Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

21’s are a great technique for breaking out of a plateau and totally incinerating a particular muscle. This advanced technique involves challenging the working muscle group in three different ranges of motion. The 21 in the name refers to the total number of reps done in each set (7 for each range of motion). You can perform 21’s in the following manner: First, let’s use a standard dumbbell or cable curl as an example exercise. Start out with your arm in your normal start postion, hand and weight (or D-handle) at your thigh, arm joint completely open. Now, curl the weight up as you normally would, but stop halfway up (around the point your elbow is bent at 90 degrees). Lower your arm again, keeping tension on the bicep the whole time, and repeat. Do this for your first 7 reps. Without resting, bring your arm back up to the 90 degree halfway point and curl the weight up to full flexion (joint closed; the ending point of a normal curl). Lower to the halfway point, and repeat for the next 7 reps. To finish the set, do seven full range reps from the bottom to the top as you normally would when performing standard curls. By this point, your biceps (or whatever muscle group you’re working) should be begging for mercy.

21’s can be done with any exercise, but they work best with single joint isolation moves such as the bicep curl or tricep pressdown (among others). I also prefer to do 21’s on a cable machine (as opposed to free weights) because cables maintain a continuous tension on the working muscle group. Also, when performing 21’s, you’ll want to pick a lighter weight than you’d normally use for straight sets. This seems like a no-brainer; if you lift heavy you’ll never be able to complete this super tough set.

Because 21’s totally blitz the muscle group you apply them to, I recommend throwing this technique into your workout only intermittently. I liked 21’s so much that when I first discovered them, I did them every (in my case, biceps) workout and I definitely felt like I was overtraining my bi’s. Now I only use them when I really want to blast my guns into submission. Another tip to avoid overtraining: if using 21’s, try to do one less exercise for that bodypart than you’d normally do in that workout. If you normally do 4 exercises for let’s say, triceps, you should only do 3 if you’re planning on using 21’s. If it’s been awhile since your muscles were sore, try 21’s on for size.

Supersets (I’ve also heard them called flush sets by some people) are a relatively advanced technique that can be useful in breaking out of a plateau or simply shaking your workout up a bit. Supersets involve doing one set of multiple exercises (any number I guess, but typically 2-4) immediately following one another. Completion of each set for all of the exercise constitues one superset. For example doing one set of barbell curls, immediately followed by one set of tricep pressdowns, immediately followed by dumbbell curls, immediately followed by tricep extensions would be one 4-exercise arm-blasting superset. You would rest, then repeat the process until all of your supersets are complete. (Actually, I believe technically a superset is two exercises in a row, a triset is three, and a “giant” or quad set is four, but that’s only if you’re being picky about it hehe).

Really, any exercises can be combined to form a superset, although I typically put together related bodyparts such as abs (lower, upper, and obliques) or arms (biceps, triceps), etc. (see also Staggered Sets). I enjoy supersets from a bodybuilding perspective, but they’re not the best technique if you’re looking to build pure strength. Doing two exercises in a row, with no rest in between, will fatique your muscles to a greater degree and reduce the amount of weight you can handle, particularly on the second movement. As a result, you won’t be able to use as heavy a weight as you might normally use.

Training regularly is an extremely important part of achieving your goals. Building muscle and obtaining superior cardiovascular fitness is a result of the body’s progressive adaptation to stress and does not happen overnight. Without going into all of the physiological mumbo jumbo, let’s use an analogy from the animal kingdom. We’ve all heard about animals adapting to certain stimuli in their environment to increase their chances of survival. This of course is not a process that occurs after a few days, weeks, or months. Instead, it occurs over long, long periods of time and only after the creatures have experienced repeated or continuous stimuli or stresses from their surroundings.

So what does this have to do with bodybuilding? Well, in order to build muscle, strength, endurance, cardiovascular fitness, whatever, you need to convince your body that it needs to adapt to an increased level of stress and stimuli. The only way to do this is by applying regular stress (i.e. regular workouts). Hitting the gym for a few days here and there may leave you sore, but it will only make your body think “ah, this isn’t a regular occurrence…no need to adapt”). However, if you stick to a regular program (and don’t crap out after two weeks), your body will realize that this added stress you’re putting it through isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and it will be forced to adapt with larger, stronger muscles and better cardiovascular health.

The exact amount of time you should be working out (per exercise session or per week) varies to some extent based on each individual’s fitness goals and experience, but in general, you should try to make it to the gym at least 3-4 times a week for at least 30-60 minutes a session. Newer trainees can expect to see some results in about month, but I think a 3 month period (of regularly sticking to your program) is a better amount of time to wait before you start assessing your progress whether you’re a total novice or an experienced lifter who’s recently overhauled your training regimen.

If I had to name the top three most important things in weight training, form would definitely be one of them. Keeping proper form 1) prevents injuries 2) ensures that the proper
muscle(s) are being worked in each exercise and 3) allows you to more effectively track your progress (if your form changes from workout to workout, how can you be sure when you’re actually growing stronger and when you’re just cheating a little more?). Using improper form will cause injuries and, most importantly, result in your routine failing to develop the muscles you want it to develop.

To insure you stay in proper form, here are some tips and techniques:

1) When you decide to add an exercise to your routine, be sure you research the movement thoroughly. Read multiple descriptions of it from a variety of sources, check out some pictures (or videos, if available) of how the exercise is performed, and determine exactly what muscle or muscles are being worked by the move.

2) When you try the exercise out in the gym (or wherever you work out), choose a very light weight at first (see my entry on choosing the proper weight for more info) so you can focus on getting the form and “feel” of the movement down instead of having to worry about moving the weight. Be sure you are comfortable with the movement and that even with this light weight you feel the exercise in the intended muscle group(s).

3) When you begin performing the exercise in “working” (i.e. heavier, muscle-building) sets, be sure you let your muscles (not your ego) be your guide with regard to weight choice. The weight should be manageable enough for you to perform the repetitions in relatively the same form as your “practice” sets. And, of course, you should feel the “burn” and the stress in the appropriate muscle groups. If you don’t, look over the information on the exercise again and modify your technique until you do.