Need a way to break through that plateau in your workout program? Use these 5 intensity boosting methods today and see better results!
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Article Summary:
Supersets are a tried and true method, but try a mix of upper and lower body exercises.
Try using exercise ball to include more muscles or pre-fatigue to focus on specific ones.
Try limiting your time in the gym. A single set workout can help you accomplish that.
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5 Ways To Boost The Intensity Of Your Workouts!
Whether you're currently looking for fat loss or muscle building, every so often you're going to find that you need to kick your workout up a level in order to keep seeing results.
It's when people stay stagnant for too long of a time period doing the same thing day in and day out that progress is extremely slow or possibly even non-existent. By doing something that will increase the intensity level back up, you help break through that plateau and will start seeing results again.
Here are five methods you can use to boost the intensity and get better results from your workout program.
1. Superset Upper And Lower Exercises
One of the best ways to boost the intensity of your workouts while also decreasing the total time you spend in the gym is by supersetting upper body exercises with lower body exercises.
So for example, in your normal full body weight lifting workout, rather than doing squats followed by deadlifts followed by leg extension and hamstring curls, do squats and then move over to your bench press.
Alternate between these two exercises until all sets are completed and then move on to deadlifts and rows (or whatever upper body exercise you still have to complete that workout).
This allows you to reduce your total rest period since the lower body will get a chance to recover while you're doing the upper body exercise and vice versa. You will also increase the hormonal release in the body during a workout such as this as the total CNS will be worked to a much larger extent.
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Superset Video Guide!
Superset - Two exercises are performed consecutively without any rest.
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Watch More From This Channel Here.
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2. Incorporate Stability Ball Balance Lifting
The second way you can boost the intensity in your workout is by adding a stability ball to the mix. Even though you may not be able to lift as much sheer weight if you're utilizing a stability ball, you're going to recruit a much higher number of muscle fibers to complete the exercise, therefore increasing the intensity.
For example, performing a set of dumbbell chest presses while on a ball will hit the chest, triceps, abs, shoulders, and even the legs to a very small extent as they work to stabilize the body.
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3. Pre-Fatigue Your Smaller Muscles
Third, if you find you're 'stuck' on a certain lift - bench press for example, consider pre-fatiguing some of the smaller muscle groups that will be involved in completing that particular exercise.
For example, if the 'stuck' exercise in question is the bench press, this would mean you fatigue the triceps, which are the ones that will help propel the movement.
Doing a set of rope push-downs, triceps extensions, or triceps dips before moving onto your bench press would force the chest to work harder throughout the movement, increasing the total stress on that muscle group.
You will notice that the weight lifted for that exercise in particular will drop immediately, which is to be expected. Then continue on until you are able to increase it by five to ten pounds, which is a signal that the chest has now gotten stronger.
From that point, go back to your regular set-up of doing the bench press first followed by your tricep exercises and you should see an increase in the weight you are effectively able to lift.
 Click To Enlarge.
When You Go Back To Your Regular Set-Up You
Should An Increase In Weight You're Able To Lift.
4. Set A Time Limit On Your Workout
If you're someone who is normally pressed for time, this may not be applicable, but if you're someone who enjoys taking a more leisurely pace to their workout, it might be a good point to consider shortening it up.
For the next few times you go to the gym, make an objective to get in and get out in less than forty minutes. This limited time duration that you're allowed to be working out will force you to cut back on any unnecessary rest time taken and possibly even eliminate some of the exercises that aren't giving you the best results.
One primary reason why many people do not make progress in the gym is actually because they are doing too much, so this technique will not only boost the intensity, but will get you focused on only what really matters.
Click To Enlarge.
Make An Objective To Get In And Get
Out In Less Than Forty Minutes.
5. Do A Single Set Workout
Finally, the last way you can boost the intensity level of your workout is to perform a single set only workout. While you don't want to do these on an ongoing basis because if done for weeks at a time it will be far too much for the body to handle, really pushing yourself maximally on a single set once in a while can be beneficial.
If you're going to use this technique you'll want to focus on doing the lifts that allow you to lift the heaviest amount of weight possible so you can see your limits. Be sure you allow for a complete rest in between sessions so you can let the full recovery process take place.
This is another good technique to use if you ever find yourself pressed for time in the gym and looking for a way to keep progress happening but really cut back on how long you're in there for.
Click To Enlarge.
You'll Want To Focus On Doing The Lifts That Allow
You To Lift The Heaviest Amount Of Weight.
Conclusion
Sticking to the same workout every single day, regardless of how effective it is will typically not be the best approach to your training. The muscles will only grow and get stronger if you are supplying them with a stimulus that is constantly changing, so start ensuring that you're making an effort to evoke that change.
If you ever find that you're just stuck in a rut and losing motivation quickly, that's a sure sign that you've let it go too far already and should have changed something up a week or two ago.
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