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Anonymous
>>10742 >Can I achieve this by sticking with my same exercise routine?
Well technically no, you cannot. You need to mix up your weightlifing routine every now and then in order to progress. You'll find that if you stay with a program for more than 4 - 5 weeks you'll hit a wall and will being to get fatigued, frustrated, etc.
A simple solution is to change up volume vs. intensity every 4 weeks or so. I don't know what your training entails, but in short, spend 4 weeks using maybe 70% of your one rep max for a given excersize and doing 3 sets of 12 reps, and then spend the next 4 weeks using more like 85% of your 1RM for 3 sets of 6-8 reps. This will keep you from plateauing pretty effectively :)
For instance:
Lets say the highest amount of weight you could lift for one rep for barbell bicep curls is 40lbs. For the first 4 weeks, you would try doing 3 sets of 10-12 reps using 20-25 lbs, and you would try to add 5 lbs to that working weight each week of the first four weeks...
Week 1 - 20 @ 3 X 10-12 Week 2 - 25 @ 3 X 10-12 Week 3 - 30 @ 3 X 10-12 Week 4 - 35 @ 3 X 10-12
You should only try to add weight if you finish ALL the sets. If not, stick with the same weight until you can.
Now at this point your 1RM will have gone up a bit, as you've been getting stronger. Let's say your 1RM is now 55lbs instead of 40lbs. For the next four weeks, to change things up, you'd try lifting 40-45lbs for 3 sets of 6-8 reps...
Week 1 - 40 @ 3 X 6-8 Week 2 - 45 @ 3 X 6-8 etc... I think you get the picture. It's a tactic called progressive overload, and it'll work for every excersize. Change up the intensity vs. volume to always keep your muscles guessing, and you should always be improving.
Hope that helps...good luck!
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