10 ways to overcome the wall during your exercises and stimulate the muscle growth
1. Flip Your Program Upside Down:
Most of you get into a groove with your workouts – you’ll begin the week with chest, hit up legs next, and so on. For one week, talk to your trainer to switch that around. Start the week with something you normally finish with and vice versa.
So if you train chest on Monday and arms on Friday, your trainer will switch that around. Often a simple switch such as the order is enough to shock the muscles and get them paying attention again.
2. Swap Your Sets And Reps:
Are you typically doing 4 sets of 8 reps? Let’s change that this coming week. Instead, do 8 sets of 4 reps.
Note that the weight will have to be adjusted accordingly, but you will be amazed at what this technique can do for you. One week – that’s it. Then go back to your normal rep and set scheme.
3. Drop Your Supplements and Focus On Whole Food:
I’m not here to tell you that the supplements you’re taking aren’t having positive effects on your workout program. There’s a good chance that if you’re using smart supplements, they are in fact making your workouts more effective.
But what can also be extremely effective is to come off the supplements entirely for one week. Force your body to do it alone with only the intake of quality food. Many guys get so wrapped up around their supplement intake that they forget what a proper diet is.
This will force you to start paying attention. Food is the most anabolic substance there is, so start treating it as such.
4. Set A New Bed Time:
Sleep is when you’re really going to grow, so you must maximize this time. For one week, turn off the TV or skip going out to the bar with your buddies and go to bed two hours earlier. In return, get up two hours earlier.
You’ll surprise yourself with just how much more you can accomplish during the day as well as the influence this will have on your ability to build more muscle.
5. The 50-Rep Set Technique:
For every exercise you’re doing in your workout this week, add one set of fifty reps at the very end. If you haven’t been pushing yourself maximally, you will be now.
This technique is very exhaustive on the system, so at the same time be extra sure you’re eating and sleeping enough. Note the weight will also be reduced when using this method. The goal is to get to the fifty reps, regardless of what you’re lifting.
6. Pre-Exhaust Those Muscles:
Alternatively to the 50-rep set principle, try some pre-exhaust work. Begin each exercise in your workout with a set of 75 reps using 50% of your max weight.
Take 10 seconds rest after each block of reps until you reach a total of 75 reps. Use an isolation exercise. After doing this for a week, when you return back to straight lifting, your strength will be through the roof.
7. Set A ‘Must-Eat-Diet’:
If you don’t take in enough calories, you won’t grow. It really can be that simple. For one week, set a food intake that must be achieved each day and then try and add whatever other foods you can to it.
For this week, shoot for 12 eggs, 2 gallons of milk, and 2 large chicken breasts each and every day.
Or hit the grocery store and spend more than you would normally spend and plan on having the fridge and cupboards empty by next Sunday. Get that in and start growing.
8. Go To Failure:
You’ve probably read an article telling you to avoid failure as it’s the short-track to over training. This is true, when you’re always going to direct failure with each lift you do. For this week, forget about reps.
Just lift until you can’t lift any more. Then rest and do it again for your next exercise. You might not be able to finish your pre-set workout. Don’t worry about it for this week.
9. Run Hard Before Your Workouts:
Typically you always want to save cardio until after you’ve done your weight lifting. For one week, try doing a ten minute hard run right before your weights.
It’ll boost your metabolism and cause your appetite to shoot through the roof and mentally put you into an intense mode to carry through the rest of the workout. Try this technique along with the Must-Eat-Diet technique for best results.
10. Start Yoga:
Think yoga is a place to pick up women? While it very well may be, it’s also a great way to boost your muscle building potential.
Yoga increases circulation, enhances range of motion, and will help to reduce stress. These are a few factors that go into building muscle. Try it for one week and see if you don’t notice a difference