5 “Quick” Tips to Increase Strength
Warning: Captain Obvious suggestion of the day.
1. Creatine: It still dumbfounds me to think that there are people out there who train on a consistent basis, yet are still not taking creatine (and yes, this includes you as well ladies). It’s the most researched supplement in human history and it’s efficacy has been proven time and time again.
*It’s safe
*It works
*It’s NOT steroids
*You do not need to do a loading phase. Trust me. And if any GNC pencil neck retard tells you otherwise, do me a favor and nunchuck him in the baby maker.
Just take five grams of creatine monohydrate (no need to buy the expensive brands) per day in your pre/post training shake or with a high(er) carb meal and that’s that. Here’s a great article written by Cassandra Forsythe and Jen Heath titled Creatine for Women.
2. Deadlift Barefoot: Why? Well for starters, by taking your shoes off you’re now 1-2 inches closer to the ground, which is 1-2 inches less distance the bar has to travel. Secondly, by taking your shoes off you’re now able to pull through your heels. As a result, you’ll recruit more of your glutes and hamstrings to help out. Thirdly, people will automatically think you’re badass cause you’re training with no shoes on. Of course, this is contingent on whether or not your feet smell like you’ve been walking through a sewer all day.
3. Glute Activation: If your glutes don’t fire, the hamstrings and lower back have to do more work than they’re accustomed to doing. People often forget that the badonkadonks are not only the body’s dominant hip extensor, but are also a fairly large muscle (cue obligatory Kim Kardashian picture here)…………………………….BAM!
By “turning on” the glutes with some simple activation techniques beforehand, you will undoubtedly be able to handle more weight when you squat and/or deadlift. More weight=more strength=girls will want to hang out with you.
4. Cut Your Volume: If you haven’t been making any progress in the gym for an extended period of time, it may be time to de-load or cutback on your training volume. One major mistake that trainees tend to make is thinking that “more is better.” At CP, we’re always telling people that fatigue will always mask one’s true fitness.
As an example, lets say we go ahead and figure out your max bench press. Afterwards, you go out and run 15 miles. If we were to test you bench press again, do you think you’ll even come close to your original number? Hint: no.
The fact of the matter is, most trainees who are training with strength in mind would probably do better with less volume. It’s important to learn to fluctuate training stress and to know when it’s best to back off.
5. Rotate Movements: For intermediate and advanced trainees, most would benefit by rotating their main movements more. Try to alternate your squat, deadlift, and bench movements every 1-2 weeks. In doing so, you will keep the body guessing and maybe more importantly, keep your body fresh.
Here’s an example from one of my recent training cycles:
Week 1 (High Volume): Speed Pulls (straight weight) 8×3
Week 2 (Medium Volume): Speed Pulls (straight weight) 6×3
Week 3 (Very High Volume): Speed Pulls vs. Chains 6×1, 2×3 (heavy)
*And contrary to what Eric Cressey thinks, people CAN get strong listening to techno when they train. Am I right, or am I awesome?
Week 4 (De-Load): Trap Bar Deadlift 3×3
6. Quit Being a Pussy and Add More Weight To the Bar: Nothing I can add to this other than to say tampons are on sale this week at CVS. Score!
Certainly there are a million and one “quick fixes,” but these tend to be some of the more common ones I come across that people often neglect. Which one aren’t you doing?