How to train to develop lagging muscles? Tips from a professional

How to train to develop lagging muscles? Tips from a professional

It’s much harder to get results with some muscle groups, but we’ve figured out how to fix it.

Some muscles are particularly difficult to pump up, no matter how hard you try. This is usually the case with the calves and deltoids, but some athletes have their own “difficult” areas that are particularly hard to work. Why this happens and what to do in this situation, tells Dmitry Yashankin, honored master of sports in bodybuilding, coach of champions of Russia, Europe and the world, as well as a participant of the multisport festival SN PRO EXPO FORUM.

How to build a training session correctly?

It is necessary to reduce the load on other muscle groups and pay special attention to working out the lagging ones. Bodybuilding and Men’s Physique is an aspiration to harmonious musculature. Accordingly, if an athlete wants to take a leading position, the need to tighten the lagging muscles comes to the forefront.

For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger says in his book that his calf muscles were lagging behind. For them to become dominant in his development, the athlete had to work hard. For six months, he trained these muscles every day, giving them a huge load. If usually athletes perform three exercises a week, he had 4-5 exercises a day with varying degrees of intensity.

As for the deltoids, that’s a special story. If you can load your calves a lot and for a long time, you can’t do that with your shoulders. Too much load can inflame the joints. The same applies to knees and elbows.

When increasing the load, you should carefully monitor the condition of the joints and ligaments. If discomfort and painful sensations appear, it is worth immediately stopping training and using all available means of recovery.

Pyramid principle

One of the methods I use is the pyramid principle: gradual increase and decrease of weight in an approach. At the same time, the pauses between the approaches can be reduced as much as possible or eliminated altogether.

For example, let’s take an exercise with dumbbells standing. If you want to perform 50-60 repetitions, you will need about six approaches of 6-10 repetitions. First, the weight should be increased: for example, you do 20 repetitions with dumbbells of five kilograms, 15 – with dumbbells of seven, 12 – with dumbbells of nine and 6-8 repetitions – with dumbbells of 15 kilograms. Then do the same in reverse order. So you will give a colossal load on the muscles. However, do not forget about a reasonable rest time, so that the body has time to recover.

The principle of the pyramid will also suit girls who want to pump up the gluteal muscles, although they, as a rule, are not retarded. To achieve the Instagram-effect will help 2-3 workouts a week with 4-6 exercises. In this case, each should be performed in 4-6 approaches for 15-20 repetitions. At the same time, you need to keep an eye on your lower back and hip joints so that there is no overstrain.

Timely rest

It is important to remember that after 1-2 months of training in the specialization program it is worth taking a break and reducing the load in the next couple of months to start the next stage.

You can’t constantly put extreme loads on lagging muscles, as this can cause injuries and slow down the growth of volumes. All available methods are suitable for recovery after specialized training: stretching, massages, ointments.