5 Ways to increase your Strength

Sick of the gym? Not getting stronger? Never fear I have 5 different training techniques that in 5 weeks can break you out of your training rut.

They are; greater mobility, grip strength, improved stability, core strength and a great strength builder called ''Grease The Groove''!

Mobility

To ensure joint safety and maximise the body's ability to lift, the major joints of the body need to be taken through a full range of motion. Gym warm ups commonly fail to address the 3 essential elements needed for a successful strength. Dynamic stretching for more efficient movements, exciting the nervous system for greater lifts, also the specific encouragement of circulation to joints and connective tissue. The particular sequence below is  one such example; 

• Divebomber Pushup  
• Walking Lunge with a Twist
• Alligator Crawl
• Fire Hydrant
• The Egytian

Grip Strength

Grip strength is one of the most neglected aspects of training yet one of the simplest to improve. By consistantly improving your grip strength you improve shoulder health and stability by recruiting more muscle fibers in the rotator cuff . A stronger grip will enable greater tricep activation which will assist any pressing movements. The improved ability to grip creates the capacity for heavy lifting, allowing you to tap into greater levels of strength.Some exercises that can really help are;

• Captains of Crush grippers
• Thick Bar training
• Farmers Walk
• Eagles Loop
• Rope Chins

Stability

We have to find new ways to challenge your nervous system, so lets get unstable. By putting the body off balance you must must use more muscles to successfully complete the exercise. Examples of getting unstable are:

• One legged deadlift
• One leg squat (pistol)
• Suitcase deadlift
• One arm overhead press
• One arm push ups

Core Strength

Want to improve your core strength? Stop doing crunches and sit-ups! These exercises are low intensity and don't translate into a stronger mid section. Traditional ab exercises train the body for non specific muscle endurance - where what's required is a strong and functional core that can stabilise the body through all activity.

To achieve a stronger core the body must be worked through many ranges of motion. Some great core stengh traning exercise are:

• Hanging leg raises
• Power wheel roll out
• Torsonator twist
• Windmill
• Deadlift

Grease The Groove

Strength is a skill. Like all skills this must be practised regularly to see improvement. Greasing the groove is a technique that can be applied to most forms of strength training. Instead of working with maximum effort weights two or three times a week, choose lighter loads (approximately 80% of maximum load) and perform the particular lifts more regularly throughout the day. I.e. execute a certain lift on the hour every hour for a minimum of three times per day but no more than eight times.

In the coming weeks I'll expand on these concepts and put together a series of videos and training programmes

Consistancy is the key my people, Da Vie!!