“Harder, better, faster, stronger.” That is not only a Daft Punk song but also how some people would like to see their results at the gym. Here are 11 exercises that will help you grow muscle and see faster gains.
These 11 exercises for faster gains will “allow you to tap into one of the most overlooked and underutilised muscle functions to get better results,” Jeff Cavaliere says. This is called the stretch reflex.
Jeff Cavaliere was the head physical therapist of the New York Mets for 3 years and is now a YouTube sensation. He delivers clear information without noise on his ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel.
The stretch reflex creates greater potential for muscle recruitment and will help you grow muscles faster.
11 Exercises For Faster Gains
- 1. Lying triceps extension
- 2. Dumbbell incline curls
- 3. Underhand pulldowns
- 4. Seated reach row
- 5. Meadows row rollouts
- 6. 3-D cable crossover
- 7. Dumbbell bench press with traps detracted
- 8. Incline side lateral raise
- 9. Barbell squats
- 10. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings
- 11. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlifts for glutes
1. Lying triceps extension
This exercise gets your elbow up and over your head that recruits the long head arm stretch, something you simply cannot get while doing triceps cable extension, for example.
2. Dumbbell incline curls
3. Underhand pulldowns
4. Seated reach row
When performing the seated reach row, leave the handles at a lower level than your midsection. That way, you need to lean forward which will stretch your lats more.
5. Meadows row rollouts
By performing a normal meadow roll but adding a rollout at the end allows you to stretch your back more. “More powerful contraction, more muscle fibre recruitment, better muscle gains in the long run,” Cavaliere says.
6. 3-D cable crossover
7. Dumbbell bench press with traps detracted
Getting your shoulder blades back and down will alleviate your shoulders from helping you during the bench press and naturally will force your pecs to work harder.
Source: Unsplash8. Incline side lateral raise
9. Barbell squats
Because of the deep hip flection at the bottom of the squat, you will have a greater stretch on the glutes.
10. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings
11. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlifts for glutes
The last two exercises, depending on how you do them, will stretch either your hamstrings or your glutes. The difference is whether you hinge or not. By hinging, your glutes will get stretched rather than your hamstrings.
Read More: 12 Mus-Have Exercises In Your Training Program
Image Sources
- alora-griffiths-sAKQGX1Krs8-unsplash: Unsplash
- Rich Froning: CrossFit Inc