Try Micro-Changes at the Gym for Great Results
If you have been pressing the same weight for several months and feel that you are still not ready to move up, you may be tempted to give up the exercise completely and do something else. Instead, all you need to do is make a small adjustment – like changing your grip or stance. You never know when a “micro change” can be critical to getting work back on track.
A common recipe for a fitness plateau – points where you don’t get better despite previous gains – is to add more reps or more weight , reverse the rep pattern completely, rest more, or do something more dramatic altogether. But according to Eric Bach , an online Colorado-based strength coach, sometimes even the tiniest and simplest adjustments, such as changing your grip, grip width, stance, or foot position during something like a big, difficult exercise, can push you. over this plateau.
One of the possible reasons why these micro-changes work is because your body has a unique shape – from the length of the arms and legs to the width of the torso in relation to these limbs, etc. They significantly affect how comfortable you will find certain positions during the exercise and how effectively you can perform the exercise without injury. Basically, there is no “one sure way” to exercise for everyone (although there are generally accepted guidelines).
Oddly enough, changing the working width while pulling up worked like magic. Until someone pointed out that my pull-up grip was quite wide, I struggled to do it. Soon after, I tried again with a tighter grip and flew out like two (and a half) pull-ups. These were the first full pull-ups I have ever done in my life (of course, I was constantly working on my upper body too!).
So, try a different leg position when squatting. You will most likely be told to keep your toes forward, but some people find it more convenient and safer to point at them. Or try a mixed grip (one upper arm and one lower arm) on the deadlift to better grip the bar. These tiny adjustments can have a huge impact if you are fighting at a certain level or moving to more reps or more weight.
Try Micro Progress | Eric Bach’s Twitter