Dreaded Pirate Roberts
Administrator
So this thread is meant to make everyone look back or ahead. I fear to many people think steroids are the easy answer
Please share you experience's hitting the wall and working past it.
- Thread starter Dreaded Pirate Roberts
- Start date
livebigdieyoung
GEAR JUNKIE!
i have hit the wall a number of times, and its mainly been down to the fact my training has got a bit stale, so i changed my regimes and tried extreme stretches and go through that wall. i only started to use sterois when i thought i was either at my natural max or close to it. im with you DPR to many people are using steroids where dedication, a good training regime and a good diet would help them reach their goals. theres nothing more satisfying than reaching your personal natural max without steroids, cuse its all down to you and your commitment to getting big.
Animal1852
New member
Exactly, I asses if its due to wear and tear on my body, lack of motivation, extenuating circumstances. Then return and challenge my body in different ways. When I go back to whatever it was that I "hit the wall on" and I find I can do more reps and have more stamina on that exercise eventually I increase the weight. Now this works for most things conditioning, strenght training, losing BF etc but it does have its limits; genetics always wins.
hitting a wall for me is normally due to lack of motivation/energy in the gym. Unless i'm locked into a contract at a gym, I'll switch gyms. I find my muscles respond better when I start to use different machines, they all feel slightly different. taking time off for me is out of the question, too hard to get back at it.
StoneColdNTO
Administrator
Breaking through a plateau
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author....unknown
Well Guys and Gals,
I have seen people in the past post, requesting help to break their bodybuilding plateau. Also lets be honest there are some that want to get through the boredom of their workout. I go to the gym and I LOVE to bust my ass, but everyone is not the same. Well here are some things that can help. If you choose to apply any of these please keep us updated. I would love to hear the feedback. I have put this together, but if any of you have any debates/disputes with my theories feel free to let me know. I love a challenge...lol. Well, here's some ideas:
Challenge yourself by putting in more exercises into your routine without using more time. Or you can try to get the same routine done in less time. This means less time between sets and it requires a fast recovery rate. This is sometimes called HIT or high intensity training.
Heavy and light days. Probably my favorite way to shock my muscles is to use heavy and light training days. On heavy days, use as much weight as you can for 3-4 reps and on light days, put on as much weight as you can for 12-15 reps. This is good for people who train 6 days a week doing each body part twice per week.
Forced reps are pretty popular. I don't like them too much but people do get pretty good results from them. A forced rep is when you are trying to lift more weight than you can lift by yourself and you need your partner to help you get it up. The only time I like these is when you are at your failure point and you just need a little help to get the last one up.
Partial reps are a great way to get your muscles to burn. When doing partial bench press reps, you should only lift the weight about 4 inches off of your chest. This goes for any other exercise as well. Only do the first half of the rep. (don't do these for squats- they are a waste of time).
21's are another form of partial reps. Instead of doing the full motion of the rep, do only the first half of one full motion for 7 reps. Then do the second half of one full motion for 7 reps. Then finish off the set with 7 reps of full motion for a total of 21 reps.
Isolate your muscles to get the most out of a particular workout. Doing leg extensions are a great isolation workout for your thighs. For biceps I recommend doing dumbbell curls.
Isotension is imperative if you want to be a competitive bodybuilder. This is when you continuously flex and relax your muscles before, between, and after your workout and even between sets. Practicing your posing routine is a form of isotension as well.
Negative reps are when you are lowering the weight. My favorite exercise to do negatives on is with straight bar curls. To do this, you curl the bar up as normal then lower it very slowly. Concentrate on holding the weight as hard as you can. If you can hold it easily, then its not enough weight.
Slow reps are really fun. Basically, using a lower weight, you can do any exercise in slow motion. This not only takes away the momentum of the faster movements, it forces you to do a good slow negative rep and will give you a great pump!
Cheating is when you lose your form just for a second to help get you through a tough spot in your workout. For instance, if you are doing standing military press and you can't seem to push out the last rep and you begin to use your legs to give you momentum to lift it, this is cheating. Keeping good form in general is one of the most important criteria to becoming strong and staying healthy so this type of practice should be avoided as much as possible.
Pyramid reps are probably the most common in weight training. Usually people "pyramid" their way up to their workout weight then back down again. For instance a guy might usually workout with 300lbs on bench press. He would start with 225lbs for one set, then go up to 285lbs for one set, then go to 300lbs for 3 or 4 sets. Then he would finish the exercise with a set of 225 again.
Heavy Duty training is when you go to your usual workout weight right after warming up. Usually, I do a few (3-4) sets to pyramid up to my workout weight and get the blood pumping. With the heavy duty method of training, you skip the pyramid and go straight to the heavy weight.
Staggered sets are usually used to help develop an underdeveloped area. For instance if your calves were a little smaller than you like, you might incorporate an extra day of calf exercises on a day that they aren't scheduled for. So when chest day comes around you would do a set of calf raises between each exercise you do that day. By the end of the day you may have done 20-30 sets! This is a great way to do abs.
Prioritize your workout so that you are putting a specific emphasis on your "weak" areas. For instance if your back could use a little more work. On back day you could use one or more of the techniques above to help make your workout more enjoyable and effective. You could also schedule your back day on Monday so you are more fresh... get the point?
Supersets are one of my personal favorites! This can be done two ways actually. 1) You can superset the same muscle group. i.e.: doing pushups or dips between sets of bench press, and 2) You can superset opposing muscle groups. i.e.: doing pull-ups between sets of bench press. I like doing them both ways.
Stripping weight as you go is a very effective way to build muscle. This allows you to work through your fatigue. Basically, you do as many reps as you can until you are completely fatigued, then you "strip" some weight off of the bar and immediately go again until you are fatigued at that weight. This is a good way to make you feel weak, but you really get a pump!
I Go/You Go: This is a pretty fun exercise especially when you and your partner are about the same strength and size. Basically, if you are doing straight bar curls, once you are done with your set you hand the weight off to your partner then he goes. You can go back and forth until one of you gives up. Or you can do one, then your partner does one, then you do two, then he does two, then three and go up to 15 or so then back down.
Now lets shock our systems and get huge.
Good Luck!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author....unknown
Well Guys and Gals,
I have seen people in the past post, requesting help to break their bodybuilding plateau. Also lets be honest there are some that want to get through the boredom of their workout. I go to the gym and I LOVE to bust my ass, but everyone is not the same. Well here are some things that can help. If you choose to apply any of these please keep us updated. I would love to hear the feedback. I have put this together, but if any of you have any debates/disputes with my theories feel free to let me know. I love a challenge...lol. Well, here's some ideas:
Challenge yourself by putting in more exercises into your routine without using more time. Or you can try to get the same routine done in less time. This means less time between sets and it requires a fast recovery rate. This is sometimes called HIT or high intensity training.
Heavy and light days. Probably my favorite way to shock my muscles is to use heavy and light training days. On heavy days, use as much weight as you can for 3-4 reps and on light days, put on as much weight as you can for 12-15 reps. This is good for people who train 6 days a week doing each body part twice per week.
Forced reps are pretty popular. I don't like them too much but people do get pretty good results from them. A forced rep is when you are trying to lift more weight than you can lift by yourself and you need your partner to help you get it up. The only time I like these is when you are at your failure point and you just need a little help to get the last one up.
Partial reps are a great way to get your muscles to burn. When doing partial bench press reps, you should only lift the weight about 4 inches off of your chest. This goes for any other exercise as well. Only do the first half of the rep. (don't do these for squats- they are a waste of time).
21's are another form of partial reps. Instead of doing the full motion of the rep, do only the first half of one full motion for 7 reps. Then do the second half of one full motion for 7 reps. Then finish off the set with 7 reps of full motion for a total of 21 reps.
Isolate your muscles to get the most out of a particular workout. Doing leg extensions are a great isolation workout for your thighs. For biceps I recommend doing dumbbell curls.
Isotension is imperative if you want to be a competitive bodybuilder. This is when you continuously flex and relax your muscles before, between, and after your workout and even between sets. Practicing your posing routine is a form of isotension as well.
Negative reps are when you are lowering the weight. My favorite exercise to do negatives on is with straight bar curls. To do this, you curl the bar up as normal then lower it very slowly. Concentrate on holding the weight as hard as you can. If you can hold it easily, then its not enough weight.
Slow reps are really fun. Basically, using a lower weight, you can do any exercise in slow motion. This not only takes away the momentum of the faster movements, it forces you to do a good slow negative rep and will give you a great pump!
Cheating is when you lose your form just for a second to help get you through a tough spot in your workout. For instance, if you are doing standing military press and you can't seem to push out the last rep and you begin to use your legs to give you momentum to lift it, this is cheating. Keeping good form in general is one of the most important criteria to becoming strong and staying healthy so this type of practice should be avoided as much as possible.
Pyramid reps are probably the most common in weight training. Usually people "pyramid" their way up to their workout weight then back down again. For instance a guy might usually workout with 300lbs on bench press. He would start with 225lbs for one set, then go up to 285lbs for one set, then go to 300lbs for 3 or 4 sets. Then he would finish the exercise with a set of 225 again.
Heavy Duty training is when you go to your usual workout weight right after warming up. Usually, I do a few (3-4) sets to pyramid up to my workout weight and get the blood pumping. With the heavy duty method of training, you skip the pyramid and go straight to the heavy weight.
Staggered sets are usually used to help develop an underdeveloped area. For instance if your calves were a little smaller than you like, you might incorporate an extra day of calf exercises on a day that they aren't scheduled for. So when chest day comes around you would do a set of calf raises between each exercise you do that day. By the end of the day you may have done 20-30 sets! This is a great way to do abs.
Prioritize your workout so that you are putting a specific emphasis on your "weak" areas. For instance if your back could use a little more work. On back day you could use one or more of the techniques above to help make your workout more enjoyable and effective. You could also schedule your back day on Monday so you are more fresh... get the point?
Supersets are one of my personal favorites! This can be done two ways actually. 1) You can superset the same muscle group. i.e.: doing pushups or dips between sets of bench press, and 2) You can superset opposing muscle groups. i.e.: doing pull-ups between sets of bench press. I like doing them both ways.
Stripping weight as you go is a very effective way to build muscle. This allows you to work through your fatigue. Basically, you do as many reps as you can until you are completely fatigued, then you "strip" some weight off of the bar and immediately go again until you are fatigued at that weight. This is a good way to make you feel weak, but you really get a pump!
I Go/You Go: This is a pretty fun exercise especially when you and your partner are about the same strength and size. Basically, if you are doing straight bar curls, once you are done with your set you hand the weight off to your partner then he goes. You can go back and forth until one of you gives up. Or you can do one, then your partner does one, then you do two, then he does two, then three and go up to 15 or so then back down.
Now lets shock our systems and get huge.
Good Luck!
Dreaded Pirate Roberts
Administrator
hogman
New member
Its very healthy to take at least 2 weeks off a yr. your body needs the time off the recover. I take 2 to 3 weeks a yr but I breat it up so I don't feel like I am getting back into the gym. I do a week at a time.
hellawaits77
Gettin' there
Everyone has brought up good points.
The worst platueau I ever hit was in my 11th grade year. Being young (16 yo) at the time, I always had a ton of energy, and lifted like a freak for 6 months straight. No breaks except for the weekends. Eventually, I would be sore for 4-6 days after workouts, and stopped seeing results. My Bench Press and other chest and tri exercises actually LOSSED strength.
I took a week off, swithced up my routine a bit, ate more, did more cardio. That did the trick.
The worst platueau I ever hit was in my 11th grade year. Being young (16 yo) at the time, I always had a ton of energy, and lifted like a freak for 6 months straight. No breaks except for the weekends. Eventually, I would be sore for 4-6 days after workouts, and stopped seeing results. My Bench Press and other chest and tri exercises actually LOSSED strength.
I took a week off, swithced up my routine a bit, ate more, did more cardio. That did the trick.
i always take a week off every 12 weeks. This is usually enuf to re-energize me to the point of new progress.
The last few years i have done higher volume training, with an emphasis on competing. Took a year off after my last show in 2007. Got back in last year but was just kind of goin thru the motions. a month ago I decided to get back to basics. Used a simple routine below. John (pullinbig) worked me into this routine back in '04 and it still has been the most dramatic change to my physique ever. Simple, yet effective.
http://www.steroidology.com/forum/547098-post126.html
The last few years i have done higher volume training, with an emphasis on competing. Took a year off after my last show in 2007. Got back in last year but was just kind of goin thru the motions. a month ago I decided to get back to basics. Used a simple routine below. John (pullinbig) worked me into this routine back in '04 and it still has been the most dramatic change to my physique ever. Simple, yet effective.
http://www.steroidology.com/forum/547098-post126.html
GUnit37
Gotta get bigger
I agree with you're posts above.
It really sucks when you're trying to build and then it feels like it isn't doing anything for you.
This has happened time and time again for me-
and similar to what everyone else has been saying, i usually take about a 2 week break where i dont lift AT ALL. it gives me time to relax and rejuvinate.
More than that though, I also Will, during that time period, DETOX- this lets your body cleanse anything that may be inhibiting your energy. More than that it just makes me feel great lol.
I also will re-evaluate my diet because it always seems to slowly stray from what I originally intended- so I need to get it back on track.
More than anything, when I've hit a wall I will use it as a sign that some body-maintenance is necessary- a cleanup of my health and diet.
One of the most important things that I do though is when I return from my break I always make sure that I change my routine up to allow for muscle confusion, and I go at it full- force because otherwise you don’t always regain that motivation and drive that you had originally when you hit the wall in the first place.
A change of scenery and perspective always allows an opportunity for a new kind of success.
It really sucks when you're trying to build and then it feels like it isn't doing anything for you.
This has happened time and time again for me-
and similar to what everyone else has been saying, i usually take about a 2 week break where i dont lift AT ALL. it gives me time to relax and rejuvinate.
More than that though, I also Will, during that time period, DETOX- this lets your body cleanse anything that may be inhibiting your energy. More than that it just makes me feel great lol.
I also will re-evaluate my diet because it always seems to slowly stray from what I originally intended- so I need to get it back on track.
More than anything, when I've hit a wall I will use it as a sign that some body-maintenance is necessary- a cleanup of my health and diet.
One of the most important things that I do though is when I return from my break I always make sure that I change my routine up to allow for muscle confusion, and I go at it full- force because otherwise you don’t always regain that motivation and drive that you had originally when you hit the wall in the first place.
A change of scenery and perspective always allows an opportunity for a new kind of success.
