Workouts That Make You Stronger

Workouts That Make You Stronger

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You are probably very aware of the fact that a strong muscle is a big muscle but getting stronger will also increase fat-loss, help you run faster, hit a little bit harder and play outside a little bit longer. Developing strength will certainly make things around you seem a bit lighter to lift.

It has been conclusively proved that the "big four" compound movements will get you stronger the fastest. It is recommended that you start your full body workout with squats and then move onto deadlift. The last two should be bench-press and shoulder press.

Doing pull-ups or chin-ups as well as rowing are both great movements as well, but you should not make them the main focus during your workout. Any bodybuilder will tell you that the best results will come from training with free weights. However if you have never lifted before and you are just starting out you should start with machines.

The experts will tell you that the barbell is king and the dumbbell is the queen in the weight room. If you start your workouts using barbells you can easily go to the dumbbells or bodyweight training to get better results. Developing strength in the big four basic compound movements you will increase your strength generally and add lean body mass to your bodyweight.

Strength is based on Time Under tension (TUT) which basically means that the slower the movement and the more tension that you can generate in the muscle the more effective your results will be in gaining strength. You can set the limitation of the speed of the movement as it suits you but many experts agree that 2 seconds up and 3 seconds down is a good way to start.

Keeping a training journal will help you to monitor your progress on a regular basis so that you know exactly when you are falling into a training plateau where you are no longer getting stronger. The simple recording of the sets and reps as well as the weight used will be priceless when you discover that you are no longer getting stronger.

Always be careful to never over-train which you can do by keeping your workouts short and intense and never training hard for more than 45 minutes at a time. When training four times a week all you need do is one of the �big four� movements with a few supporting movements and you are guaranteed to get stronger and put on more muscle.

It is strongly advised that you constantly rotate the reps that you do in your workouts. For example you should have a light and a heavy day when training with the big four. Your light day will be more reps and your heavy day will be reps as low as 5 or even 4 with a maximum weight.

Reaching that dreaded plateau can easily be avoided by not adding too much weight too soon. Add only 5% or a maximum of 10% when increasing the weight. Training with plyometrics and sprints can help your cardio a lot as it is not necessary to jog or cycle for miles, but a steep hill that you can sprint up and walk down is a good start.

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