3 ways to keep your muscles stimulated

When is the last time you had real muscle soreness? If you have been exercising for a long time or have been following the same workout for a long time, chances are that over time your muscle soreness has decreased. Where before you were still sore 2 days after your workout, now it is manageable. This might be nice, but it is also a sign that your body is ready for something new. The best results are achieved when progressive overload occurs: a high enough stimulation to have an effect. And that means that a change within your training is good as soon as you notice that the current level is getting comfortable!

Here are some simple tips you can apply right away to keep your muscles stimulated:

Supersets

In a superset, you combine two exercises that you perform immediately and without rest one after another: exercise A -> exercise B -> exercise A -> exercise B, etc. It's best to target two different muscle groups with a superset such as, for example: (a) bicep and (b) tricep, or (a) legs and (b) shoulders. Tip: add multiple supersets in your workout.

Dropsets

Dropsets combine muscle growth and muscle endurance. Instead of doing all sets with the same weight and number of reps, start at the weight you normally use and do as many reps until you can't do any more. Then take a slightly lighter weight and immediately, without rest, continue again until you can do no more (muscle failure). You continue like this until even the very lightest weight feels heavy. Spicy!

Pyramid sets

A pyramid set is similar to a drop set, but here you take rest in between. This way you can train a little heavier. You start with a light weight with which you can do a maximum of 12-20 reps, then you build up to heavier weights with which you can do fewer reps each set than the previous set. Eventually you get to the weight with which you can perform only 1 repetition. Of course, you can also do the pyramid the other way around (start heavy). Funk it up!