Muscle Tricks
by Sean Hyson, C.S.C.S.
| Print Page | Email to Friend
We know you don’t come to us every month just to read about which muscles the bench press works or to get tips on how you can avoid becoming “too big”—so we don’t insult your intelligence by wasting pages on information you already know or aren’t interested in. Rather, we give you what you want: a steady supply of great workouts and advice on new and better ways to break out of training ruts and build more muscle faster than ever. (We leave the filler to the other magazines.)
This article is all about strategy—the best methods for busting plateaus and making new size and strength gains. These are the tricks our trainers use on their own clients— which include everyone from average joes to elite athletes. And since their careers depend on their ability to get results, success is the only option. In other words, get ready to grow.
TRIPLE SETS
“The key to building big muscles is to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible,” says Chad Waterbury, a strength and conditioning coach in Los Angeles (visit him at chadwaterbury.com). “However, your largest, strongest muscle fibers fatigue very quickly,” which is evidenced by a decrease in your rep speed toward the end of your set. You can get more out of those fibers by using triple sets.
HOW IT WORKS: Choose a weight that lets you get 10–14 reps. Perform each rep as fast as possible, but keep perfect form. As soon as you feel your speed beginning to slow, end the set—do not go to failure. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. Then rest 30 seconds and repeat once more. Now rest 180 seconds and repeat the entire triple sequence. Terminating your sets when you begin to lose speed allows you to focus on the muscle fibers that have the greatest potential for growth. Once they’re fatigued, continuing to perform the set is almost moot. By stopping to rest until those big fibers are recovered, you’ll reap the most growth stimulus the set can offer.
—
11⁄2 REPS
You already know that compound exercises are the best muscle builders. “The problem is, they don’t always emphasize the muscles that you’re trying to build,” says Waterbury. For example, the chinup works the biceps hard, but since it’s mainly a back exercise, your back muscles can overpower the movement. Rather than doing curls to isolate the biceps, use the 11⁄2-rep method. “This allows you to build up the smaller muscles you want to focus on,” says Waterbury, “while also deriving all the strength-building benefits of compound movements.”
[on Facebook, Digg, Reddit and more]
