Train Less, Grow MORE: Optimal Lifting Regimen for Busy Jackson MS Residents
This entry was posted on July 7, 2018
.Most people confuse building muscle with spending ever-increasing amounts of time at the gym. They ramp up their time commitment to the process and then wind up confused or disheartened when their muscle building efforts either fall flat or don’t yield the type of results they were hoping for.
While the notion of lifting more to gain more muscle certainly seems to make sense on the surface, this is one situation where “more” isn’t always better.
When it comes to packing on rock hard pounds of lean muscle mass, the secret to consistent and steady growth has little to do with how long you spend with the weights every day, and everything to do with the intensity and progression of your workouts.
Intelligent progression, increasing TUT (time under tension), and volume (reps multiplied by weight), are critical components to growth, not matter what type of lifting program you prescribe to. Read on to learn more about how you can train less and grow more at your Jackson MS gym.
The Value of Low Volume, High-Intensity Strength Training
As with any other type of personal growth, growing bigger muscles is dependent upon you breaking through barriers. In a nutshell, each time you stress your muscles you force them to adapt to the new reality and growth occurs.
Simply working your way through the various free weights on the rack such as the Hoist HF 4263 AB/Back Hyper Bench, at a nice leisurely pace every day just isn’t going to produce the breakthroughs you need to create larger, stronger muscles. On the other hand, if you compress that same activity into a far shorter period of time and progressively increase the amount you’re lifting during each scheduled session, you’ll likely be shocked at the results after a good 30-90 days.
The body is a highly adaptive machine. If you want it to continue to adapt in the way you want (i.e. build more muscle), you’ll need to challenge those muscles in new and difficult ways using new exercise equipment.
Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy
While the concept of shorter, more intense workouts to achieve greater muscle mass is a simple one to get your head around that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. In fact, a lot of folks avoid short intense workouts because they know they’re so much more difficult than just taking your time and chatting up friends between reps.
No disrespect to the individuals that own the gym, but they also have an investment in you taking your time. They want you to spend your entire membership period making slow, incremental progress because that way you’ll need to re-up when your membership expires. If you really want to experience explosive muscle growth you need to cut the cord with old habits and tired attempts by others to hold you back. Using the right commercial gym equipment as well will go a long way.
There’s Power in Compression
The secret to muscle building success is no secret at all, and you can achieve it by lifting just 1 hour at a time, 3 times a week. The power of these compressed workout sessions lies in the degree to which they force your muscles to adapt.
If you continually walk a path your muscles are used to, they are never driven to the point where they break down. And it’s only when you push them beyond their comfort zone and actually break them down that a new, larger muscle, capable of handling the new workload is created.
In other words, intensify your workout, don’t lengthen it.
Total Commitment
If a person is truly pushing themselves to the limit, it’s physically impossible for their workout to go more than an hour or so. The body simply won’t allow it. So if you’re well past your second hour with the weights you’re just not pushing yourself hard enough to optimize returns.
Where To Put Your Focus
Once again, just to be clear, we’re not saying this stuff is easy. What we’re saying is that if you really want the lean, ripped physique you’ve dreamed about this is without a doubt the most effective way to get it. That said, let’s look at the things busy Jackson MS residents like yourself should be focusing on during your 1-hour workouts:
- Concentrate your efforts on big, free weight exercises involving compound movements.
- Perform 6 to 8 sets for each large muscle group, including the chest, thighs, and back.
- Perform 2 to 4 sets for each of the smaller muscles/muscle groups (essentially everything else).
- Every set should be performed to muscle failure in order to break down the muscle tissue.
- Keep a record of every workout and ramp up either the reps or weights once a week without fail.
- Make use of commercial gym equipment as much as possible. The Hoist HF-4264 Adjustable AB Bench is a great equipment to use while you’re at the gym.
Closing Thoughts
That’s it. Stick to both the spirit and the letter of this regime for a month and you’ll be astonished at the results you’re capable of achieving. By cutting the duration of your workout you’ll be forced to up the intensity, challenging your body to adapt faster and with greater improvements in a shorter period of time. Additionally, taking time off from workouts or limiting them to only a few days a week provides your body with ample time to “rebuild”. It’s a proven fact that large muscle groups can take up to 48-78 hours to fully recover. Hit the weights again before that happens and you’ll hinder progress, not improve it.
Follow these tips and you’ll not only look better than you ever imagined possible but because you’re only working out 3 hours a week you’ll have more free time to enjoy your new physique.
For your commercial gym equipment needs, visit Fitness Expo Stores here in Jackson MS.