10 Tips To Help You Move More Weight In The Gym

Let’s get real – bodybuilding is a time-consuming and often nerve-racking discipline that requires a great deal of patience and willpower if you want to become great (and who doesn’t).

But no matter how hard you train and how adequate your diet is, you’re going to hit a plateau sooner or later, and that can be very discouraging. It’s no wonder that some people never make it since success in bodybuilding requires your mind to be as strong as your muscles.

But even when you feel your progress has stalled, not all is lost – there are some tricks that can give you exactly the push you need. Although there are no shortcuts to success, for those that already train hard, these tips will offer some extra help in order to achieve greater strength gains.

Remember, these tricks won’t do magic on their own, but done consistently incorporated into solid training routine, they are guaranteed to boost your strength and power in less time and separate you from the average lifter in the long run.

1. Stop doing static stretching before the workout

While warm-ups are beneficial, stretching can do you more harm than good. Studies show that static stretching before working out can decrease strength by up to 10% (1), leaving you unprepared for a challenging workout with cold muscles and a resting heart rate, which increases your risk of injury as well.

In addition, overstretching will cause your muscles to tighten instead of relax, and this tightness will impair your range of motion and performance. However, pre-workout dynamic stretching, which involves performing stretches fast and explosively, can help increase power and strength.

2. Change your grip

It turns out that the staggered grip offers staggering results, so switch to it right away. Studies show that lifters using a staggered grip (one side overhand, the other underhand), which provides the mechanical advantage of reverse torsion, completed an average of two more reps within their six-rep max than when using a standard overhand grip. Alternate hands every other set for best results.

3. Use wrist straps

The wrist straps are a simple training tool that seems to be positively associated with strength gains. In a study from the Weider Research Group, subjects performed the same back workout on two occasions, once wearing wrist straps and once without them.

The results? When performing the exercises with straps, reps per set were increased by an average of one to two compared to not using straps. Therefore, in order to get a nice boost in both size and strength, make sure you use wrist straps on pulling exercises.

4. Use plyometrics

Plyometrics is a form of exercise training that enhances muscle power by utilizing rapid movements and explosive force. The combination of stretching and contracting your muscles into quick, explosive movements is possibly the fastest way to increase your power and performance in terms of weight training, due to the fact that plyometric exercise primes the nervous system to fire stronger and faster, enabling more powerful muscle contractions.

So in order to make the best use of your weight training, try including short sessions of drop jumps before squats and drop push-ups before bench press.

5. Use unilateral exercises

Unilateral workouts (performing the exercise with one arm or leg at a time) are a great way to activate some important muscles who don’t get enough attention in your regular routine. Using unilateral workouts to strengthen both of your arms or legs means more muscle fibers being used, which will increase your strength on the big lifts.

According to many studies, lifters are able to generate more force when training one arm/leg at a time, so make sure to include at least one unilateral exercise per body part on every workout.

Related: Barbell Row VS Dumbbell Row : Which One Is The Superior One ?

6. Take caffeine

Taking a caffeine supplement (200-400 milligrams) before your workout will give you a powerful strength boost. And the best part is that its effects are immediate.

Scientifically proven benefits of consuming caffeine one hour before training include increased ability to complete more reps with a given weight and an increased one-rep max bench press strength.

7. Drink more water

Did you know that being only slightly dehydrated can reduce your strength by up to 20%?

The majority of people are slightly dehydrated every day and many of their body functions suffer from this lack of fluid. But for bodybuilders, dehydration should not be an option, especially in the hours before and during workouts.

It’s best to drink at least one gallon of water per day to maintain your organism well hydrated and performing optimally.

8. Relax

Researchers have found out that relaxing before lifting is more effective than high-arousal techniques in terms of immediate strength boost in the bench press.

So instead of attempting to properly ‘energize’ yourself with aggressive methods before an upcoming gym session, try completely relaxing your body and mind for half an hour with some soft music or breathing techniques.

9. Focus

It’s really a no-brainer that focusing solely on your lift will give you better results than letting your mind wander around, mostly by increasing your concentration and making it easier to maintain proper form. But now we have some scientific evidence to back it up – a recent study done in the UK found that lifters who focused on the concentration of the biceps while doing one-arm curls were able to increase their muscle activity by more than 20%, while lifters who focused on moving the weight increased their strength by 10%, compared to the ones who didn’t focus on any part of their movement.

10. Have an audience

Researchers at Arizona State University came to an interesting conclusion – according to their study, when lifters had an audience of 15 silent onlookers, they bench-pressed 30 pounds more on average than when they lifted alone. This is hardly a surprise, because the presence of others is known to serve as a motivation enhancer since the dawn of time.

So contrary to popular advice, choosing a crowded gym once in a while can help you reach further than your current maximum. For additional motivation, make sure to listen to music of your choice over headphones during the workout.