Column 31 | To a new level

ANSWER

A lot of bodybuilders struggle with this problem. Some muscle group is always lagging behind, and it's almost impossible to improve all of them equally. But that doesn't mean that you can't do anything about it. There are various ways to force relatively underdeveloped muscles to grow. It's up to you to test them out to see which one brings you the most success. All of the following tips can also be applied to any other weaker muscles with the aim of improving them.

First of all, you should try to train your chest muscles not just once, but twice a week. In the first training session, the "primary workout", use heavy weights for a repetition range of eight to twelve per set. In the "secondary workout", on the other hand, you should use lighter weights and correspondingly more repetitions. However, the training intensity should always remain very high, which means that you always train until muscle failure.

By straining the weak muscle twice, it is forced to react by growing. To support this growth or to enable it in the first place, you must also provide your body with the necessary nutrients: plenty of protein and carbohydrates as well as a basic requirement of healthy fats. In terms of optimal nutrition, I recommend that you visit my homepage or, of course, read some of my previous columns in which I have already spoken about this.

A second way to give your chest new stimuli is to change your training system - volume training, periodization, Hatfield system and high intensity training (HIT) are some of the most well-known. I have had very good experiences with Hatfield in combination with HIT. This holistic training system allows you to build a muscular body in a very varied way. If you would like to find out more about the individual training methods, you can do so here: TRAINING METHODS )

The third option is to use different intensity techniques (see: INTENSITY TECHNIQUES . The basis should always be the "Kiss principle": short, intense, safe and clean! Negative repetitions, forced repetitions, reduction sets, supersets, pre-fatigue, cheating, partial repetitions and so on are just some of these methods, although negative repetitions are, in my opinion, the most effective intensity technique because they demand everything from the muscles. It has long been scientifically proven that the negative of a repetition provides the greatest stimulus and the associated muscle growth.

That's why you should always do weakened negative repetitions. This is not the typical technique with the help of a partner, but a form that can be performed without outside help: you complete the positive movement of a repetition relatively quickly - but never quickly or sloppily - and the negative movement is very strongly emphasized.

The upward movement should last about one to two seconds and the downward movement, i.e. the negative movement of one repetition, about three to four seconds.

This means that the weight is always moved slowly and in a controlled manner. This puts a much more effective strain on the muscle fibers than is the case with conventional repetitions (which you unfortunately see all too often in the gym, according to the motto: "The more repetitions in the shortest time, the better.").

Don't worry so much about reps or weights, but rather pay attention to feeling the muscles working. Many people have problems with muscle growth because they are too busy counting weights and training for their ego.

The weights are just a means to an end. Much more important is the feeling of your body, the tension during a set and the visualization - you should mentally visualize what your muscles should look like with each set. The more you can implement this - scientifically proven - visualization, the better!