It can be so frustrating when you are exercising regularly and yet you can’t see any results from your efforts. Being consistent in the gym, spending time with a personal trainer, and the resulting financial commitment can be so draining if you end up struggling to build muscle. Before you give up on yourself, try auditing your routine with the help of experts and see what it is you could be doing wrong. While the following may not necessarily represent you, they could be some of the reasons you are getting it wrong. Suboptimal Reps In strength training, there are standard three sets each having 10 to 12 reps per exercise. Many athletes use this as the gold standard. The problem with such a mindset and approach is that it may hold you back as you begin to build muscle. Ideally, your personal training should incorporate both lower rep ranges using heavier weights and higher rep ranges with lighter weights. When you vary the reps in this manner, you keep your body on its toes, and this optimizes muscular development. Undercutting Carbs or Calories If you want to build muscle, you cannot bank on protein intake alone. Without sufficient carbohydrate intake, you will struggle fueling your workouts, and your body will lack an essential ingredient that rebuilds muscle tissue. Instead, have a proportionate intake of proteins and calories including carbs. If you have a dietician nutritionist, they may help you plan and put together a diet that fits your specific needs. Monotonous Workouts When you establish a routine, there is the danger of hitting a plateau. Without variety in your routine, it is impossible to stimulate or trigger muscle growth. The best approach is to bring in different loads, angles, and exercises. The body system welcomes surprises and responds in different ways thereby awakening the mechanisms responsible for helping you build muscle. Regulate Your Cardiovascular Exercises In every exercise routine, cardio workouts form a crucial component because they get your heart rate up. However, overdoing these exercises can burn muscle tissue and offset your goal to build muscle. The best way around this is to cut back your cardio workouts to about two days a week to create room for your muscle to grow. Logically, this may seem counterintuitive, but in the process, it can speed up your results. Not Taking on Heavier Weights To build muscle your body must undergo a biological shift and to trigger this, you need enough stimulus. One such stimulus is the addition of intensity to your training. The real key to success lies in challenging and pushing yourself. Personal trainers recommend that you lift weights you can handle for about 6 in 8 reps and for the remaining two reps, go for challenging weights. Minimize your resting period between sets and put your body to task. All through your workouts, strive to maintain the mind-body connection. Muscles are not fired only through the weights you take up, but also mentally. As you lift your weights, bring in your mental input to the area of the body you are exercising. Incorporating activities such as yoga into your routine can bring lots of benefits.
KUNAL JHAVERI | 22 Sep 18
Ask any competitive lifter, the powerlifting exercises that matters are the big three and their variations. While this may be true, there is so much more for you to gain if you could only stretch your workout horizon to bring in accessory exercises. Remember, being strong in different exercises and angles make you a better and more muscular powerlifter who less prone to injuries. There is every reason to go beyond the big three that is bench, deadlifts, and squats. In the gym, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Therefore, you need muscular balance and homeostasis in all your systems for uninterrupted progress. The following are some of the must-do workouts that will give you incredible value in your powerlifting career. Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups In traditional powerlifting exercises, the upper body remains tight, and this hinders the development of the upper back muscles. Integrating chin-ups and pull-ups into your training program will stimulate and grow the lats, mid traps, rear deltoids, and rhomboids. When developed, these same muscles play a key role in the big three powerlifting exercises. On top of this, pull-ups and chin-ups encourage good posture. They will give you a more aesthetic and much wider look. Dips The dip is a top contender for the single best exercise for building triceps and the chest. Depending on how deeper you go into the descent when doing dips, this exercise can spur serious shoulder and chest development. Most of the pressing powerlifting exercises are not on the vertical plane. The dip corrects this and ensures you are stronger in all angles and planes thus positioning you to lift a max attempt. Barbell Shoulder Press and Sitting Dumbbell When your shoulders are strong, your stability and strength improves. This is a great asset in the bench and lowers your risk of injury when doing your lifts. The dumbbell shoulder press is instrumental in muscle gain and helps you address asymmetries. The sitting dumbbell allows you to increase loading because the seat offers support. This will give you mileage in core strength and stabilization. Bulgarian Split Squats and Lunges Powerlifting significantly underrates unilateral work. To address this, you can add accessory exercises such as Bulgarian split squats and lunges. They are essential in fixing imbalances between muscles and limbs and help with stability and mobility as well. If you stick to the big three in powerlifting, they will fix you into certain patterns where the body recruits the same motor units and muscles repeatedly. This is notwithstanding that other muscles are available to help. On their part, lunges enhance lower body strength and expose areas of weaknesses that you should focus on. Any accessory powerlifting exercises that isolate your rear deltoids are more than welcome. Deadlift, squat, and bench workouts underrate rear deltoids thus exposing you to injury and the inefficiencies of core instability. Go for workouts that exercise your other muscles such as face pulls, resistance band pull aparts, and dumbbell rear lateral raises.
KUNAL JHAVERI | 21 Sep 18