Struggling with a training plateau?
Want better results in less time?
If so, give your workout a makeover! Drop sets, super sets, unilateral training, and other techniques can help you break through plateaus and give you a better pump.
Psst. Your diet is important too.
Actually, it accounts for the majority of your visible results in the gym. Not the even the best training plan can compensate for bad eating.
(Check out our Progressive Nutrition Templates here if you're interested in improving your nutrition.)
Follow these steps to supercharge your workouts and get the most out of your gym time:
Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
When you're training for longer than 40 minutes or so, workout intensity drops. Your muscles get fatigued and cortisol levels increase. This may lead to poor recovery, muscle soreness, and injuries.
To prevent these issues, keep your workouts short and intense. Exercise intensity is more important than duration. If spending hours in the gym was the key to a muscle and strength, you may already have the body you're after.
Hold the Squeeze
Completing one rep after another just to finish your workout is a waste of time, “checking the boxes.” For best results, forcefully contract the working muscles until you feel them burning. Focus on each rep and slow down the speed to challenge your body and maximize your pump. This leads to deeper muscle activation and greater strength.
Try New Lifting Techniques
Ever tried super sets or drop sets? These lifting techniques can take your workout to a whole new level. For instance, if your goal is get stronger, add forced or assisted reps to your training. To improve hypertrophy aka muscle size, use drop sets. Super sets are a great choice for those looking to build size and strength. You can also experiment with strip sets, negatives, giant sets, and jump sets. It all comes down to your goals.
Train Unilaterally
Split squats, one-legged deadlifts, lunges, and one-arm dumbbell rows are among the most popular unilateral exercises. These movements can help you build a strong body and fix muscular imbalances. When done right, they improve stability and range of motion, increase muscle strength, and maximize performance. Unilateral training stimulates your muscles to a greater extent than bilateral training, leading to better gains.
Eat Smart
What you eat can make or break your progress. Even if you’re trying to get ripped, you still need carbs and fats in your diet. The key is to time your meals around right. Eat your carbs before and after exercise, maintain a high protein intake, and limit sugars in the evening. Dinner should consist of lean protein and healthy fats. Get your daily calories from whole foods and ditch the junk. Fish, lean meat, eggs, vegetables, nuts, and seeds should come first on your list.
Now that you what it takes to have a great workout, give it a try! Looking for a new routine to improve your results, schedule your free screening here.