T
o build more muscle
(muscle hypertrophy)
we need to apply and
maintain tension on
the muscle we wish to grow.
I want to cover some of the basic
principles of training that are so
often overlooked, as they might be
the reason you aren’t seeing the
results you would like.
1.
Working the desired
muscle
If your goal is aesthetic, you want
to improve the size, shape and
strength of that muscle. To do that
you need to ensure you can apply
tension directly to the targeted
muscle.
It is important to remember that
your body will try and find the most
efficient way of moving a weight
during an exercise. Your body
doesn’t particularly have a desire to
change or grow, unless you give it a
reason to. That’s why you need to
ensure that throughout every single
rep, you are applying tension to the
muscle you want to train.
To give you an example; the
shoulder lateral raise is a great
exercise for the lateral head of the
shoulder when it is performed
correctly. However, most people will
use a weight that is far too heavy
for their shoulders (deltoids) and
you then see their traps moving and
contracting excessively.
This happens because the traps
are larger and stronger, which is
why they take over and do the
majority of work instead of the
shoulders. Sure, you’ll feel great
lifting the heavier weight, but your
physique may not thank you for
it as your traps grow at a faster
rate than your deltoids..
The best thing you can do is to
leave your ego at the door. Use
a weight that your target muscle
can work with. A load that doesn’t
break your form and one you can
maintain a good tempo with, through
every rep.
Make sure that the muscle you
want to work is the one performing
the movement and maintain that
feeling of tension the whole time.
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FLEX | APRIL 2018