How To

Build Twice the Muscle with 1/2 the Weight!

Posted on by Chris Wright
21
Aug

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If you want to build twice the muscle, you need to start including elements in your training where you use half the weight. In this video, I’m going to show you how to build more muscle mass with lighter weights. This is not just about lifting light however. Instead, it is about working out with heavy weights and light weights at the same time. Let me explain.

The technique shown here is called offset loading. I demonstrate it on some of the more popular exercises like shoulder presses, side lateral raises, bench press, tricep extensions, dumbbell curls and lunges. The key concept is that you want to use dumbbells of differing weights to perform your sets. In general, you choose the heavy weight (that is equal to what you would use for your 8-10 rep max on the exercise) and a lighter weight (equal to half of what the heavy weight was).

The focus then becomes on how you move these dumbbells through space as you perform each of the exercises. The first obvious benefit of this however is the effect this will have on your core. With one side being much heavier than the other, your core muscles will have to contract strongly to keep your body upright and not tilting to one side. This occurs even on the exercises that you are laying down on like the dumbbell bench press.

This is just the bonus however, since the major focus here is on using this lifting technique to build more muscle. So, the next option you have is in how you are going to lift the weights. In general, you have three choices. You can either lift the lighter weight at a slower speed to keep pace with the heavier weight or lift the heavy weight at a faster speed to keep up with the faster traveling light weight. Each of these will have a different impact on your training that you will want to be aware of.

First, let’s discuss the light weight moving slower. This is great for when you want to teach your muscles more control. Muscular control and command is a key element of hypertrophy. It not only demands more time under tension on the working muscles but it is an asset that pays dividends in hypertrophy as witnessed with the legs of a male ballet dancer or olympic gymnast. Both of these athletes represent the epitome of muscle control.

By having to slow the lighter weight down, you are forcing your body to become more deliberate the the muscle contraction occurring in the target muscle.

You can opt instead to attempt to move the heavier weight at more explosive speeds, to that of the lighter dumbbell. This is an incredible way to tap into more Type II muscle fibers and work on the fast twitch fibers to elicit hypertrophy and muscle gains. When you add the element of increased speed of contraction, you are working on power. The more powerful you become, the stronger you get and the bigger you get in almost every instance. Try this if you aren’t accustomed yet to training for power and you will notice a quick burst in size gains.

The third option is one where you can get very deliberate with the movement of the weight to isolate and burn out the target muscle. This involves taking what would have been your lighter weight and making it your “heavy” weight and then cutting that weight in half to become your light weight. Here you perform each of the exercises listed above with a very slow pace and a very defined contraction.

You’ll be amazed at how heavy a weight starts to feel when you use this technique. The cool part is however that you will find that due to the neurological wiring of our bodies, the heavier weight can be taken along for the ride and lifted with this same level of effort just by lifting them together. You can see this demonstrated on the side lateral raises and then applied to any of the exercises.

The key is, when you want to build muscle faster you have to use some different training techniques and get serious about your workouts. The ATHLEAN-X Training System, available at http://athleanx.com is a complete step by step program that will give you all the training techniques you need and get you training like a pro athlete in the next 90 days.

For more videos on how to build muscle mass and get ripped at the same time, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at http://youtube.com/user/jdcav24

60 thoughts on “Build Twice the Muscle with 1/2 the Weight!”

    • MrUseless247 says:

      Milky Dromeda you are so wrong it’s not even funny. What about all the YouTubers that make a living on YouTube that have hundreds maybe even thousands of videos under ten minutes??? You’re telling me they rather not spent the extra time on making a video a few minutes longer to make more money, they rather make a 5-8 minute video for nothing. That makes no sense. Quit trying to put Jeff on this pedestal when you don’t have to. Jeff is strictly on YouTube to make some extra cash, and I’m not even mad at him, so stop with your nonsense.

    • Billy Vegan Mecanic says:

      Beef jerky, protein powder with water, egg whites in the microwave (yes this is safe). Fast, easy and no cooking if you don’t have a stove. Eat vegetables like broccoli and bell peppers raw, but wash firs. Canned tuna is always good, just watch out for too much sodium.

    • Aggrobiscuit says:

      Caloric deficit or high protein diet without supplements, you have to pick one. Unless you wanna do cardio all day to burn off all those extra calories from all the eggs, meat, milk and fish you’re going to have to eat. Gotta do that on a college budget with college amount of free time? No way no how.

    • Caleb Harris says:

      LIKAB055 except protein powder (which is a supplement) in bulk (10lbs) is cheaper (around $90-$100) than buying only animal meats. No I’m not saying only use protein powder, but a few scoops a day goes a long way with upping your protein intake.

    • Caleb Harris says:

      LIKAB055 also it’s not that expensive to eat clean when comparing to college students normal diet. That’s just the issue tho. Majority of ppl can’t keep it clean. So those chips, desserts, fast food, alcohol, snacks all add up. Keep it basic and learn how to cook and you’ll enjoy nutrient dense foods and meet your daily macros

  14. Reno_SneakerAttic says:

    14 weeks ago I started watching never stepped into a gym in my life at 31 years old 142 pounds no B’s 2 days in to week 14 today iam 166 this guy changed my life and doesn’t even know it… I eat better I sleep better my migraines have went away I’m gaining weight strength and muscle for the 1st time in my life wish there was a way to show my before and now picture to you all my life have completely done a 360 and I’ve never felt so good and been this happy in my life whether you seen this or not I needed to tell you what a impact you have played in my life I had no idea what I was doing in the gym for that first week so I YouTube workouts came across your channel and it’s been my gym Bible since iam 24 pounds of muscle I was always the guy saying I can’t gain weight but fact is I never tried until now it’s possible and I’m not stopping thank you

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