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UberExercise — Liquify Fat AND Tear Up Your Butt, Biceps, And Quads With Lunging Biceps CurlsWhat's So UBER About Lunging Biceps Curls? Primary Muscles: Butt, Biceps, Quads, Hamstrings Secondary Muscles: Forearms, Core, Calves What You'll Need: Dumbbells [I]'m all-in on... -
The Cut-And-Dry 60 Second Primer On Paleo, Gluten-Free, Mediterranean, And Other Popular Diets[B]etween Paleo, Gluten-Free, Mediterranean, and Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, modern dieting could fill its own dedicated dictionary. Case-in-point: USNews recently included 28 diets—TWENTY-EIGHT—in... -
So THIS Is What Cristiano Ronaldo Uses To Build His Chiseled Jawline [Video]httpv://youtu.be/1c4O6FlEktc [T]his is utterly ridiculous. And I can't stop watching it. Apparently Cristiano Ronaldo is endorsing something for just about every part of his... -
[Recipes] Refresh Your Body With The Watermelon Wave Protein Smoothie[I]nvigorate your summer, and extinguish the heat, with an uber-refreshing, mouthgasmic burst of protein-laced energy. Chug our Watermelon Wave Protein Smoothie. If you've neglected watermelon... -
[Lean Meals] Shake Up Your Diet With 30 Superfood Protein Smoothie Recipes Under 300 Calories[B]etween avocado, oats, chia, cacao powder, and flax; the milk of your choice -- almond, flax, skim, coconut, et al.; exorbitant amounts of of fresh fruit & veggies; and a stacked lineup of... -
[WOTM, 08/2014] Reconstruct Your Physique Over Lunch With The 30 Minute Total Body Blaster Circuit[S]tttttrrrrrrrrrrrretched for time? We've got your back. And your path to a completely overhauled physique. Just chop off a quick 30 minutes. That's it. August's WOTM—The 30 Minute... -
What's The Most Repulsive Fast Food Item In The US? Ranking The 50 Most Fattening Fast Food Abominations[L]et's get sauced. Given the current state of crisis in the portable food arena, we asked a basic question: what's THE most repulsive fast food item in the US? And just how egregious is it?... -
[Review] Smoothie, Shake, or Juice Junkie? You NEED A Vitamix Blender In Your Health Arsenal, And Here's Why*Disclaimer: This review is unsponsored and unaffiliated with Vitamix. I bought my own blender. All opinions are solely mine and those of Lean It UP. [T]here was a point when I thought... -
Love Ice Cream, Hate The Calories? Cut Through The Summer Heat With These 4 LEAN Frozen Desserts[B]y now, most of us have learned that no matter how hard you work in the gym every day, the key to a chiseled summer body comes down to what you’re fetching for in the kitchen. With the thick... -
[Workout Plans] Cut Up Your Core With The Total Ab-Domination Workout[L]ooking for a little high octane fuel to light explosive new ab growth? Fire away at your core from all angles with the Total Ab-Domination Workout. Giddy up. Your abs are about to get lit the... -
Examine.com — Your #1 Resource To Learn The Unbiased Truth About Supplements[D]ietary supplements represent one of the fastest growing industries in the entire economy. According to the Nutritional Business Journal the industry produced $32 billion in revenue in 2012,... -
Stack ALL Of Your Supps In One Place With Blender Bottle's New GoStak & ProStak Lines [Product]*Disclaimer: Blender Bottle sent us a ProStak and GoStak for trial purposes. This review is otherwise unsponsored and solely reflects the views of Lean It UP. [S]TACK IT UP! Everyone knows...
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A Billion Ways To Bust Through A Muscle, Strength, Or Weight-Loss Plateau
6. Switch-up the number of sets.
If you typically do 3 sets of 12 reps per exercise, try doing 5 sets of 5 reps at a heavier weight, or do 2 sets per exercise and add in extra exercises.
7. Alter rest periods.
For an intense, fast-paced workout keep rest periods down to 30 seconds between sets. If you’re focusing on larger, compound lifts, rest periods should be anywhere from 1 - 5 minutes.
8. Vary tempo.
Tempo refers to the speed at which you:
- lift the weight & contract your muscles (the concentric phase)
- lower the weight (the eccentric phase).
Vary the concentric phase by switching between explosive contractions and slow, controlled lifts.
Vary the eccentric phase by lowering the weight at different rates — the longer the eccentric phase the harder your muscles have to work. Try doing a pull up and lowering yourself over a 30-second span. It’s a tough, killer workout that’ll shock your muscle into new growth.
9. Spice up your routine with different types of sets.
Don’t constrain yourself to the typical 3 sets of 12 reps, 1 minute between sets for all eternity. Turn up the intensity by adding in the following techniques:
- Supersets - Perform two different exercises one after another with no rest. For instance, do 1 set of lateral raises and immediately after do 1 set of dumbbell shoulder presses. Not only is this much more intense, but it strategically isolates the smaller muscle group during the first exercise (the medial head of the deltoid during lateral raises), and then pushes it past failure during the larger, second exercise (dumbbell shoulder presses work all three heads of the shoulder, and subsequently pushes the medial head past failure). This allows you to target smaller muscle groups.
- Drop sets - Do 1 full set at a heavy weight and immediately after grab a weight that’s about 75% of the first and bang out a second set. Crazy pumps…
- e.g. Set 1: 100 pounds, and then do…
- Set 2: 75 pounds, and then do…
- Set 3: 50 pounds, and then rest
- Strip sets - This works best on machines that have a weight stack. Start with a light weight that’s easy to handle and do a set of 10. Without any rest, continuously do sets of 10 — increasing the weight by one plate every set — until your muscles are completely fatigued. I love strip sets to blast the calves on a calf raise machine.
10. Change the type of training.
Don’t confine your training to weight-lifting; there are a TON of other ways to build muscle and strength — take advantage of different avenues.
If you’ve squatted yourself to death, try plyometrics or jump training. Try resistance bands, body weight exercises, TRX, exercise balls, kettlebells, etc. to stimulate new growth.
Do pilates and yoga in lieu of traditional ab exercises. Box or become a Brazilian Jujitsu expert instead of running on the treadmill. Get creative!
11. Up your protein & BCAA intake.
Consuming more protein and BCAAs constantly throughout the day is critical to building and maintaining a lean, muscular physique. If you’re slacking on your protein/BCAA intake your muscle growth is probably slacking too.
Follow Lean It UP on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for real-time fitness/nutrition tips, advice, info and updates.
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Bryan DiSanto
When he’s not working on his (or somebody else’s) abs, whipping up Eggocados, or running a Tough Mudder, he’s probably off yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.
Latest posts by Bryan DiSanto (see all)
- UberExercise — Liquify Fat AND Tear Up Your Butt, Biceps, And Quads With Lunging Biceps Curls - August 11, 2014
- The Cut-And-Dry 60 Second Primer On Paleo, Gluten-Free, Mediterranean, And Other Popular Diets - August 11, 2014
- So THIS Is What Cristiano Ronaldo Uses To Build His Chiseled Jawline [Video] - August 8, 2014
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