Tip of the week Tip: Stimulate new triceps growth
Do this at the end of your arm day and you'll get the best pump of your life...and stimulate new muscle growth.
This technique takes pain to a new level. It's called the 'multi hold pump set' and is best used at the end of a training session. You should only do one set of this. Here's an example of what this might look like for a tricep exercise:
Tricep press: Multi-Hold Pump Set
- Hold the weight for 20 seconds - ideally at the weakest point of the movement - and then perform 8 to 10 repetitions.
- Immediately switch to a second isometric hold using the same point of the range of motion and hold this position for 15 seconds. Then perform 6 to 9 repetitions.
- Immediately move on to a third isometric hold using the same point of the range of motion again and hold this position for 10 seconds. Finish the set with as many repetitions as possible.
After you have finished, you will literally feel how pumped up your muscles are. It's a very strange, fun feeling. This method overloads the muscle with a ton of local growth factors and oversaturates it with amino acids.
Tip: Try deadlifting barefoot
Want to get better results from heavy pulling? Take off your shoes. Here's why, plus info on "active vs. passive" feet.
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-deadlift-barefoot-heres-why
Bare feet work better
Deadlift barefoot or with socks:
- Reduces a forward weight shift
- Helps to shift your weight backwards
- Engages the posterior muscle chain (gluteus/flexors) better
- Brings you closer to the ground, which equates to less distance to lockout
If you're working out in a gym that doesn't allow you to take your shoes off, it's a lame place and you should consider finding a new gym. If you shy away from that, buy flatter shoes like Chuck Taylor's.
If you want to try deadlifts barefoot, it's a good idea to adopt the concept of active vs passive foot. It was originally developed for squats, but is also very transferable to deadlifts.
Active vs. passive foot
A common mistake in the initial setup is to lose the arch in the foot, causing it to flatten and collapse, resulting in an unfavorable position. The easy solution to this problem is to use orthotic insoles (and some people actually need them). However, insoles are often just a solution for lazy people that doesn't address the real problem.
Instead, adopt the concept of the active foot, you will learn to achieve an even weight distribution between the three contact points of the foot - under the big toe, the little toe and the heel. In addition to this, you will optimize all three contact points with another popular twist, which is to anchor your feet into the ground as if you were trying to tear the ground apart. This will help you increase the external torque in your hips, which will drastically improve your hip and lower back stability.
Leave a heel imprint in the floor
The deadlift is as much a pushing exercise as it is a pulling exercise. You need to imagine pushing the barbell off the floor by pressing as much force into the floor as possible. A common hint is to "try to leave a heel imprint in the floor" - and this magically helps. Not like Gandalf defeating the Eye of Saruman with magic, but more along the lines of "holy shit, I moved 10 kilos more than usual" magic.
The best sentence repetition scheme you've never tried
Are you still doing 3 sets of 10 reps? Then it's time to stimulate new growth with this proven method.
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-the-best-set-rep-scheme-youve-never-tried
6 x 6 using 70% of the 1RM weight with short rest intervals
This is one of the best set/repeat schemes for mass gains. In fact, it's also one of the first. Legendary bodybuilding coach Vince Gironda called it the "Mr. Olympia Program" because it was the program he relied on when he trained Larry Scott - the very first Mr. Olympia.
This program is based on high density training (doing a lot of work in a shorter period of time) rather than load:
- Perform 6 sets of 6 reps with a moderate weight that you would do 10 reps with. This is about 70% of your 1RM weight for the exercise you are performing. So it's not your maximum weight for 6 reps.
- And now it gets interesting...and challenging. You need to perform all 6 sets in the shortest possible time, resting only 30 seconds between sets. This is where training density comes into play.
While Gironda's recommendation was to aim for rest intervals of no more than 30 seconds, he only had his advanced bodybuilders rest for 15 seconds between sets.
Can't do that?
Remember that the key factor in this load pattern is training density, not load. If you can't perform all 6 sets with 30 seconds rest between sets, then you need to reduce the weight until you have adapted to the short rest intervals.
Tip: A new method for muscular, hard legs
If you're struggling to build leg muscles, this brutal training method will change everything. And as a bonus, it will also make you lean.
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source; https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-a-new-method-for-big-hard-legs
Success leaves its mark. And trainers who are truly passionate about building muscle and strength are happy to share their knowledge with like-minded people. One of these bodybuilding and weight training coaches is Florian Bianchi.
Bianchi is very good at creating bodybuilders with great legs. He has also worked with professional and Olympic athletes, so he knows everything there is to know about building leg muscles. He literally destroys me when we train together and I have a background in Olympic weightlifting!
During our training sessions, he talked about a trick he uses to build muscular, super lean legs. If you're a bodybuilder or athlete who wants to build a lot of mass in the leg area, or if you're a woman who wants leaner legs, then this is a method you might be interested in.
100 repetitions of leg presses - every training day
The concept is simple: start each training session (not just your lower body training sessions, but all training sessions) with 100 repetitions on the leg press.
Use a very light weight. You can even start with the empty sled and try to complete all 100 reps without rest, at a moderate pace and without putting the weight sled down. Do not deliberately perform the repetitions slowly, but do not perform them at lightning speed either. Relatively slow, rhythmic repetitions are what we're talking about here. You can take breaks, but ideally they should be performed without locking the weight carriage (pause at the highest point with your legs overstretched).
Basically, this acts as your warm-up for each training session you do. You can gradually increase the weight, but doing 100 reps with heavy weights is not the goal. The goal is simply to get the blood flowing and get a pump. If you do this, the appearance of your legs will completely change within a few weeks. About 2 minutes a day for 4 to 6 weeks will change your look forever!
How does it work?
Over time, this will increase the number of capillaries in your legs. Basically, your lower body will become more vascular. This will make it easier to transport nutrients and amino acids to these muscles, which will facilitate recovery and muscle growth.
It will also help you recover faster during your lower body workouts, as more capillaries equals better blood flow. And increased blood flow results in increased oxygen transport to the muscles and more efficient removal of lactic acid between sets.
For women (and many men) this is also an interesting tool for fat loss. Women tend to have poorer circulation in the lower body. This is one of the reasons why they find it harder to achieve a super lean body. Better blood supply makes it easier to mobilize fat in this region, which is the first step on the road to getting lean.
These daily sets of leg presses with high repetitions will help to solve this problem. Of course, it will take some time to build up these capillaries, but once these adjustments have taken place, it will become easier for you to get lean legs.
Bonus benefit
The simple fact that you are doing daily leg presses will make you better at recruiting the muscles. This will promote stimulation during heavy workouts.
Tip: Build your consistency muscle
There's only one way to be consistent in the gym. And the sensitive snowflakes out there don't want to hear it.
By Chris Shugart
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-build-your-consistency-muscle
Ted never stops
Walk into a certain gym in Colorado Springs as soon as it opens and you'll see Ted. Ted has his favorite treadmill at the gym and every day you'll see him on it running fast at an incline for exactly one hour. Ted is 70 years old and he will probably live to be 100. He's always here, seven days a week and he's always first thing in the morning.
Ted has mastered consistency. In Ted's mind, every day has to start with an hour on the treadmill and some training with weights. For him, his daily workout is like brushing his teeth: he doesn't have to think about it. There are no internal discussions. It's just what he does. Ted would probably have a pretty bad day if he missed one of his training sessions.
But what can strength athletes and aspiring bodybuilders learn from old Ted? Well, pretty much everything they need to know.
Trial, error and false starts
The false start is common in fitness and bodybuilding. You start hard and intense and then stop for some reason. Many have gone through this several times before developing consistency.
Consistency is the most important parameter for training success. An average program that is followed every day will always lead to more success than the best program that is done half-heartedly. It doesn't matter if your program is scientifically based if you are not consistent. And a bro training program that you actually stick with will beat it. Arnold never read a scientific study, but he never missed a scheduled training session.
With training, you learn what works for you through trial and error, but to find the bugs, you need more trials. And you won't have many attempts if you're sitting at home 3 to 4 days a week.
The worst plan for snowflakes
For some reason, we have to treat everyone like a delicate snowflake these days. Apparently they are just too sensitive and have too many feelings to deal with honest, open advice. So we're forced to give them bad information because we think that's the only advice they'll take.
"Just go to the gym three days a week," we say. But that's terrible advice. Why? Because beginners or those who are starting to exercise again will never develop consistency if they go to the gym three times a week. There simply isn't enough opportunity for habit formation and a solidification of those habits.
Everyone feels friction. Winners ignore it
Doing something worth your time has an element of friction. We feel resistance to what we know we have to do. Preparing pre-made healthy meals for the week on Sunday takes some time, preparation and planning (friction). Going to the drive in at lunch is easy (no friction).
But the resistance caused by friction decreases and lessens over time. As kids, we hated stopping what we were doing to go brush our teeth. We knew - thanks to mom - that we had to do it, but it wasn't fun. As adults, we do it without thinking about it. We have internalized it and it happens without friction. If we go to bed without doing it, it will haunt us until the next morning.
Successful people - in the gym and out of the gym - learn to recognize friction and choose to ignore it. Or they expect it and work through it. Friction is no fun, but not achieving your goals is even worse.
In fitness, choices increase friction
If you have a training plan with three training days a week, then it's easy to juggle those three days. Bargaining becomes easy. "I'll just go train on Friday, Saturday and Sunday if I'm busy," you'll say if you don't feel like it on Mondays. Only now you have four days to break the habit of cutting loose and practicing weakness.
On the Velocity diet plan, you have what we call non-workout related activities every day, which means you just go for a walk. You walk on workout days and you walk on non-workout days.
The choice is...there is no choice. You will go for a walk and there are no excuses. You will walk in the rain and in the dark if you have to. You will walk on your business trip. You will walk at Christmas. You will even take your walks on your birthday because you are an adult and birthdays are not important when you are over 21.
If you have a choice, then this will create options. And options are bad for inconsistent people.
Choose not to have a choice
If you're struggling to train your consistency muscle, then make the choice not to have a choice. Go to the gym every day. You don't have to train the same muscles seven days a week or completely overload your nervous system. But you will be practicing what is referred to as B.I.G - "Butt In Gym". It doesn't matter if you go to the gym on a Sunday just for some foam roller training. Show up there on Sunday. Do something. And no, you won't get away with playing around with the foam roller you already have at home. Stop telling yourself that.
Show up there and "brush your teeth." As a beginner or an exerciser with four false starts, you have no choice. Choices are a bad thing. At the very least, choices should be reserved for exercisers who have been exercising for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years. It's the only way to make this "feel great, be strong and look good naked" thing a habit. It's the only true way to develop consistency.
How do you know your consistency muscle is strong
One sign that you've gotten your act together is when you get mad or feel guilty in some way when you miss a training session for any reason. Now you're consistent. Now you've internalized it. And NOW you can take a day or two off if you need to.
I hope this hasn't melted your hopes and dreams, snowflake.
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-trigger-new-triceps-growth
From Christian Thibaudeau