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Bobby
finishes a hard, focused set of barbell squats and re-racks
the weight. His legs are wobbly, his heart is racing and he
feels light headed as he takes a big swig from his water
bottle. He looks down at his watch and presses the
“start” button to begin counting down backwards from 2
minutes.
Bobby read that 2
minutes is the ideal rest time between sets in the gym, and
he wants to get it exact. Once that watch beeps at the 2
minute mark, he'll be back in the squat rack to perform
another set.
He stands up tall
and paces around trying to catch his breath in preparation
for his next battle with the weights. |
*Beep*
2 minutes are up. His legs
still feel weak, his heart still beats frantically and he doesn't
quite feel 100%, but that watch beeped and that means his time is
up. He must perform his next set regardless of how he feels.
He un-racks the weight and
squats down. His legs still burn and he wishes that he could have
had more time to prepare for this set. He puts forth a mediocre
effort, re-racks the bar, and sets his watch for another 2 minutes.
Bobby, just like a
ton of other aspiring lifters in the gym, is making a deadly,
critical mistake.
By having a set rest
interval between sets, he is forcing his body to train at an effort
level that is far less than his maximum potential and is severely
sacrificing the amount of muscle growth he can ultimately stimulate
because of this.
Muscles grow because of an
adaptive response to stress. You lift X amount of weight for Y
number of reps, and your body adapts to this level of stress. In
order to see continual gains in muscle size, you must continually
force X and Y to higher and higher levels.
In other words, building
muscle is all about progression in both weight and reps. It is about
lifting as much weight as you possibly can for the greatest number
of reps that you possibly can (within a given rep range of course)
and then continually striving to improve.
Because of this, you must
always go into every single set of every single workout at your
maximum strength potential. By sacrificing the amount of weight you
can lift, you sacrifice the amount of muscle you can build. And
there is no worse way to make this sacrifice than by not providing
your body with enough rest between sets.
Throw out your
stopwatch and forget about looking at the clock.
You should only begin your
next set when you feel that you can perform it with 100% of your
strength potential. A stopwatch cannot tell you when that time has
arrived; only you can by listening to your body and relying on your
own instincts.
The set rest period theory
is also highly flawed because it does not take into account the fact
that certain exercises tax the body much more heavily than others
and therefore require more rest between them.
A deadlift and a tricep
pressdown aren't exactly in the same boat here. After a heavy set of
deadlifts to failure I'll usually be resting for at least 5 minutes,
often even more. A set of tricep pressdowns is obviously not as
taxing and may only require a rest period of 2.5 minutes for me to
feel fully recovered.
Go on your instincts and
only perform your next set when you feel that you can do so with
100% of your strength. Implementing just this one training technique
can have a drastic effect on your muscle size and strength gains.
What about proper rep
ranges? Workout length? Exercise selection and layout? For more
details on proper workout structure make sure to visit my website
below for exclusive details. Most people are dead-wrong in the way
that they perform their workouts, and I can help you to clear up the
confusion once and for all...
About The Author
 |
Once an awkward,
pencil-necked "social reject", Sean Nalewanyj is
now a renowned bodybuilding expert, fitness author, and
creator of the most celebrated natural bodybuilding program
online today: "The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail
System".
If you can spare
just 24 minutes a day, then you too can build a powerful new
head-turning body that will skyrocket your confidence, drive
gorgeous women crazy, and leave your friends, family and
co-workers staring in disbelief... ALL in just a matter of
months: www.MuscleGainTruth.com |
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