A form of training that isn't as common now a days compared to it's popularity in the past is pyramid training. For anyone that wants to build lean mass and have explosive power... this is one of the most effective ways to accomplish that.
Your core 4 lifts ( benchpress, squat, deadlift, overhead press) are perfect compound movements to incorporate the pyramid on. You are going to start off with a light weight with higher reps and each set get progressively heavier while dropping the reps. I personally like to use a 12,9,6,3 rep scheme to build my pyramids up but you can use any rep scheme you want as long as you are progressing from lighter to heavier weights. The reason this is so effective is you are not only training pure power but also muscular endurance which is an often over looked aspect of building strength. When you build endurance, you can handle those heavier weights without getting gassed out over a longer period of time. We all know time under tension at high intensity leads to greater muscle and strength gains. The pyramid is the perfect blend to accomplish both of these goals Keep in mind that this is just ONE form of training that we recommend. This will build endurance and really grow the slow twitch muscle fibers as you're doing multiple sets with variable weights. Once you're comfortable with this style of training, you should upgrade your training scheme and try REVERSE PYRAMID Training. The concept is the exact same, except you start with a heavier weight and work your way down to lighter weight. I personally like to warm up with three sets: Warmup-set 1 : 50% of Working set Weight - 5 Reps Warmup-set 2 - 70% of Working Set Weight - 3 Reps Warm-up set 3 - 85% of Working Set Weight - 1 Rep After this, I'm ready to go into my heaviest set which I will try to get atleast 6 repetitions on. I know that If I can't even get 4 repetitions that the weight is too heavy and I need to dial it back some. The rep scheme I follow for my working weight is usually 6,6,8,10 but it varies. As long as you're pyramiding down, you're utlizing reverse pyramid training to its maximum advantage. Now, if this all sounds very complicated to you - we understand. But trust us, it's really simple once our trainers at Rochester NY Personal Trainer are working with you face to face.
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HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It's a very specific form of cardio that calls for "High Intensity Bursts' followed by a more relaxed form of cardio that's a lot less taxing on our bodies.
HIIT also has a HUGE afterburn effect compared to regular forms of cardio. This is the same reason that we see wrestlers, boxers, sprinters be completely shreeded and muscular as well. This is because they are performing HIIT throughout their training and competitions. Let us dive deeper into the details. As mentioned earlier, HIIT takes place when we perform a cardiovascular exercise with extreme intensity for a short period of time and then drop off the intensity to give ourselves time to recoup and go at it again. A good rule of thumb is to go as hard as you can for 3-5 minutes and then cool down for 5-8 minutes and repeat for as long as you can. It's not long before you feel like you are about to collapse and ofcourse you should probably stop at that point. Feel your body out and challenge yourself to push just a little bit more next time you perform an HIIT workout. This also triggers what we alluded to earlier - THE AFTERBURN! This afterburn effect occurs because your body increases its metabolism in response to the intense exercise it just underwent. It's still recouping from your HIIT routine and has an increase in metabolism for as long as 48 hours. It's definitely something that will increase your caloric expenditure than regular steady-state cardio. So how does this occur exactly? Well when we perform HIIT, our muscles are also being worked as opposed to mostly the heart and cardiovascular system during just jogging or walking. Our muscles experience a pump similar to what we might experience during a heavy resistance training workout! This increases lactic acid build up which our bodies fight off by utilizing more oxygen to repair itself which is where the increase in metabolism comes into play. This is why all sprinters, boxers, and wrestlers seem to have a very shredded and muscular look. They are all performing intense bouts of exercise for a short duration, resting, and repeating - over and over again. Here are some more example of HIIT training that you can perform yourself:
This method of training helps improve our explosiveness strength and help us burn additional calories compared to conventional cardiovascular exercise. It's something that should be a staple to someone looking to cut weight, in moderation of course. 1-2 HIIT sessions programmed into your routine will go a long way in helping you get that shredded look that you want so bad. There are thousands of other HIIT routines that our trainers here at Rochester NY Personal Trainer have built for clients. If you want to get that lean and muscular look, contact us right away and we will hook you up with a free consultation! |
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