15 Advanced Strength Training Techniques for Muscle & Strength

In this article, we review 15 advanced strength training techniques to help you take your workouts to the next level.

They go beyond standard training methods and allow you to do more, work harder, and improve your gains.

Be aware that they called advanced for a good reason. While they can help boost your training intensity, they also require paying closer attention to recovery to avoid overtraining.

What Are Advanced Strength Training Techniques and Who Are They for?

These are not basic strength training techniques (like progressive overload, recovery, and specificity) or training variables like volume, frequency, or intensity that everyone must incorporate into their workout routine.

Instead, they are advanced techniques that can bring you additional benefits once you have the basics down to pat. Things like stopping your body from getting too comfy, busting through plateaus, and even preventing boredom.

Most of these advanced strength training techniques are not for beginners. You need a solid foundation of straightforward weight training before taking on more advanced strategies. But once you do, they can be very helpful for jumpstarting your progress.

Before you dive into more advanced training strategies, you should have a grasp of the following:

• You know how to perform different exercises for all major muscle groups. If you don’t yet, learn proper form or get help from a certified personal trainer who can show you the ropes before you embark on more advanced training techniques.
• You’re past the beginner stage and at least well into intermediate-level trainee status. During the first year of your strength training career, you should focus on basic principles like progression and overload.
• You have a basic grasp of nutrition for strength training and understand the importance of proper recovery and rest days.
• You know how to train for your fitness goals without advanced strength training techniques. You’re well-versed in the proper training intensity, volume, and frequency regardless of whether you’re training for strength, power, muscle growth, or athletic performance.

If you still a lifting newbie, check out our complete guide to strength training for beginners:

>> Strength Training for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide

Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the 15 best advanced strength training techniques!

Drop Sets

Drop sets are one of the most popular advanced strength training techniques, used by bodybuilders looking to increase training intensity and by fitness enthusiasts who want to save time.

A drop set involves performing an exercise until failure (when your muscles can’t do another repetition with good form) with a particular weight, then quickly reducing the weight and continuing to do more reps, again until failure.

For example, let’s say you’re doing dumbbell curls. At the end of the set, when you think you can’t do another rep, instead of calling it quits, you switch to a pair of lighter dumbbells and keep going.

You can repeat this process multiple times, dropping to a lighter weight again and again.

The idea of drop sets is to exhaust your muscles beyond their point of fatigue, stimulating greater increases in muscle growth and metabolic stress, showing those muscle fibers who’s the real boss around here.

Do Drop Sets Help You Build Muscle?

Yes and no.

Research shows drop sets are at least as effective as regular straight sets for muscle growth, strength gains, and muscular endurance.

However, they likely aren’t more effective. One drop set gives you three times the muscle size gains as one regular set, but that’s because of the high volume of an extended drop set. Do three regular sets, and there is no difference.

Long-term studies find no difference in muscle growth from drops compared to standard straight sets.

Instead, the benefits of drop sets lie in their time efficiency. They’re a fantastic way to do more work in less time.

They also boost your growth hormone significantly more than straight sets. However, whether hormone release during training sessions leads to more muscle gain is questionable at best.

In short, the drop-set training method saves time and is just as effective as regular straight-set strength training. And it’s a great way to get the pump of your life. Don’t expect it to be your golden ticket to more muscle mass, though.

Read more:

>> Drop Sets: Save Time & Build Muscle

References

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Supersets

A superset is a pair of different exercise sets performed without rest.

It’s a simple concept: you perform two exercises back-to-back with little to no rest in between. You take your regular rest intervals between supersets, do another superset, and continue until you’re done with the exercise.

There are two main types of supersets: agonist and antagonist supersets.

Agonist Supersets

Agonist supersets are like best friends working together. You perform two exercises that target the same muscle group or groups (the agonists).

An example is doing a set of barbell bench presses followed immediately by dumbbell chest flyes. Both focus on your pecs, helping you fatigue the muscle thoroughly in a shorter time.

Other examples of agonist supersets include:

• Leg extension supersetted with leg press.
• Pull-up supersetted with seated cable row.
• Barbell curl supersetted with machine bicep curl.

Antagonist Supersets

In this thrilling storyline, the protagonists and antagonists join forces for the greater good. Here, you perform exercises that target opposing muscle groups.

For example, you might do a set of bicep curls (working the biceps, the agonists) followed by tricep extensions (for your triceps, the antagonists) with no rest in between.

In this scenario, one muscle group gets to rest while the other works. Again, you save time, and some studies show improved power output from this type of superset training.

Some examples of antagonist supersets include:

• Bench press supersetted with barbell row
• Overhead press supersetted with lat pulldown
• Leg extension supersetted with leg curl
• Cable curl supersetted with triceps pushdown

Benefits of Supersets

• The number one benefit of supersets is that you save time. You eliminate much of the time you would have spent staring into nothing or fiddling with your phone, and you get more done in less time.
• Speaking of time, supersetting gives you a significant increase in training volume in less time than traditional sets. If you only have a limited time to work out, doing supersets is more effective than resting too little between regular sets.
• Last but not least, they give you a great pump. Some believe the pump promotes growth; others don’t, but it does feel awesome.

Do Supersets Help You Build Muscle?

If you need a time-efficient workout strategy, supersets are one of the leading training variables you can introduce to shorten your sessions without compromising your gains.

However, there is no evidence that supersets per se are more effective for muscle growth than straight sets.

In addition, supersets might not be optimal for gains in muscle strength. You don’t want to rush your sets when you goal is to get as strong as possible. On the other hand, supersets are great for muscular endurance.

Read more:

>> Are Supersets Good for Muscle Growth and Strength?

References

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Trisets

Trisets are the next step up in advanced training techniques from supersets.

Unlike supersets, which involve two exercises, trisets increase the intensity by adding a third exercise into the mix. Instead of doing two sets without rest, trisets involve performing three exercises back-to-back with little to no rest in between.

You can apply trisets to the same muscle group, antagonistic muscle groups (like biceps and triceps), or completely unrelated muscle groups.

Benefits of Trisets

The benefits of trisets are similar to those of supersets.

• By performing three exercises in a row, you significantly increase the training intensity, which leads to more metabolic stress and potentially greater gains in muscle endurance.
• Trisets can make your workouts more time-efficient, even more so than supersets, by packing more work into a shorter period. Fantastic if you have limited time to exercise but still want results.
• Incorporating trisets into your strength program can help you break through a sticking point or plateau by challenging your muscles in different ways than they’re accustomed to.

Because they are such a high-intensity training technique, trisets are not suitable for beginners. Before taking them on, you want a solid foundation of strength and conditioning. This type of training also requires optimized post-workout strategies to mitigate muscle damage and fatigue.

A neat effect of trisets is that they make your muscles swell up from the tremendous pump after a workout: great if you want to look extra swole, if just for an hour or two.

References

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Giant Sets

What do you get if you take supersets or trisets and increase the intensity even further?

Giant sets!

Giant sets are one of the most grueling advanced strength training techniques and involve performing four or more back-to-back exercises with little to no rest.

All exercises in a giant set usually focus on the same target muscle group. However, you can switch things up by incorporating exercises for opposing muscle groups or multiple different muscle groups for a full-body workout in record time.

Benefits of Giant Sets

There is little research on giant sets, but you can expect the same things you get from supersets and trisets, amplified even further.

• The continuous metabolic stress, lactic acid, and fatigue on the muscle might lead to increased muscle growth due to the higher volume of work done in a short period.
• Giant sets allow you to complete a very high training volume in a short time.
• The endurance of your muscles improves from the continuous effort without rest as long as you can recover from it.
• Incorporating giant sets into your training routine can offer substantial benefits for the advanced trainee, especially if you’re looking to increase workout intensity, save time, or push past a plateau.

However, you want to approach giant sets with caution, particularly if you’re new to strength training. They’re for intermediate lifters and above; even highly trained athletes likely get the best results from using them sparingly while paying attention to recovery tactics and nutrition.

Pyramid Training

Pyramid training is one of the most common advanced strength training techniques where you progressively increase or decrease the weight and the number of repetitions with each set.

There are several types of pyramid training. The most common are:

Ascending Pyramids

You start with lighter weights and higher repetitions, increasing the weight and decreasing the repetitions with each set.

For example, if you’re doing bench presses, you might start with 12 reps at 135 lbs, then do 10 reps at 155 lbs, 8 reps at 175 lbs, and finally 6 reps at 195 lbs.

Other terms for ascending pyramids are positive or light-to-heavy pyramids.

Reverse Pyramids

The opposite of traditional pyramid training. You begin with the heaviest weight you can handle for a lower number of repetitions and then decrease the weight and increase the repetitions as you go.

Properly warming up is paramount in reverse pyramids; you don’t want to jump straight into your heaviest set with cold muscles.

For example, you might start with 6 reps at 195 lbs, then 8 reps at 175 lbs, 10 reps at 155 lbs, and finishing with 12 reps at 135 lbs.

Other terms for reverse pyramids are descending or heavy-to-light pyramids.

Full Pyramids

Full pyramids combine both ascending and descending pyramids. Picture a complete pyramid: you start at the broad base (lighter weights, higher reps), ascend to the peak (heavier weights, lower reps), and then descend back down.

For example, starting with 12 reps at 135 lbs, moving up to 6 reps at 195 lbs in several steps, then going back down to 12 reps at 135 lbs would constitute a full pyramid.

Does Pyramid Training Help You Build Muscle and Strength?

They sure do. Although not more so than traditional straight sets and workouts.

Research suggests that both are equally effective for muscle growth and strength. In some cases, pyramid training might have the edge as it gives you similarly good results but with a lower training volume.

Reverse pyramids are likely more effective but also more demanding and require more of you in the recovery department.

Read more:

>> Pyramid Training for Building Muscle and Strength

References

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Cluster Sets

Cluster sets are a strength training method that incorporates short rest periods within a set to allow for greater volume, intensity, or both.

In essence, you break down a traditional set into smaller sets, or “clusters,” with brief (10–30 seconds) pauses in between. They help you manage fatigue, lift heavier loads, or perform more reps than you could in a standard set.

Unlike rest-pause training (discussed later) you use a specific weight for a determined number of reps while usually avoiding failure.

Benefits of Cluster Sets

• By allowing short rest periods within sets, cluster sets can help you maintain high levels of force and power output across all repetitions. That could be particularly beneficial for strength and power athletes.
• Cluster sets produce less metabolic stress than standard straight sets. However, the greater mechanical stress from using heavy weights more than makes up for it, potentially leading to increased muscle growth over time.
• Cluster sets allow for similar strength gains with less perceived effort. In other words, you do the same amount (or more) work, but the rest intervals during the sets make it feel like less work.

Example Cluster Set for Strength

• Exercise: Squat
• Set-Up: 3 clusters per set
• Reps: 2 reps per cluster
• Weight: 85-90% of 1RM
• Rest: 20 seconds between clusters, 3-5 minutes between sets
• Total Sets: 3-4

Example Cluster Set for Hypertrophy

• Exercise: Bench Press
• Set-Up: 2 clusters per set
• Reps: 4 reps per cluster
• Weight: 75-80% of 1RM
• Rest: 30 seconds between clusters, 2-3 minutes between sets
• Total Sets: 4-5

As far as advanced intensity techniques go, cluster sets are fairly straightforward. Incorporating them into your strength program can be a powerful way to overcome plateaus, increase training intensity, and possibly stimulate new muscle growth.

References

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Partial Reps

Partial reps are when you intentionally limit the range of motion in an exercise.

Instead of moving through the entire possible range, you might only move through a portion of it. That portion can be the top half, the bottom half, or any other segment of the range of motion.

Benefits of Partial Reps

You can employ partial reps for several reasons depending on your fitness goals and status:

• Focusing on the weakest part of your range of motion can improve your strength in that area, which can translate to improvements in the full range of motion.
• Partial reps can be helpful for rehabilitation. If an injury prevents you from performing a full range of motion, working within a pain-free range helps you maintain strength and muscle mass during recovery.
• Partials can be used to increase strength at particular points within a lift.
  For example, if you’re struggling with the lockout phase of a bench press, doing partial reps that focus on the top part of the movement can improve your strength in that specific range.
• If you have a sticking point in a lift (a point where the lift becomes particularly challenging), partial reps can help you develop the power and strength to push through that specific part of the movement.

Beginners should focus on a full range of motion. You strengthen your muscles throughout the entire range and will likely get better results in all areas (muscle growth, strength, and flexibility).

However, an advanced lifter can utilize advanced strength training techniques like partial reps for even better results. It’s likely a good idea to utilize both full and partial ROMs in your training, with full being the bread and butter and partial being the filling on the sandwich that makes it extra yummy.

References

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Eccentric Reps (Negatives)

Eccentric reps, also known as negative repetitions, are a strength training technique that focuses on the eccentric phase of a lift. The eccentric phase occurs when the muscle elongates under tension, as opposed to the concentric phase when the muscle shortens.

In simple terms, the eccentric phase of a bicep curl is when you lower the weight back down after curling it towards your shoulder.

Eccentric training is very effective for increasing muscle strength and hypertrophy (muscle growth). Eccentric contractions place a higher load on your muscles, leading to greater adaptations in the muscle fibers.

Also, muscle damage after negative reps is much higher. That damage might trigger muscle growth as your body works to repair the microscopic tears, ultimately overcompensating with stronger and larger muscles.

Benefits of Eccentric Training

• In the eccentric phase of a repetition, you are approximately 20–50% stronger than in the concentric. That means that even when you aren’t yet strong enough to lift a certain weight, you can still do the eccentric phase and build muscle and strength as if you were.
• Research shows that eccentric training is significantly more effective than concentric training for building muscle. Most of that difference is because studies match total repetitions done. For example, the participants might do 10 reps of either eccentric or concentric work. Because you are much stronger in the eccentric phase, that group gets an automatic advantage from lifting more weight.
• Eccentric training can increase muscle length and architecture, with significant improvements in flexibility. The controlled muscle lengthening during the eccentric phase forces your body to adapt by adding sarcomeres to your muscle fibers that can handle a longer range of motion.
• Eccentric exercises are often used in rehabilitation settings to help patients recover from injuries. They strengthen muscles and tendons without placing excessive stress on them, which is ideal for recovery. Eccentric training can also help prevent future injuries.

In short, including eccentric repetitions in your workout routine can lead to faster and potentially greater muscle growth.

However, that doesn’t mean you should only do eccentric reps.

On the contrary, both concentric and eccentric reps are important for optimal development. That being said, a great way to gain strength, power, and performance faster is to include at least some eccentric work where you handle heavier weights than you can do full reps with.

How to Use Eccentric Reps

There are many ways to reap the benefits of eccentric reps. Here are a few suggestions.

• The simplest way to incorporate eccentric reps is to slow down the lowering phase of your exercises. Instead of lowering a weight with the usual tempo, take 3 to 5 extra seconds and resist it all the way.
• Focusing solely on the eccentric phase of your lifts by starting in the contracted position, then control the weight on your own during the lowering phase. This method is very effective in exercises like pull-ups or dips, where you can jump to the top position and then slowly lower yourself down.
• Have a training partner assist you with the concentric phase, then resist the weight during the eccentric phase. You can handle heavier weights than you usually would be able to lift on your own and get all the eccentric benefits. In exercises like the bicep curl, you can also “cheat” just enough to get the weight up, then focus on resisting it on the way down.

References

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Rest-Pause Training

Rest-pause training is one of the most demanding advanced training techniques you can use in a strength training program.

It involves taking brief rest periods to squeeze out more reps than you would otherwise have been able to perform in a single set. You break down a set into several mini-sets, with short rests in between, to increase intensity and volume.

Rest-pause sets might sound similar to cluster sets, but there are several differences.

• Cluster sets keep fatigue low and allow you to maintain form while maintaining power output. You do a pre-determined number of reps within each mini-set and avoid muscular failure.
• Rest-pause training, on the other hand, involves taking a set to failure, resting for a few seconds, and then grinding out a few additional reps until you can do no more. The number of reps isn’t pre-determined but dictated by failure.

Benefits of Rest-Pause Training

• Rest-pause training pushes your muscles beyond their usual fatigue point and creates additional stimulus for growth and strength gains. 
• Several studies show that rest-pause training is at least as effective as traditional resistance training and often even more so for building muscle and strength.
• Rest-pause training allows for a high volume of work in a shorter amount of time, making your workouts more time-efficient.
• The rest-pause system can be applied to virtually any exercise, making it a flexible tool in your training arsenal.

How to Implement Rest-Pause Training into Your Workout Routine

• Rest-pause training is effective with both compound movements (like squats and bench presses) and isolation exercises (like bicep curls and leg extensions). However, you must be careful to use it with exercises you can safely perform to failure. Deadlifts, for example, might not be a great idea, as the risk of injury increases as your form breaks down.
• A complete rest-pause set typically involves using a weight you can do 10–12 reps with. The last rep should be virtually impossible to complete.
• Do your 10–12 reps followed by 3–4 short sets within the set. Rest only a short time between those sets (10–15 seconds) and grind out 2 to 5 additional repetitions each mini-set until complete physical exhaustion.

Rest-Pause Variations

• A strength-focused rest pause uses heavier weights (around 85-90% of your 1RM), fewer reps per mini-set, and longer rest periods.
• A hypertrophy-focused rest-pause uses slightly lighter weights (around 70-80% of your 1RM) with more reps per mini-set and shorter rest periods.

Because rest-pause training is so demanding, you should use it judiciously. Don’t utilize this training technique every set of every workout; instead, use it to enhance intensity for one or two exercises per session. Maybe just the final set of an exercise.

References

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Pre-Exhaustion Training

The pre-exhaustion training method involves performing an isolation exercise that targets a specific muscle group, immediately followed by a compound exercise that engages the same muscle group. It was proposed by Arthur Jones in the 1970s and popularized by bodybuilders like Mike Mentzer.

The goal is to fatigue the target muscle with the isolation exercise so that it has to work harder during the compound movement, leading to increased strength and muscle gains.

Does Pre-Exhaustion Training Help You Build Muscle and Strength?

Several studies look at the effects of pre-exhaustion training on strength and body composition.

Most of them find that pre-exhaustion does indeed work but offers no greater benefit than regular straight sets or doing the compound movement before the isolation exercise.

However, it is important to note that, after 50 years of research, studies have yet to use the methods suggested initially by Jones, the ones he claimed produced the best results. Those methods include eliminating any resting between exercises (“not even two seconds of rest”), using lighter loads for at least 20–30 reps in the isolation exercise, and combining specific exercises, like the lateral dumbbell raise immediately prior to the military press, and machine pullovers immediately followed by pull-downs.

In the available studies, the researchers make up their own concepts of what constitutes pre-exhaustion. So far, there is no evidence that it is superior to regular straight sets.

How to Implement Pre-Exhaustion Training into Your Workout Routine

1. Start with an isolation exercise that targets a specific muscle or muscle group. Isolation exercises focus on one joint and primarily target a single muscle group (e.g., leg extensions for the quadriceps or cable flyes for your chest).
2. Immediately after the isolation exercise, perform a compound exercise that works the pre-exhausted muscle along with other muscle groups. Compound exercises involve multiple joints and muscle groups (e.g., squats, which also target the quadriceps but include glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, or bench presses, which involve your shoulders and triceps in addition to your pecs).
3. The transition from the isolation to the compound exercise should be done with minimal to no rest. When you start the compound exercise, the target muscles should be fatigued, making you reach muscular failure not because of any “weak link” but because your target muscle is completely exhausted.

References

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Forced Reps

Of all the advanced strength training techniques available, forced repetitions are often one of the first utilized by fitness enthusiasts.

Forced reps are a resistance training technique used to push beyond momentary muscular failure—the point during a set where you can’t complete another rep with good form on your own.

What Forced Reps Involve

To perform forced reps, you need a knowledgeable spotter who can help you complete a few extra reps once you can’t do any more on your own. They must provide just enough assistance to allow you to complete the rep without taking over the lift too much.

Forced reps are most effective on exercises where your spotter can easily assist. For example, the spotter can stand at the head of the bench ready to pinch in when you do bench presses or stand in front when you do biceps curls, lending a helping finger when the bar won’t move.

In unilateral exercises that involve using one limb at a time, you can also be your own spotter, like in dumbbell preacher curls, where you can use your free hand to give yourself a boost.

Do Forced Reps Help You Build Muscle and Strength?

Maybe.

Many lifters believe that forced reps can stimulate additional muscle growth by pushing the muscles beyond their usual limit through increased muscle fiber recruitment, time under tension, and metabolic stress.

Research supports such theories, at least when measured for a few hours after a workout. However, short-term effects do not necessarily mean greater gains over time.

There is little scientific evidence to support forced reps over simply terminating your sets at or near muscular failure for improved strength and muscle gain.

There is, however, plenty of anecdotal evidence lending support to forced reps. And there is nothing wrong with implementing them in your weight training routine.

Remember that forced reps are very demanding on your body and central nervous system. Use them sparingly, especially if you’re a beginner. Consider using them in the last 1–2 sets of an exercise and not for every workout.

References

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Back-Off or Backdown Sets

Back-off sets are a strategic way to manage intensity and volume within a workout session.

After completing the main sets of an exercise with heavy weight, close to your maximum effort for a given number of repetitions, you perform additional sets with a lower weight.

The lighter sets are known as “back-off sets.”

Benefits of Back-Off Sets

• Adding more sets at a lower intensity increases the total volume of your workout (sets x reps x weight), which is a key driver of gains in muscular strength and size.
• With the decreased weight, back-off sets allow you to focus on and improve your exercise form and technique without heavy loads causing fatigue. You’ll still train close enough to your one-rep max for great strength gains but not too heavy so as to overstress your body and nervous system.
• Switching to lighter weights can also provide a mental break, allowing you to continue your workout with reduced psychological stress after that super-heavy top set.
• Lastly, another potential benefit of back-off sets is post-activation potentiation (PAP). The basic idea behind PAP is that performing a heavy lift or explosive movement primes your muscles to perform better after a short recovery period. Some research suggests that using back-off sets can improve performance in compound movements within training sessions, both for the upper body and the lower body.

How to Implement Back-Off Sets into Your Workout

To implement back-off sets, you would typically reduce the weight by 10–20% from your heaviest sets and perform the same or a slightly higher number of repetitions.

For example, if you did your main sets of squats at 200 lbs for 5 repetitions, a back-off set might involve reducing the weight to 170 lbs and performing 5–8 reps.

References

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Staggered Sets

The staggered set approach involves doing sets of exercises for different muscle groups in an alternating or “staggered” manner:

1. You start with a set of exercises for a major muscle group, like your chest, back, or legs—your primary exercise for that part of the workout.
2. Instead of collapsing on a bench and resting passively after a set of a primary exercise, you immediately perform a set of a different exercise for a smaller, unrelated muscle group, like biceps, triceps, calves, or abs.
3. You alternate between the primary focus exercise and the staggered exercise, reducing your workout time and increasing your training volume without significantly affecting your performance because a) the staggered sets are for a smaller muscle that won’t drain you, and b) the exercises target unrelated muscles.

Staggered sets aren’t supersets; you probably want to do fewer sets for the smaller muscle group than for the main muscle you’re training.

For example, let’s say you’re training chest and back for 20 total sets and decide to use the staggered set technique with your abs.

If you did a set of abs after each set throughout the workout, you’d end up with 10 sets for your chest, 10 for your back, and 20 for your abs.

That’s not a chest and back workout, after all, is it? That amount of ab work would likely eat into the energy needed for the main events.

Instead, throw in a staggered ab set after every other main set, tops.

Benefits of Staggered Sets

• Staggered sets are all about making the most of your precious time. While your major muscle group takes a breather, you’re not just standing there admiring your gym’s wall color or playing with your phone. They allow you to fit more exercise volume into the same amount of workout time. You can train two muscles in almost the same time it usually takes to train one.
• Staggered sets can help you better utilize your workout time, as you’re able to work on secondary or smaller muscle groups that might otherwise be neglected. Many lifters don’t give muscles like the abs, calves, and forearms dedicated workout time, but with the staggered approach, you can work them without taking time from your main training sessions.
• A workout with staggered sets can feel significantly more fresh and fun than going through exercises for the same muscle group with standard set rests.

Staggered sets are best performed with smaller muscles that don’t interfere with your primary muscles. So, if you stagger biceps, don’t do it on pull day when they are involved in various back exercises. Do forearms with leg day, or your grip will suffer. And so on.

Blood Flow Restriction Training

Blood flow restriction training (BFRT) involves, as the name suggests, restricting blood flow to the muscles you’re training with specialized cuffs or wraps, often around the upper arms or upper thighs.

You apply the cuffs to a body part at a pressure high enough to partially restrict arterial inflow and fully restrict venous outflow, creating a hypoxic (low oxygen) environment within the muscles.

How Does Blood Flow Restriction Training Work?

When you perform an exercise, and the muscle doesn’t get all the oxygen it wants, several things happen.

• Increased recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fibers.
• Greater release of growth hormone and other anabolic hormones.
• Increased production of metabolic byproducts.
• Stimulation of muscle protein synthesis.

Typically, your type IIb fibers, mainly responsible for muscle hypertrophy, are recruited later in your sets. However, when you add BFRT to the mix, the type IIb fibers get recruited earlier because of the lack of oxygen.

It’s like tricking the muscle that it’s working harder than it really is.

Over time, BFRT increases muscle fiber size (hypertrophy) and improves strength, power, and muscle endurance. You can use 20–40 % of your 1RM weights and get similar results as with traditional high-intensity resistance training.

Does Blood Flow Restriction Training Help You Build Muscle and Strength?

BFRT has been studied extensively in both clinical and athletic settings.

It is a promising strategy for athletes looking to enhance muscle size and performance, those undergoing rehabilitation following injury or surgery, and older adults seeking to mitigate age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia).

Some studies show that BFRT is equally effective as heavy regular weight training. Others suggest that heavy loads are more effective overall but that BFRT can be a good complement.

The main benefit of BFRT is that you can use a light weight and build muscle almost as well as if you train heavy, putting much less stress on your joints. If nothing else, it is an excellent way to maintain your gains if you can’t train normally, like during an injury.

References

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Cheating

Cheating is one of the first advanced strength training techniques most beginners come across, often without being aware of it.

Controlled cheating is about strategically using momentum or altering your form slightly to overcome a sticking point or to perform a few additional reps at the end of a set instead of terminating it when you can’t do another with strict form.

The primary benefit of cheating is that it encourages muscle growth by creating a higher stimulus than your muscles are accustomed to. If you practice this technique correctly, you’re not cheating yourself of gains.

How to Use Cheating Correctly

• Note that not all exercises are suited for cheating. Straightforward movements like the bicep curl or shoulder press can be candidates, but avoid cheating on a highly technical or risky compound lift like the squat or deadlift.
• Before you start bending the rules, you need to know them inside out. Ensure you have perfect form on your exercises before you think about adding a little cheat.
• The cheat should be slight—a gentle nudge, not a full-on shove. Use just enough momentum to complete a rep you otherwise couldn’t. Cheating doesn’t mean turning a barbell curl into a full-body exercise.
• Implement cheating towards the end of a set when you can no longer perform a rep with good form. It allows you to squeeze out one or two more reps, pushing your muscles to work harder. Cheating from the get-go offers few advantages; it might look cool to handle a heavier weight, but you’re forcing other muscles to do the work, not the one you’re in the gym to train.

When done correctly, cheating can be a way to boost your training intensity for more potential gains. However, the idea is not to make a set easier but harder by going beyond what you can do with good form.

Final Words

You’ve reached the end of this guide to the best advanced strength training techniques.

Thank you so much for reading! What’s your go-to advanced technique?

Remember that these training techniques are what they are called: advanced. Even if you have extensive training experience, refrain from implementing too many of them at one time.

References

1. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, Vol 2 No 1 (2022). Muscular Adaptations in Drop Set vs. Traditional Training: A meta-analysis.
2. J Sports Sci. 2018 Mar;36(6):691-696. Effects of drop sets with resistance training on increases in muscle CSA, strength, and endurance: a pilot study.
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