Most people who go to the gym for strength training or muscle building share the same approach with their weightlifting. They may have a vague idea of a routine in terms of the exercise order they complete but rarely log their progress for specific rep and set schemes, let alone more specific parameters.
Let’s take a typical scenario. As an example your friends may go to the gym and train their chest on a Monday. They like to start with the barbell bench press because they consider it the king of chest exercises. They will usually use similar rep protocols, maybe working in sets of 8 before moving up towards their max (1RM lift). They keep their repetition protocols roughly the same adjusting slightly for when they feel they can push more.
In short, their progression is based on load (weight lifted). If they can lift more, they will and they move it up in as linear a fashion as possible.
Sooner or later they tend to get stuck at the same weight. Their 1RM struggles to go past a certain point. If they put an extra 2.5kg on the bar it pins their chest. They can’t put any more weight on without a spotter performing a simultaneous upright row with the bar to help them out.
So, without increasing the weight, or increasing the reps you complete at that weight, what can you do? Here are some other ways to increase your max lifts. You can also use them as techniques to build muscle. Some work better on particular exercises than others.
1) Slow down the tempo. If your 1RM on the bench press is 100kg then you can still do your singles as you would usually but slow down the tempo on your working weight. If it takes you 2 seconds to lower the bar then increase that number to 3, 4 etc. This is increasing the total time under tension (TUT) of your lift and is providing your body with a method of overload. If you increase your TUT enough by slowing down your eccentric tempo your maximum lift will go up because you find yourself handling your previous 1RM more comfortably.
2) Add a pause in the weakest mechanical position. Adding a pause in this part of the lift increases intramuscular tension but also elongates the TUT in the same way slowing down the tempo would. It also tends to make things more difficult because it pushes you to correct some common technique imperfections. If you were bouncing the bar off your chest before, you will not be able to do so if you pause the bar for one second on your chest.
3) Add an intra-set pause in the strongest mechanical position. Taking 15 second pauses between reps allows you to preferentially recruit high threshold motor units (used in maximal strength training). It also allows you to perform a higher volume of work with the same weight or perform the same volume with a heavier weight. Here is an comparison;
- Scenario A. Standard set of 6 x 3 with 100kg barbell bench press.
- Scenario B. Perform 6 x 3 with 105kg bench press by resting 15 seconds between each rep.
- Scenario C. Perform 6 x 4 with 100kg by resting 15 seconds between each rep.
In scenarios B and C the numbers are simple examples. You may not complete all of the reps but the intra-set pause will allow you to recover and therefore you should be able to express more strength and power on each rep than you would normally. You would rack the bar between each rep rather than holding it for an extra 15 seconds (the idea is to invigorate, not to further fatigue).
4) Use a mechanically weaker exercise. If you are trying to increase your 1RM on the Barbell Bench Press up from 100kg you can move onto the incline barbell press (45 degree is usually about 15% weaker than your flat bench) and increase your strength on that exercise. If you can get your Incline barbell bench press up to 100kg and go back to benching from a flat position you will find that your weight will have gone up without training it directly. Other examples of mechanically weaker exercises that you can use this technique with are here (keep in mind these are generalisations, some people are stronger the other way around from habits of training;
- Wide pull ups are weaker than chin ups
- Pronated (palm down) bicep exercises are weaker than supinated (palm up) versions. A semi-supinated (hammer) grip is the strongest position mechanically for elbow flexion exercises. Therefore hammer curls are stronger (slightly) than supinated curls and both are stronger than reverse curls.
- Incline bench pressing exercises tend to be weaker than flat exercises and both are weaker than decline variations. The change in angles alters which muscles are being recruited as well as changing the distance the bar has to move i.e. range of motion (ROM).
Spend some time improving your numbers on a weaker version of the same exercise before returning to the lift you want to improve. You will have improved your strength on it without training it directly.
5) Use supramaximal work. Supramaximal would be a weight that is above what your 1RM is. You can do this in three ways, either through eccentrics, isometrics or partial reps. You can control the eccentric of an exercise with a heavier weight than you can perform eccentrically. This allows your neuromuscular system to get used to the heavier load and strengthen your muscles and connective tissues accordingly. These techniques are for advanced trainees, not for beginners. Here are some examples of how you can implement this;
- Once you finish your full depth squatting add in some partial range work with a heavier weight.
- Once you finish your bench pressing take a weight heavier than your 1RM and hold it for 10 seconds prior to racking the weight again. Needless to say, spotters are compulsory for this exercise if you don’t want to risk killing yourself.
- Once you have finished your pull ups perform further sets of eccentric work. You can use an additional weight which is heavier than you can perform concentrically and focus on increasing the length of time it takes for the weight to pull you down into the bottom position. You would get to the top position with the use of a spotter or jumping if you are on your own.
Now you have some techniques which allow you to throw some spice into your routine and prevent you from falling into the trap of simply adding weight when you can. These will allow you to gain strength faster than ever if you are good at implementing them. I would recommend picking just one of these methods to work on and use it for a full training mesocycle (however long you would stick with the same exercise usually, I like 4-6 weeks) before changing them. This allows you to evaluate the progress you have made and change it accordingly, as well as giving them enough time to show their full potential.
Ben Carpenter – Personal Trainer
PES Science and Strength Team
www.bcpersonaltraining.co.uk
