5 ways to make workouts more intense

Changes in physical form only happen if you challenge your body. Increase fitness progress by increasing the intensity of training.

You are probably familiar with the concept of "intensity training". But what does it mean? In kinesiology, the intensity is a way to determine how much energy your body expends during exercise. This measure, which determines your maximum physical potential. In other words, it is a way to estimate the power.

Depending on the amount of energy you consume, or workout intensity your body will use the fuel in different ways. For example, during exercise of high intensity the body uses carbohydrates because they are a quick source of energy. Unfortunately, your reserves of carbohydrates are limited, and it can Deplete rather quickly, leaving you with an "empty tank".

 





 

Studies have shown that physical exercise of high intensity are the best way to increase the body's ability to use as fuel, stored fat. Consequently, this will allow you to work longer, thus improving your body structure.

Increasing the intensity will not only help you burn extra calories, but will be a challenge for the cardiovascular and muscular systems, destroying the usual load. New challenges improve their physique and increase your productivity.

The following methods of increasing workout intensity will help you maintain muscle mass and will prevent the accumulation of fat reserves.

 

1. Use more weight

Your reps should meet your goals fitness: to improve strength and durability of your sets should include 3-5 reps; if you are interested in building muscle, do 8-12 reps muscular endurance will require 12-15 reps; for hypertrophy of the muscles the last couple of reps in each set you should perform on the brink of their capabilities. A great indicator that you are working with sufficiently large weights, that feeling of muscle failure at the end of the set. If you are doing 15 reps, then the weight is too easy for you.

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of weights. If you don't use a higher weight, then do not give the muscles necessary load, which would be a challenge for them.

 

2. Increase the time of muscle tension

So that the muscles grow, they need to focus during training. The correct load on the muscles is very important in the process of building mass. If you train too long, you run the risk of injury, or unable to deal with this unpleasant phenomenon of overtraining. If the muscles are too few the time are under tension (time under tension — TUT), you did not get the desired result.

TUT is the total amount of work that is performed by the muscles, or total time, when the muscles resist weight during a set. You can change the length of your set for specific purposes: for security purposes, the number of TUT for one set is about 20 seconds; for hypertrophy — 40 seconds; for muscular endurance, try to hold about 70 seconds.

Extending the set of repetitions, you can increase the eccentric portion of the lifts (so you will increase the time the muscles work with each iteration). You can also immediately drop the weight and do a slight pause at the peak contraction for 1-2 seconds.

If you build muscle and your set consists of 8-12 repetitions, each repetition should take 4-5 seconds. Of course, you may think that this "slowdown" will do nothing, but worth a try.

One way to increase TUT is to use a tempo workout. The tempo relates to the speed at which you lift a weight. This is commonly denoted in numbers, for example: 3:1:2:1. The first number is the eccentric or lower phase of growth. The second number is any pause in the middle. The third number is the concentric phase, and the fourth shows any pause at the top of the movement.

You can experiment with the tempo of your lifts. For example, you can slow down the eccentric portion, concentric to speed up or increase the duration of the pause at the peak contraction. Or you can do the opposite.

Workout with a certain pace will help you better control your movements. Long hold in the reduce phase and slow eccentric lifting will cause your muscles to "burn"!

 

3. Shorten the rest periods

Rest time between sets can significantly affect the intensity of the exercise. If you are a powerlifter, most of all, give yourself a rest 3-5 minutes between sets to gain the maximum amount of energy for each lifting. However, if you train for hypertrophy, you can make your workout more efficient by reducing the rest period between sets. For example, can reduce your breaks to 30-60 seconds. This means that you have to watch and pay attention to what you are doing between sets. That is, you will not have time to chat with friends, to sit in Instagram or making selfies. These 30-60 seconds you need to regain strength, drink water or take BCAAs.

If you find that 60 seconds is too long, then shorten your rest to 45 seconds or 30 seconds. Monitor your health and how the body responds to changes. If at the end of the rest time your breathing has not recovered, and you can't complete the next set properly, then take a break more time. But do not over tighten to the point when your heartbeat comes back to normal. It is important that between the approaches it remained rapid, and you feel tired, but not so much that it prevented the fulfillment of the next set.

 

4. Use supersets, circuit training and dropsey

Linear exercises that include 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps will certainly help you build muscle, but there are methods to make them livelier and to increase the intensity of your training.

One of the best ways to add in exercise supersets. They represent the sequential execution of two exercises without rest. The transition from one exercise to another without a break is a great way to get the heart and muscles to work at full.

This idea can be applied to many exercises. For example, you can build a workout around the circle: perform five exercises one after the other without rest; you can relax when you finish the last exercise in the cycle. Circuit training involves the use of a smaller weight, because the intensity of these classes is quite high. At the time, as you pump iron, cycle workout additionally provide the body a hell of a cardio load.

At least a good way to increase intensity is to use dropsey. Do your regular sets, but after the last repetition in the last of them reduce weight and keep the repetition of "light." The point is to use your muscles even after failure.

 

5. Start thinking

There is a clear difference between someone who wants to achieve the goal, and the one that does it. When you are in the gym, your goal is to make sure that the weight that you lift, heavy. If you constantly spend mediocre school, then the muscles will not be subject to calls for further development and progress.

Your workouts need to be difficult. You don't need every day to leave the gym with a feeling of complete exhaustion, but you should feel tired. To progress your muscles should undergo unusual stress.

If you decide to apply methods for improving the intensity of your workout, try to implement them one by one. For example, if you have not tried to increase TUT in their sets, start with that. Follow the results that you achieve when doing your reps longer and try to predict your progress over 4-6 weeks. After applying this method, test to see what changes will occur if you decrease your rest period.

During training constantly follow your progress and well-being. If you start to notice positive changes continue in the same spirit. If you don't like something in training, don't be afraid to make changes. published

 

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

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Source: fitfixed.com/training/advise/5-sposobov-uvelichit-intensivnost-trenirovki/