a little more, have some coasting weeks where you intentionally repeat the
poundages and reps from the previous week or two, and make no attempt to
increase poundages or reps. is lull will enable you to garner your mental
and physical resources for another spell of gaining.RULE
As an alternative to Rule , increase pauses between reps
in order to permit more poundage increments
. While increasing the rest period between sets and exercises will help you to
keep up your reps as the poundages increase, especially if you are perform-
ing multiple work sets per exercise, increasing the between-reps pauses may
make a bigger contribution. As an alternative to Rule , take a few more
seconds rest before each rep.. Only increase the length of the between-reps pauses once you have
exhausted the first eight rules for sustaining progress. As you keep notching
up the poundages, you can take a bit more rest between reps. is should
be enough to get an extra few weeks of poundage progression out of your
current program. is can gradually move you from a regular-style of rep
performance to a rest-pause one. You can even let it take you all the way into
a full-blown rest-pause program where you rest up to a minute between
reps, actually setting the resistance down during the pauses.. Do not take each between-reps pause in a way that you increase fatigue, e.g.,
do not hang from the overhead bar when taking a pause while chinning;
stand on a bench instead.RULE
If you know you are already training very hard, but have
stagnated, try reducing your training intensity
. While most trainees are guilty of not training hard enough, some train too
hard. (Please review Chapter for details.) is appears to contradict some
of the points of this chapter, but I want to cover more possibilities.. If you know you are already training darn hard, and have everything else in
good order but are still not gaining, try reducing your intensity a little. Drop
your poundages by –, and stop taking your sets to failure. Train hard,
but not all out. Stop your work sets or reps short of what would be your
actual limit. Increase the poundages by a little each week or two, so long as