Chapter 10: Methods Of Advancement

Feel the Burn..

Methods Of Advancement

So now that we’ve given you both sets of workouts, you should be set to get started.  Building up a good strength base with your workout sessions will be important and if you execute those programs, you’ll easily be able to do so.

It’s important not to dive in and do a very advanced program too quickly as your body does need some time to adjust and adapt to the workout routine, allowing for the training gains to occur.

That said, after you’ve done the workouts above for the full four to eight week time period (repeat the workout programs above twice through), then it’s time to kick things up a notch and take it to the next level.

That’s where the following methods of advancement come into play.  Advancing your workout session with these more intense protocols will boost your strength, enhance your agility, and improve your cardiovascular fitness without you having to put forth any more time for the workout sessions. All guaranteed to increase "burns" and have you sweating bucket loads.

Let’s go over the main techniques that you should know.

Timed Sets

The first advanced technique is the timed set.  The timed set is where you perform as many reps as you can in a given period of time.  So for example, rather than setting the goal to perform 8 reps total per set, you’ll set the goal to perform as many reps as you can in a 60 second period.

If you have to stop at any point throughout that period in order to rest and ensure that you are able to maintain proper form, so be it, just keep going as soon as possible again whenever you’re ready.

This is a maximum fatigue developing technique and will teach your body how to keep working in the face of fatigue, so anyone who is looking to enhance their level of muscular endurance will do really well utilizing this technique.

Just do keep in mind that since it is so intense, chances are you won’t be able to do much more than one or two sets total.

Drop Sets

Next, another great advanced protocol to add to your workout program is drop sets.  Drop sets are going to be where you perform one set at the standard weight that you’re typically lifting and once you finish that set, you’ll drop the weight by five pounds and then perform another set at that weight.

Once that set is completed, you’ll drop the weight one more time and then go on to perform a last and final set.

Again, this protocol is one that is going to cause a high level of fatigue build-up and teach your body how to sustain a good level of muscular endurance.

Drop sets are typically performed towards the end of your workout session since after they’re finished chances are you’ll be ready to leave the gym, however at times people may perform them earlier on.

Never try and make all the exercises you do in your workout drop sets however; limit it to just one or two exercises at most.

If you do too many drop sets, you will quickly be facing overtraining. 

Pyramid Sets

Finally, the last advanced protocol that you’ll want to consider adding into your workout routine is the pyramid set.

The pyramid set is going to have you working up and then back down again in term of rep range number, so will provide the benefits of all rep ranges in a single exercise.

So for example, you might perform the first set at 8 reps, the second set at 10 reps, the third set at 12 reps, and then work back down to 10 reps, and then 8 reps to finish.

A pyramid set like this is great for those who want to work on both muscular strength as well as endurance, fully challenging their muscles across a spectrum of weights.

You can use this set-up for any exercise in the workout program and most people will typically use it most often when doing their compound exercises since these are the more strength predominant exercises, but don’t feel restricted. They can be used on isolation movements as well.

So there you have the primary advanced exercise techniques that you should be considering as you go about your program plan. 

Never use more than one  of these at a time – you want to aim to cycle between them as you go about the program so that you are going to be seeing ongoing progress and continually stimulating and challenging the muscles so they get stronger and stronger.

Always be mindful of your recovery while doing them as well so that you don’t push yourself to a point of overtraining. If you do ever find yourself becoming highly fatigued on a daily basis, this is a clear sign that you are doing a little too much and should back off slightly to allow for more rest and recovery time.

Now that we’ve shown you how to take your workouts to the next level, let’s go into a few more details about overtraining in general so that you can come to terms with it quickly.