Why are you spending 2 hours on something which should take you 40 minutes?
Too many people judge their workout’s effectiveness by HOW LONG THEY SPENT IN THE GYM. It’s really common to hear people brag that they spent “2 hours doing X body part”. Yawn.
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I think it’s coming down to just not understanding how to actually hit a muscle with a plan. Try this:
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Pick the muscle you’re going to train. In this example lets say we’re training Quads:
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Pick a movement that gives you a really good SQUEEZE at the top of the rep - maybe its a leg extension. Do 3 sets of 12 reps and GO TO FAILURE. Note - I didn’t say go til it hurts a little. Pick a weight where after rep number 12 you CAN NOT DO another rep. 1 minute rest ONLY between sets. Use a watch or a timer cos trust me 60 seconds goes REAL quick when you’re training properly.
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Now a movement where you can go hard and explosive and where the target muscle is the primary mover FOR YOU. Your mate might choose leg press because his quads do most of the work on a leg press. But for you, your hammys and glutes might do most of the work on a leg press. SO DON’T PICK A LEG PRESS. Maybe you do a Hack Squat. Make these reps explosive and heavy. Do 3 sets of 10 reps. GO TO FAILURE. 90 sec rest between sets. Use a timer.
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Now a movement which gives you a really good STRETCH at the bottom of the movement. Maybe you pick smith machine squat with heels elevated. Reps are slower here, stay in the stretch for a second, don’t bounce, and control the contraction making sure your target muscle is the one doing the work. 3 sets, 15 reps, 60 sec rest. Go. To. Failure.
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Now a movement which lets you pump the target muscle with as much blood as possible. Maybe for quads you do a short stride walking lunge. Keep these reps slow and controlled and make that muscle blow up like a balloon. Pain = good. 3 sets, 18 reps, get as close to failure as you can. 60 sec rest only.
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You’ve now hit that muscle properly, in a way that will actually cause growth (and a lot of it), and it took you about 40 minutes.
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