Hello
@bluejeff
Varying the tempo is always a good idea to break plateau. Below is a recent A. Salkin's article which mentions it, with the regular OVH though, and other moves
“Can You Get Stronger Without Heavier Weights/Harder Exercises?”
Here’s a great question I’ve been asked a time or two: “How can I get stronger without heavier weights or harder exercises?”
There’s a quote I really love from StrongFirst’s Chief Kettlebell Instructor, Brett Jones:
“Lock me in a room with a 16 kg kettlebell and I will get stronger.”
A lot of people seem to think that the only way to get stronger is by adding more weight or adding more reps. And don’t get me wrong, both of these are sure-fire ways to get you stronger so long as you have a few things in order:
1) The right equipment for adding weight
2) Enough time to do more reps
More often than not, this approach will only take you so far — particularly if you train at home and have only limited equipment, or if you have only, say, 20–30 minutes maximum to work out.
So does this mean you’ll have to be content to stay stuck at the same strength and fitness levels forever (or at least until your schedule clears up, you can afford heavier weights, and all the traffic lights of life turn up green for you)?
Hardly.
Kettlebell and bodyweight training offer a few unique options that can help you continue to build tons of useful, real-world strength, muscle, and endurance WITHOUT going heavier or training longer.
Kettlebell
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Ballistics: increase rep speed (i.e. swing/clean/snatch faster).
Remember Newton’s 3rd law: for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction. The faster your reps are on the back swing, the harder your hams and glutes will contract, and the more strength you’ll build.
-Grinds: decrease rep speed (i.e. squat, press, row slower).
Time under tension not only requires your muscles to work harder, it really requires that you exert complete control and really OWN the movement. This is one of world class strength coach Charles Poliquin’s go-to methods for getting his Olympic-level athletes stronger. The extra weight comes later.
Bodyweight
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Reduce leverage (i.e. do one-arm pushups with your hand on a lower elevation — do pistols where you sit on a lower elevation) <- this one qualifies as “harder exercises”, so it may not be useful for you just yet, but it’s still an option
-
Decrease rep speed: (same as with kettlebells)
Both
—
Increase density (i.e. perform more work in less time). This is one of the great things about kettlebell and bodyweight training — the fact that you can walk to your living room or backyard, knock out a quick workout, and be done for the day — no more than 30 second commute time, AND you’ll pack on some serious power and even muscle in the process.
A sample workout would be as follows:
Workout 1
A1) Military press: 5 reps (@ tempo of 2 seconds up on each rep, 4 seconds down)
A2) Pullup: 5 reps (@ tempo of 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down)
A3) Front squat: 5 reps (@ tempo of 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down)
One set on the minute — rest 1 minute before starting circuit over again. Repeat x 3
Total time: 12 minutes
B1) 10 power swings
One set on the minute x 10 sets
Total workout time: 22 minutes
Workout 2
A1) Military press: 5 reps (@ tempo of 2 seconds up on each rep, 4 seconds down)
A2) Pullup: 5 reps (@ tempo of 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down)
A3) Front squat: 5 reps (@ tempo of 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down)
One set on the minute — rest 30 sec before starting circuit over again. Repeat x 3
Total time: 10.5 minutes
B1) 10 power swings
One set every 50 seconds x 10 sets
Total time: 8+ minutes
Total workout time: 19ish minutes
This is far from easy, but light years more effective than waiting around and twiddling your thumbs until you have more time/more weight to work with.
Best of all, it will help you make the most of your training time — particularly if you are limited to only a few training days a week. Not only will you make huge strides with less overall work, but you’ll have some major results to show for it. Maybe it sounds hard to believe, but give it a shot — I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Kind regards,
Pet'