- spend less time in the gym
- get better results
- Front Loading Try to get the majority of you work done early in the day, and early in your workout. The reason you want to do this is because you have more energy early on. As the day and workout progress your energy levels will drop.
- Antagonistic Pairings
Instead of a standard amount of rest between each set try setting a time frame. For example: do 8 sets of 3 repetitions in 15 minutes. You may find that in trying to beat the clock you will cut the rest on the first few sets when you are the freshest. This allows longer rest on the latter sets.
When you do a a biceps curl, the triceps have to relax allowing you to flex your arm. To get a little technical this is know as Sherrington’s Law of Reciprocal Inhibition.
Here’s how we can take advantage of this phenomenon in a very practical way:
- Start with biceps curls
- short rest maybe 60 - 120 seconds
There are three additional benefits to the use of antagonistic pairings:
This save lots of time. Think about this; you perform 6 sets of biceps curls with 90 seconds of rest between sets. Now perform a set of curls, rest just 1 minute, do a set of triceps extensions, rest 1 minute again, repeat this till you get your desired number of sets in. You will still have rested the same amount of time between curls but you now have added some triceps work in there as well.
This method also helps keep muscle balance and development around both sides of the joint.
Here are some common pairs.
Chest and back or Lats & Pecs
Quads & Hamstrings
Abs and Low Back
Here are some common pairs.
Chest and back or Lats & Pecs
Quads & Hamstrings
Abs and Low Back
These 2 are a little different:
- Lats & Triceps (biceps are usually heavily involved during most lat exercises)
- Pecs & Biceps (triceps are usually heavily involved during most pec exercises)
- Pecs & Biceps (triceps are usually heavily involved during most pec exercises)
3. Use Submaximal Accelerative Efforts
If your best bench press for one rep is 300 pounds, then obviously the most amount of tension you can place on the targeted muscles will be just slightly more than 300 pounds.
However, Soviet force-plate research has shown that a load corresponding to 65% of your maximum capability (195 pounds in this example) can also result in 300 pounds worth of tension, provided that the weight is maximally accelerated. You might argue that there is no advantage either way, since both methods produce approximately the same amount of force.
However, there are distinct advantages to using “submaximal accelerative efforts” as opposed to the maximal weights method:
With submaximal loads you can do more than one rep. At a max you can only do one rep then you are done. If you use lighter weight and maximum acceleration, you can perform multiple sets and reps. On average most programs recommend between 8 and 12 sets. After that there is a significant decline in lifting speed. This allows far more total volume within a session.
When using submaximal accelerative efforts, you’ll always have several reps in reserve on any given set, which means you can dramatically reduce the need for a spotter.
The three concepts presented have helped with my own training, and the clients I have coached. I’m confident they’ll produce similar results for you as well.
About The Author
Charles Staley...world-class strength/performance coach...his colleagues call him an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com
