In this video, I take you through the first exercise of my workout – the incline bench press. Funny enough, I actually performed this workout at midnight with a few glasses of vino in my veins!
This brings me to my first lesson (and a very important one at that):
Lesson #1: You Are Capable Of More Than You Think
The only limits there are, are the ones you place on yourself. As well, sometimes your best workouts are accomplished under suboptimal conditions.
Too many people make excuses for poor workouts. Lack of sleep, busy work schedule, no time… They let these ‘excuses’ stop them for progressing.
Well in this video, I hit an all-time personal record at midnight while being slightly drunk.
Now, I don’t recommend training after a few drinks as it’s generally NOT a good idea. That said, I’m sharing this video to impress upon you that there’s really no excuse to not push for forward progress!
You are capable of far more than you think. As well, it’s important to just relax. Don’t stress out about everything being perfect.
Lesson #2: Micro-Loading Will Get You Amazing Progress
In my Greek God Program, I share an incredibly effective concept known as micro-loading. The premise is simple: you add just 1.25 pounds to each side of the bar, for a total weight of 2.5 pounds.
This works amazing because it’s a realistic rate of strength gain. Trying to add 5 lbs to the bar each workout is a tall order. What most people do is try to build up their reps, then increase the weight.
This method works, but it’s slower and it’s not nearly as efficient. As well, increasing reps can be very challenging. For example, if you’re doing 225 lbs on bench press for 4 reps, adding a rep the next workout would increase your predicted one rep max by 5-10 lbs.
As you can see, the best option is micro-loading. I will be selling some micro plates on Kinobody very soon! Can’t wait :)
Click here to learn more about the Kino Micro Plates!
Lesson #3: You Need To Excite Your Nervous System
On your warm up sets, I recommend really focusing on exploding on the way up, and focusing on maximum speed. The reason for this is simple: you’re teaching your nervous system to fire more powerfully.
This will increase strength and power! As well, it will effectively “turn on” your nervous system so you will be stronger and more ready for the heavy weights to come.
I typically do 2-3 warm up sets with progressively heavier weights, building up to my first work set. Note – I only do warm up sets for the first exercise of a workout.
Lesson #4: Don’t Train To Complete Failure (Finish Strong)
By all means, I recommend pushing yourself hard – but know your limits.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is this: people either half ass it or they go full-out and trash themselves.
My suggestion is to push yourself hard, but finish strong. Once you’re unsure if you’re going to be able to get the next rep, that’s when you terminate the set and rack the weight.
If you push yourself too hard, it will be harder to progress and you’ll be wiped out before you finish your workout. Sometimes I’ll leave 1-2 reps in the tank on my second and third set of reverse pyramid training.
I find this method really helps to allow for a smooth rate of progress. Once you start destroying yourself on every set, it becomes much more difficult to improve.
There’s several reasons for why this is the case, but I’d encourage you to try it out for yourself and see. Experiment with how your body handles it.
Lesson #5: Muscle Growth Is Easy With Proper Training
If you’re making consistent strength gains, you can make incredible muscle gains with far less than you think! In fact, I only do about 3-4 sets on chest per week.
I’ve been making gains and building my chest simply because I’m lifting heavier. Now, yes – I could add a secondary chest exercise to get some more volume in and speed up the chest gains. In fact, in my fitness courses, I typically have more volume than what I do in my routine.
That said, I’m not too concerned with optimizing muscle growth at this time. Most people over blow the volume to the point where it sacrifices their strength development. They’re pouring in tons of effort for no gains!
This Will Lead To Better Progress
Hope you enjoyed the takeaways for this post. Use these strategies to progress more (and likely faster) than anything you’ve tried to this point!
NEW Article - Get Shredded on 2 Workouts Per Week
How I stayed lean while gaining muscle traveling Europe this summer, training just 2 times per week. You need to try this. Click Here to Read...
*Training just 2 times per week has allowed me to gain strength and muscle at rate I never knew was possible.
Makes it easier to stay lean as well. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but let me show you precisely the body part split I’m using.