June 6, 2017 · 8:33 am
Making changes in body composition is a goal for many people, yet when it comes to doing that you need to increase your base levels of strength.
Being stronger allows you to accumulate more total volume, which means more potential for muscle growth.
If you have hit a plateau, here are three easy to apply methods to help you boost strength.
Stating a press or a squat from the bottom position (a power rack or suit stand pins will be needed) eliminates the eccentric loading/stretch reflex meaning it’s pure neural output and force production, this is a great way to help strength.
Pick one movement and focus on this for 2-3 weeks, then change to another movement or a different variation of the lift, this can be quiet draining on the nervous system.
Perform said lift 3x per week start off with 8×2 and add a rep until you hit 8×3, use 80%+ of 1RM, rest as much as you need but as little as possible.
An old classic but one that is super effective.
If you’re pressing or squatting, simply get to the lowers point in the lift and pause there for a minimum of 2-3 seconds (4 is the point where most people lose all potential energy stored by the eccentric portion of the lift), build up to longer pauses over time.
So say week 1: 3 seconds, week 2: 4 seconds, week 3: 5 seconds etc.
You can also pause pulling movements, the main difference being you pause at the top of the lift (contraction peak), I believe it was Phil Learney who said if you can’t hold at the top for 3 seconds then the weight is too heavy and your back is too weak – other top coaches have said similar and I have to agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Leave your ego & your momentum at the door in pulling movements.
If you choose to pause deadlifts stop in either the concentric or eccentric, both are very effective at building strength – aim to pause at your common ‘sticking point’ as that’s where you’re power output is at it’s weakest.
2-3 week blocks advised, one lift focus per block.
Yep, partial reps are a great tool for increasing strength, provided you have the equipment necessary to perform them with good form.
Say you have a sticking point, you’d simply set up the bar at the post just before it and just after it and press or squat through that small ROM to build your strength/force output in that area.
This could also be done in stages across the entire full ROM of a lift, might look like this:
A1 – Press lock out 3×3-5
B1 – 1/2 rep to 3/4 rep and hold (pressing in to the pins on each last rep as hard as possible 3×3-5
C1 – 1/4 rep to 1/2 rep press hold as above 3×3-5
D1 – Bottom of rep to 1/4 rep press hold as above 3×3-5
Easy on paper, brutal in practice, but 100% effective in getting stronger.
2-4 week block advised, one lift focus per block.
Bonus – Cheat Rep & Eccentric Overload
A classic cheat rep such as a push press, or cheat curl for example. This allows you to get the lift up to the end ROM and then slowly lower the weight using eccentric training.
There you have it, some simple methods you can add to your training to increase your strength today.
May 17, 2017 · 8:18 am
“I want to be big and strong”
^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.
“I want to be lean and strong”
^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.
While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.
I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.
These sports all centre around lifting:
– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)
– CrossFit (some may not like this one)
Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:
– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few
– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)
– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)
– Increased strength for sport/daily life
– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)
Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.
Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.
If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.
Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.
What if lifting isn’t for you?
That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:
– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun
– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)
– Climbing/outdoor sports
There are almost endless options.
Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.
Now go, have fun and make progress.
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November 4, 2016 · 10:30 am
Partial reps can sometimes be the topic of controversy but if done correctly they can help you break plateaus and overcome limiting factors, not to mention have some great crossover to athletic potential.
Here is a great article with lots of good science in it:
The above article covers everything I thought of so there is techicanlly no need to rewrite what has already been well written, instead I am going to give you a list of exercises to consider adding to your training to hep you break plateaus.
– Pin Press (bench or overhead to lock out)
– Press to pins (start at bottom and press in to the pins as hard as you possibly can)
– Olympic lifts in hang style start or power style finish
With the above exercises you also have various methods that involve partial reps, Im sure everyone has heard of Matrix 21’s, this is usually done on bicep curls. Along with this you could also try complex training for partial reps, here is an example of one:
Bulgarian complex training –
A complex of 4-5 exercises (similar to a giant set), going from the heaviest one to the lightest one.
A1. Back squat on Box: 3-5 repetitions with a load of 85-95% of 1RM Rest 3-4 minutes
A2. Power snatch or power clean: 2-3 repetitions with a load of 85-95% of 1RM Rest 3-4 minutes
A3. Jump squats: 5-10 repetitions with a load of 15-20% of the back squat 1RM Rest 3-4 minutes
A4. Depth jumps 10 repetitions from 0.5m Rest 3-4 minutes
A5. Vertical jumps: AMRAP in 15 seconds Rest 3-4 minutes
Now go add some partial reps to your workout and break those plateaus.
