It can be extremely frustrating to start a weightlifting program, put in the hard work, and still not see the results you’re after. It may feel like you are really wasting your time.
But before giving up on your fitness goals, evaluate what changes you may need to make to continue working toward better health and fitness.
Maybe you are Struggling with boredom When you do your dumbbell exercise routine and find yourself resting more often.
Or maybe you are Actually not challenging yourself enoughOr not performing the exercise with proper form, thereby missing out on super-effective strength training workouts.
It’s time to stop making excuses and face whatever is holding you back from achieving your goals. The key to success is always consistency and being open to learning and improving your technique and form.
1. Learn proper weight lifting form
With proper weight lifting form, you can get really good results from effective strength training exercises.
In this video, you will learn:
- Avoid momentum: Swinging or bouncing weights puts your joints to work more than your muscles. Control weight
- Focus on consistency: Don’t let weight change your shape
- Use a full range of motion: Make sure you’re not intentionally “shortening” the reps. It is also good to go through a full range of motion from the top to the bottom position to develop good flexibility.
- Control the landing: Make sure you descend into each movement with complete control. It teaches you how to keep proper form and how to use the descending phase (the eccentric) to make the exercise harder by slowing it down!
Nice to know:
What are the eccentric and concentric phases of a weight lifting movement?
Eccentricity involves lowering the weight, lengthening and stretching the muscles while there is still resistance or weight bearing.
Concentric is when you lift a weight and contract the muscle.
Muscles actually work harder when they’re stretchedThat’s why slowing down the eccentric phase (for example, counting to 3-4 seconds and contracting faster) increases muscle and strength gains.
See how it’s done:
2. Make exercises harder with limited weights
Not having access to different weight volumes should not prevent you from committing to your strength training workouts. In this video, you’ll learn how to get the most out of the weight you have.
It is better to use a weight volume with which you can perform all your exercises correctly, adding resistance
- Losing weight slowly: Focus on reducing weight or movement in a controlled manner (ie Weird step) to increase the load on the muscles, then quickly lift the weight or movement back up. Start with a 3-4 second count as you lower yourself down, then explode.
- 1.5 Making repetitions: Use a full range of motion + an extra half rep for each set rep.
- Adding grip: Hold for 2-3 seconds at the bottom of the lowered position for each rep.
- Adding pulses: Pulse up and down with control, striving for 2-3 pulses or more.
See how it’s done:
Strength training with a resistance band
If you don’t have access to weights, resistance bands are an excellent choice for strength training workouts. We recommend
- Getting a complete set of looped bands and some additional mini bands: The more resistance bands you have, the better results you can get. If you’re limited to just 1-2 bands, you can’t ensure the proper progressive overload that makes the exercise harder, stronger, and more muscular.
- Searching for labeled bands with specified loads: The resistance band is usually labeled in kg or sorted by color. In general, thinner bands offer less resistance, and thicker ones more.
- Applying the same tips as you would for increasing the load with weighted bands: slow down Weird Step up, add pulses, hold at the bottom of the rep, add a half rep and use the heaviest bands you can while maintaining proper form.
Idea:
A great way to attach a resistance band to your door without buying an extra hook is:
Engage your core in all strength training workouts
When performing weight lifting exercises, it’s important to remember to engage your core, which will help you maintain good form and alignment and provide more resistance for your strength training exercises.
Learn how to engage your core
- Focusing on your breath: Avoid holding your breath while you exercise. Exhale through movements that require more effort and inhale through descending or resetting movements.
- Spreading stress throughout the body: The most effective exercise activates muscles throughout the body. Use control, stability and tension in the entire body when performing each exercise – including the core.
- Your stomach won’t absorb: A trick on how to engage your core is to inhale, brace, and pull the spine toward the spine to feel the tension without letting the air out.
- Scaling and modifying exercises: If you can’t feel your core working in certain core exercises, they may be too hard—making your other muscles work harder. Instead choose a more accessible version and build up to a harder version of the exercise as you grow in strength.
See how it’s done:
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