It feels like we’ve blinked and its March already.
Whether you’ve just realised it’s time you got stuck into your New Years resolution or you’ve been hard at work for the last three months and on the road to a chiselled finish, there is always space to ramp up the volume and take your workout to the next level.
Below we give you 5 tips that can supercharge your shred and help you get the most out of every gym session.
90% Reps
You should never be completely extending any muscle during your reps. If you are, then you are losing some tension within your muscles and not truly benefitting. When completing your next set of reps just extend to 90%, this will maintain tension and you will really start to feel the burn.
1.5s
A 1.5 means you need to do one full rep followed by half a rep. For example, when you’re smashing through your push ups you need to go all the way down and return back to half way up, followed by all the way down back to all the way up. As with 90% reps this will ensure there is tension in your muscles at all times (as well as doing another half a rep each time).
Paused Reps
This exercise is great for the end of any session and will help you build a lot of strength.
To complete a paused rep you need to have completed as many reps as you can – almost to exhaustion. On your final repetition you need to hold the rep at the bottom for as long as you can. Now, if you’ve done this correctly you will not be able to push back up or complete the rep, however, you’ll see your strength gains start to soar.
Countdown Reps
This is fairly similar to the paused rep; however, you are not working to exhaustion straight away.
With a countdown rep you need to perform 5 reps of the given exercise and then hold the contracted position for 5 seconds, you then complete 4 reps and hold for 4 seconds and so on. A really challenging exercise here would be to try this with pull-ups (we dare you). You could even test yourself and perform the countdown rep in reverse. To do this, complete 1 rep and hold it for 1 second, then 2 reps and hold for 2 seconds etc.
Cut the Rest Period
After you’ve just lifted your heaviest weights it’s very tempting to spend time replying to a message or taking a few extra minutes to rest. However, research has proven that if you cut your rest period you are more likely to start shedding the stubborn fat. You are basically doing the same amount of work in less time and the body is a master at adapting to a challenge. Try and reduce your rest each week and you will be shredded in no time!
Follow these simple steps and by the time summer comes you will be strutting around parading the results of the last 6 months hard gym work and if you’re still looking for some inspiration for the perfect beach attire then look no further… below are our top 3 items of swimwear.
Fila Vintage Peacoat Tomas Classic Logo Swim Shorts – £34.95
The Tomas Classic Logo Swim Shorts from Fila Vintage comes in Peacoat design. With two side pockets, these shorts feature mesh lining and from the white line range. This pair of shorts also has elasticated waistband and a brand tab to the left bottom.
Polo Ralph Lauren Cruise Royal Seersucker Traveller Striped Logo Swimshorts – £74.95
The Traveller Striped Logo Swimshorts from Polo Ralph Lauren come in Cruise Royal Seersucker colour, featuring a drawstring-adjusted waistband and a logo on the left thigh. With mesh lining and eyelets at the back, these shorts sport side pockets, a front button pocket and a back logo button pocket.
Emporio Armani White Ea7 All Over Logo Print Swim Shorts – £59.95
The EA7 All Over Logo Print Swim Shorts from Emporio Armani come in White colour, featuring a drawstring adjusted waistband and mesh lining. With side pockets, these swim shorts for men sport an all-over logo print as well as a logo on the left thigh.