Tired of the Old 3 Sets of 10-12? Well, So is Your Body! Break Through Your Plateau by Training Drastically Different… a Look at Training Variables.
Plateaus are common for anyone who trains regularly. Even if you are new to weight training, you may be at a point where the fat loss has stopped, or worse yet, you may be gaining a few pounds back after months of steady weight loss. Although this is frustrating, it is very normal.
Mike Geary is a fitness expert. After years in the fitness and nutrition industry, he is here to tell you that if you are tired of doing the same boring exercise routine, so is your body.
Training variables are the key to keeping your routine fresh and your results amazing. There are numerous different ways that you can modify your exercise routine and get the maximum fat loss and muscle development.
One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to just change a few things around. Consider changing your exercise sequence, adding super-setting, circuit-training or complexes, or changing the type of exercises you perform. In addition, Mike Geary recommends adjusting the number of exercises you perform or the amount of weight you are using. Even tweaking rest periods, lifting speeds, and angles will force the muscles to respond differently.
Now don’t get overwhelmed with all of these suggestions. A professional trainer is experienced at helping you understand all of this and will guide you through the process to ensure that you are staying interested and still achieving your desired results.
Here are some variations that Mike Geary guarantees will keep you buff and prevent you from getting bored:
- Try 10 sets of 3 with a medium weight, resting only 20 seconds between sets.
- Try using a heavier weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.
- Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets.
- Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise
- Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes.
- Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises.
- Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order.
- Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.
- Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week.
- Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).
