8 Ways to Shock Your Muscles Without Leaving the House :

by female bodybuilders on 1:57 PM in Photo

WHY SHOCK?

If you don't constantly shock your muscles, your body will quickly adjust to your weight lifting routine and you will experience less muscle gains no matter how intense your routine. Your body has the ability to anticipate what you have trained it to expect next, and therefore it becomes more efficient in handling the stress load without having to build more muscle mass/strength/endurance. Your body will always strive to take the easiest path.

THE WRONG KIND OF CONSISTENCY IS COUNTER PRODUCTIVE

Of course, we've all heard how important consistency is to getting in shape. You do not want an intensely consistent unchanging routine, because you are not shocking your muscles.

YOU CAN SHOCK YOUR MUSCLES THROUGH ALTERING YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE:

(1) Reversing the order of your routine, (bicep curls first instead of last). Simply reversing the order of your routine will give you the feeling of a more intense muscle pump.

(2) Randomly work out at different times of the day. Early morning, - early evening (when you are healthy and balanced, early evening workouts will not interfere with sleeping).

(3) Super Sets/Drop Sets. You can start with a light weight, doing as many reps as possible to failure, then increase the weight 5 or 10 lbs, again doing as many reps as possible to failure, until you reach a weight where you can only do 3 or 4 reps. Then reverse, decreasing the weight until you can barely do any reps at 10 or 15 lbs. This will cause your muscle fibers to use up some of its "reserves" which it normally will not do when you achieve a one time failure only doing one or more sets, using the same weight.

(4) Changing the amount of the weight used

(5) Changing the routine itself (exercise the biceps with a slightly different movement)

(6) Change the day of the week you perform a particular routine

(7) Randomize the day you have light workout vs the day you have your most intense workout

(8) Randomize the days you focus on upper body, lower body, abs and core, shoulders, etc.

NOTE: Always allow sufficient time for full recovery, including proper amounts of sleep and diet so the increased intensity does not actually tear you down and possibly develop an injury.