Train slow to boost your growth.
The weights on the bar aren't everything. Mastering the "time under tension" lifting method will help you smash through plateaus to unlock new muscle. Perfect your form and you'll add new muscle in weeks.
Why it works.
Upping your time under tension (TUT) will fast track your gains. The heavy science:-
Mind to muscle - During slow eccentrics and partial reps, you can vividly feel the targeted muscles working. The improved connection between your mind and muscles carries over well when it comes to lifting.
Damage limitation - In contrast to heavy sets, the lighter weights used in TUT methods, such as drop sets, cause less joint damage yet still builds muscle. You'll be able to recover more quickly between your sessions.
Faultless form - Because you're concentrating on controlling the weight, you're better able to focus on your technique. Enhancing your lifting form leads to improved muscle contractions, greater growth and fewer injuries.
Partial Rep.
Using only a specific range of motion for a move: stopping before locking your joints, say, or even halfway up the rep. Not only does it extend your time under tension, it also targets the weakest part of the lift. Means earning new PB's when you perform the full move.
Slow Eccentric.
Deliberately slowing the speed at which you perform the "lowering" phase of your lift. It damages muscle fibres - which results in more nutrients reaching your muscles for repair and growth.
Pause Rep.
Holding an isometric contraction, muscle tensed, at the bottom of a move before lifting. During an isometric hold, the body can activate more motor units than usual, it is a test of strength, as you can't use any momentum to produce force, only your muscles.
Drop Set.
Performing your sets to just short of failure, then reducing the weight and continuing with more reps. Compared to standard sets that only combat the first layer of your muscle fibres, drop sets activate the deepest muscles. Remember: even though you may reach a point of failure with one weight, you haven't yet reached absolute failure.
The weights on the bar aren't everything. Mastering the "time under tension" lifting method will help you smash through plateaus to unlock new muscle. Perfect your form and you'll add new muscle in weeks.
Why it works.
Upping your time under tension (TUT) will fast track your gains. The heavy science:-
Mind to muscle - During slow eccentrics and partial reps, you can vividly feel the targeted muscles working. The improved connection between your mind and muscles carries over well when it comes to lifting.
Damage limitation - In contrast to heavy sets, the lighter weights used in TUT methods, such as drop sets, cause less joint damage yet still builds muscle. You'll be able to recover more quickly between your sessions.
Faultless form - Because you're concentrating on controlling the weight, you're better able to focus on your technique. Enhancing your lifting form leads to improved muscle contractions, greater growth and fewer injuries.
Partial Rep.
Using only a specific range of motion for a move: stopping before locking your joints, say, or even halfway up the rep. Not only does it extend your time under tension, it also targets the weakest part of the lift. Means earning new PB's when you perform the full move.
Slow Eccentric.
Deliberately slowing the speed at which you perform the "lowering" phase of your lift. It damages muscle fibres - which results in more nutrients reaching your muscles for repair and growth.
Pause Rep.
Holding an isometric contraction, muscle tensed, at the bottom of a move before lifting. During an isometric hold, the body can activate more motor units than usual, it is a test of strength, as you can't use any momentum to produce force, only your muscles.
Drop Set.
Performing your sets to just short of failure, then reducing the weight and continuing with more reps. Compared to standard sets that only combat the first layer of your muscle fibres, drop sets activate the deepest muscles. Remember: even though you may reach a point of failure with one weight, you haven't yet reached absolute failure.
