Building muscle. Losing body fat. Getting crazy strong. Training to be even more awesome.
All four are excellent goals, but my absolute favorite is an emphasis on building strength, and you’ll find out why.
Today you’re going to learn one of my favorite simple techniques you can use with your current workout program to start seeing some fast strength gains.
But first…
Why Choose Strength?
Building muscle is a slow and steady process and trying to lose fat at a rapid rate can have dire consequences.
Basically, when it comes to sculpting muscle or burning body fat, slow and steady wins the race, as far as I’m concerned. But one of the really awesome things about training purely for strength is that you can achieve results very quickly.
And let’s face it — we all want immediate results.
We like reaping the rewards for our efforts as soon as possible, and that gives us greater motivation to keep going and striving for more.
That’s one reason why focusing on getting stronger is awesome — the results can come very quickly, if you do things correctly.
Get Stronger. Fast.
No, I’m not going to present some freak strength top-secret or anything like that, but rather a simple, tried and true technique you can use right now in your workout program to start getting stronger, and maybe even bust some personal records along the way.
Want to finally perform your first bodyweight chin-up?
Maybe you want to add a few more pounds to your squat or deadlift.
Do you want to bust through a plateau?
This technique will allow you to do so.
The Strength Technique for Fast Results
So what is this simple strength technique that can produce quick results?
Easy practice.
More specifically, practicing the exercise/lift at a higher frequency with an easy weight is a terrific way to boost strength quickly. In fact, I use this principle in the Get Strong! program in the Beautiful Badass Bodyweight Workout Guide which has helped trainees to perform this first bodyweight chin-up(s), pistols, and handstand push-ups.
Call it “greasing the groove” or whatever you want, but it works.
Also, and I can’t recall who is the first person to say it, but strength is a skill. And if you want to be proficient at a skill – be it strength, playing an instrument, or dang near anything else – you should practice frequently.
Using the easy strength technique allows you to practice the exercise(s) frequently so you really focus on your technique and ingrain the movement pattern without over-stressing your body.
Allow me to show you a real life example of using the easy practice technique for busting through plateaus and setting new personal records.
My friend Kristyn recently hired me to design a program that would help her reach a goal she’s had for a long time – to pull a 225 pound deadlift.
Before hiring me she had been stuck at a 190 pound deadlift but her all time best was 205 before she developed a neck injury recently.
Here was part of the plan to help her reach her 225 pound deadlift goal: include easy deadlift practice before every workout.
During her warm-up for every workout she was instructed to perform 4×2 (4 sets, 2 reps each) for the deadlift with an easy (the “easy” part is important) weight. The only day she excluded this easy practice was during workouts she deadlifted, which was about once every 9-10 days.
The instructions for the easy practice were simple — act like it’s a heavy weight. Approach the bar with confidence and pull aggressively.
This way she trained the deadlift movement 3 days per week.
So, what happened as Kristyn included the easy practice in her workout regimen?
After only 4 weeks on the program, Kristyn set an all-time personal record of 235 pounds, with some to spare. That’s 30 pounds more than her previous all-time best and 10 pounds above her initial goal.
Kristyn destroying her most recent personal record by 45 pounds, with ease
Oh, and I must point out, Kristyn is another strong gal proving that lifting heavy singles does NOT make women big ‘n bulky. Lifting progressively heavier weights simply increases one’s Beautiful Badass status.
Your Turn to Get Stronger
Want to get stronger, too? Here’s how you do it.
Pick 1-3 exercises you want to improve and incorporate some easy practice into your program at least 3 times per week. A super simple way to do this is to include the easy practice into your warm-ups, like I had Kristyn do.
Generally I keep the easy practice reps between 1 and 3, depending on your personal goals, for 4 to 6 total sets. Perform these easy practice sets at least 3 times per week or up to 5.
And, please, remember this is supposed to be easy; you shouldn’t have to struggle the least bit. For example, Kristyn did all of her easy practice for deadlifts with 135 pounds, a weight she could easily pull for about 12 reps.
Her easy practice guideline was to pull 135 pounds for 4 sets of 2 reps each. That’s it. And she did this before every workout, except on days she deadlifted (which was once every 9-10 days).
Focus on lifting with power and control. You should absolutely dominate the easy practice sets. And even though the weight is light, you need to pretend as if it’s a heavy weight and lift it with complete focus and concentration.
And you can also apply this technique to bodyweight exercises as well.
Let’s say you want to boost your push-up strength and be able to perform close grip push-ups for the first time.
Before each workout (or at least 3-5 times per week) include some easy practice. You can make the close grip push-ups easier by elevating your hands and performing 6×3 (6 sets, 3 reps each). Elevate your hands so you could perform at least 10 close grip push-ups, but only do the 6×3.
You can apply the easy practice technique to practically any exercise/lift you want to improve. Just follow the guidelines above.
Now you know how to get strong a hurry. Put this technique to work and be sure to let me know what happens.
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