The answer: builds strength. And not necessarily bulk.
As women, we want to maintain a lean figure so we do more reps and less weight. Using this tenant in your workout, you will gradually get stronger until your body plateaus. When your muscles know what to expect and learn the routine, they are no longer challenged and loosen up.
Incorporating heavy weight training days will confuse and challenge your muscles so you can continue to build strength.
Here’s what you you do:
- Warm up set with your normal weight to bring blood flow to the muscle group. 15-20 reps.
- Moderately heavy set so you can complete 10-12 with proper form.
- Heavy set. 5-8 reps, or as many as you can do with proper form.
- Drop set. Start with heaviest weights, do as many as you can. Then immediately drop the weight to something lighter and complete as many reps as you can. Do this 4 times until you’re down to about 5 pounds and burn out the muscle group with reps.
Ok, so if I apply this to a workout, say my “back and biceps” day, I would do this circuit 4 times. Notice dow I give my back a rest when I switch to biceps.
- Assisted Pull ups (all 3 grips, 9).
- Seated Rows (70)
- Squat-row combo (35, see pic above and explanation here).*
- Bicep curls (17.5)
- Bent over row on a bench (30)
- Cable row with a lunge (30, see pic below)*
- Lat pull downs (75)
- Bicep presses (15, Push weights out in front of you instead of pulling up).
For an breakdown of the back exercises, go here. Number in the parenthesis notes my heaviest weight. The * marks exercises that will get your heart rate up.
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