In case you’re just starting the bodybuilding journey or if you noticed you stopped gaining size, then it is likely that you need to start bodybuilding like a pro. Changing up your workout routine like a pro bodybuilder not only will make you speed up your muscle building process (regardless if you’re a beginner or a veteran in the gym) but will also help you break through plateau walls.
Plateaus occur because our bodies are so amazing that they will adapt to almost anything that you throw at them, and they do it fast. Plateau means that you stop gaining strength or muscle, almost regardless of how hard you work towards it.
We all know the process of building muscle, right? Eat in surplus, lift an X amount of weight, and your body grows more muscle to cope with that weight. Then you increase the amount of weight and your body increases the amount of muscle to cope with that extra strain and so on. In theory, that’s simple, but if it were that simple, we’d all be walking full of muscles.
How to Grow Muscle?
Those who are into lifting already know very well that you cannot continue growing when you constantly follow the same program. Your body is going to adapt to that strain really quickly, which means that doing the exact same routine over and over again will stop bringing any results.
Bodybuilding is about dedication and patience, regularly going to the gym. However, bodybuilding like a pro is when you regularly change your workout program. That’s vital for long term growth. Pro bodybuilders always switch up their workouts, changing the exercises they do and adding advanced training techniques. They have a lot of experience and training, so they know what to do to achieve their goals of burning fat and gaining muscle.
Today, we’re going to talk about the “experiencing and training” they use to force their bodies to continue gaining muscle and strength. We will share the techniques that pros use. Using those techniques, you can gain muscle and strength too. Bodybuilding like a pro involves various ways to stimulate muscle growth. So, let’s discuss the ways you can switch up your bodybuilding routine to avoid plateaus and speed up muscle gaining results.
Make it more intense
Well, this is perhaps the biggest “secret” when it comes to bodybuilding like a pro. Although it’s not a secret at all, by far not everyone uses it. So, it may sound harsh, but bodybuilding is harsh, so, you either go hard, or you go home. The intensity builds muscle. Lots of the tips you’ll see below will involve increasing the intensity of your workout in one way or another. There are various examples such as slow reps, negatives, drop sets, or supersets. Increasing the intensity of workouts can be done by having shorter rest periods, doing circuits, forced reps, more reps, heavier weights, etc. Following the same routine for a while will likely reduce the intensity level without you even realizing it.
Change up your exercises
So, you hate training legs and you rarely train them, yet you wonder why you stopped growing? Or, you have 2-3 favorite bicep exercises and you barely change them? How do you think you’re going to grow? All muscle groups have a lot of different exercises that you can (and should) use to train. Building strength for a specific exercise requires you to get stuck in the same routine moves for weeks. Yet, to continue building muscle you need to work your muscles with a wide array of workouts and exercises. You will also notice the benefits of switching these regularly as you will use different muscles for different moves. Moreover, you won’t get bored with the same exercises. Interesting fact: lots of pros in bodybuilding claim that they’ve never done the same workout twice in their lives.
Introduce drop sets
Drop sets will shock your muscles in a way that can help you blast through a hard plateau if done correctly. This technique works your muscles deeper by getting more reps out of your muscles by gradually dropping the weight off. It will force more blood into the target muscle, causing even deeper muscle tears. (I hope you already know that micro tears in muscles are what allows muscle growth, once it recovers). Drop sets are pretty simple. You just keep on going with your set until you can do another rep, drop the weight, do another set, and so on. Continue this until you can barely do any more reps even with the lightest weights. Generally, you need to aim for about 3 to 6 sets in total.
Work different muscles each day
Switching up the days you work out can have a big impact on your results. For example, you could try working the weakest muscles at the beginning of the week when you still have the most energy in your tank. Then, similar to anything in your routine, you will get the benefits of changing this every once in a while. Also, pay attention to how you group your muscles. For example, working your biceps on Monday and then your back on Tuesday is a really bad idea. You will need the biceps for those pulling exercises to strengthen your back. Try to leave at least one resting day before working the same muscle group.
Introduce those supersets
When talking about muscle groups, one of the best ways to promote the anabolic effect (muscle growth) is via the combination of big compound exercises and isolation exercises. For example, you could go for a bench press and flat dumbbell flys. What you aim for is to complete your bench press as normal, but then you immediately proceed smashing out a set of dumbbell flys. You do not need heavy weights to do it, you focus on muscle contraction. This means that you slow it down and squeeze at the top of the movement (this is what causes the micro tears in muscles). There are lots of great compound-isolation supersets examples. Some include: chin up then barbell curls, squats then leg extensions, military presses then front raises, close bench grip then skull crushers, and many others.
Weekly rep cycling
Your body may adapt to the number of reps / weights you’re doing. Weekly rep cycling will help you with this. What you should aim for is proper weights so you can perform reps with good form such as first week 12 reps per set, second week 10 reps per set, third week 8 reps per set, and fourth week 6 reps per set, then start again. It is unclear how many reps are necessary for optimal muscle growth, but most agree that it is between 6 and 12. Starting with 12 (and slightly lighter weights) all the way down to 6 (and slightly heavier weights), you just can’t go wrong. So, you increase the weight as you lower reps, so you increase the intensity of your workout. Theoretically, you should be able to lift more by week 5 (12 reps) than you did the first week.
Sometimes less is more
Bodybuilding is not about lifting 24/7. It is also not about lifting as heavy as possible as you can. Yes, you need to go hard, but sometimes, less is more. What I’m trying to say is that you should not work out too often. That’s a common mistake among new lifters who are full of motivation. If your goal is to get bigger, then working out less often may be beneficial. Keep in mind that during training, you’re causing micro tears in your muscles. Your body and muscles need rest to grow! So, do not go all in 5-6 days a week, especially if you’re a beginner. Drop it 3 or 4 times a week, allowing your muscles to recover. You also shouldn’t train with the maximum weight. Try going for a weight that will help you keep a proper form throughout the entire set.
Negatives
One of the best ways to break through strength plateaus is negatives. Negatives are super effective at building strength as you focus more on the negative part of the movement by using a very heavy weight and moving it very slowly. The problem here is that this is not a technique for beginners, you always must have at least some knowledge and experience training. Moreover, it is always important to have a spotter for almost all types of negatives! Because it involves heavy weights and slow movements, the chances of injuries are higher!
Slow reps
Slow reps are all about control and concentration. While I would recommend control and contraction in all types of movements and exercises, slow reps are really slow. Because you’re doing them so slowly, you will use a lighter weight and do the same number of reps. How slow? Well, use the 3-1-3 method. This means that you should count “one one thousand” three times on the way down, pause for “one one thousand”, and then count “one one thousand” three times on the way up for a single rep. Initially, it may not seem much because the weight is lighter, but as you’re doing the same number of reps really slowly, your body is under stress for a longer period, especially toward the last reps.
Partial reps
Similar to slow reps, partial reps also work your muscles by keeping them working for longer, but in different ways. The partial reps mean that you modify the exercise by not finishing the whole rep. For example, for dumbbell curls, you do not allow your left arm to rest (hang) while your right arm curls, you rather keep it slightly bent. When you do so, the blood cannot escape the muscle, making it harder to hold onto the weight. By the time you complete the set, your muscles are almost twice as stressed as regular alternating curls. Of course, you do them for exercises when you work each arm separately.
Switch up your routine
Ask almost anyone in your gym (especially pros in bodybuilding) and you’re very likely to be told that they go big compounds first, then isolations. Yeah, that’s a great method to build muscle that you should follow too. Nonetheless, similar to anything else in bodybuilding, your body can adapt to it too. So, every once in a while, you can go for isolation movements first, then go for compounds.
Pre-fatigue your muscles
Pre-fatiguing your muscles (aka pre exhausting) can help you break through bodybuilding plateaus very efficiently. This technique has been around for years, and if you want to start bodybuilding like a pro to break through your plateaus, you can start using it too. It is similar to switching up your routine, but the difference is that you go for an isolation exercise first, and then immediately follow it up with a big compound move. For example, you’re going for flys then bench presses, leg extensions then squats, and so on.
Forced reps
Forced reps are something you may have done without even knowing if you’re used to training with a gym buddy. When you do forced reps it means that you are doing as many strict reps as you can without any help. Then, with the help of a spotter, they force you to go through another two or more reps. Forced reps are highly efficient as they help you push 12 reps instead of 10, or increase the weight and reach another level with the help of the spotter.
Pyramid sets
As its name suggests, the pyramid sets start from a low weight and work their way up to a heavyweight. Then you go back down again. The pyramid goes as follows: once you complete a proper warm-up, the first set in your pyramid should go with a weight that you can lift for 12 reps with good form. Then, up the weight so you could pump 8 to 10 reps, then 6 to 8 reps, then 4 reps. The best would be to push yourself so you could work all the way back up to the 12 reps to finish off if you still have energy in your tank. It is highly important to pay attention to technique. You need to complete all the sets in a slow and controlled manner with proper form.
Have a week out
Now this may be the easiest part for some, or it could be the hardest part for others. That’s because having a week out may make you, as a fitness fanatic, feel most guilty about it. Of course, this only applies if you’ve been working out hard for at least months now. Keep in mind that bodybuilding and weight training is not a sprint. Moreover, as said, your muscles need rest to grow. But it’s not only that, there’s also your mind and nervous system that will need to rest. That’s why, as said, sometimes less is more. If you keep on working out hard and dieting hard, you’ll eventually burn out. That’s why, sometimes, one of the best things you can do to break through a plateau is to have a week out. Both your body and mind need regular breaks. Coming back fully recovered can help way more!
Bodybuilding Like A Pro With Iron Daddy
So, this is it. You can now go to the gym with these new skills and be ready to make changes. This way, you can start seeing results again, breaking through those hard plateaus. If you start thinking about it, you should start changing things up in order to continue growing. Moreover, it is important to understand that resting is just as important for gaining. It is not only the fact that your muscles need rest, but it is your mind and nervous system that will need to rest from the stresses of weight lifting.
In the end, I understand that it can be hard to keep on going when you’re not seeing results. But one of the sure ways to break through the plateau is to use Iron Daddy. With Iron-Daddy.to, you are making sure that your gains are just around the corner.
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