1. Do Not be That Guy
We all see the guy at the gym who puts tons of weight on the bar. He gets under the bar and walks away from the rack with the bar on the back of his shoulders. He takes a deep breath. He then bends his knees about 6 inches before standing back up. Do not be this guy. Squat deep. Do not let your ego get in the way of progress. Put less importance on the weight and more importance on doing it right.
Some people have a bad back and cannot squat. If your doctor tells you not to barbell squat, do drop-down box squats. They will seriously kick your butt. To complete drop-down box squats, stand on a box. Lower one leg until only the heel touches the floor, and then come back up to the standing position. As you improve, you can stand on higher boxes or hold dumbbells in your hands.
Can't deadlift? No problem. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and try to squat for 40 repetitions. The term heavy is relative. If you are holding 40 pounds for 40 repetitions, you just lifted 1,600 pounds in one set.
2. Conjugate Method
In school, you learned how to add numbers first. Adding was practiced until it became easy, and then you learned how to subtract. Subtracting became easy. Then you progressed to multiplication and division without forgetting how to add.
Lifting weights is motor learning, and not much different from mathematics. Learn how to back squat with proper form. Eventually, your body will become skilled with the movement. The body will progress for a while and then improvement will slow or stop. When you plateau, switch your focus to another exercise like lunges or the front squat. Keep a base of around five primary exercises, and alternate between these for constant improvement.
3. Sprints and Ballistic Training
Complement your weight room gains with sprints and ballistic training. Sprints build muscle in the legs. Long-distance running works against muscle growth. Just look at the difference in muscle tone and mass between Olympic sprinters versus marathon runners.
Ballistic training, also known as plyometrics, is any type of explosive jumping movements. Jumping also assists with muscle building. The most common piece of equipment to complete ballistic training is the box. Jump on the box forward, side and turning. If you do not have any equipment available, practice the horizontal broad jump, triple jump variations or vertical jumps.
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