Increase Your Training Intensity - Pre-Exhaustion
by Rick
Mitchell
zone3
You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively
stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding
ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with
exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the
time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth.
In an earlier
article I outlined the ways in which you can intensify your training. Here
we'll focus on the role that pre-exhaustion has to play in intensifying
the training effect.
When an exercise employs two or more muscles
it will be impossible to achieve failure for the primary muscle as the
weakest muscle will give out first. This is perhaps best explained by
giving an example. When targeting the chest, most exercises involve use of
the triceps which is a relatively small and weak muscle. When performing
the incline bench press for example, the triceps will fail before the
pectorals have the opportunity to work to failure thus limiting the value
of the exercise.
How do you get around this? By first performing an
exercise that isolates and tires the pectorals before immediately moving
on to the main exercise. For maximum benefits there should be no rest
between the pre-exhaust exercise and the main compound
exercise.
Beginners don't need to worry about pre-exhaust routines
but when they advance to intermediate level they can be introduced once a
week for each body part.
Examples of pre-exhaust routines commonly
performed by bodybuilders are listed below:
Biceps - barbell curls
and close-grip, palms-up pulldowns.
Triceps - pressdowns and
dips.
Pectorals - flyes and bench presses.
Lats - dumbbell
pullovers and barbell rows.
Deltoids - dumbbell laterals and
presses behind neck.
Traps - shrugs and upright rows.
Thighs
- leg extensions and squats.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rick Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website
that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of
bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding
Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this
article.
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