3 ways to intensify your movements without adding weight
Are your workouts feeling a little too easy lately but you don’t feel ready to add weight just yet? Keep reading! Here are 3 simple ways to challenge your body during your workouts and change the way you feel a movement…
PAUSED REPS: pausing at the top (ex: hip thrust) or bottom (ex: squat, bench press, RDL) of a movement, typically for 1-3 seconds
This 1-3 second hold compliments the foundational movement by:
increasing the time under tension of the working muscle group
helping to build up the strength and endurance to push through common “sticking points” in various exercises, such as the bottom of a squat
eliminates the ability to use momentum and requires conscious, intentional muscle activation
**NOTE: When working with paused reps, it is likely you will have to reduce the weight you use in order to perform the movement correctly, safely, and in a way that benefits your muscle development.
DROP SETS: performing a movement set at your usual weight for a certain number of reps before repeatedly decreasing the weight and taking your muscles to failure (ex: you’re doing leg press for 10 reps at 150lbs; after that set you’re going to lower the weight by 10-30% and continue leg pressing until complete muscle failure; after that you’re going to lower that weight by another 10-30%; you’re going to repeat this 2-3 times or until your muscles are completely fatigued).
Drop sets compliment the foundational movement by:
allowing you to get more work done in less time
promoting muscular hypertrophy (growth) simultaneously with muscular endurance
TEMPO VARIATION: slowing down your movements and working at an intentional tempo, typically a slower one (ex: completing a squat at a tempo of 4 /1/2/1; 4 seconds on the way down, 1 second hold at the bottom of the squat, 2 seconds on the way up, 1 second hold at the top of the squat)
Tempo variation compliments the foundational movement by:
increasing the time under tension of the working muscle group
allowing you to create a stronger mind muscle connection
forcing you to focus on control, form, range of motion (ROM), movement patterns, etc.
**NOTE: When working with paused reps, you may have to reduce the weight you use in order to perform the movement correctly, safely, and in a way that benefits your muscle development.
It is unrealistic to expect to add weight every time you do a workout and it’s important to educate yourself on other ways to practice progressive overload to keep pushing your body until you’re ready to add more weight! I hope this was helpful; reach out with any questions!
