Getting stronger is all about stressing your body and muscles, and then strengthening to overcome them. Accumulating stress is the foundation of strength training. The only time your body adapts and grows is when you put stress on it. At a certain point, your body needs more of a push than it's used to. It can be easy to become complacent in the usual workout routines. Sometimes you need a kick in the pants to both shock your body and break your boring routine workouts.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the greatest, if not the greatest bodybuilder of all time, was a strong advocate of shocking the body into growth. In his autobiography, he tells stories of going out into the Austrian forest and spending the day doing thousands of reps of squats and making a day of it. In all the fitness books, he has written “shocking the body” is always a crucial element.
There are many different ways that you can give your body that extra stress it needs to keep adapting. Here are a few of my favorite finishers for any workout.
Arms:
Preacher Curl Strip Down: This is a great way to get some isolated bicep action and really hammer your arms. Load up an EZ-Bar on a Preacher (Scott) bench. Put as much weight on as you can to get 8-10 solid reps in.
Crank out as many reps as you can do at that weight, and then drop it down by 5 pounds. Trust me, when it comes workouts like these, the 2.5 lbs plates are an asset. Do another set to failure without rest and drop the weight by another 5 pounds. Do this until you are left with just the empty bar. On my last couple sets when the weight becomes really easy, I like to focus on the eccentric part of the exercise, lowering the bar as slowly as possible before curling it back up. The trick with this workout is to try to do at least one more rep than you did on the last set. Throw this in at the end of an arm workout and you will be sore for a week. (You can also grab a rope and do the same thing with cable triceps extensions to balance out your arms).
Shoulders:
Pressing Pyramid: There are a lot of different exercises you can incorporate into a shoulder workout. Shoulder workouts can include pressing workouts and also lateral and front raises. My favorite way to end a shoulder workout is by doing a pressing pyramid. Although you could do this using a barbell, it is easier, safer, and more convenient to use a shoulder press machine. Set up a shoulder press machine at something that feels light, but still challenging. Start off by performing 30 reps, without rest. Increase the weight by 5-10lbs and do another set of 20 reps. Increase the weight again by another 5-10lbs and do a set of 10. Increase the weight one more time and do another set of 10. Now, comes the fun part. Drop the weight by five and do a set of 20, and then drop the weight by five again and do the last set of 30. Doing this workout without rest in between sets really puts the burn on your shoulders.
Back:
3-Way Row: This is a routine that is best done when the gym is less crowded. Load up a high row, seated row, and low row machine with a weight that you would normally use to do 10 or 12 reps. For five rounds, do one set to failure on each of the three back machines. The only rest you should take is, however, long it takes to get between each machine. To make it even more challenging, throw in a set of back extensions after the low rows.
Legs:
20 Rep Drop Set: Sergio Oliva, one of the few people to ever defeat Arnold in a contest, was said to have done a 20 rep drop set after every leg workout. I did this for about a month every day during my 80 days of squatting every day. Adding that last set of 20 reps made my leg workout feel totally different. It is simple but extremely effective.
Bring Sally Up: This is a Crossfit workout that will kick anybody’s butt who tried. It’s a leg workout that’s full of pause squats with no rest at the top. Throw on around 50 of your back squat and cue up "Flower" by Moby. When the song says “bring Sally down” get into the bottom position of your squat. When the song says “bring Sally up” stand up. It adds up to 30 reps in about three and a half minutes, with most of the time spent in the hole. (You can also use this cadence for other exercises like push-ups).
Chest:
Banded Bench: Bands are a great way to mix up your training style and grow stronger. Most gyms will have bands you can use, and most racks have attachments you can hook them up to. If you need help, just go on YouTube and there are a ton of demonstrations on how to set up bands. For this finisher, start with a weight that you would normally do your first set on bench at. Hook up some bands that start on the bottom of the rack, go around the bar and attach the back to the rack. Do a set to failure of bench press with the bands. Strip the bands off and do a set right after of just the weight, no bands. Drop the weight, throw the bands back on, and do another set. Continue this pattern. Drop weight and perform a set with the bands, and then without the bands at that same weight. This can get taxing quickly so you should only shoot for 3 to 4 decreases in weight for this workout.
Remember, these are exercises that should be done on occasion when you need that extra work in. They are not something that you should be doing on a regular basis. This can lead to overreaching, overtraining, and a loss in gains. Throw them in whenever you need to give yourself that extra push and use them as another tool to keep getting better in the gym.
