When each set is set in stone and each repetition has become, well, repetitious, you're either heading for or have already reached the dreaded "plateau" in weight training. In other words, you are stuck in a monotonous weight-training rut, where both mind and muscle are stagnating and your strength gains have screeched to a depressing halt.

Below are seven methods that have been used in the weightlifting world for several years and are guaranteed to help you escape that rut, overcome future plateaus, and energize your workouts. These intense methods are effective for virtually any exercise -- squats, benches, shoulder presses, leg presses, pulldowns, arm curls, and pressdowns -- and they can be used with free weights or machines.

1- Super Slow Reps This is a training method I trialled last year and it hurts!  I experienced some good gains but be warned it is exhausting mentally and physically. You can check out more Super Slow info here. Super Slow protocol is when you use about 50% or 60% of your one-rep maximum, slowly descend, counting five seconds until nearly parallel. Keeping constant tension (no bouncing or pausing), slowly ascend, counting 10 seconds until you are upright at the start of the squat position. Repeat for four or five reps. The Super Slow method is intense and really works each muscle fiber.

 

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It may be daunting to go back to physical exercise after you've been away from it for some time. Rejoining the gym or getting back out onto the road for a run can seem a painful experience if your body hasn't been used to it for a while.

If you're sitting there feeling lethargic and assessing your growing waistline, your thoughts may be turning to actually doing something about it. However, it may be that you've not been to a gym in quite a while - or worse still, you may be paying for your gym membership but not even using it.

So, if you want to get motivated and start going to the gym again, check out the following ten ways to shake yourself out of your inactivity and begin going to the gym on a regular basis.

Find the right gym for your exercise routine
There are all manner of different types of gym - some of which are at the flashier end of the scale where membership will cost you a tidy monthly sum, and some of which are cheaper council-owned venues that will allow you to pay per visit. If you're someone who's not going to go at least three to four times a week, then stick to the ‘pay-as-you-go' variety of gym, as this will stop you spending money needlessly. On the other hand, a gym that has extra facilities such as saunas and steam rooms might keep you coming back frequently - so make sure the gym you decide to go to has the exercise facilities you want.

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Anyone Else Wanna Find Out Why Hill Sprints Are The Fastest Way Of Getting Strong, Fast, And Lean? by Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS Director, Staley Training Systems and Keats Snideman B.Sc., CSCS, LMT

Sprinting is by far one of the most fun effective, and practical methods for improving total body speed and power along with being a very potent stimulus for rapid body composition changes (reduced bodyfat percentage). As an extra bonus, if you habitually do most or all of your training inside a gym, you'll be amazed at how fun it can be to train outdoors- you'll actually feel like an athlete! For these reasons, we feel that pretty much everyone should be doing some form of sprints in their training.

Like most powerful training methods however, sprinting can have a down-side: muscle pulls and strains. How many weekend warriors do you know that have pulled their hamstrings playing softball for example, while sprinting to first base? Perhaps you are even one of those weekend warriors yourself! Since sprinting is such an effective activity, yet is associated with some significant risk, is there a way to ease into it without acquiring any dreaded muscle pulls? Yes there is! The answer lies in HILL SPRINTS.

Your Top 7 List Of Why Hill Sprints Are Superior To Almost Anything Else You Can Do

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by Gary Matthews, Australian Strength Coach

What if I told you that when you are tired your adrenal glands are stressed and your kidneys will retain fluid and you will appear puffy. It's true, but when the body is rested your organs will function more effectively and you will look better and appear thinner.

When we are tired we tend to take in more sugar, caffeine and refined carbohydrates to give you an energy boost all of which can put on extra weight. If you want to lose that excess weight try to get the right amount of sleep each night. Latest Research indicates a strong link between lack of sleep and increased weight and this may be just as crucial to shedding excess pounds as diet and regular exercise.

The average adult needs eight hours sleep a night, which means approx 9 hours in bed. People who sleep less than that have a 45% greater risk of being overweight and those who sleep less than four hours have a 75% chance of being overweight.

 

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