Have you ever felt frustrated about working so hard on a certain body part yet still not seeing improvements? If it’s any consolation, you will find plenty of people who will commiserate with your situation. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to shock your lagging body parts into action!
Increase Exercise Frequency
When you don’t train certain areas in your body as much as you do the others, you shouldn’t be surprised that these are weaker. You should then exercise these lagging muscles more often so that these become more active.
For example, if you have lagging back muscles, you can add a second day dedicated to back exercises. The first day – a “heavy day” if you will – includes racked pulls and dumbbell rows while the second day can includes pull-overs and lat pull-down grips. Be sure to perform a higher number of reps for the second day for maximum effect.
The twice-a-week program should be sufficient to kick-start the growth of more muscle mass and, with it, strength.
Perform Heavier Work
If adding a second day doesn’t work as well as expected, you can perform heavier work but with lighter weights. You’re basically pushing your lagging muscles to do more work instead of being lazy about it.
For example, you can start by lifting your normal weight and performing squats for 3-5 reps, maximum. You may then follow it up with lighter weights performed at 8-12 reps. You will likely find that the explosive power and pump after each superset are reason enough to continue with your new routine.
But don’t stick to it either because then you may find yourself squarely back in square one. Instead, regularly change your routine so that your body is always challenged instead of being bored.
You can change the number of reps and sets, increase the weights, and adjust the order of exercises, among other examples. You should also consider subjecting your lagging body parts to other exercises so your muscles become shocked, so to speak, into action.
Consider BFR Training
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training involves restricting the blood flow out of whatever muscle being worked on during exercise. The blood flow restriction comes from wrapping something, such as a pressure cuff or a knee wrap, around a specific body part.
When blood doesn’t flow out of the muscles – at least, partially due to the restriction device – there’s a buildup of metabolites, which stimulates muscle growth. Plus, the muscle fatigue caused by the blood restriction stimulates the nervous system to activate the biggest fast-twitch muscle fibers; these fibers have the highest capacity to grow, thus, the benefit of BFR training.
Of course, we always suggest working with a more experienced personal trainer at Gold’s Gym since these tips don’t cover everything.