Nothing too exciting can be accomplished by going into the gym, day after day, and doing 4 sets of 8 reps, and repeating it throughout 3 different exercises. Granted, this is a great type of base routine that you can build off of, but after a year of consistent working out you should be able to do that in your sleep! And sleeping through workouts isn’t a good idea. That’s why smart bodybuilders devise a plan to shake things up from time to time. Whether that means doing giant sets, super sets, or another kind of intensity-boosting endeavor, shaking things up is the name of the game. What? You’ve heard this before??? Yeah, I know… “Muscle Confusion” is not a new idea! It’s a way of life for those who want to continue to make progress!

But how do I know what exercises to do? What works best? And what is that friggen secret that that big-ass mo-fo at the gym isn’t telling me? Steroids? Nope… well, maybe. But steroids don’t make up for a lazy ass workout. Supplements? Sure, they help.  But do you wanna know the truth? Here you go. Ready?

Raw INTENSITY my friend! It’s simply put, INTENSITY. You have to workout with a drive to get bigger. Now, intensity doesn’t mean you have to scream and yell and grunt and lift more weight than you should or compromise your form. It just means to be strictly focused on your goal. And if your goal is to build massive muscles, you probably won’t get there with your typical, every day 4x8x3 workout. Serious muscle mass requires you move a bit more weight than that. And that intensity will need to show up in your diet as well. But that’s not what this article is really about. This article will give you 4 not-so-basic training methods that make working out fun, hard, and effective!

Workout techniques that boost intensity are typically unpleasant and are not meant to be done on a regular basis. If done on a regular basis, over-training will be the sure result. Use a technique (like these) just one every week or two to stimulate growth and activity within the muscle that would not be otherwise stimulated.

“10x10’s” are a great way to begin with intensity-stimulating exercises, but don’t even try it unless you’ve been working out consistently for at least 3-4 months. Injuries suck. But once you have some time under your belt, give it a shot. If you can pass the test on that, you will have graduated to some of the others. Try “21’s” second, and the others only if you dare!

Ten By Tens (10x10’s)

Simply put, this is 10 sets of 10 reps each – on ONE exercise. Doing ten sets of 10 may sound like there’s nothing to it, but it’s a deceiving practice – particularly if you are squatting, benching, or deadlifting. Try it out on a more isolative, rather than compound movement first, so that you can get an idea of how the fatigue will set in. Leg extensions or a back exercise like seated rows may be the best. Take some rest in between each set but not more than a minute or so, because it removes the intensity – which is the whole idea. If you happen to get to failure before your tenth set of ten reps, drop to a lower weight and finish where you left off as quickly as you can. You want to use a weight where you’re not jerking or cheating by using your momentum, but your form doesn’t have to be perfect either. Try this with lateral raises for shoulders one day (nothing else beforehand) and let us know how your delts feel the next day!

2 x 100 (Mega Sets)

Just as you chose an isolation exercise for  10x10’s, you’ll want to start with that here too. We’re sure you’d collapse if you tried it with squats. Again, leg extensions are a good choice because you’re sitting down. Seated rows too, for the same reason. You’ll want to choose a weight that you’d probably struggle with at about 20 reps. Once you get to 20 and you feel this kind of struggle, you’ll drop the weight, rest 5-10 seconds, then continue on. Try to get to 40-50 reps. Drop the weight again and get to 75 after another 5-10 second rest. By the time you reach 75, you’ll be in agony and wonder if you can even make it to the end! But you must push yourself to reach that almighty 100^th rep. Now, once you get there, you may or may not be considering ever trying that again. I know the first time I did squats (with just the bar) in the squat cage when I was a ripe 17 years old, I couldn’t believe how challenging it was… so much that I remember it to this day nearly 20 years later. And I didn’t stop and rest… I just went straight through. I felt like I would never recover and never walk right again – it was a truly great feeling! This is a great off-season growth inspirer. If you won’t concede to getting back in the saddle after the first set, get back in with another exercise and do the whole thing again! But remember, its just not smart to do this more than maybe once a month on the same muscle group. Intensity can look like stupidity if you let it get out of control.

21’s

I know a lot of guys are familiar with this one from way back in the day. Most guys do it with barbell curls and use it faithfully as a great tool for stimulating growth and development within every inch of their biceps. Curls are popular for it because it’s easy to control the weight and there is a big enough range of motion to play with on that exercise… plus, guys like big biceps! Its actually one of the greats. But have you ever tried doing it with any other exercise besides barbell curls? 21’s are simple and you can do them easily by yourself. The basic rule is to pick a medium weight and break up the exercise into half reps… so you have a “top half” and a “bottom half” of the exercise. Then you simply do 7 reps at the top half of your range of motion, 7 reps at the bottom half of your range of motion, then end with 7 full reps (7+7+7=21). Do this with triceps extensions with a rope at the end of the cable machine… or try a lying dumbbell press… of if you are crazy, try leg extensions and leg curls. It’s a great way to stimulate all of the connective muscle and tendon surrounding an insertion point and also a great way to practice your control over free weights.   

Ulti-Pyramid

Choose an exercise which uses a machine weight stack, such as lat pulldowns or seated rows. Pick a very light weight (maybe a third of your normal 10 rep weight) and do only 5 reps. Begin increasing the weight by one plate and do another 5 reps, then increase the weight by one plate again, and get another 5 reps. It really helps to have a partner to change the weight quickly for you since you aren’t really supposed to rest at all between these early sets. When you get to the bottom of the stack (or to your bottom at least) rest for 10-20 seconds. Obviously it will get harder and harder to get the 5 reps as the weight increases but this is the point. You have to keep going though, until you can’t get a full 5 reps - then take your rest. No rest before that. Now, at this point you’ve likely done something like 10 sets, each getting a little heavier. So it definitely gets very difficult! But the exercise isn’t over… its just getting started!  Once you can’t reach 5 reps - and you’ve taken your short break - you then begin doing the exact same thing but back down weight rack. Start with the same weight you ended on and do 5 reps, drop the weight one plate, do another 5 reps, drop the weight… and so on. The goal is to be able to get up and down the weight rack without taking any breaks but that might take some time to get that kind of endurance, so if you need, take a break every 2 or 3 plates. But keep it brief so you don’t lose the intensity of the exercise. Ok, done now? Maybe. But, once you are a real tough guy you might be able to do 2 pyramids back to back… then you can call yourself a badass!

Ok, there you have it! There are many, many more ways to increase your intensity in the gym and out. But these 4 training methods are pretty fun and very effective!