Gym Tips
How to Easily Intensify Your Lifts at the Gym if You're not Ready to Go Up in Weight Yet!
Okay okay — we've all been there. You're trying to build some thicc biceps ( glutes, delts, abs, ya know, whatever suits you ) and you've been stuck with that same set of dumbbells for weeks now. You want to go up in weight to continue to progress and add strength but you're just not quite there yet.
1. Add a “Half Rep” to Your Lifts
Adding a half-rep to a lift is something I do with my clients often because it forces the muscle to utilize extra control and less momentum during the lift, thus making it a little more difficult! It also adds a new stimulus that your body isn't used to, which typically results in new muscle adaptations and improved movement patterns!
Some of my favorite “half-rep” exercises are:
Bicep Curls - think, curl all the way up, down half way, back up all the way, down all the way
Squats - drop it low, come up half way, drop it low, come up all the way
Delt raises - lift all the way to 90 degrees, down to 45 degrees, lifting back up to 90 degrees, and then down to the sides
This can be applied to a ton of different lifts as well, these are just some of my favorites! I find that this works well for clients who travel often too — sometimes hotel gyms don't have a ton of weight options, so this is a great trick to make the most out of lighter weights!
2. Increase Rep Volume at a Lower Weight
If you're stuck at a certain weight for a lift, you might have to go down in weight first in order to go up! Hear me out, let's say you're stuck at 8 X 100LB barbell squat. You might need to try your hand at 20 X 85LBs for a few weeks, then, go back and try that heavy shorter set a few weeks later!
By getting better at and adding volume to your lifts at a lower weight and higher rep range, you're actually simulating muscle adaptations at the cellular level that will build overtime into additional strength gains! If we're always lifting at our max, changes are, we're not giving our body enough time to fully adapt in stability, form and control. So, if you're getting stuck with a lift while still chasing after that next PR, you might need to “slow down to speed up” so to speak! ;)
3. Add an Isometric Hold at the End of Your Set
Though it might sound counter intuitive, holding your position of most tension in your lift at the end of a set may actually help you to bust through your plateau. A lot of what I see when clients are lifting is that there is a ton of momentum being used throughout the set. So, when we ask our muscles to hold at the end of a heavy set, it provides an added stress to the muscles to contract, balance and maintain proper form while still under tension!
4. Slowwww Down
Okay sparky — I know you feel like a bad a** repping out your heavy squats, bicep curls, etc. As much as this can be a fun, liberating feeling to “rep it out,” to break through a plateau and create more micro-tears in the muscle, you might have to take the speed out of the equation and focus on slow, controlled reps. I know, I know — this can sound boring at first, but I promise, if you give it a few tries, you'll feel just how much harder it is to complete your lifts slowly.
A cue I like to give to my speed-demon clients is to count to 3 on the concentric (when the muscle is shortened) portion of the lift, and count to 3 on the eccentric (when the muscle is lengthened) portion of the lift.
These are just a few of my favorite tips to help my strength training clients to get through plateaus and gain strength, but recommendations and solutions will absolutely vary from person to person! If you've got a lift that's giving you a hard time, drop me a comment below or DM me on IG so we can talk about what solution might be best for YOU and your goals!
Stay strong, friends!
XX, Ariel