How To Progress In Weight Training
I am going to show you how to progress in weight training, which is probably the most important aspect to any weight lifting program. Some people may think that is a bold claim, by being the most important. But if you don't progress, you will not get any bigger, faster or stronger. So kudos to you for reading this article.
Without further ado, lets take a look at how to progress in weight training. I'll start of with the two most popular then move onto a few more obscure.
How To Progress In Weight Training: More Weight
This is fairly self explanatory, but one of the most effective. You simply add more weight to the bar each week, while doing the same amount of sets and reps. If you lift more weight your are getting stronger, simple as that.
Of course, adding more weight to the bar every week is hard to do, especially for the natural trainee. Therefore you will have to use other progression methods sometimes.
How To Progress In Weight Training: More Volume
Doing more volume alongside more weight is maybe the most effective progression methods you can use. You will want to limit the extra volume that you do, so that you do not end up doing workouts lasting 5 hours.
A great but simple way of using the more weight and more volume method is to use rep ranges. You could use something along the lines of 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Were you start of doing 3 sets of 8 reps, then keep the weight the same each week, until you can do 3 sets of 12 reps. Once this happens, you add more weight to bring you reps down and continue as normal.
As with most weight training routines, your body will adapt to what you are doing, even the two mentioned already. Therefore you have to use other ways to progress with your weight training, which we will have a look at now.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Density Training
Density training works great and is a very versatile progression method. The main idea of it, is to do more work in less time. The easiest way to describe it, would be to do standard work out, keeping the weights and volume the same. But reduce the rest time between sets, by say, 10 seconds each new workout.
Therefore, on week 1 you are using 60 second rest periods, but a few weeks later you are using 30 seconds rest periods. Believe me, this is a very effective progression method. It works very well for fat lose as well, so can be used to great effect if you are looking to build muscle and burn fat at the same time.
Another option is ditch the traditional sets method, set the watch for 10 minutes and start banging out as many reps as possible in that time. Then do more reps in the same time the following workout. This is fun way to shake up your workouts and get some good results.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Use Higher Intensity
There are many ways to increase the intensity of the workouts. I'll not explain them all, to keep this article as short as possible for you. But the best ways of increasing intensity are: supersets, drop sets, tri-sets and the rest-pause method.
These methods should be used sparingly as they can wreck your nervous system and leave you feeling tired and drained all the time from over-training. They should be used to help you break through plateaus.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Use Slower Negatives
When I say slower negatives, I mean for you to lower a weight slower. You see, it is during the lowering part of the lift that actually causes the most muscle damage. And therefore the most potential for muscle growth. This works well when you just bang out reps the first week with a new increased weight. Then the following work out; focus more on good form and use slow negatives.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Add Additional Supplementation Exercises
This progression method works great with large compound movements like the bench and squat. Say for example you are having problems increasing your bench press: You could add in smaller movements like dumbbell fly's, for some supplementary work on the chest. This lets you get more work onto the chest, without over-loading on the bench press.
Knowing how to individualise your training with these sorts of training methods, is key to getting the best results from your time in the gym. With that being said, there is a great resource you can use to fine tune your training goals.
Without further ado, lets take a look at how to progress in weight training. I'll start of with the two most popular then move onto a few more obscure.
How To Progress In Weight Training: More Weight
This is fairly self explanatory, but one of the most effective. You simply add more weight to the bar each week, while doing the same amount of sets and reps. If you lift more weight your are getting stronger, simple as that.
Of course, adding more weight to the bar every week is hard to do, especially for the natural trainee. Therefore you will have to use other progression methods sometimes.
How To Progress In Weight Training: More Volume
Doing more volume alongside more weight is maybe the most effective progression methods you can use. You will want to limit the extra volume that you do, so that you do not end up doing workouts lasting 5 hours.
A great but simple way of using the more weight and more volume method is to use rep ranges. You could use something along the lines of 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Were you start of doing 3 sets of 8 reps, then keep the weight the same each week, until you can do 3 sets of 12 reps. Once this happens, you add more weight to bring you reps down and continue as normal.
As with most weight training routines, your body will adapt to what you are doing, even the two mentioned already. Therefore you have to use other ways to progress with your weight training, which we will have a look at now.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Density Training
Density training works great and is a very versatile progression method. The main idea of it, is to do more work in less time. The easiest way to describe it, would be to do standard work out, keeping the weights and volume the same. But reduce the rest time between sets, by say, 10 seconds each new workout.
Therefore, on week 1 you are using 60 second rest periods, but a few weeks later you are using 30 seconds rest periods. Believe me, this is a very effective progression method. It works very well for fat lose as well, so can be used to great effect if you are looking to build muscle and burn fat at the same time.
Another option is ditch the traditional sets method, set the watch for 10 minutes and start banging out as many reps as possible in that time. Then do more reps in the same time the following workout. This is fun way to shake up your workouts and get some good results.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Use Higher Intensity
There are many ways to increase the intensity of the workouts. I'll not explain them all, to keep this article as short as possible for you. But the best ways of increasing intensity are: supersets, drop sets, tri-sets and the rest-pause method.
These methods should be used sparingly as they can wreck your nervous system and leave you feeling tired and drained all the time from over-training. They should be used to help you break through plateaus.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Use Slower Negatives
When I say slower negatives, I mean for you to lower a weight slower. You see, it is during the lowering part of the lift that actually causes the most muscle damage. And therefore the most potential for muscle growth. This works well when you just bang out reps the first week with a new increased weight. Then the following work out; focus more on good form and use slow negatives.
How To Progress In Weight Training: Add Additional Supplementation Exercises
This progression method works great with large compound movements like the bench and squat. Say for example you are having problems increasing your bench press: You could add in smaller movements like dumbbell fly's, for some supplementary work on the chest. This lets you get more work onto the chest, without over-loading on the bench press.
Knowing how to individualise your training with these sorts of training methods, is key to getting the best results from your time in the gym. With that being said, there is a great resource you can use to fine tune your training goals.
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