The secret to faster gains: use this little-known training method to ignite never-before-seen growth

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Chad Waterbury

Follow the "load" recommendations as closely as possible. This is denoted as a repetition maximum (RM). For instance, if you see "30RM" you'll use the heaviest weight you can lift 30 times and perform the prescribed number of repetitions. If you think that weight sounds easy, you're right; the idea is to increase blood flow and recovery without inducing excess fatigue.

The amount of rest prescribed is the time you'll take between sets. In Method No. 1, it's four hours, but in Method No. 2 and Method No. 3, it's only five minutes. Stick to these religiously.

If you're using active-recovery workouts for two muscle groups, rest five minutes between each set of each muscle group. So in Method No. 1, you'll work one muscle group, rest five minutes, work the other muscle group, and then rest four hours as recommended before repeating the process. For Method No. 2 and Method No. 3, you'll work one muscle group, rest five minutes, work the other muscle group, then rest another five and repeat.

METHOD NO. 1

Perform these workouts on any day you don't train the targeted muscle group. (So if you train the targeted muscle group hard only on Monday, you can perform active-recovery workouts any and every day from Tuesday through Sunday.)

LOAD: 30 RM

SETS: 4

REPS: 25

REST: 4 HOURS

METHOD NO. 2

Perform this workout the night before you train the targeted muscle group.

LOAD: 60 RM

SETS: 2

REPS: 50

REST: 5 MINUTES

METHOD NO. 3

Perform this workout six to eight hours after you train the targeted muscle group.

LOAD: 60 RM

SETS: 2

REPS: 50

REST: 5 MINUTES

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

And blast through long-time plateaus

There's no need to get fancy. In fact, it's best to use simple exercises that require very little equipment. That way, you can perform your active-recovery workouts from home. Virtually any exercise is fair game, but here are the moves I've had the most success with.

Biceps: Standing dumbbell biceps curl; hammer curl

Triceps: Triceps pressdown; lying dumbbell triceps extension

Deltoids: Front raise; lateral raise; rear lateral raise

Chest: Flat, incline, or decline dumbbell bench press

Back: Upright row; dumbbell row; lat pulldown

Quadriceps: Lunge; split squat; body-weight squat; stepup

Hamstrings: Standing, lying, or seated leg curl

Calves: Standing calf raise

Chad Waterbury owns Chad Waterbury Strength and Conditioning in Tucson, Ariz.