Want to bring a zing and energize your stale workout routine? Master a trick or two from the following tips and see the results for yourself. Certain tips that can stimulate new techniques to squeeze more muscle-building efficiency out of each exercise that can really make all the difference...Check what the experts suggest! Do a proper warm-up: Before lifting weights, do a 10-minute warm-up at a moderate pace on the treadmill, stationary bike or cross-trainer. A proper warm-up reduces the overall wear and tear of your body, which means that you will be able to stick with a programme longer. Use gloves and wrist wraps: If the pressure from the bar causes too much discomfort, you will never be able to reach your maximum number of reps. Also, many people cant add more weight to 'pushing' exercises, such as the bench press, because their wrists cant withstand it. Wrist wraps can help get you to the next level. Use lifting hooks: Hooks can assist you with important exercises, such as dead lifts, barbell shrugs, pull-downs, and chin-ups, where grip fatigue is the usual reason people fail to do more reps and use heavier weights. Don't let your grip strength limit the development of all those major muscle groups. Know your body fat per cent: Why is it that even if two men are of the same height and weight, one of them looks flabby, while the other appears lean and athletic? It's because of their respective percentages of lean vs fatty tissue. And that is why it is important to measure your percentage of body fat with fat calipers. If you gain five pounds of muscle and lose five pounds of muscle and lose five pounds of fat, your bathroom scale will say your weight hasn't changed, and you may feel as though you are getting nowhere when this is clearly not the case. Build your forearms: Forearms are the most neglected body part when it comes to training. And it's not just about having "bowling pin" forearms. Grip strength is the foundation of many other important exercises. Sports, such as martial arts, rock climbing and water-skiing, all benefit from having more power in your grip and forearms. Boost the intensity: If your workouts are always of the same intensity, there is no reason for your body to grow new muscle or transform itself in any way. So add a little more weight to each exercise or squeeze out a few more reps. Use high-intensity exercises: When you want to target a specific muscle group, such as chest, triceps or quads, you have many exercises from which to choose. Use the exercises that allow you to lift the greatest amount of weight in the shortest time. Try Alpha and Beta exercises: There are two forms of muscle strength. Alpha strength is the momentary strength required to do, for example, one maximum bench press rep. Beta strength is the strength required to perform four sets of 20 reps with the heaviest weight possible. Think of it as a sprint versus marathon. Experiment to discover which form of muscle strength is your forte. Try a workout where you do only one all-out set, and then try a different workout, where you do multiple sets to failure. Do leg presses: Heavy leg presses, especially when limited to only your strongest range of motion, are the single most intense exercise anyone can do. The anabolic effects of doing ultra high-intensity leg presses carries over to the entire body. Work out less often: This is the only tip that is totally counterintuitive. If you want to burn more calories by jogging, you should jog every single day. But never make the mistake of working out too often and not allowing your body enough time to recover between workouts. Your body must fully recover before it will be able to perform muscle growing functions. |
