When you first start strength training, almost any stimulus you place on your muscles leads to strength gains. But, over time, muscles adapt to the training you subject them to. As those adaptations take place, it also becomes harder to keep making gains without boosting the intensity of your strength training sessions.
Many people fall into a rut where they reach a plateau and stop making gains in muscle strength and size. The reason? They don’t progressively overload their muscles by increasing the intensity of their training. Don’t get into that rut! Here are some ways to boost your training intensity to spur greater strength and hypertrophy gains.
Adjust the Resistance and Volume
When you first started training, the 10-pound dumbbells you hold in each hand when you did biceps curls leads to strength gains. But as you keep doing the same number of curls with the same resistance, the gains stop coming. That’s when you need to make your muscles work harder. Once you can do 8 to 12 reps and still have some left in you, it’s time to increase the weight, yet do it in a controlled manner. The rule is not to boost the resistance by no more than 10% per week. Another option is to do more repetitions or increase the total number of sets that you do. Doing more sets is a way to boost progressive overload without raising the resistance.
Try Supersets
After training for a while, you may find your muscles need more of a stimulus than what you get from changing the resistance or volume. When your muscles need a new challenge, supersets, where you do at least two exercises back to back without resting in between, is a way to jumpstart growth. It’s also a time-expedient way to train.
When you do supersets, the exercises can target the same muscle group, such as a triceps kickback and overhead triceps extension back to back or you can target opposing muscle groups, such as biceps curls and triceps kickbacks. The first approach where you work the same muscle group back to back is especially exhausting to the muscle but can lead to greater strength and hypertrophy gains. However, a 2017 study showed that doing so increases muscle damage and can interfere with muscle recovery.
A better approach may be to work opposing muscle groups when do supersets. Targeting opposing muscle groups with supersets allows one muscle group to work while the other recovers, so you can often perform more repetitions using this approach. Don’t try supersets until you’ve been training a while. It’s not a good approach for beginners.
Pre-Exhaust Your Muscles
When you want to trigger greater growth in muscle, try the pre-exhaust method. To do this, exhaust the muscle by doing an isolation exercise that targets that muscle followed by a compound exercise that also works the muscle in question. Here’s an example. If you’re trying to build deltoid definition, do a set of lateral raises (an isolation exercises for the deltoids) followed by shoulder presses (a compound exercise). This approach is highly effective for growth because you first tire the muscle with one exercise and then force it to continue working with the second exercise.
Cheat a Little
It’s important to use good form but cheating on form a little at the end can help you jumpstart muscle growth. To use the cheat method, do a standard number of repetitions to muscle fatigue. When you’ve reached a point that you can’t perform anymore with good form, do another repetition or two, even if you have to use momentum. To make this technique successful, focus on forcing your targeted muscle group to do as much of the work as possible. When you use momentum, supporting muscle chip in too and this takes some of the load off the desired muscles. Don’t let this technique cause you to form bad habits though! Keep your form tight except for the last repetition or two.
Try Drop Sets
Another way to boost the challenge when strength training a muscle group is with drop sets. First, do your designated number of repetitions using the resistance you typically use or go a little lighter than usual since you’ll be doing more sets. After completing the first set, reduce the weight by 5 pounds and do a second set. Then, drop it one more time and do a final set. Some people even extend it further by dropping the weight again and doing a fourth set. Get ready to be fatigued! Drops sets are an effective way to “shock” your muscles into growing but don’t over do it. Do them on one muscle group per session. Otherwise, they’re too fatiguing.
Giant Sets
With giant sets, you do a series of exercises that work a single muscle group in rapid succession. After performing each one set, you rest for only 10 seconds or so before moving to the next exercise and on to the next. Once you’ve completed a set of each exercise, the giant set is complete. Once you’re experienced with giant sets, you can do up to 3 giant sets in a row with a rest of 3 minutes in between. However, giant sets are an advanced move and not one that beginners need to deal with. As a bonus, the lack of rest between each exercise will boost your heart rate more than a standard strength-training workout. So, you’ll burn more calories and may get some cardiovascular benefits.
The Bottom Line
These methods work your muscles past the point of comfort and are a great way to break out of a training rut. Use them in moderation though. Stick to increasing the resistance or volume most of the time but, during some sessions, sprinkle in some advanced training techniques like drop sets, cheat reps, supersets, giant sets, and pre-exhaustion to keep your muscles guessing and growing. Give your muscles plenty of recovery time after a workout where you challenge your muscles in new ways. Rest is part of the equation too since that’s when muscle repair and growth take place. Be patient too; it takes time and consistent training to build strength.
References:
- com. “Drop Sets: What They Are and How to Use Them in Your Workout”
- Eur J Appl Physiol. 2017; 117(9): 1877–1889. Published online 2017 Jul 11. doi: 10.1007/s00421-017-3680-3.
- com. “It Pre-Exhaust Training Effective?”
- J Strength Cond Res. 2017 Jul;31(7):1847-1858. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001511.
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