What the magazines and other sites won't tell you!
Stop going in circles, get SERIOUS results!
The following are techniques and methods that aren't usually mentioned in books or on other sites either because they are not "scientifically proven" or they have a possibility of causing injury if done incorrectly. I take no responsibility for any injuries incurred, not that I think these will cause injury, but anything can happen for whatever reason. These are for intermediate and advanced bodybuilders with at least six months to a year of consistent training. Some of these techniques are a bit unconventional, but are all extremely effective for increasing size and strength, faster.
The secret to gaining mass is Intensity, the more the better. These methods go beyond what I put on my Intensity page, which has excellent information, but is more for the mainstream; the beginner/intermediate trainers. I can't give scientific data proving that these work, but I know from my experience, and that of others, that they do. Nearly everyone who trains with me for a few weeks makes the best gains of their life, and start setting personal bests from day one. Use these techniques, but cycle them on and off. If you use them all the time you will overtrain.
One friend of mine had been training for about 2 years and had made decent progress, he could bench press 2 plates a side (225 lbs.) for a couple of reps. After three months of training with me he was getting up to 18 reps with the 2 plates and 2 - 3 reps with 3 plates a side (305 lbs.)! Even I was surprised, and all DRUG FREE!
I am forever steroid free (I'm not against others using them, I just choose not to) so I've had to find other ways to promote size and strength, and I've ended up stronger than many who are "enhanced". Well, I've kept you waiting long enough, HERE THEY ARE!!!
This awesome technique takes advantage of a natural involuntary muscle reaction: When a muscle is stretched too fast, it causes an involuntary contraction of the muscle, which is to protect it from being over-stretched. . You can fool your muscles into thinking they're about to be overstretched and cause this reflex action, which is a powerful contraction. This can be done for most bodyparts but should not be used every workout, about every 2-3 workouts for a particular body part.
First, thoroughly warm up by doing several full range moderate weight sets of the chosen exercise, (we want to fool the muscle, not damage it). If doing Bench Press, make sure you can easily lower the bar right to the chest, if it feels tight, warm up some more. Start with a weight which normally enables 8 - 10 reps (never go too heavy with this). Get mentally prepared (no distractions), get under the bar, grip it, check the balance by lifting it briefly, and make necessary adjustments. Keep all your upper body muscles tight (flex your chest, arms, shoulders, and back). Take a deep breath and lift it off the supports. Lower the weight fairly rapidly while maintaining control still keeping the muscles tight. Just as the bar touches your chest, BLAST it up using every possible muscle. Pause at the top for 1/2 a second and bring it down again for the next rep. It should feel like the weight is bouncing off springs in your chest, and you should get 12 or more reps, where you only got 8 - 10 before! Note: do not actually bounce the bar off the chest, the bar should barely touch your chest at the bottom. This can also be used for the last few reps of a "normal" set. Do not do this on your "heavy" sets, only with weights that you can normally get at least 8 - 10 reps with.
If doing Biceps Curls, it is the same thing, start from the top position, tighten your muscles, then let it drop fast, but under control, and catch it at the bottom and "bounce" (not swing) it back up. Do not use with Preacher Curls as it overstresses the elbows.
The best exercises to do this with are:
- Bench Press (Barbell and dumbbell, not incline)
- Leg Press
- All Calf Raises
- Lat Pull Downs, Bent-over rows (If no low back problems)
- Shoulder Press (Barbell to the front, dumbbell)
- Biceps Curls (Barbell)
- Standing Triceps Press - (close grip behind the neck)
- Shrugs
- Stick to the basic exercises with this method.
The trick is to keep the muscles tight, then do an explosive movement. Since the muscles are tight, they think they are being stretched and respond with a powerful contraction at the end of their range of motion, blasting the weight up. The muscles are not damaged because they are not actually being overstretched, they just think they are. Use at your own risk, but I have to say I have never been injured by using this technique. It might take a few workouts to get the hang of it. Not recommended for beginners!
This is just a method of not using "ultra strict" form,such as when doing Biceps Curls, allow your body to rock back and forth a little as you do the reps. When doing Bent-over Rows , use a bit of momentum to get the weight started. This is a natural thing to do, and most people do it anyway, but often go too heavy and use too much momentum. Make sure you're still working the muscles, and keep control of the weight at all times! The trick here is to make it work for YOU, to give you a few extra reps, where you would normally have stopped! Get at least a few strict reps and then LET LOOSE with this technique! Go for it, leave all those strict rep aficionados behind!
Rest-Pause
This is done to extend a set: after you get all the reps you can, put the bar on the rack for 5 to 10 seconds, then do another rep or two. Repeat this 2 or 3 times. This works best with heavier weights that allow about 4 - 6 reps, plus three or four more using rest-pause.
Cheating
In weight training, cheating is not a bad thing, it is one of the most effective things you can do for extra intensity, as long as it's done right. The idea is to get as many "good" reps as you can (set the weight so you get about 6 - 8) then use a bit of "body language" to enable a few more reps. Remember, if you try to cheat on every rep you will defeat the purpose and not really work the muscle. It's imperative that you get at least 6 decent reps! This is very similar to "loose form" but goes even further. Some examples of cheating are:
Self spotting chest workout!
Chest: If you arch your back as you bench press, you can lift a lot more weight, it's considered "bad form", but we're not training for "form" we're training for size! We want INTENSITY! Do as many reps as you can with you back flat, then drive your feet into the floor and arch your back and you will be able to squeeze out at least one or two more reps! Just don't get into the bad habit of putting on too much weight and arching for all your reps. Save it as a back up for if you get stuck after several "good" reps.
Back: When doing Bent-over Rows, pull up hard and fast, and as the weight nears the top of the motion, dip you upper body down as you squeeze hard with your lats and traps. Practice these with a lighter weight at first and make sure you are well warmed up before going heavier. Make sure you are not just using momentum to get the weight up, concentrate on using your back muscles. Remember to always look straight ahead or up when doing bent-over rows!
Biceps: You can cheat on biceps 2 different ways. One is to swing the weight a bit at the bottom, and the other is to lean back a bit at the top, just enough to get past the sticking point, after your 6 - 8 "good" reps of course!
Triceps: When doing standing Triceps Presses, keep your knees slightly bent, and bounce a little with each rep to get it started.
Shoulders: For any pressing movement, you can use a small bounce to get it started, even with seated presses.
Legs: I don't recommend cheating on leg exercises. Some like to drop rapidly into a deep squat and bounce back up off the tendons in the knee. I don't recommend this at all, as it's very hard on the knees. You could add about 50 lbs. to you squat or leg press by using knee wraps, but I don't recommend these, unless you're a competitive powerlifter, or have seriously bad knees. The extra weight you can use is not you, its the wraps, they act like springs. They tend to prevent the development of strength in the knees and you may come to rely on them if used too much.
Burns
Burns are a method of doing as many partial reps as possible at the end of a set. You may not have strength for a whole rep but there should be enough for 5 or 6 "burns" to finish that muscle off!
Feel the burn!
Focus
One of the most important tools for an awesome workout is your mind. Get yourself into a positive frame of mind and decide which bodyparts you're going to train beforehand. Psyche up for the workout, imagine yourself lifting the weights, doing the exercises, lifting more than ever before! Listen to your favorite music on the way there, or just before you leave. When you get to the gym, you should be ready for WAR!. Think about your workout as you change into your gym gear, imagine your putting on your armor, then go out and ATTACK!!! Go directly to your first exercise, say, bent-over rows, do a couple of moderate weight warm-up sets, load on your working weight, clear your mind, think only about the set you are about to do. Move in, grip the bar, focus, lift the bar explosively, and fire off those reps! Stay intense, a good set releases adrenaline and endorphins, which make you even stronger, naturally! Stay focused, if people talk to you, just say hi and move on. If you look busy, no one will bother you, and if anyone does, get them to spot you!
