This Bruce Lee-Impressed Approach Can Assist You Construct Muscle With out Weights
Athlean-X founder Jeff Cavaliere C.S.C.S., believes that you simply actually can construct muscle utilizing your body weight alone, and he desires to hammer that time residence.
“Lots of us make the error that we’ve got to make use of both dumbbells or barbells to stimulate new muscle development,” says Cavaliere. “However your personal body weight is a tremendous option to construct muscle—if you know the way to make use of it.”
Based on Cavaliere, one option to obtain that is to implement a way referred to as dynamic rigidity. “It makes use of fixed rigidity utilized to extra than simply the muscle groups you are attempting to construct as a way to amplify the results of the train in your complete physique,” he says. “The important thing to the effectiveness of that is to make certain you’re not targeted on counting reps, however quite making your reps depend.”
You’ll be able to look to the legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee for steerage. Cavaliere says that he used this system to amplify the effectiveness of all of the body weight workout routines he did.
Listed here are 7 strikes you could combine dynamic rigidity into, and find out how to do it.
Pushups
As an alternative of simply pumping by way of reps shortly till failure, you wish to dramatically decelerate the tempo of the train.
“Each on the way in which up and down on each rep, you wish to squeeze each muscle in your higher physique,” says Cavaliere. “Don’t consider it as only a chest train however an all the things in your higher physique train. The shoulders ought to gentle up. The triceps needs to be tensed. The lats needs to be engaged. All the pieces needs to be working to stabilize your physique onerous as you progress by way of each rep of the train.”
He notes that when you could possibly do upwards of 30 and even 50 pushups, by implementing dynamic rigidity, you’ll battle to get even 20 p.c of that quantity.
“The secret is simply to drive as a lot muscle rigidity into the train you’re performing and let the reps fall the place they might,” says Cavaliere.
To get an much more intense muscle construct, Cavaliere says that Lee utilized an intra-set isometric maintain that elevated the depth of the body weight workout routines.
“On the pushup, as quickly as you end you’ll come to a kneeling place and cross your arms throughout your chest,” says Cavaliere. “The adduction on the chest muscle groups is sufficient to create an intense contraction. Maintain it for as much as 6 seconds with the objective being to extend the power of the contraction each second. Relaxation and repeat for 1-2 extra occasions.”
Cavaliere additionally factors out that utilizing dynamic rigidity, your total exercise goes to be shorter in size, however way more intense.
Dips
“On the dip, I am actually squeezing in on the handles,” says Cavaliere. “As soon as once more, not simply performing it like I usually would however actually squeezing in to attempt to create that isometric adduction and activate the shoulders. And on this case, even activate the biceps. I wish to generate rigidity wherever my physique is prepared to offer it to me.”
And as an alternative of resting between units, you possibly can add extra rigidity by participating your muscle groups at a low angle, holding your arms from excessive to low, to imitate the mechanics of the dip. It will hit extra of the dominant head fibers of the decrease chest.
“Go for the power of contraction, growing it each second to 6 seconds, and do both two or three of those,” he advises.
Pullups
“You decelerate the velocity and improve the stress in your complete physique,” says Cavaliere. “I begin by squeezing the bar as onerous as I can. I wish to generate rigidity down by way of my wrist, my arms, into my again, by way of my core. And I wish to be sure that I am squeezing the muscle groups I am making an attempt to work, most significantly, which is the lats. As I come right down to the underside, I am going again up on the similar cadence up and down.”
Between units, hold the stress going 2 to three reps by squeezing the again.
“I convey these elbows again and I actually simply squeeze and maintain for that 6 seconds, thrice,” says Cavaliere.
Chinups
“I deal with it as a chin curl. As I come up I virtually wish to shut down the angle just a bit bit,” says Cavaliere. “You do the fixed rigidity model of a chinup. So I am going down actually sluggish and attempt to battle the eccentric, however on the similar time generate as a lot rigidity by way of my complete arms and again as I can. And as I come as much as the highest, I am actually targeted on closing down the angle of the elbow and actually making an attempt to flex the bicep as if I am curling my physique as much as the bar.”
Between units, the six second biceps squeeze is sufficient to be sure you depart all the things on the desk.
Cobra Pushups
“I squeeze each final little bit of rigidity I’ve into extension into the highest of the cobra pushup. I comply with the identical cadence up and down with each repetition till my physique faucets out. My focus is to verify on the prime of the rep, I am squeezing as onerous as I can by way of my triceps,” says Cavaliere.
Between units, he places his elbows behind his physique and straightens them out to get that intense contraction on the triceps for six seconds at a time for two to three reps.
Handstand Pushups
“I am fascinated by virtually pushing my palms outward on each repetition right here to activate the delts much more, proper into abduction,” says Cavaliere.
Between units, he places his palms collectively and pulls aside, creating isometric contraction of the delts.
Eccentric Step Up/Downs
“I push up at a slower cadence, actually making an attempt to drive rigidity by way of the whole leg from the calf all the way in which as much as the pelvis. And as I come down, I am focusing my effort by way of the quad, however I’ve bought tightness in rigidity by way of the glutes and hamstrings as effectively,” says Cavaliere.
Between units, he drives rigidity by way of the quads by taking that flexed knee and straightening them as onerous as he probably can.
