This DESTROYS Your Ability to Get Stronger

I’d say one of the first milestones for young guys in the gym is bench pressing 225 pounds.

Also known as “benching 2 plates”.

It’s like a rite of passage in the gym.

The problem is that most guys go about it all wrong.

They believe that going to failure and forced reps are their route to getting stronger and benching 225.

When I was a beginner, I thought the same thing.

I figured if I just put 225 pounds on the bar, my body would adapt by getting used to the weight.

I see so many guys use this approach.

• They put 225 pounds on the bar.
• Their spotter helps them un-rack it.
• The bar drops quickly to their chest and they press it maybe 4-5 inches.
• It gets stuck and the spotter helps them slowly lift it.
• They struggle for several seconds to get the bar to lockout.

Usually, the spotter will say stuff like…

“That was all you Bro! I barely even touched the bar”.

There is a big problem with this approach.

You are training your muscles to FAIL.

Slow grinding reps are not the way either.

When you lift… focus on SPEED… and the strength will come.

In my last email titled “Gain Strength… Using Time Travel?” I discussed this a bit.

If I was coaching a beginner to bench press 225 pounds?

I would have them avoid putting 225 pounds on the bar altogether… I’d have them focus on lifting a lighter weight at a faster speed.

I’d have them follow the Reverse Pyramid approach I teach in Movie Star Masterclass.

The sets would look something like this.

• 135 for 3 fast reps (warm-up)
• 165 for 3 fast reps (warm-up)
• 185 for 3 fast reps (warm-up)
• 205 pounds for 1 rep (work set)
• 185 for 3-5 reps (work set)
• 165 for 5-8 reps (work set)

Every single set would be done with speed.

Lifting with speed is a guaranteed way to activate your powerful fast-twitch muscle fibers.

When you do too many sets that are slow struggles…

You are sending a message to your body that this isn’t a safe weight for you to lift… and your body will respond by sending weaker nerve impulses to your muscles.

Over time, your body will send weaker and weaker signals when you attempt a lift.

You don’t want to do too much slow struggling when getting stronger is your goal.

Slow lifting can be used from time to time…

…and there are times when slowing down is more than fine.

When it comes to strength, think speed.

You want JUST enough quality explosive efforts and then get out of the gym.

I cover this in detail in Movie Star Body.

If you want to take your physique to the next level, grab it today.

Talk soon,

Greg O’Gallagher

P.S.

In my programs, the emphasis is on quality sets and reps, NOT quantity.

You have to attack your workouts…

…with focused effort.

If you don’t do this, you won’t get very good results.

And you can’t add more sets to a workout to make up for a lame effort.

One way I accomplish this is with Kino Octane.

I know that once my workout is done, I never get a “do-over”.

For that short time, I need to be in the zone.

Octane ensures a quality workout each and every time.