Flex Flex_UK__March_2018 | Page 34

MISTAKES TO AVOID The word intensity is often mis- placed—but anybody who’s been trained by me during a Y3T Week 3 workout will confirm that it’s f---ing intense! Possibly the biggest error people commit when applying high-rep training is picking the wrong weight and going too light. As a result, they get to around 80% of the target rep range and start to feel the burn. That’s not Y3T high-intensity high-rep training. By approximately 50% of the way through the set you should be reduced to having to use rest-pause. For instance, if the rep range on the leg press is 60 to 80 reps, at around 30 reps you’ll need to pause for a few seconds to recover. From here you might be doing a handful of reps at a time, breaking the set down like this until you’re reduced to singles. This accurately describes how each set should feel, a vast difference to what most people perceive to be intense high-rep training. Please make sure you remember this when using Y3T, because it will make the differ ence between your experiencing the benefits and not. BICEPS CALVES EXERCISE SETS REPS EXERCISE SETS REPS Barbell Curl 4 12-15 4 12-15 Barbell Curl 3 (dropsets) 20–25 Seated Calf Raise 3 20–25 Leg Press Calf Raise 3 (dropsets) 20–30 3 (dropsets) 20–25 Seated Calf Raise 3 (dropsets) 20–30 Preacher Curl Straight-bar Low-pulley Cable Cu rl NOTES: Keep arms tight to the side of torso to reduce external momentum. Don’t allow torso-generated momentum to contribute toward weight lifted. Externally rotate wrist on dumbbell exercises for more muscle fibre recruitment. 32 FLEX | MARCH 2018 NOTES: Avoid bouncing at the bottom of each rep to exclude momentum generated by the Achilles tendon, improving isolation of the gastrocnemius/soleus. Use an isometric hold at the top of each rep to further increase muscle stimulation. In essence, high-rep training should be intense, acute, and lower in volume. If you’re able to do 20 sets of high-rep training, it is not intense enough, I assure you. Keep the eccentric to two seconds and the rest period to 90 seconds. The rep tempo prescribed for each workout here ensures that the muscle is exposed to sufficient time under tension, creating the hypertrophic response necessary. The rest periods ensure that the muscle fibres and energy systems are pushed without experiencing too much rest. Make sure you’ve eaten all your meals and are mentally prepared. You’ll need everything possible to get through these body-part workouts. FINAL REP