I wanted to try something new yesterday that I had recently read about. When I normally lift I don't lift my max. With all my exercises I pick a weight that is heavy, but light enough so that I can complete three sets of ten repetitions. The technique I read about recommends the exact opposite. "Men who want to get bigger push their weight loads to the max, even if they complete six or fewer repetitions" (Incledon and Hoffman 12). I decided to give it a try with my arm curls. I almost immediately regretted my decision. My arms were dying. I could barely move my arms after I got done with my sets even though I did about half the number of reps I normally do. I decided to move back down to my normal weight to finish the rest of my sets, before I pulled a muscle or something did something equally stupid.
The next technique I wanted to try was to do my lifting faster. Men's Health recommends "Moving the weights as fast as you can while maintain total control of the bar or dumbbells" (Incledon and Hoffman 12). When I normally lift I go pretty slow in between each rep. This technique was much easier to use than the last one. my arms felt sore and I was tired, but I didn't feel like I was pulling a muscle.
What new weight lifting techniques have you tried and what exercises do you recommend?
Citation:
Incledon, Thomas, and Matthew Hoffman. Men's Health Maximum Muscle Plan. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2006. Print.
A new strategy I had learned just recently about lifting was to do five reps for size and the sixth for strength so each set I would do six repetitions of an exercise. I have also heard this strategy to lift your maximum weight and I thought it was odd at first; but it seems to make sense and I have tried it in the past and I did notice some improvement of my maxes for some of the exercises I do, but not all. Overall, I think you should continue following this book for your exercises and good luck with your gains.
ReplyDeleteSome new lifting techniques I have tried and recommend is super setting. When you super set you do two workouts that count for one set. For example you do 4-8 repetitions of your max and then right after that with no rest you do 10-15 repetitions of lighter weight of the same workout. You do this for 3-5 sets and you will see massive gains.
ReplyDeleteJeff, just like you I also try for reps of 10 while lifting. I am trying to build strength while staying toned. When I read that you started doing reps of 6 with heavy weight it brought back memories. When I am out of basketball season, I too would do sets of 6 with heavy weight. But in order to make sure I was still staying in a good basketball shape, I made sure to alternate days of doing my sets of 10. I have noticed that during sports seasons that involve using your arms a lot, it isn't good to wear them out before a game or competition. For gaining size, I recommend doing a drop set on days where you are doing really heavy weight. You should increase the weight each set and after about 2 sets, drop the weight down so that it will seem lighter. But because your arms are already worn out from the previous sets, this set is extremely difficult. On this drop set you should also try and do 2 more reps as it is a lighter weight.
ReplyDeleteJeff, I see you are very committed to lifting at least 2 times a week. For me personally , I don't lift much at all BUT I do push ups and have recently started to do a 200 pushup challenge for 30 days ( yesterday). One thing I found that can help with motivation is music. Good luck with lifting and be safe
ReplyDelete