really produces the best results for you and make adjustments accordingly.
Compound Sets - Alternating two exercises for the same muscle group, taking as little rest as possible between each set. Each same-bodypart exercise fatigues the muscle involved in slightly different ways, so doing two exercises in a row with little rest inbetween achieves a deeper level of stimulation and muscle pump. Keep in mind that I do not personally agree with the rest aspect of this principle.
Staggered Sets - Training smaller, slower-developing bodyparts like calves or forearms in between all sets for your major bodyparts. Arnold Schwarzenegger relied on this principle early in his career to develop his calves. He would do a set for chest, back or shoulders, then he would do a set of calf raises while his major muscle group was recovering for the next set. He'd then alternate sets for the working bodypart and calves. His calves got plenty of time to recover in-between sets and by the end of his workout, he would have subjected them to as many as 15-20 total sets of various calf raises.
Descending Sets - This is done by starting with the heaviest weight you can use for at least 8 reps (or more) and once you fail you drop the weight and get a few more reps and then again and even drop the weight again. This is commonly done on the standing calve raises. I generally start with 400lbs get 12 reps, drop the weight to around 350 get around 8 more, drop the weight again to about 300 and do it until I fail. This should be done with no rest when dropping the weight. After you did a few weight drops and failed after the third drop, take about 2-minute break and go at it again.
Burns -This is a great way to break past barriers if you have no partner. This can be done by dropping the weight after you have came close to failure, to weight in which you can handle for around 20 or so reps. Rep it out to break through your barriers. This should be done on you last set of that particular exercise.
Partial Reps - Performed when you have came close to failure but can still get about half the movement in. Do not perform too many of these for these can cause injury. Perform about 3 of these at the end of the set or until you can no longer move the bar. Only do these with a partner.
Forced Reps - This is done after you have failed on a set and your training partner helps you move the weight as you just go through the motions trying to do it. This should be done only after you have failed completely and can not get another on your own. This should be done after you have done the partial reps and failed. Perform no more than 3 of these.
Rest/Pause - Pyramid up to the maximum weight you can do for two or three reps, rest 30-40 seconds, then squeeze out another two or three reps, rest 40-60 seconds and get another two reps, rest 60-90 seconds and get one or two more reps; you will have done one long set of seven to 10 reps, all of which have been at or near the most weight you've ever lifted." The effect is one of extending maximal effort over a high volume of sets and reps, all in the intensity range that produces the best results. In other words, think of it as being able to use your single-rep maximum weight for seven to 10 reps.
Even then, rest-pause must be approached with respect. Try it initially with one exercise in your bodypart workout; keep in mind that, since this technique is primarily for maximum mass gains, it should first be used with the most basic compound movement in your workout for that day. Once your muscle conditioning and cardiovascular efficiency have caught up with your rest-pause performance for that exercise, you can try using it for a second heavy basic movement in that workout. Of course, always remember that since your intention is to spend most of your workout in the maximum-poundage register, you need a thorough warm-up and protracted pyramiding.
