5 Sure-Fire Ways to Revive Your Sucky Workouts

Let’s talk about your workouts and how to make them less sucky (unless you’re getting the results you want, that is; in which case, keep up the good work).

There are usually two primary culprits that lead to you having sucky workouts:

1) Too much variety

2) Not enough variety

A paradox, you say? Not quite. As former senior kettlebell instructor Rob Lawrence has said:

“I need specificity to get me strong and variety to keep me sane.”

In other words, you need a balance, of sorts.

As comforting as it is to know that you have workouts that are familiar to you, if results and progress are your goals, you need to step outside of what you’ve already done and into some new territory, lest you become like one of those guys you see in gyms who have been doing the exact same workout since Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a good movie (which, for the record, has been a while now).

However, you also need to avoid becoming like that person who is a kettlebell lifter one week, a powerlifter the next, a bodyweight-only person the week after, a cardio junkie after that, etc. This scenario is equally unhelpful.

So how do you go about getting both variety AND specificity at the same time? Simple. There are 5 ways. Well, more than 5, actually, but 5 main ones you need to focus on:

#1: Exercise selection

If the majority of your pressing has been, say, overhead pressing, even a short amount of time spent doing pushups or dips will go a long way in helping kickstart your overhead pressing.

For example, when I put off overhead pressing for 2 months and instead spent my time working on one-arm/one-leg pushups, not only did I achieve them, but I hit a PR in my pressing immediately after! And my story is not one bit unique; I’ve heard others say the exact same.

#2: Odd angles

If you’ve spent a decent amount of time strength training, odds are you eventually notice an odd phenomenon: you’re able to dominate your workouts, but a friend calls and asks you to move some furniture and that simple task kicks your butt and bruises your ego.

Why?

Because we tend to stick with exercises that allow us to lift more weight or move more of our bodyweight. It makes us feel good and it makes us feel like we’re stronger.

However, the real world doesn’t have many optimal angles and leverages, so preparing for that inevitability by using exercises that strengthen you at ALL angles will make your workouts tougher WITHOUT having to use huge weights AND will be more useful in the real world.

#3: Different rep ranges

This is an all-too common trap that strength enthusiasts like you and me have a tendency to fall into: only doing between 1–5 reps per set.

This is an important rep range for your absolute strength, but it focuses primarily on what’s known as “systemic strength” — i.e. strength built through teaching your nervous system to contract your muscles harder.

“Structural strength” (i.e. strength training that actually makes your tissues stronger, like muscles, tendons, etc) is equally important, and helps you lift heaver, harder, and safer in the long run. Switching to sets of 8–12 or even 15–20 for a short amount of time can help you blast off of years-long plateaus.

#4: Same but different

Doing the exact same exercise, but adding a nuance or different emphasis on a certain part of it, can help you build loads more strength without a major overhaul of your program.

For example, instead of doing the military press standing with your legs shoulder width apart, try doing them with your feet together. That alone can change the nature of the exercise and help you stack on new strength and skill that will take your pressing powers over the top.

#5: In-between strength

As exciting as pressing, pullups, and squats are, when was the last time you focused on, say, strengthening your obliques? Or improving your straight-arm strength? Or maybe your rows?

Remember the axiom: “before you get specifically strong, you must first be generally strong”. Being strong all over will help you get strong at one specific thing when the time comes for you to start working on that.

Stew over these ideas for now.

On that note, if you like training that:

• Gives you more strength than it takes from you
• Improves your stamina and resilience simultaneously
• Powers-up every nook, cranny, crevice, and corner of your Soft Machine

Then you just might like my 9-Minute Kettlebell and Bodyweight Challenge.

As the name indicates, it’s just 9 minutes long, and it’s designed to be done WITH your current workouts — NOT instead of them.

Even cooler:

Many find that it actually amplifies their strength in their favorite kettlebell and bodyweight moves, like presses, squats, pullups, and more.

And best of all, it’s free.

How free?

I’m talkin’ freer than the 4th of July, my friend.

Get thee thine own copy here => http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com

Have fun and happy training!

Aleks Salkin