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Break your plateau with these simple methods
When you first started bodybuilding, you gained mass, you had your initial growth spurts, but now you just can't seem to gain muscle mass no matter how much you workout. If you have been bodybuilding for a while, you know I'm talking about what every bodybuilder dreads: plateaus!
Once you reach a plateau, it seems nothing will help you break though it. Rejoice! There is hope. In fact, there is more than one hope: there are plateau-breakers.
If you're a gym-rat, then you know all about them. You've heard the rumours and the myths; you've heard countless guys at the gym claim they have the best plateau-breaker, a shoo-in for breaking through your stagnating body. But which one is the best? Here is a rundown of the best plateau-breakers.
Rotating Exercises
This is a very simple principle and it works great. Stick to your routine for a few weeks, then, instead of changing your entire program, simply change the order of your exercises.
Let's say you have a three-exercise chest routine in which you start with a flat bench-press, then incline press and finish off with flies (a classic routine). Rotating exercises will involve putting the incline press in first place and flat bench-press in second.
Once you rotate exercises, your second exercise should keep the same weight it had when it was in first position. It will feel heavier, since you will be doing it second, but you will be able to handle it. You should do this until bench-pressing becomes as easy as when you did it in first place.
Finally, a few weeks later, you should change back and put bench-press first again. Having gotten used to the old weight while doing the exercise second, doing it first should be effortless. And since it will be effortless, you should be able to add more weight. Voila, you have broken through your plateau. This is the best plateau-breaker and it doesn't get any simpler or more effective than this.
Drop Sets
This sadistic principle will shock your body like you never thought possible. Unlike pyramiding (see next page), instead of adding more weight, decrease the poundage as you go along, while maintaining the same reps. Start your exercise the same as always (8-12 reps), but as soon as you are done, reduce the amount of weight and quickly perform another set. Continue doing so until you can't execute a set, even with the smallest amount of weight.
Drop sets are an amazing way of stimulating your muscles, but can be a bit impractical. Some exercises will require a spotter or an aid because of the amount of weight-changing involved. Nevertheless, drop sets rank top among the best plateau-breakers.
Tired of your plateau? There's more you can do...
Here's one most bodybuilders love: not doing anything. Yes, this is considered a plateau-breaker and a good one too! Okay, there's more to it than just sitting on the couch all day, but the fundamental principle around this plateau-breaker is resting.
Over-training is a reality in bodybuilding. Too much exercise is unhealthy; the body needs time to heal. Sometimes, muscles need a lot of time to heal. If you have been working out for months straight (including those rest days in between cycles), then your body could use a week off every now and then. Yes, a whole week off!
Working out too much for long periods could lead to muscular fatigue. Long rests are like vacations from bodybuilding. You take about a week off and when you come back to the gym, your muscles will be so sore that you'll question why you even go through all of this in the first place. You will also notice significant muscle gain.
Forced Reps
Forced repetitions are having somebody spot you while you push through a set heavier than you're normally accustomed to. Your last reps often end with the spotter helping you out so you can finish your set.
Forced reps are effective; they shock the muscles and can help you break through a plateau, but because of their efficiency, most guys at the gym overuse it. It only works when you have a spotter help you out every now and then; this will shock the muscle.
Pyramiding
Pyramiding is a very exhaustive technique. It revolves around bodybuilding's fundamental principle of adding more weight to each following set. Pyramiding is simply a more extreme variation of this principle.
Start out lifting light (15 reps) then add more weight for each consecutive set. Lower the repetitions for each set since they get heavier. A classic pyramid would look something like this:
15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps. Each time, add more weight so that you execute each set to failure (i.e. you can't perform another rep).
When you use this method, you usually drop a few exercises from your routine because this single exercise counts for two. It hurts like hell, and by the end you might feel like a fool because you're barely able to make 2 reps. But the sure thing is that it's going to make you grow.
Partials
This one's a classic Joe Weider principle proponed by the Great Arnold himself; when lifting weights, every now and then you'll reach a sticking point. A sticking point is when you can't lift anymore despite the fact that you are not feeling a burn or fatigue. Your muscle still has the energy, but it just doesn't want to move -- it just sticks there.
The theory, and the barrier-breaking principle behind it, is to keep lifting even if you can't make a full repetition. If your body wants to stick at a certain point, give it what it wants but keep pushing yourself until you finish your desired amount of reps. If it means only lifting halfway, then that's what you will do, hence the name partials.
We're not done just yet, there's plenty more to choose from...
All exercises are divided into two parts: a positive and a negative motion. When bench-pressing, for example, lifting the barbell is a positive motion and lowering the bar is a negative one. Negative motions are important in bodybuilding. A lot of people don't know that the pain felt the next day comes mainly from the negative part of an exercise done the previous day.
Negatives strengthen your tendons and force your stabilizers (supportive muscles). This technique will stimulate growth and help performance. To do a negative properly, you should always lower the weight slowly. Sometimes you can add an extra set to your exercise doing only negatives (a spotter will be needed).
Rest Pause
Although I despise this exercise (and you will too), it does work wonders. Okay, it's not that bad, but it is a painful principle and it doesn't directly make your muscles grow.
Lifting 85 to 90% of your one rep max (the amount of weight you can lift only once), do 3 reps and rest for 30 seconds. Then lift the same weight again for 2-3 reps and rest for 45 seconds. Then do 2 reps and rest for 60. Lift 1-2 reps, rest for 90 seconds and finish it off with 1 repetition.
That was your first set... You now have two more to go.
There are different variations of this principle, but this one makes the most sense to me since you get more time to rest as you go along. It works but Rest-Pause, despite being used in bodybuilding, is more of a strength training exercise than a mass-inducing principle. You might gain mass, but in general it will affect your strength and endurance more.
Compound Sets
A.K.A. "Super-Set," is a compound set in which you perform two exercises for the same body part, one after the other, with no rest in between.
A classic example of a compound set is the Triceps Press/Triceps Extension exercise. While lying down on a flat bench, using an E-Z bar or dumbbells, do tricep presses by pushing the weight upward, as if you were pushing away from a wall. When you finish that set, immediately perform extensions by lowering the weight(s) to your head, moving only your forearms while keeping the rest of the arm still and perpendicular to the floor.
Compound sets are quite effective, but there are few exercises that allow such combinations. Time is of the essence because you need to perform both exercises uninterruptedly.
Changing Routines
Let us start with the basics. Changing routines every month and a half is the most frequently used method to shock muscles, and for good reason because it works. The body has a tendency to get used to things, so keeping it on its toes is sometimes all you need to get results.
You can change a routine by simply using different exercises, or you can change the weight. Modifying exercises is simple: you use different exercises. That actually goes without saying; every bodybuilder should do this, no ifs or buts about it. Changing the weight means going from a heavy routine (8-10 reps) to a light routine (12-15 reps). Both variations will give you results.
Keep the effect
These are the top plateau-breakers. Remember, bodybuilding is not a perfect science and what works for one guy might not work for another.
Keep in mind that gimmicks are nice, but sticking to basics usually works best in bodybuilding. If you do decide to use any "plateau-breaker," do not overuse it because it will lose its effect. Have fun and try some of those monsters out.
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