Joewarrior.com - Secrets Of The Gym - Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Secrets of the Gym

by J.W.D.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone - Shock Your Muscles Into Growth

Most of you have heard of shocking your body into growth. For those of you who haven't, it's based on suddenly changing your workout routine and forcing a reaction. Your body will recognize and respond to the new challenge by working to build and repair itself, thus leading to bigger gains.

What I'm emphasizing is roughly the same idea but performed specifically within individual workouts, such as changing your grip on the bench press. It's easy to slide into comfortable habits, performing a lift exactly the same way every time. Hence, the title, "Get Out of Your Comfort Zone."

I know it can be hard, maybe you can bench more with a medium grip then a wide grip, or for you barrel chested guys, the other way around. Obviously, you would be more comfortable, say, if you could do 5 reps of 250lbs. wide, but only 2 reps with a medium grip. It looks better and makes you feel stronger.

Don't fear lifting less. Strengthening your weak spots will eventually lead to bigger overall gains. So, mix it up. Try dumbbell curls instead of barbell, do cable tricep extensions instead of free weights. I guarantee you will see results.

Here are more examples you can try:

Perform the military press with a barbell, two dumbbells or work each side individually with one dumbbell at a time.
Change the amount of weight and/or number of reps for any weightlifting exercise.
Duplicate any free-weight exercise on a machine or cables, as stated above with the triceps extension.
Slightly change the angle of attack (when pushing or pulling) on any strength training exercise.
Rotate your ab workouts between the incline board, ab machine and exercise ball.

A couple of points to remember:

Generally, you want to build a strong base for at least 8 weeks before making changes.
When your body adapts to your regular training routine, the gains may come slower. That is the perfect time to "get out of your comfort zone".
The variations should be an extension of your present workout plan. You are trying to stimulate growth in the muscles you have been exercising.

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