5 Techniques To Increase Workout Intensity
- 3 Second Negatives
Slow the descent of your lifts down, and feel the burn. When you start to do 3 second negatives (lowering slowly), you’ll lessen the amount of weight you can use, but as your muscles adapt, they’ll get stronger and your weight will come right back up, except now you’ll be able to completely control the weight from start to finish. - Drop Sets
Immediately after you’ve done all your reps, drop the weight load down and jump straight back in without rest for another load of reps. This will massively increase the time under tension on your muscles, the burn is like nothing else, you’ll sweat bucket loads and build some awesome lean muscle. Perform as many ‘drop’ as needed for greater intensity. - Dead Stops
Stopping and pausing at full stretch of your exercise for 2–3 seconds then exploding back into the rep is not only a great way to tax your muscles even harder, but this method is a great way to improve your strength as you’re teaching your body to hold, control and stabilise under timed load. Try dead stops on a leg press (holding at the bottom of the press) to see what it’s all about! - Uni-Lateral Work
Think certain exercises burn, hurt, really push you? Try doing them one limb at a time. Take leg press again, after repping out with both legs for 10 reps, try going straight in to single leg pressing for another 10 reps each leg. One almighty burn and huge intensity. Why would you want it easy anyway? Nothing grows in comfort. - Timed Finishers
Done all your sets? Try doing one final lighter set, but time yourself for say, 60 seconds…and do as many reps as you physically can within the time frame. This will push you to failure and end a workout the way it should feel…intense!
