Lighter Weight for Bigger Gainz

If you've been lifting for a while, you know that to get stronger and/or gain muscle you'll need to increase the weight of your lifts.  Your body will adapt to a weight/rep range and in order to make progress something has to change.  

This is all well and good however sometimes you can get "stuck" at certain weight.  In particular many of my female clients struggle to increase their weight with the dumbbell chest press.  They'll initially make some progress and then get stuck somewhere 25lbs-35lbs and the next weight up can feel IMPOSSIBLE.  Also, some people work out at home and don't have a wide variety of weights to choose from. Never fear! I have a few ways to make that lighter weight feel a little heavier and help get you stronger in the process.

Option 1: Alternating Chest Press (w/ opposite arm extended)

Set up w/ both arms extended, lower your right arm into a chest press while keeping the left straight. Switch sides.  This lift is a little more challenging for a few reasons. The whole set will take longer and there will be more time under tension for your muscles.  You'll also notice you'll need to stabilize yourself with your core as one arm drops so there's a bonus!

Option 2: Alternating Chest Press (w/ opposite arm flexed)

Bring both arms to the bottom of the chest press, extend your right arm and lower it back down before extending the left.  This version is significantly harder than the extended arm version because you'll be pausing at the hardest part of the lift, really firing the chest/shoulder and triceps muscles.

Option 3: Paused and/or Slow Negative Reps

Slow down the negative part of the movement taking 2-3 secs to get to the bottom position, then pause another 2-3 seconds at the bottom.  These are BRUTAL. Don't feel bad if you have to lower the weight you use significantly.  The time under tension will increase the challenge of this lift without very much weight.

Option 4: Kettlebell Press (1 arm or 2)

Hold the handle of the kettlebell making sure your wrist is straight and perform a chest press.  The weight is to the side creating a great challenge for the shoulders to stabilize it.  You may want to get a wrist band to because sometimes these can be uncomfortable.

If you've been stuck with your flat or incline chest press give a few of these a try. Or maybe you're just a little bored and want to change things up.  I see many folks at the gym lifting the same weight for the same number of reps/sets for weeks, months even years.  First of all, it's great that they've established a solid habit of coming to the gym but they're not going to make many changes in their physique or strength without changing their workouts.

Have you been "stuck" for a while? Need a little motivation to change things up? Subscribe to my weekly email list for more workouts, recipes and tips to get "unstuck".