After talking to clients about his or her wants, needs, and concerns, I find a great deal of lifters are unhappy with at least one, if not more, muscle groups. This can be anything from underdeveloped hamstrings to poor symmetry and proportion. One of the most sought after goals in female bodybuilding is improving a lagging muscle group.
If you, too, are in mass confusion on how to get a beautifully shaped and balanced physique, you are about to learn 4 tips on how to improve a lagging muscle group.
When you train, you should make each workout a plan to improve rather than mindless iron slinging. The absolute best way to improve your physique is to strengthen weakness or imbalances.
When you improve an underdeveloped muscle group, you will improve other lifts. For example, if you improve your hamstrings your squats will improve. If you develop better triceps you will improve your bench press.
Generally, if you have a muscle group lagging behind, chances are you don't like to train it or you are intimidated by it. An example of this is legs. How many times have you seen someone's upper body well-developed, only to look down and see a set of scrawny bird legs? This is usually due to being intimidated by legs because to build legs they require heavy squats. You can't build great legs with just leg extensions and curls. You need the mass builder and you need to hit it hard and heavy.
Tip #1 ? Train your lagging muscle group at the beginning of the week If you want to build that lagging muscle group up to speed with the rest of your body you need to put it at the beginning of the week when your motivation and strength are at their peak.
Tip #2 ? Train your lagging muscle group first in your workout To build that lagging muscle group, put it at the beginning of your workout if you have two or three body parts grouped together. By putting your underdeveloped muscle group at the beginning of your workout it will ensure that it gets full attention, and all the strength and focus you have.
Tip #3 ? Start your lagging muscle group training with a compound exercise To take full advantage of your workout to improve that lagging muscle group, start your training off with a compound exercise, a multi-joint exercise where all the muscles and joints of that specific area are called upon to execute the movement. Compound exercises are the absolute best mass builders.
Tip #4 ? Give your lagging muscle group a feeder workout during the week To help boost that lagging muscle group into new growth, add a feeder workout a day or two after you train it.
A feeder workout is a short, high repetition workout a day or two after your principal workout. It gives your lagging muscle group supplementary stimulation without putting you in overtraining mode.
A feeder workout is brief and simple, and focus should be on doing one compound exercise with light weight using 2-3 sets of 20-30 repetitions.
You will find applying these 4 simple tips will dramatically improve your lagging muscle groups and help you create a well-developed and balanced physique.
Conclusion to 4 Tips on how to Improve a Lagging Muscle Group
Give yourself at least 6-8 weeks to notice results. Changes don't come overnight, they occur with consistency and hard work.
Don't try to do a total body overhaul in a one-shot approach. Take your time and every 6-8 weeks choose a different body part to bring up to speed using these 4 tips.
Exercises Per Muscle Group
Everybody's got them. Sometimes you notice them, sometimes you don't. But there is nothing strange about having one side smaller or less developed than the other! It can happen for a variety of reasons, including genetics, reduced circulation or innervation (which is basically the amount of nerves going to the muscle) to the smaller muscle, previous injuries, or even small anatomical differences.
If you've got a significant size or strength difference between sides, this information is for you. The following techniques will help you to even out those lagging bodyparts once and for all!
These techniques can be incorporated into your regular workouts very easily, allowing you to quickly bring up those smaller, less-developed bodyparts. Several of the techniques work by increasing training volume, some work by increasing resistance, while others work by targeting the specific physiological causes of the difference (circulation and innervation).
1. "One and Two and One" Reps
This is a dumbell technique that increases the training volume for the smaller muscle. For this technique, you'll use the same dumbells in both hands.
Start with one rep with the one arm of the smaller part. For example, if you're doing curls, do one dumbell curl with your left arm. Now do a single rep with BOTH arms (right and left) at the same time. Immediately do another rep with the smaller arm again.
Your smaller bodypart will end up getting 50% more work than the larger side.
2. "One and Two and One" Sets
This approach is very similar to the rep technique explained above. This time, however, you will do one set of an exercise for just that single side, rest, then do a set that works both sides. Then you'll go back and do a set with just the smaller side again. This will also increase the "smaller-side" workload by about 50%.
This approach also utilizes dumbells rather than barbells in order to allow for single-limb movements.
This "staggered set" approach is more effective for leg exercises than the "staggered rep" technique explained above simply because it's tough to find an exercise that you can do the "rep" technique effectively with. For legs, you will follow the exact same routine, doing a single-leg set, then a double-leg set, then a single leg set.
3. Uneven Weights
To do this technique, hold a dumbell that is somewhat heavier in the hand of your weaker side. This can be a 5 to 10 pound or more difference, depending on the exercise. Do your set as you normally would but stop completely when your weak side can't continue.
This technique increases the resistance on the weaker side, helping to bring it up to the level of the stronger side. Stopping the exercise when the weak side is fatigued ensures that the strong side does not get stimulated as much. This allows the weaker side to more easily catch up.
4. Use Dumbells For All Your Exercises
Dumbells force each side of the body to take full responsibility for their part in the movement. When using machines or barbells, the strong side can have a tendency to take over the movement and assist the weak side, limiting its development.
Simply switching to completely dumbell-based training for a period of time can help bring up the lagging part quickly without even having to use these special techniques.
5. Targeted Negatives
Finish each bodypart workout with a single set of negative training for the weak side limb. For example, if your left bicep is weaker, when you've finished your regular bicep workout, do one set of negative-only training for the left bicep.
One of my favorite ways to do negative training for biceps is using the Preacher Bench. The bench allows you to stabilize your upper arm more effectively than if you are standing.
Sit in the bench and hold a heavy dumbell in one hand (the weight should just a little higher than your 1 rep max). Now use your other arm to help with the "up" phase of the movement.
Once you're at the top, start to lower the weight down. Fight gravity all the way down - don't just try and slow the weight down...actively try and lift it up while gravity is forcing it down. This is the most effective way to execute negative training.
Have your free hand ready to slow the dumbell to keep it from slamming your arm down if you lose strength.
This technique will help to build strength in the target muscle, helping to address the innervation issues that may be causing the lagging development.
6. Targeted High-Rep Training
Start each bodypart workout with one light, high-rep set for the weak side muscle. For example, for a smaller or weaker right tricep, start each tricep workout with one set of high-rep single-arm pushdowns. High-rep in this case means 50+ reps.
This very high rep set will help to increase circulation to the target muscle, improving its ability to gain mass. This increase in circulation means more available blood, which means more nutrients get to the muscle, which means more muscle growth!
If you've got a lesser-developed muscle on one side of your body, give these training techniques a try. They can help you rapidly even out differences between your two sides.
Both Karen Sessions & Nick Nilsson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Karen Sessions has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Fat Loss and Build Muscle. Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988. She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform their bodies.. Karen Sessions's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Nick Nilsson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Build Muscle, Body Building and Fat Loss. Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of BetterU, Inc. and has been inventing new training techniques and exercises for 17+ years. Nick has written many training books including "Muscle Explosion! 28 Days To Maximum Mass" & "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss" -. Nick Nilsson's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
