Gym Techniques

Warming up

Anecdotally, a proper warm-up for a normal training session consists of 1-2 dynamic movements at the start of a session & 2-4 sets of increasing weight per exercise for the first exercise for each muscle group. However, for muscle groups that are already warmed up, 1-2 sets should be sufficient, depending on the exercise. In any case, try not to over-analyze your warm-ups. Here’s an example:

Dynamic Stretches:

1. 2-5 min light cardio

2. Banded shoulder dislocators

Bench: 3x5 100kg

• Warm-ups: 1x10 20kg, 1x8 60kg, 1x6 75kg, 1x2 90kg

Incline Chest Press: 3x8-12 80kg

• Warm-up: 1x8 65kg

Tricep Pushdowns: 3x8-12 30kg

• Warm-up: 1x6 20kg

Cable Rows: 3x8-12 60kg

• Warm-ups: 1x8 40kg, 1x5 50kg

Warm-up Stretching

There are two types of stretching: dynamic & static stretching. Anecdotally, I’ve found a short period of dynamic stretching to be effective for improving joint function during training & it may reduce risk of injury. Here’s a list of dynamic stretches. Dynamic stretching refers to stretches that keep you moving (ie. lunges or shoulder dislocators); static stretching includes stretches (ie. a basic shoulder or quads stretch). Static stretching before lifting decreases performance. I plan on diving into stretching & mobility in the future.

Form & Tempo

Proper form certainly elevates your potential to achieve muscle size & strength adaptations over time. Standardizing all of your reps to have the same ROM & tempo is ideal for both reducing risk of injury & ensuring that progressive overload truthfully occurs over time. I tend to call paying attention to form/tempo ‘intentional reps/sets,’ and I apply it to every exercise. Make sure that every set you do, even every rep, is entirely intentional to create the best stimulus possible. Many people simply add sets to their workout and pay no mind to making any of them truly fuel growth. Be better than them!

The negative portion of any range of motion is called the eccentric, while the positive portion is called the concentric. The eccentric generally lengthens a muscle, while the concentric shortens it. It’s a great practice to emphasize the eccentric by spending 2–3 seconds on it each rep. On the other hand, the concentric (positive) part of the range of motion of the movement should typically be performed in an explosive manner, lasting a second or less. These set amounts of time for the eccentric and concentric are called tempo. A different tempo from these recommendations isn't certain to result in more (or less) muscle growth, but they do mimic the findings of the current available scientific literature & account for practicality. In powerlifting, for example, alternate tempos can be very important for progress over time.

Concepts & More Techniques

Time Under Tension (TUT)

If TUT was the primary driver of growth, then nobody would have to push themselves to obtain significant long term growth. Essentially, time under tension is something not worth focusing on; longer tempos are not continuously more beneficial for hypertrophy. Interestingly, lengthened partial training is proven by TUT, because isometric (non-moving) contractions have been found to yield more growth in the lengthened position than the shortened one.

Mechanical Tension

Mechanical tension is the most important driver of hypertrophy. The last 5 reps before failure, as the concentric range of motion involuntarily slows, is the only time when significant mechanical tension occurs. These are called stimulating or effective reps.

Progressive Overload

Getting significant mechanical tension is a great place to start a program, but people adapt, making the same amount of weight/reps less effective over time. Thus, we require a progressive increase in stimulus to continue growing. This must be achieved by completing another rep or more weight compared to a previous session. This can be an increase in 2.5kg/5lb or another rep weekly or biweekly. However, a word of caution: we have to continuously maintain near-perfect form & technique/rep execution during this process to validate the increase in stimulus. If you compromise your form or tempo, the newfound PR doesn't truly count.

Resting

Resting between sets is an essential part of training. It is highly important to rest until you’re fully recovered between each set with the time depending on the exercise, intensity, and maturity of the gym goer given. A beginner doing curls at 2 RIR (reps in reserve) certainly needs far less rest than an advanced lifter doing squats to failure, but both should ensure they rest at least 2 minutes in my opinion, depending on the lifter & exercise in question. Exercises involving the legs and/or more muscle groups generally favor longer rest times. Rest in between sets has 2 purposes: it allows the muscle groups involved and the central nervous/cardiovascular bodily systems time to recover before exertion again. Shorter rest periods with more volume may lead to similar growth in some cases, requiring wasted effort and inducing unnecessary fatigue/muscle damage. Quality beats quantity!

Breathing/Bracing

Breathing in on the eccentric and out on the concentric is an effective practice for most lifts apart from squat, bench, and deadlift. Holding your breath throughout a whole set can lead to serious consequences, so be sure to breathe between reps. Bracing is a method of creating greater intra-abdominal (core) pressure to reduce risk of injury & increase force output. To brace, you need to breathe in & then create outwards pressure all the way around your waist. If your oblique muscles besides your abs are stiff, you probably have a good brace. This should be used on squat, bench, and deadlift as well as some other movements such as RDLs or upright rows.

Joint Stacking

While doing any pressing movement, it's typically a good idea to 'stack your joints.' This method involves creating a theoretical straight line all the way through your wrist to your elbows and minimizing wrist flexion or extension. Intermediate and advanced level powerlifters should possibly consider using a bend in their wrists while benching.

Intensifiers

Intensifiers are higher level training protocols that add an extra degree of variation to your workout routine. Some, but not all, of them, have a worse SFR (stimulus to fatigue ratio) when compared to straight sets and therefore appear to generally be a less-than-ideal stimulus. However, this does not mean that they are always inferior compared to (doing more) straight sets; they can be equal under ideal circumstances. Primarily, intensifiers are a time-saving protocol to be used in lower frequency splits (1-3x weekly) but they can also be used to make training more interesting in intermediate-advanced level lifters. Here's some advice relating to the use of intensifiers:

• Good for muscle groups that are challenging to take to failure (ie. biceps or delts)

• Bad for exercises with a high cardiovascular demand (squats/deadlifts are off the table)

• Easier to do on machines with the weight controlled by a pin

• Best placed in a lower frequency & volume program

Standard Sets

Straight sets are standard sets taken to a given intensity within a program. These are the most common set method used in all routines, and are not an 'intensifier.'

Super Sets

A superset is a method involving doing one exercise and then almost immediately swapping to another exercise. For growth, supersets are best implemented by following 'antagonist paired supersets,' such as the following example:

Exercise 1: Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Exercise 2: Kelso Shrugs

The muscles targeted in these movements are antagonists, or opposites, of each other. This strategy has been found to be the most efficient way to grow significant muscle in a shorter timeframe.

However, supersets have also been found to be 2x more likely to induce nausea in trainees due in part to their elevated rate of perceived exertion. This can be dealt with by taking longer to swap to the second exercise in your supersets.

Dropsets

A dropset implies taking one set to failure on an exercise and then reducing the weight to then go to failure again on the same exercise, repeating a set amount of times. It’s best to only do 1-2 dropsets per exercise, because the glycolytic type IIx/IIa fibers targeted by higher intensity exercises run out of energy quite quickly. To avoid being limited by cardiovascular load & lactic acid build-up, lower rep ranges are extra advisable with this intensifier.

Mechanical Dropsets

A mechanical dropset involves taking two exercises that target the same muscle group to failure in the same bout. These are best used to exhaust a muscle in one position and then another where the target muscle has stronger leverage.

Myo-reps

Borge Fagerli’s ‘myo-reps’ are an intensifier similar to dropsets & they can be accomplished by doing an ‘activation set,’ resting for 3-5 seconds, doing more reps with the same weight, & repeating until performance (reps completed in each mini set) drops significantly. The ‘activation set’ is a semi-arbitrary term that has the goal of getting the athlete near failure (1-2 RIR) to stimulate all available muscle fiber types (particularly, high threshold fibers type IIa/IIx); it’s simply a straight set. Myo-rep match sets refers to achieving the same amount of reps across more than one set on the same exercise via myo-reps after the first set.

Lengthened Partials

Lengthened Partials (LPs) are a training intensifier that imply using only the bottom portion of a typical range of motion for a repetition. These are beneficial they can provide another route for muscle growth apart from hypertrophy alone: sarcomerogenesis. However, LPs also require greater loading to maintain the same rep range, which might cause greater fatigue on involved connective tissues. Because of the pathways by which muscles are told to contract, LPs also induce more fatigue on local muscle tissue. Read more here.

Implementing Lengthened Partials:

• Consider using LPs after already reaching failure with normal reps in some sets; this practice is especially well proven in the calves.

• Follow the principle behind LPs & pause repetitions in the lengthened position. Aim to implement some exercises which provide both significant resistance at the bottom & allow you to achieve a more stretched position. (ie. cable lateral raises attached at waist height)

• Add LPs to a very limited number of your sets, if any. Using them on every set might increase your risk of injury from normal training, since your connective tissue adaptations are likely limited by a smaller ROM.

Equipment

Clips/Collars

Clips are used to prevent the weight on the bar from falling off and I recommend them for all exercises. The exception is when you're benching without a spotter. In that case, it would be much better to avoid the use of clips. In that case, you would be able to slide the weights off without rolling the bar off of you.

Chalk

Chalk prevents your hands from getting sweaty and maximizes traction between the bar and your hands. It’s especially useful during deadlifts, pullups, and rock climbing. It’s always a good idea to train in the conditions you plan on competing in, so during powerlifting (especially when training at rpe 8+ intensity), using chalk is a good idea.

Lifting Belt

A quality weight-lifting belt will increase your potential intra-abdominal pressure to create a better, stronger brace for heightened power output. I recommend using a belt for squat and deadlift. In these movements, the lower back is at risk of rounding and a belt may help with this. That being said, a belt doesn't necessarily improve your form; you are absolutely allowed to lift without a belt. Belts have to be broken in over time & may be uncomfortable on first use. Powerlifters generally praise SBD brand belts, but most belts will get the job done. The larger they are, the more they tend to help with force generation.

Sleeves/Wraps

Knee and elbow sleeves or wraps create exterior tension in the knees or elbows that will allow you to output more total power on squatting and pressing movements. Sleeves also implement an added slight degree of safety into movements by stabilizing your joints. Some people use knee sleeves on sumo deadlift, though the vast majority do not find this beneficial. These pieces have a 'durability' and therefore become a bit less effective when they’ve been fully broken in as the fabric stretches. In powerlifting it's common to undersize these pieces of equipment to maximize your advantages in competition.

On the other hand, wrist wraps also create improved stability within the wrist to prevent your wrist from rounding excessively. They don’t truly increase your power output but may help to prevent your form from deteriorating while bench pressing.

Straps, Figure-8s and Hook Grips

These pieces of equipment prevent your grip strength from being a limiting factor in pulling exercises (rows, deadlifts, etc). In bodybuilding, these are helpful if you additionally isolate your forearms. These are worth considering for use in powerlifting training for the later sets on high volume deadlift days.

Smelling Salts

I don’t recommend smelling salts to the average lifter. They increase focus for a short period of time but excessive usage has been linked to coughing, difficulty breathing, headache, and vomiting. You should especially avoid them if you have pre-existing lung problems such as asthma or bronchitis. They should not be used more than 2 times a week, and, in my opinion, only for a personal record.