Figure Athlete - 10 Ways to Increase Your Intensity

10 Ways to Increase Your Intensity
by Sandy Joyce

Are you ready to take your workouts to the next level? We all know that in order to keep making progress in the gym, we need to change something in our training program every three to six weeks. If your mind is bored, your body probably is, too!

What most women don't understand is that you don't necessarily need a different or "better" workout every few weeks. You can, and should, be making changes to the workout that you're already doing — making things more intense as you go along.

Not only are constant adjustments needed for constant progress, but they're good for your mind too. Here are ten tricks to bring your workouts to the next level.

There's something I've noticed about weight room psychology. If you say you're going to do eight reps for a set of any exercise, then that's all you'll be able to do. But if you grab the same weight and say to yourself, "Self, I'm gonna lift these suckers for ten!" I bet you'll get all ten reps.

Don't believe me? Just try it next session!

Don't let your brain stop you from progress.

I've noticed this with many clients, and in my own training, also. It's almost like the pre-determined rep goal actually limits us. That's why, when training clients, I usually have a certain rep range in my head — but don't tell my clients how many.

If they do ask for a number, I usually just say, "Well, how many can you do? Don't stop at eight if you can do nine or ten!"

Of course, they all just think I can't count right, but I really do have a method to my madness! I've noticed that when I just give a general rep range rather than a limit, they usually end up doing more than I expect.

Increasing the number of sets increases your overall workload, even if you use the same weight and do the same reps per set.

To keep the math simple, let's say you squat 100 pounds for 1 set of 10 reps the first week. That's 100 pounds x 1 set x 10 reps = 1,000 pounds of total load.

If you add an additional set next week, it now becomes 100 pounds x 2 sets x 10 reps = 2,000 pounds. Three sets would be 3,000 pounds, and so on. You see how simple that is?

This is something that not many people think about. Have you ever seen those people in the gym doing an exercise so fast, that you hope they don't hurt themselves (or maybe hurt themselves just a little, to learn a lesson)?

Yeah, don't be that person.

I saw a guy do this the other day on the arm extension machine. He did 20 reps in only 11 seconds. That means the muscle fibers that had to be activated to lift the weight were only under tension and "working" for 11 seconds. That's too bad for him, because the time spent under tension plays a major role in how your muscles will respond.

Let's look at the bench press, for example. If you un-rack the bar, take three seconds to lower it to your chest, pause and stretch for one second, press the weight completely up in one second, and pause again at the top for one second, that makes a six-second rep with what we'd call a 3-1-1-1 tempo (negative-stretch-positive-pause). If do a set of 8 reps with this tempo, that set would take 48 seconds (6 seconds per rep x 8 reps).

But what if we change to a 4-2-1-1 tempo? You'd lower the weight in four seconds, and pause at the bottom for two seconds, before pressing and pausing for one second. You'd have an eight-second rep, making that a 68-second set (8 seconds per rep x 8 reps).

More time under tension means more work for the muscle fibers, and that generally means more results.

By decreasing your rest period between each set, you're increasing the difficulty of each exercise, taxing your heart rate more, and possibly allowing even more sets in the workout. For example, the first week of your program, let's say you rest 75 seconds in between exercises. Try dropping that to 60 seconds next week, and then 45 seconds the week after.

Honestly, there's nothing more annoying than when I hear someone say that a weight was too heavy... after they've just done 15-20 reps! By the time you get through that many reps, the muscle fibers you were trying to activate probably fell asleep due to boredom, and that's why the weight feels heavy.

In its truest sense, what signifies a "heavy" weight is how close it is to your one rep max (1RM). Your 1RM is exactly what it sounds like — it's how much weight you can lift for no more than one complete repetition. The closer you come to that weight, the "heavier" it is, and therefore, the lower your reps per set, and the greater the intensity or "energy output" during the exercise.

So, increase your rate of performance and power by adding weight and dropping your reps! Give that seriously heavy two-to-six rep range a try.

And don't let anyone tell you that lifting heavy means you're lifting "like a man."

I think most people are told to lift weights three times a week, typically every other day. I'm definitely not saying that I disagree with this standard protocol. It's usually the safe route, not knowing the person's recovery time, genetics, stress level, sleep, nutrition, etc.

Usually, what you get is a weekly standard program, where you're doing the same workout on the same day.

Monday: Workout A
Wednesday: Workout B
Friday: Workout C

Like I said, that's fine. It fits most people's lifestyle, it's simple to follow, easy to remember, etc.

But... if you enjoy lifting, and your schedule allows it, try throwing in another lifting day. Typically, the really smart coaches out there (ahem, ahem), advise not to train three days in a row, because it's very taxing on the central nervous system, and effects overall recovery.

There are several options, but most people do a weekly (seven day) cycle with two days on, one day off, two days on, and two days off.

Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Workout B
Wednesday: Off (or cardio)
Thursday: Workout C
Friday: Workout D
Saturday and Sunday: Off (or cardio)

Another option would be a three-day split (workouts A, B, and C), with a five or six day rotation. You'd lift Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, then you'd take Friday off, and then you'd start the cycle over again on either Saturday or Sunday.

Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Workout B
Wednesday: Off (or cardio)
Thursday: Workout C
Friday: Off (or cardio)
Saturday: Workout A (or off)
Sunday: Off (or Workout A)

If another day of lifting appeals to you, but you have a crazy or sporadic schedule (like me), here's what I'd recommend: I usually have three "no-miss" workouts (A, B, and C). Then, if I can make it to the gym for a fourth day, I have my D day and I train muscle groups that are lagging, or extras like abs and calves, along with some direct arm work.

Have you paid attention to your squat form lately? Are you sure you're squatting below parallel, or did you "accidentally" knock an inch... or four... from the bottom so you could end the set sooner?

What about your push-ups? Do you do push-ups off the floor, on your knees? Have you tried using push-up handles, or putting your feet up on a Swiss ball?

Increasing your range of motion gets more muscle fibers involved in the lift, and increases the difficulty and efficiency of the exercise.

When I get a new client, I usually notice that, for example, they can only get their knee so low to the ground during lunges. Within a few weeks, even after they can complete a few sets of 20 reps, I don't give them additional weight until they can get that back knee to brush the ground.

Another few inches, and she's there.

Keep that in mind while you're training. Are you cheating with your form just so you can add weight or have an easier time? If so... stop it! You deserve better than that.

This is, obviously, a sure-fire way to add some intensity and load to a muscle. Most of us probably do three or four exercises per bodypart per workout, which is plenty. This tip will mostly come into play during a bodypart split-type routine.

If you've been doing full body training, where you much work all your muscles in every workout, try switching to a bodypart split routine, where you're doing chest and upper back in one workout, legs and abs in another, shoulder and arms in another, etc.

That will increase your intensity because you'll be spending more time training the selected muscles of the particular workout, which increase the volume on those bodyparts.

Yeah, I know... who has time for this, right? Well, believe it or not, some of us do. Some of us make time for it, if we want some serious results in just a few weeks. The easiest, most obvious, and possibly most effective way to split your training over the course of the day is to do your cardio in the morning, maybe 25 minutes of intervals, and then lift weights at night.

There are several reasons for split training routines, but the most obvious is that you can train with a greater intensity in each session, given the short bouts of training.

If you can do it, at least a few days a week, give this a try. When you think about it, you're in the gym for almost the same amount of time — it's just split up; about 25 minutes in the morning, and another 40 or so, at night.

I'm sure most of you have tried some of these before. There's so much available to us now. Hot Rox Extreme, Spike capsules, and Spike Shooters. I haven't had a workout without some kind of supplement in years!

If you're new to Figure Athlete, or if you're a little skeptical, check out the store first. Read the labels, the information, and the warnings, then, if it suits you, give it a try.

Wouldn't you like to feel more alert and more energetic during your workout? That extra "psych" would definitely increase your mental effort, and your intensity, in the gym.

Are they necessary? No, of course not. Some people love them, others find that it makes them "too jittery." They either have to get used to them over a short time, usually by starting with a lower dose, or choose not to use them.

But don't judge them until you try them, because adding the right supplement can add some instant kick to your workout.

I bet some of you went down this list and already planned to add them to your current workout routine. However, remember to make only one or two changes at a time.

Implementing them all at once would lead to overtraining, and you don't want that. Pick one or two every couple of weeks, and you can consistently take your workouts to the next level!

Sandy Joyce is a personal trainer and nutrition specialist in the Boston area who specializes in helping women of all ages lose fat and maintain better health. She has a reputation for not only getting women into great shape quickly, but helping them adopt lifelong healthy habits.

For info on her online training services, visit her website at BestBodyEva.com or email her at Sandy@BestBodyEva.com.

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Lunge: Mona Liza Reyes - www.GoTeamMo.com

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