Sooner or later everyone, including professional bodybuilders, comes to point where muscle growth is simply seems to stop.
Increasing the weight on a given exercise may also seem impossible.
This is what is known as a weight training plateau.
May be you want to increase the weight on an exercise (and earn some bragging rights about your bench press), stimulate new muscle growth or target a trouble spot.
Whatever your goal, muscle building workouts listed below should get the job done - assuming you're doing everything else right such as eating, hydrating and resting.
These are advanced weight training routines.
Beginners can read and keep them in mind but it is best to wait until you're at least intermediate level before attempting them.
1.
Supersets: Most of the time people do what are known as straights, that is doing one at a time.
With supersets, you do two straight sets or exercises back to back with little or no set in between.
Supersets are not only great intensity-boosters, but also time savers.
Supersets are also great for cutting or body sculpting phase.
2.
Tri-sets: As the name suggests, something will be done in threes.
Like supersets, you will perform the exercises with little or no rest in between, only that you will do three of them.
You pick three different exercises and have the weights ready.
Then you do a set of each exercise and straight to the next and then finally the third one.
Rest and then repeat.
Like supersets, these are great for your cutting phase.
3.
Running the rack: These can be attributed to Ronnie Coleman, former Mr.
Olympia.
He used them to shock his shoulders to growth.
My own trouble spot was shoulders until I utilized this routine and began to see some serious growth on that area within a very short time.
I will use side raises for example as that's what I used them for.
After doing your mass routine (such as shoulder press), line up three dumbbells in your working weights in front of you, light to heavy.
Starting with, say 25 pounds and do 12 reps, then pick up 35 pounds and do 10 reps, and finally pick 45 pounds for 8 or 6 reps.
You should do these without little or no rest in between.
Rest and repeat.
You can do these with either or both arms at a time.
4.
Forced reps: You need a spotter for these.
You do your set normally but when you reach failure or sticking point, your spotter gives you just enough help to complete a few more reps.
These can be done without a spotter on some exercises such as the one arm dumbbell curl, where you can use the other arm to assist the working one.
5.
Drop sets: Do your sets normally but instead of stopping at your last rep on your heaviest weight, start to gradually strip the weight and doing more sets.
These can be done with or without rest.
You should finish the exercise with just the bar, which by this time should feel like it weighs a ton.
6.
Rest-pause: Do your sets normally to failure.
After completing your last rep on, say, the bench press, re-rack the weight but stay on the bench.
Rest for one minute and then do three or four more reps.
Rest another minute to a minute and half and do two more reps.
Continue until you can do no more.
7.
Partial reps: After finishing your last rep on your heaviest weight with full range of motion, you proceed to do a few incomplete or partial motion reps to failure.
Increasing the weight on a given exercise may also seem impossible.
This is what is known as a weight training plateau.
May be you want to increase the weight on an exercise (and earn some bragging rights about your bench press), stimulate new muscle growth or target a trouble spot.
Whatever your goal, muscle building workouts listed below should get the job done - assuming you're doing everything else right such as eating, hydrating and resting.
These are advanced weight training routines.
Beginners can read and keep them in mind but it is best to wait until you're at least intermediate level before attempting them.
1.
Supersets: Most of the time people do what are known as straights, that is doing one at a time.
With supersets, you do two straight sets or exercises back to back with little or no set in between.
Supersets are not only great intensity-boosters, but also time savers.
Supersets are also great for cutting or body sculpting phase.
2.
Tri-sets: As the name suggests, something will be done in threes.
Like supersets, you will perform the exercises with little or no rest in between, only that you will do three of them.
You pick three different exercises and have the weights ready.
Then you do a set of each exercise and straight to the next and then finally the third one.
Rest and then repeat.
Like supersets, these are great for your cutting phase.
3.
Running the rack: These can be attributed to Ronnie Coleman, former Mr.
Olympia.
He used them to shock his shoulders to growth.
My own trouble spot was shoulders until I utilized this routine and began to see some serious growth on that area within a very short time.
I will use side raises for example as that's what I used them for.
After doing your mass routine (such as shoulder press), line up three dumbbells in your working weights in front of you, light to heavy.
Starting with, say 25 pounds and do 12 reps, then pick up 35 pounds and do 10 reps, and finally pick 45 pounds for 8 or 6 reps.
You should do these without little or no rest in between.
Rest and repeat.
You can do these with either or both arms at a time.
4.
Forced reps: You need a spotter for these.
You do your set normally but when you reach failure or sticking point, your spotter gives you just enough help to complete a few more reps.
These can be done without a spotter on some exercises such as the one arm dumbbell curl, where you can use the other arm to assist the working one.
5.
Drop sets: Do your sets normally but instead of stopping at your last rep on your heaviest weight, start to gradually strip the weight and doing more sets.
These can be done with or without rest.
You should finish the exercise with just the bar, which by this time should feel like it weighs a ton.
6.
Rest-pause: Do your sets normally to failure.
After completing your last rep on, say, the bench press, re-rack the weight but stay on the bench.
Rest for one minute and then do three or four more reps.
Rest another minute to a minute and half and do two more reps.
Continue until you can do no more.
7.
Partial reps: After finishing your last rep on your heaviest weight with full range of motion, you proceed to do a few incomplete or partial motion reps to failure.
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