We all sometimes need a reminder of how-to workout and what to pay attention to as we all get in a routine and go through the motions. What I mean is we lose focus on how to build muscle and prevent injuries at the same time and usually that boils down to going too fast, not paying attention or most importantly lacking EFFORT!
Although a good routine is important, there is absolutely no reason to change a routine for the sake of changing a routine when most of the time those people haven't even mastered the original routine or spent enough time working on the key components of that routine which I'll list below, but remember there is no special exercise or secret routine the pros have that are miraculously going to get you the results. Remember the term K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid)? People try to complicate things or find fluff influencer exercises that won’t really build muscle tissue. There are so many exercises that people come up with because they look cool just for the sake of selling something or getting views and likes. There is a reason machines are made mechanically correct to stimulate the muscle they were designed to work, so when you someone sitting backwards on an Abductor machine doing backwards Adductor work, please don’t try to copy that motion.
You get the most amount of stimulus from an exercise when you are in the most stable position and again that’s usually how the machine is designed. That doesn’t mean you always have to train on a machine like you see most people now adays, basic free weight exercises like squats and rows with heavy weight still are going to be some of your best exercises to pack on the muscle tissue just again make sure you are in the most stable position while doing them so you can use the most amount of load.
Most of the biggest and best bodybuilders in history trained with heavy free weights and didn’t have to try to get creative or overcomplicated things, they just trained hard and progressively tried to get stronger on those lifts. Yes, after a period of time your strength can only increase so much so to keep stimulus and intensify the workout you can incorporate things like drop sets and supersets but even those have a place and can’t be done every set of an exercise without causing fatigue and minimizing the load you can use not because the muscle is used but because the body is fatigued but that is a whole other topic for another day.
The point of this blog is to get you back to the basics and understand or remind yourself the most beneficial ways to stimulate and build muscle tissue and it’s not through some weird exercise that looks cool, but control, focus, and progressively harder work.
Form is crucial on every exercise but there are some key components to go along with that to get you the most jacked possible in the safest manner, plus doing it this way and not just using momentum on every rep, you’ll actually be able to feel when the given muscle fatigues and can’t generate enough force to complete any more reps and then you’ll know by feel that the muscle is done at least from that angle you are working and it’s time to move on and hit it from another angle.
No matter what routine you are doing or exercise you are on, these are the key components to keep in mind on every set and every workout and if you implement them every day you train, I guarantee you’ll have a productive workout and make the gains you are looking for.
Progressive Overload- Increase the load (weight) OR/ increase the reps with the same weight on given exercise from workout to workout. If you are constantly striving to get stronger on your lifts, you will gain muscle tissue as well as strength. Always trying to do this without breaking form.
Mechanical Tension- Pushing or pulling as hard as you can against the load and the load moves slow because of the perceived effort of the muscle. The last few reps of your last set should always include that. So basically, the load is so heavy on the muscle no matter how hard you try, you can’t move the weight fast and that doesn’t mean it has to be till failure on every set but on the last set you shouldn’t have any reps in reserve (R.I.R).
Time Under Tension- No rest or relaxing during the set meaning don't lock the joint and take tension off the muscle you are working by resting with a locked joint after each rep. Control the negative (slow the F down) then explosively change direction against the resistance and continue with that pattern of controlling the resistance then forcing the contraction to keep it smooth and fluid, no jerking or slop during the reps, just let the muscle work.
