The key to resistance training being results based is mixing it up. Muscle has memory and will not stand for being under-stimulated. In fact it is this reason so many people give up on the gym.Showing zero results is good way to say goodbye to motivation and inspiration.
Here are some training techniques to apply to your regime to confuse and trick your muscles into working harder.
Strip Setting : Starting with a heavier weight that allows you to only do 4-6 reps then drop down to a lower weight increasing the reps and continue. Example: If you can biceps curl 20 pounds 4-6 times before conking out start there. Then at "conk out" drop to 15 pounds and do as many as you can. At conk out drop to 10 and do as many as you can then to 5 pounds and end with 3. There is no rest inbetween.
Builders : This is the opposite of the above. Starting with a low weight and high repititions you increase the weight and lower the repititions.
Pyramiding : Includes both of the above. You use "building" to the top then "strip" to the bottem within one exercise.
Assisted Repitition : Just like it sounds you assist the movement. For example: your doing bicep curl with a weight that gets heavy quickly.To get in some extra repitions beyond failure you would either get a partner to spot you or in this case you could do it yourself. Help lift the weight to the up or contracted position. On the arm straightening phase do it your self ( the eccentric ) or lengthening phase.
Super Sets : You do two to four exercises in a row without rest as one exercise. Example. Squats , reverse flys and crunch one immediately after another.
Complex Movement : Similar to supersets you use the same muscle group or opposing muscle groups for maximal muscle fatigue. For example you would do bent over rows, flys and pulls downs in a row targeting the same muscle in the back group. Opposing muscles otherwise known as agonist and antagonist. They work for and against each other just like the words explain. Example: when doing bicep curls the biceps muscle is the agonist ( the primary working muscle ) and the tricep is the antagonist or the opposite muscle group. By doing biceps followed by triceps repeatedly you get added fatigue benefit.
Mulitjoint Movement : This is when you are using more then one joint at a time. This could be lunges with shoulder press or squats and reverse flys. By making sure you include joints that involve at least one large muscle group you increase your energy output and your maximal fat burning.
Feel free to combine some of these strategies for example use strip setting and supersets at the same time. For the quads this would look like :
Squats(20 with 5 pounds/15 with 10 pounds/10 with 15 pounds and 5 with 20 pounds) move immediately with no rest to leg Extensions( again start with high reps and low weight and increase the weight as you lower the reps. You then immediatley move to lunges with the same strip setting concept. Now thats a workout with bang for its buck!
Happy lifting,
Andrea
Andrea Page is the founder of FITMOM www.fitmomfitness.com and www.newmom101.com . She has wokred with over 10, 000 women in the childbearing years and beyond helping them acheive maximal health while balancing motherhood , work and relationships.