The Six Most Important Plateau-Busting Tips

[BABY1]

TweetYou train with the intensity of a full-force hurricane, eat so much protein you are on a first-name-basis with the staff at your local grocery store, and regularly consume the best performance supplements money can buy. You are happy with your gains, and appear to be ticking all the right muscle-building boxes. However, you feel you have yet to achieve the best gains of your life – and you are probably right. In fact, you may have hit a dreaded training plateau. No matter how hard we try with each passing workout or how diligent we appear to be working on all aspects of our training approach, there are untested methods that, upon being incorporated into one’s program, will provoke further progress to reveal all we are capable of. The following article will outline an approach to building the complete physique, one that I have personally found to be successful for many an aspiring muscle-builder. Follow it to the letter to reveal uncharted muscular development of your own.

Periodization

Starting any training program with the same approach used at its conclusion is a big mistake. First, the body must gradually ease into increasingly more difficult work that is periodically added to continually challenge the muscular system; attempting everything at once from the outset may result in over-training or, worse, injury.
Secondly, by dividing a training routine into distinct phases, one will ultimately experience the cumulative benefits each stage has to offer – just as the body begins to acclimate to a given phase, another is presented.

Continually challenging one’s capabilities with unique stimulus further encourages stubborn muscle tissue to work harder and grow beyond the parameters set by a standard, across-the-board, training approach.

The training program I’ve outlined below will be divided into three distinct 3 week phases utilizing the same effective protocols, but modifying these variables so as to further increase each phase’s difficulty level. In Phase 1, a solid foundation of mass, strength (through the periodic employment of low rep sets) and conditioning is the objective, while the more intensive Phases’ 2 and 3 will promote a great deal more super-compensation through staggered rep ranges, hypertrophy-based training, the introduction of intensity principals, increased exercise selection, and a higher overall workload.
By periodizing one’s training in this fashion the body will be forced to adapt and compensate, and more muscle growth will result.
Rest Periods

Given the following program’s gradual increase in intensity from phase to phase, rest between sets (as outlined below under “program notes”) becomes increasingly more important as one’s training progresses.

To keep the intensity placed upon our muscles high while recovering sufficiently between sets so as to hit each with maximal effort, we must closely monitor how long we rest between each succession of reps.

Maintaining strictly defined rest periods will also allow us to condense our training sessions into shorter workloads which will ensure we train harder and faster so we can get out of the gym quicker and begin the recovery process sooner. The heavier the weight lifted, the more recovery needed between sets.
Intensity Techniques

A bodybuilding training regime without a generous inclusion of intensity techniques (as outlined below) will produce only a fraction of the results achieved by one with them. The days of an across the board training approach of 3 sets of 8-12 per movement are well and truly over; a realization that they can extend the intensity of each set through a variety of methods has given the trainee a performance edge to boost bodybuilding progress beyond conventional training parameters.

We must judiciously and strategically incorporate each intensity technique to “shock” the body into compensating in response to each stressor.

Thus, in the following program (specifically, Phases’ 2-3) intensity techniques will vary from workout to workout, and phase to phase. Based on their efficacy and proven track record, the major intensity techniques to be used in the following program are: rest/pause, drop sets, supersets, and partial reps.
The Mental Edge

Proper bodybuilding training is as much a mental game as it is physically demanding. In the following program, it is expected that the trainee will at all times apply maximum focus; no talking with friends, no checking text messages, no updating Facebook. With its emphasis on condensing and elevating training intensity, the ability to concentrate is a fundamental program attribute.

Mentally rehearse each set before attempting it, visualize positive outcomes from the beginning of your session to its conclusion.

Though not easy at first, practicing such mindfulness will, over time, give you a mental edge to elevate progress beyond what would otherwise be expected.
Pre-training Supplementation

As effective as they are, mental tricks, intensity techniques, and beneficial training strategies will be compromised if energy levels are low.
Though proper nutrition will ensure a good basic supply of carbohydrates on which to train with backbreaking intensity, the mental arousal, neuromuscular stimulation, supercharged focus and physical prowess afforded through the inclusion of a quality pre-training supplement is not to be underestimated. At the very least, it will give you a performance edge unique to the effectiveness of their powerful ingredients. Given its intensive nature, it is advised that all who attempt the following program consume a reputable pre-workout supplement.
Consistency of Effort

As in life, consistency of effort in the gym, provided such effort is of the highest quality, is needed for positive outcomes. To ensure all training sessions are consistently productive, it is important to mentally rehearse what it is one expects to achieve physically. ALLMAX

[BABY1]

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