STOP, You’re Lifting Too Fast!

When it comes to building muscle, I like to break it down into three important components: speed of movement, intention of movement, and knowledge of the muscle you are training. If you get these three components down, then you will have exactly what you need to build muscle.

For intention of movement, you will want to make sure that you are recruiting as much of the muscle you are training as possible. I always say that it’s not just an A-Z approach, but exploring every letter of the alphabet along the way. A deliberate approach to the movement, one the explores the entire range of motion, will allow for more muscle activation and fiber recruitment, leading to greater gains in the process.

Slowing your reps down will allow you to do this even more effectively. Rushing through the reps won’t allow you to consciously recruit as much muscle as possible to the movement and if you are looking to build bigger muscles, then a slow approach will be much more responsive.

When it comes to knowledge of the muscle, knowing the anatomy and functions of the muscle you are trying to recruit will also allow for better activation. Take the chest for example, we know that not only is the function of the chest is to allow us to press away from us, but also adduction of the arms across the midline of the body as well. For a peak contraction on the chest, you wouldn’t just press, but you would try to bring the arms across the midline of the chest as well.

When you have all three of these components in place, you will be well on your way to building more muscle than you previously thought.

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Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).