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STEPS:
- Use proper form - To develop precise technique, do every rep with good form. Beginners, strive to keep the rep target inside your strength capabilities. Find the right groove for each exercise. Don’t train to failure when you’re just starting out.
- Develop the mind-muscle connection - Research confirms that tuning in to the mind-muscle connection can optimize your results in the gym. Visualize your target muscle growing as you complete every rep. Remember, it’s not the amount of weight on the bar that’s important; it’s the effect of that weight on the muscle that leads to increases in the size and power you’re after. This has a lot to do with how your thinking and what you’re focused on. Instead of focusing on your day, or the blonde next to you, strive to get into a muscle-building mindset to help increase gains.
- Start Basic - Most workouts for your major body parts should start with basic, multi-joint exercises that allow you to lift more weight overall, such as the bench press for chest, overhead press for delts, barbell row for back and squat for legs. This will allow you to lift heavier on these exercises, while you’re still fresh and have enough energy to better stimulate muscle growth.
- Get the Tunes Cranking - Listening to your favorite music while you train can make a world of difference in your strength, research continues to confirm. Use a portable MP3 player and make sure your play list is stacked with plenty of music that gets you pumped up for your workout. Heavy metal works wonders for those intense back days. You can check out our workout playlists for some ideas on some new music.
- Utilize Forced Reps - Forced reps are a way to extend a set and maintain intensity beyond failure. When you reach initial failure in a set, have your training partner give you just enough assistance to help you through 2-3 more reps. By prolonging the set past the normal point of failure, you optimize the stress placed on the muscle fibers and therefore overload the targeted muscles. Attempt forced reps during only your last set of a particular exercise, since they’ll completely burn you out. Research confirms that forced reps lead to greater GH levels and enhance fat loss.
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Make no mistake: if you hope to make any progress in your bodybuilding endeavors, your brain must be your strongest body part. The human mind has a remarkable ability to store information. The human capacity of information acquisition is as follows:
TRANSDUCTION*
Sensation >> Perception >> Conception / Cognition
* For more information see the article titled Do You Have A Bodybuilders Contradictory Mindset?
From observations in the real world (the metaphysical), the mind forms percepts and concepts. From a conceptual perspective the human mind is able to apply theories to individual situations. Thus it is of paramount importance in your bodybuilding efforts that you become cognizant of how your mind works, and how the rest of your body works as well.
It may seem like there's so much to read and know, but as you read and internalize individual facts, these facts and snippets of knowledge are assimilated into archetypal concept categories. Eventually you will emerge in your mind with a practical theory that you can apply to individual bodybuilding situations.
This broad knowledge base will serve you well on your journeys and will bring you much success.
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