Welcome back #fitfam, today we’re going to talk about training techniques and how to safely increase resistance without getting bulky (unless that is your goal). In general, I use this space to discuss the mental aspects of training because most often, a mentally engaged person can achieve their goals without too much additional effort. But there are times when we need to muster up determination and not sacrifice our energy or technique during a workout because those dogdays are the foundational pieces of your overall success.

These days typically come when you are reaching a plateau and you’ve fallen into a routine or deep groove. You know exactly what you’re going to do in every workout, and you’ve perfected the form of every drill. In addition, you are moving the weight with little effort. A workout that is running this smooth can be boring and will make it harder to repeat day after day.

This is the point where you will add variety, but you will also increase resistance. The safest way to do this is to increase the weight incrementally such as 2-3 lbs, but not more than 5 lbs at a time. When performing assisted drills for the lower body, increasing by 10 lbs can be a reasonable adjustment also. Your goal is to protect the progress you’ve made while challenging yourself to keep growing. What you will find is that the small additional weight changes can increase your strength and muscle stamina while avoiding an increase in mass.