.png)
...it's not hard enough?
Yup. that's a thing. You've been going through a program for a few weeks and the movements are fun, but you don't feel like you're being challenged enough now. Does this mean you need to rethink your entire workout program? Do you need to scour social media for crazy, new exercises that you've never tried before?
Probably not.
As you stress your muscles with exercise, your body is built to adapt and grow from it, making those movements easier. Often times, when you first start an exercise program (especially when you've been out of the gym for a while) your body adapts relatively quickly and you'll see those newbie gains within a few weeks.
As good as that feels, obviously if we want to keep growing, we need to keep stressing our muscles.
But how do we do that?
Friends, there are plenty ways to increase the demand on your musculoskeletal system that don't require you to make drastic changes to your routine.
Here are a few:
Add or up the weight - Probably the first thing that comes to mind. This is necessary for building muscle once you have the basic movement patterns mastered. Typically you'll want to increase weight at about 5-7% for most exercises, when you're ready.
Supersets - Doing back-to-back movements with no rest between, and counting that as 1 set. Rest, and repeat. Supersets are also a great way to speed up the workout when you're pressed for time.
Change the number of reps and sets - There are a number of ways to do this (maybe check with your coach first to make sure you stay within the parameters they want you in). One of my favorite ways is to add in a couple sets of endurance "burner" exercises at the end of a workout - 15+ reps with minimal rest time (less than 30 seconds) in between will do the trick. Don't forget to lower your weight, these have the potential to humble you.
Paused reps, or Negative/Tempo/Eccentric reps - Ooo baby, talk about a good burn. Changing the time under tension at your normal (but a little too easy) weight has huge benefits. For something like a barbell squat: Pause while you're at depth for 3-5 seconds before coming back up; or for an eccentric rep, you'll go slow and controlled down (it should take you 3 seconds to get to depth) and then back up at normal speed. You can do these as a full set or just the last few reps to really empty the gas tank.
Is this a comprehensive list? Nah, but these are great places to start and the go-to's for my own lifting program.
Did you find this helpful? Don't forget to subscribe for more amazing content, and then "like" this post.
Kommentare