THE PYRAMID PRINCIPLE FOR BUILDING YOUR MUSCLES
That’s amazing how many options are there for changing power load when you work out at the gym. You can make it very light with small weight and workout volume. Or you can make it extra hard by adding heavy weights and increasing intensity. Plus, you can do that not only with weights, volume (number of sets) and intensity (rest between sets) BUT also with various TRAINING PRINCIPLES. Some of them DIRECTLY affect the complexity of the load, others do that INDIRECTLY, by assisting with this hard work. Today I’d like to talk about one of those “assistants”, which is called the PYRAMID PRINCIPLE. You will find out why this technique helps you build your muscles and strength. And also, how to properly use it for this purpose.
THE PYRAMID PRINCIPLE is when you gradually INCREASE or DECREASE weight on the equipment with each subsequent set, while simultaneously decreasing or increasing the number of sets.
WHY INCREASE, WHY DECREASE?
By gradually increasing your working weight set after set you will WARM UP your muscles and psyche, preparing the muscles for hard work in the last sets. This way the principle acts as an indirect assistant. If you decrease the weight set after set, you’ll EXHAUST your muscles out and injure them DEEPER, and also achieve greater growth in the recovery phase. In other words, there are TWO possible uses of the pyramid right there:
- When you START the workout - WARMING UP and preparing your muscles
- When you FINISH the workout - EXHAUSTING and injuring your muscles
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