Reader Tips on Gaining Strength

Hey, I have a few tips and workout ideas that are guaranteed to induce a gain in size and strength. The first tip to break out of a rut is to try tri-sets. This generally works best for arms, shoulders, and legs and involves many possible combinations. My personal favorite is to do front raises, lateral raises and bent-over laterals for shoulders with only a 10sec. or less rest between each set. Talk about killer. Tri-sets should only be done once every few weeks or more for natural lifters to avoid overtraining.

Another tip to new growth when you've reached a plateau is drop sets. These work well on most exercises. My personal favorite is to load up the bench with a weight I can do 2-4 times and max out until failure. I then immediately have a training partner (or two) lower the weight about 50lbs to a weight I can press 6 or so times. I reduce the weight
in increments another 3 0r 4 times until I'm almost down to my warm-up weight. Like with tri-sets, these should be used only sparingly to avoid overtraining.

By the way, I am 1 6'0", 215lb collge shot put and discus thrower who carries less than 10% bodyfat. I use these intense techniques whenever I start to get bored with my normal workouts.

-Eric Shuty