Bodybuilding training: intensity techniques

Bodybuilding training is simple only on paper: add sets, add weight and the muscle grows. In reality, you hit a limit fairly quickly, and from then on what counts is how you rest, how you perform your reps and how you distribute the training load.

Why does bodybuilding training need a principle?

During the first few years there are two main ways to raise intensity: 1. gradually increasing the number of sets for each body part and 2. gradually increasing the resistance in every exercise. This works, but only for a while.

The number of sets has an upper limit. For large and more complex body parts, 10-12 sets is usually suitable, and for smaller muscle groups 6-8 sets. Constantly going beyond that no longer means a better workout. More often it simply means overtraining, fatigue and a state where progress stops.

Once the number of sets is already at a sensible upper limit, training quality comes into play. One option is to shorten the rest between sets. This has been used a great deal in pre-contest cycles: the rest interval can be 60-90 seconds during the preparation period, but only 15-20 seconds at the end of the pre-contest period. Honestly, it’s brutal. The weights drop and your energy level drops too, but the muscle gets very dense work.

Bodybuilding training and combining sets

One practical way to shorten rest is to use supersets, tri-sets and giant sets. A basic superset usually consists of two exercises for opposing muscle groups. For example biceps + triceps, quadriceps + hamstrings or chest + lats. Rest as little as possible between the two exercises, and after the whole pair take 30-60 seconds of rest.

• biceps + triceps: barbell curl + cable pushdown; dumbbell curl + dumbbell overhead extension lying on a bench
• wrist flexors + wrist extensors: barbell wrist curl with an underhand grip + barbell wrist curl with an overhand grip
• quadriceps + hamstrings: leg extension + leg curl; hack squat + straight-leg deadlift
• chest + back muscles: bench press + hanging behind-the-neck pull-up; parallel-bar dip + machine pulldown with the hands in front

The second form of superset is even more direct: two exercises for the same body part back to back, with no rest. For example calves: seated calf raise + standing calf raise. For the quadriceps, leg extension + leg press works well. For the chest you can use bench press + dumbbell flyes. The triceps get a heavy load from the combination of lying barbell overhead extension on a bench + cable pushdown.

The next step is the tri-set: three exercises in a row, with no rest. It is used especially for large muscle groups. The shoulder example is simple: the standing press works the front part, the dumbbell lateral raise the middle part and the bent-over dumbbell lateral raise the rear part. A giant set goes even further and consists of 4-6 exercises.

Pre-exhaustion and training to failure

The torso muscles are usually stronger than the upper-arm muscles. This means that in some basic exercises the weaker assisting muscles can give out before the target muscle is really working. So what actually happens? The chest, back or shoulder is left with only a partial load, because the arms can’t keep up.

The pre-exhaustion method helps to fix this. The first exercise fatigues the stronger target muscle in isolation, and the second exercise already uses a larger movement. You must not rest between the exercises, because the muscle recovers quickly and the effect disappears.

• chest, upper part: flyes + press on an incline bench
• chest, lower part: flyes + press on a decline bench, head lower than the legs
• chest, middle part: flyes on a flat bench + bench press
• quadriceps: leg press + leg extension + squat

Training to complete failure means that the sets after your warm-up are performed until your technique breaks down or the movement can’t be completed. The original principle talks about using 100% of the muscle’s energy potential, although for many people it is enough for progress if most sets are done at around 90% power. Here you have to leave your ego at the door. If every workout is a maximum, you often hit a wall.

Hard rep techniques in bodybuilding training

Cheating reps help you get past the sticking point at the end of a set. The idea is not to wreck your technique for the entire set. It is more useful to add 2-3 cheating reps at the end. Example: you plan to do an exercise for 8 reps with 80 kg. Six reps come cleanly, but for the last two you would need to reduce the resistance, by 5 kg for example. Instead, a little help from the body is sometimes used: raising the hips in the bench press or a knee kick in the standing press. A version done with a partner’s help is a forced rep.

Negative reps emphasize the lowering phase. In a normal repetition it lasts 3-5 seconds; with negatives it lasts 10-15 seconds. For pure negatives, do a thorough warm-up and have partners help you lift a barbell 10-20% heavier than you can normally lift into the starting position. One negative set of 4-6 reps per week is enough. This is not a good first choice for beginners and intermediate lifters.

Burns are short, fast partial movements in the start or end phase of an exercise. The range of motion can be 5-7 cm. For example, do calf raises for 10-15 reps with a full range of motion, then follow with 15-20 quick partial reps. The result is that familiar burning feeling in the muscle.

Drop sets work differently. You do 6-7 reps, reduce the weight by 5 kg and continue to your maximum rep count. Then you drop another 5 kg and go again. Two drops are usually enough. This suits large muscle groups and a single compound exercise better than every exercise in a row.

Rest-pause sets take advantage of the fact that a fatigued muscle recovers quickly. After a pause of 10-15 seconds, strength and endurance can recover by 50-60%. For example, on the incline bench press you choose a weight you can lift for 2-3 reps, put the barbell back, rest for 10-15 seconds and do 1-2 more reps. Sometimes the weight is reduced by 5 kg during the pause and 1-2 more reps are done. Don’t go beyond 8-12 reps in total, and don’t use this technique for the same muscle group more than once a week.

Splits, variety and recovery

Variety in training doesn’t mean throwing random exercises into your program. It means deliberately changing exercises, their order, angle, resistance, tempo, sets and reps. If one system runs for too long, the body adapts and the mind gets tired too.

If you train 2-3 times per week, as beginners often do, after 3-4 months it can be hard to work all muscle groups in a single workout. At that point it makes sense to move to a split routine. A double split means two workouts a day: for example, chest in the morning and calves in the evening. This requires proper eating, sleep and often an afternoon nap. Without recovery it isn’t progress, just accumulated fatigue.

Mixed sets help you add ab or calf work without disrupting the main workout. If a bodybuilder preparing for a competition has to do 25-30 ab sets a day, it can be mentally tedious as a separate block. If you need to fit 20 ab sets into a chest and back workout, you can do two chest sets, then one ab set, two chest sets again, and so on. That way the 20 sets add up less noticeably.

Peak contraction, constant tension and isometrics

Peak contraction means that at the end of the movement you consciously tense a fully contracted muscle even further. It suits exercises where you can truly squeeze the muscle in the final position: hanging pull-ups, pulldowns, leg extensions and leg curls, dumbbell lateral raises, barbell curls, bent-over triceps extensions, shrugs and barbell wrist curls. Hold the tension for a few seconds rather than just locking out the joint.

The constant tension principle says the muscle should be working throughout the entire movement. Lifting and lowering are done slowly, with a maximal range of motion and without bouncing on momentum. Sometimes the tension of the opposing muscle is used as well. For example, a triceps set is done before a biceps exercise, so that the tension in the triceps makes the biceps work harder.

An isometric contraction is a static effort: the muscle tenses, but its length doesn’t change. In the old logic of bodybuilding training, the work was split so that 90% of training time went to isotonic, or dynamic, work and 10% to isometric, or static, work. Isometrics helps you get past sticking points and stabilize your body position.

To practice stability in the squat position, you can use the speed skater stance: legs slightly bent at the knees, torso leaning forward, 30% of body weight on the shoulders and the position held for 5-6 seconds. For standing press stability, hold a barbell overhead on straight arms and take one or two steps in different directions; again 30% of body weight and 5-6 seconds. Static positions shouldn’t be held for more than 5-6 seconds.

Young lifters need to be especially careful with training load. Before puberty, resistance of 10-15% was mentioned, 20-25% at ages 14-15 and 30% or more of body weight at age 16. Young people should hold the position for only four seconds.

In posing, isometric work is central. You tense the muscle in the poses for 5-10 seconds and rest for 10-20 seconds. For the biceps, choose 3-4 basic positions in front of a mirror, hold the tension for 5-10 seconds, relax for 10-20 seconds and repeat. At first even 2-3 reps can leave the muscle sore; later the rep count can rise to 10.

Bodybuilding training FAQ

Are all intensity techniques suitable for beginners?

No. A beginner first needs solid technique, steady increases in weight and recovery. Negative reps, drop sets and rest-pause sets are tools better suited to advanced lifters.

When should you stop increasing the number of sets?

Once a large muscle group is already getting about 10-12 sets and a smaller muscle group 6-8 sets, it’s worth looking at technique, rest periods, tempo and recovery before adding more volume.

Does isometric work build muscle?

Yes, but it’s an added technique, not the foundation of the whole program. Isometrics helps you hold positions, get past sticking points and control the muscle better when posing.

Related articles: Bodybuilding training principles, part I

Author:Turg.Fitness.ee

Source: WHO – physical activity.

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