The weighted pull-up will offer you the same benefits as the basic bodyweight exercise, but you can better suit your strength level. This leads to more strength and size in your back, arms, and abs. If you have mastered the unweighted pull-up, check out what the weighted version has to offer and the best way to do it.

• How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up
• Weighted Pull-Up Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Progress the Weighted Pull-Up
• Benefits of the Weighted Pull-Up
• Muscles Worked by the Weighted Pull-Up
• How to Program the Weighted Pull-Up
• Weighted Pull-Up Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up is not really different from the bodyweight version, technique-wise, but you still have to accommodate the weight depending on what implement you use. Here’s how to do them.

Step 1 — Pick a Weight

Depending on what’s available to you and your preferences, there are several options to add external resistance to the exercise. Here’s how to do it:

• Weighted Vest: Using a weighted vest will have the most natural feeling because the weight is distributed evenly around your torso. The general technique will be the closest to the bodyweight pull-up using this resistance. The only drawback is that you can’t go too heavy, as many vests are limited to 22 or 45 pounds.
• Backpack: This inexpensive, homemade alternative is very close to using a weighted vest. Simply add some weight in a sturdy bag and put it on. The biggest drawback is the unknown variable for weight capacity, as going too heavy is asking for the fabric or straps to tear down, which could be dangerous.
• Weighted Belt: Likely the most common way to add weight. It is a specialized belt with a chain on which you can add plates to load yourself. You put it around your waist, then let the weight hang between your legs. This resistance might feel a little harder because it will demand superior abdominal involvement because it’s pulling on your hips. The weights might dangle and move on the chain, but the sky is the limit weight-wise. For moving the heaviest loads possible, this is the best option.
• Dumbbell: If you have none of these options available, you can always grab a dumbbell and hold it between your thighs with your legs bent. This option is the least comfortable and will involve your abs and legs, but will work just fine to make pull-ups more challenging.
• Chains: Drape some chains around your neck and shoulders. It’s very easy to do and you’ll look great on the ‘Gram. Once again, you’ll most likely be limited by the amount of weight you can use and it can be uncomfortable.

Step 2 — Find Your Grip

Climb on the steps under the pull-up bar, or place a box under it. Grab the bar firmly with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip, with your palms facing away from you (pronated).

Your grip-width will depend on your own limb length and mobility, but generally aim for a “medium” grip — not too wide or too close — for maximal strength and balanced muscular engagement.

Let yourself hang from the bar under control in a dead-hang, with your arms completely extended. Pull your shoulder blades back, keep your chest high, and engage your abs so that you prevent your legs or (the weight if you’re using a belt or dumbbell) from swaying. If your lower body does start moving, wait for it to settle. This is your starting position.

Form tip: Depending on the width of your grip, you can shift focus onto different body parts. A closer grip will induce more arm recruitment, and a wider grip will emphasize your back. Because your back is a relatively larger and stronger muscle, err on using a slightly wider grip unless you’re specifically looking to build your arms and grip strength.

Step 3 — Pull Yourself to the Bar

Take a deep breath and flex your abs. Pull yourself toward the bar as hard as you can. Keep your elbows aimed down to ensure maximal lat engagement.

Pull until your chin goes over the bar, exhale, and hold the contraction for a second. Keep your chest high and your back very slightly arched to engage as many back muscles as you can.

Form tip: Depending upon your morphology (limb length) and your goals, pulling all the way up is not mandatory. If you’re a tall lifter or have relatively long arms, your muscles’ maximal contraction point might be reached before your chin is over the bar. If you’re one of these unique lifters or if you’re only interested in building muscle, aim for a range of motion where you only reach peak contraction. However, if your goal is overall strength, it’s wiser to adopt the same form on each rep and get your chin over the bar.

Step 4 — Lower With Control

Keep your body tense and slowly lower yourself until your arms are extended and your lats are fully stretched. Avoid any lower body swaying by flexing your abs as much as you can and squeezing the bar hard. When you’re at a dead-hang with straight arms, begin the next repetition.

Form tip: Your legs should remain in the same position for the duration of the lift. It will actually help you be stronger by increasing total-body stability. Whether you have them stretched or bent, keep them that way and flex them. This will help your core recruitment, and improve your lower lats strength through fascia connections.

Weighted Pull-Up Mistakes to Avoid

If you want to reap the most benefits of an exercise, proper execution is key. It’s especially true when you start adding weight to a bodyweight exercise because it can slightly alters the technique. Learn about the main weighted pull-up mistakes so you don’t reproduce them.

Gripping the Bar Too Loose

A common mistake is to hold the bar only with your fingers instead of a deep, full grip using your whole hand. Your forearms and grip are a main component of your pull-up performance — once you lose your grip, your set’s over.

More importantly, your hands are your only point of contact with the bar. Put yourself in, literally, the strongest position possible by maximizing your pulling ability.

Avoid it: You have to grip the bar firmly to transfer as much energy as possible through your body. As an added bonus, with the bar being lower in your hand instead of closer to your fingertips, you slightly reduce the range of motion by an extra inch or to help pass your chin over the bar.

Cutting the Range of Motion Short

Sure, you’re eager to add some weight and get stronger. But if you can only add weight by reducing the range of motion, you’re not ready for it yet. You shouldn’t change the mechanics of the exercise just for the sake of ego, because you might not end up with the results you want. Shortening the range of motion will diminish the time under tension, resulting in less muscle growth. (1)

The main offense with pull-ups is staying in the upper range of motion — only going down halfway. This will result in less hypertrophy because working in a longer muscle length is skipped and stretch-mediated hypertrophy is actually more efficient than only focusing on the shortened muscle length range. (2)

Avoid it: Remember that adding more weight won’t result in more strength or muscle if you succumb to half-reps. Think about quality, not quantity, and keep a full range of motion whether you’re using weight or not.

Swinging Around

Excessively swinging your body is a no-go.  This is especially true if you have weight dangling between your legs. You shouldn’t be trying to complete as many repetitions as possible, no matter the cost. If you want maximal muscle and strength gains, use perfect form at all times.

Creating momentum with your abs and lower body will diminish back muscular tension as well as reduce the effective range of motion, leading to sub-par gains. It’s also risking more tension on your shoulder joints which can lead to injuries.

Avoid it: Engage your core and tighten your legs to improve your stability. Practice with a one-second pause at the top and the bottom of each repetition to ensure strict, controlled movement. If needed, wait for an extra second or two in the bottom position of each rep to let the weight settle and reset yourself.

How to Progress the Weighted Pull-Up

Pull-up performance is determined by your relative strength, which is how strong you are compared to your bodyweight. You have two ways of making the pull-ups more challenging — either increase your body weight or add external load.

When you become “too strong” relative to your body weight, it’s wise to make the exercise harder if you want maximum gains. Here are the standards:

• If you want to become stronger at the pull-up, add weight once you can master sets of five or six bodyweight pull-ups.
• If you are focused on building muscle, add weight once you can bang out sets of 10-12 pull-ups without trouble.

But before any of that, you first need to be able to perform the basic pull-up, and here are some ways to get there.

Lat Pulldown

The bread and butter of many back sessions, the lat pulldown mimics everything a weighted pull-up can offer you, with less core activation and an more progressive way to determine your resistance.

What is great about this exercise is that beginners and veterans can use it alike. If you’re too heavy or just lack the strength for weighted pull-ups, this is a perfect alternative. You don’t have to worry about balance and coordination here, so you can focus more on the muscles.

Weighted Inverted Row

What’s better to replace a bodyweight back exercise than another bodyweight back exercise? The inverted row is the pull-up’s cousin and offers the same benefits and functional strength, though using an horizontal motion which slightly changes the muscle recruitment.

As with the weighted pull-up, you can progress to weighted inverted rows. Find a weighted vest, place a backpack “backwards” onto your chest and abs,  or toss some chains around your torso, and start pulling.

Pull-Up

Of course, the most essential step in achieving a weighted pull-up is to perform bodyweight-only pull-ups. If you can’t lift your own body weight, good luck lifting your own body weight plus an extra five to 30 pounds.

Work to master the fundamental technique. By the time you’re approaching double-digits with good form, you’ll be ready to start thinking about adding weight.

Benefits of the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up is a staple in many programs for a reason. This exercise can elevate your upper-body strength and size to unprecedented levels. If you can bang out ten or more, your fitness is certainly something to be recognized and you’ll get some appreciative stares in the gym. Here are a few more perks.

Maximal Strength

Maximal strength is mostly built using a weight of at least 85% of your one-repetition maximum. If you only stick with training bodyweight pull-ups, there will come a point where you won’t be able to train in the maximal strength zone, because your own weight won’t be challenging enough. This is why strength athletes use weighted exercises in general.

Adding weight to your pull-ups is one of the best ways to improve pulling strength in your upper body and arms. The back directly supports the spine, and many muscles and bones in the body. It’s akin to a tree trunk. Having a stronger back will help your performance by not only being stronger in pulling motions, but by providing a more stable base for your other muscles, for instance stabilizing the arms and scapulae (shoulder blades) in pressing motions.

The weighted pull-up will also directly improve spinal strength (because the lats are attached to the spine from the middle to the sacrum) as well as core resilience, both directly linked to better sports performance. (3)(4)

More Muscle Growth

The weighted pull-up is one of the best exercises to promote back hypertrophy. Period. (6) If you want to improve your posterior chain, adding it to your training regimen will do wonders. It will also build size in your arms and forearms, and most people would be pretty happy with that “side effect.”

If you’re a more seasoned lifter, chances are you can knock out many bodyweight pull-ups. Perhaps you even max out the lat pulldown machine. In both cases, the weighted-pull will most likely be your best bet to further improve your muscle development.

There are several ways to increase the demand on the muscle, but adding weight is one of the most straightforward. The beauty is that you can increase very gradually, by using small plates and making little adjustments. By doing so, you will ensure that you keep building muscle in your back and arms. (5)

Better Grip Strength

Grip is essential for pull-up performance, but also for exercises like the deadlift, or outdoor activities and sports. The weighted pull-up will be a tremendous grip builder, which has the benefits of causing less overall fatigue to the body and nervous system, and not taxing muscles like the lower back or legs. This can be very beneficial for athletes which monitor total volume for body parts or need to recover sufficiently for contest performance.

Moreover, having a weak grip can not only affect performance, but your health. Forearm and grip strength has been linked to wrist, elbow, and shoulder health. (5) If you suffer from tendinopathy or nagging pains in these areas, having a better grip can help. Grip strength is also an indicator of general health as it is linked to longevity, improved brain health, and reduced risk of depression. (6)

Muscles Worked by the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up engages many muscles in your upper body and your arms. Here are the main muscle groups trained by the exercise.

Latissimus Dorsi

The lats are the biggest and strongest back muscle. They go from your hip bone and lower spine to your humerus (arm bone) and are heavily involved in lowering, pulling, extending and internally rotating your arms. The lats also contribute to spinal and trunk movements and core stability. They are the main muscle recruited by weighted pull-ups and they take most of the workload.

Upper Back

The upper back is composed of several muscles sharing similar functions, including the trapezius, rhomboids, and posterior deltoids. They all move the shoulder blades in several ways, assist in pulling motions, and contribute to stabilizing the scapulae during pressing movement as well. As the pull-up requires scapular motion, the muscles of the upper back will heavily contribute to the movement.

Upper Arms

The biceps brachii are composed of two heads — the long portion on the outside of the arm, and the short portion on the inner side. They both go from your radius to your scapula, and flex and supinate the arm (rotate it internally). The biceps contributes to the weighted pull-up through arm flexion. You can’t bend your arms without your biceps.

The pull-up’s pronated (palms down) grip actually puts an emphasis on the brachialis muscle, the strongest arm flexor located just under the biceps, originating from the humerus and ending at the ulna (forearm bone). Having a big brachialis can help your biceps pop because they will push it higher.

Forearms

Because weighted pull-ups require tremendous grip strength, your forearms will be recruited extensively. Many muscles are present in the forearm but the forearm flexors, which are responsible for your grip, will be taxed the most. The brachioradialis, the biggest forearm muscle, will also assist the upper arm in flexing.

Core

To maintain proper posture and be more efficient during this exercise, you’ll have to engage your whole core. The added weight makes your core (abs, lower back, and some hip muscles) work even harder to stabilize your body, especially when the weight is suspended between your legs because it’s further from your center of gravity.

These core muscles do not actively move during the lift, but are contracted isometrically to maintain a stable body position for an efficient pull.

How to Program the Weighted Pull-Up

The weighted pull-up is a polyarticular (multi-joint) exercise that can be programmed a variety of ways, depending on your goals and strength levels. Perform the exercise towards the beginning of your session, when you’re still fresh, to ensure proper technique and maximal strength. Here are several efficient repetition schemes.

Heavy Weight, Low Repetition

Performing three to five sets of one to five repetitions is the best way to improve your strength level. Keep one or two reps in the tank to ensure proper form at all times, because technique is crucial in strength development. To be able to repeat this effort with quality technique for all sets, aim for long rest periods of three to five minutes.

Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetitions

If you want to build size, three to four sets of six to 12 repetitions is an excellent scheme. You should be near or reach muscular failure on each set, but never at the expense of form. Rest periods of two to three minutes will be your best bet for maximum muscle gains. (7)

Strength-Skill Sets

Because the weighted pull-up is a skill that necessitates perfect form and long rest periods to recover, you should be wary of reaching muscular failure if we want to improve strength. As such, another strength method is to use a lot of very low-rep sets with short rest periods. You ensure your body stays fresh while providing high-quality, heavy weight repetitions.

For instance, one could use an EMOM format (every minute on the minute) and do one heavy repetition at the start of each minute for a total of ten minutes. You could also set a time limit, approximately 15 minutes, in which you perform as many high-quality sets of three repetitions as you can. These methods let you accumulate technique practice while also stimulating strength gains.

Weighted Pull-Up Variations

Using a pronated grip with pull-ups is the standard technique, but you can very easily change muscular recruitment and instill variety in your training by varying your grip angle.

Weighted Chin-Up

This variation uses a supinated (palms facing you) grip. This doesn’t look like much of a change, but the exercise involves more biceps and can put you in a stronger pulling position.

It is a great variation if you struggle with pronated pull-ups or if you want more arm size. If you want even more biceps involvement, use a closer than shoulder-width grip.

Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

A neutral grip (palms facing each other) puts less pressure on your elbow and shoulder joints. Adding weight to the pull-up can often cause pain to achy joints, and this version allows you to do it with less strain.

Additionally, it will emphasize the brachialis (the muscle under the biceps) and forearms recruitment. This will also be one of the strongest pulling grips.

Ring Weighted Pull-Up

This is one of the most challenging variations you can perform. The rings are not fixed like a bar, so they sway and increase the need for total-body stability. As such, your forearms, upper back, and core will have to work extra to halt any unnecessary swinging movement.

This variation will also be the smoothest on your joints. The rings allow you to rotate your hands freely, creating better joint positions and a more natural motion. If you suffer from achy elbows or shoulders, try this movement.

FAQs

I only have a pull-up bar and no way to add weight. Is my back progress doomed?

Adding weight to an exercise is the most straightforward way of improving progressive overload, but if you cannot perform weighted pull-ups, do not worry. First of all, keep in mind that for pure muscle growth, sets of 20 can be as beneficial as sets of 10. So unless you can consistently bang more than 20 pull-ups, you still have some room to grow. (8)

Alternatively, if you’re already strong as possible, or if you just want to try a different technique, there are other effective methods. You can increase the time under tension by adding pauses or playing with tempo (rep speed). For instance, taking a three-second pause at the top of each repetition or using a four-second eccentric (lowering phase).

You can also do the same basic sets, but with reduced rest periods. Go from sets of ten with two minutes of rest to sets of ten with just 90 seconds of rest. If you can do it, you’ve progressed. Finally, you can also pre-fatigue your pulling muscles to make bodyweight pull-ups more difficult. Doing a 15-second pause at the top of the motion before doing normal repetitions will stress your muscles differently. Try to increase this duration over several weeks.

What is the difference between a pull-up and a chin-up?

For some mistaken people, these both designate the same exercises, but they’re different. The chin-up uses a supinated grip, with your palms facing you, and the pull-up involves a pronated grip, with your palms facing away. As such, the chin-up involves the biceps more and the pull-up emphasizes the back musculature in general.

Get Your Pull-Up to the Next Level

Why stick to bodyweight when you can add weight and further improve your fitness? If you want to keep progressing, the weighted pull-up should be part of your arsenal for long-term success. Once you can do sets of ten consistently, you really will be in the company of kings.

References

1. Burd NA, Andrews RJ, West DW, Little JP, Cochran AJ, Hector AJ, Cashaback JG, Gibala MJ, Potvin JR, Baker SK, Phillips SM. Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. J Physiol. 2012 Jan 15;590(2):351-62. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200. Epub 2011 Nov 21. PMID: 22106173; PMCID: PMC3285070.
2. Oranchuk DJ, Storey AG, Nelson AR, Cronin JB. Isometric training and long-term adaptations: Effects of muscle length, intensity, and intent: A systematic review. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019 Apr;29(4):484-503. doi: 10.1111/sms.13375. Epub 2019 Jan 13. PMID: 30580468.
3. Moreno Catalá María, Schroll Arno, Laube Gunnar, Arampatzis Adamantios. Muscle Strength and Neuromuscular Control in Low-Back Pain: Elite Athletes Versus General Population. Frontiers in Neuroscience 12. DOI=10.3389/fnins.2018.00436
4. Hibbs, Angela & Thompson, Kevin & French, Duncan & Wrigley, Allan & Spears, Iain. (2008). Optimizing Performance by Improving Core Stability and Core Strength. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 38. 995-1008. 10.2165/00007256-200838120-00004.
5. Coombes BK, Bisset L, Vicenzino B. Management of Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: One Size Does Not Fit All. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Nov;45(11):938-49. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2015.5841. Epub 2015 Sep 17. PMID: 26381484.
6. Bohannon RW. Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clin Interv Aging. 2019;14:1681-1691 https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S194543
7. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, Hester GM, Sellers J, Nooner JL, Schnaiter JA, Bond-Williams KE, Carter AS, Ross CL, Just BL, Henselmans M, Krieger JW. Longer Interset Rest Periods Enhance Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016 Jul;30(7):1805-12. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001272. PMID: 26605807.
8. Thiago Lasevicius, Carlos Ugrinowitsch, Brad Jon Schoenfeld, Hamilton Roschel, Lucas Duarte Tavares, Eduardo Oliveira De Souza, Gilberto Laurentino & Valmor Tricoli (2018) Effects of different intensities of resistance training with equated volume load on muscle strength and hypertrophy, European Journal of Sport Science, 18:6, 772-780, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2018.1450898

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The post How to Do the Weighted Pull-Up — Benefits, Variations, and More appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The first is steady-state cardio training, where a single speed or intensity is maintained for the entirety of the workout without resting, The other is interval training, which alternates periods of work with periods of rest.

One unique type of interval training may actually deliver better results in less time. (1) Specifically, we’re talking about HIIT — high intensity interval training. It’s a particular training protocol that alternates periods (or “intervals”) of high effort followed by periods of recovery for the duration of the workout.

A critical element of HIIT workouts are those first two words. High. Intensity. For best results, aim to apply something close to maximum effort in each work period, not simply something that “feels hard.”

Many generic HIIT workouts you see on the internet are “intense” because of short rest periods and insufficient recovery, rather than requiring high intensity output during the work intervals. This short rest/high volume approach can have its place in a workout routine, but it’s just interval training. It’s not going to give you the same outcome as following these truly high intensity workouts.

Perform these workouts no more than three days per week. If you can perform them on consecutive days without rest, reconsider how much “high intensity” you’re really putting into each interval.

The Best HIIT Workouts

• With One Dumbbell
• With One Kettlebell
• EMOM HIIT
• With Bodyweight, Lower Body
• With Bodyweight, Upper Body

One-Dumbbell HIIT Workout

This workout is done for time using an AMRAP approach which, in this case, stands for As Many Rounds As Possible. Start a timer immediately before performing the first rep of the first exercise. Instead of performing strict “sets,” work through the series of exercises continually until the timer ends.

The full-body workout follows a specific sequence: One lower body exercise, one upper body exercise, and finally an ab exercise. This structure lets you move non-stop while also allowing the involved muscle groups to get some rest before you have to repeat an exercise. This is how you keep the overall training intensity high throughout the entire session.

Goblet Squat

• How to Do it: Hold the dumbbell in front of your chest with both hands supporting one side of the weight. Pull your shoulders back and maintain an upright torso as you squat down by bending at both the hips and the knees. The goblet position keeps your torso relatively vertical and allows you to achieve a deeper squat position. Make sure your head and shoulders rise first as you stand up. Throughout the exercise, keep your elbows near your ribs and keep the weight near your chest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• Sets and Reps: 12 reps
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Single-Arm Floor Press

• How to Do it: Lie on the ground holding the dumbbell in one arm. Extend that arm above your chest in a locked out position. Bend your legs and brace your feet flat on the floor. Lower the weight as if performing a dumbbell bench press. Keep your upper arm at an angle roughly halfway between your feet and shoulders. Use a controlled speed to avoid bouncing your arm off of the ground.
• Sets and Reps: 5 reps per arm, 10 total reps
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Alternating Jackknife Raise

• How to Do it: Lie on the ground with your legs extended straight and your arms by your sides. Raise one leg while reaching the opposite arm above your body until your hand and foot meet. This will require a total-body sit-up motion. Alternate sides with each repetition: left foot meeting right hand, right hand meeting left foot, etc.
• Sets and Reps: 4 reps per side, 8 total reps
• Rest time: No rest before returning to the first exercise. After three minutes of continuous work, rest for one minute. Perform a total of two “sets” of three minutes.

One-Kettlebell HIIT Workout

Many exercises can be performed interchangeably with either a dumbbell or a kettlebell. However, the kettlebell’s unique shape and offset center of mass make it the preferred choice for certain exercises. This workout uses a kettlebell, specifically, to improve muscle recruitment and increase explosive output. It should be done for time using an AMRAP approach — as many rounds as possible.

Goblet Clean

• How to Do it: This dynamic movement brings the weight from the floor to the goblet position, near chin-level, in one powerful motion. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the kettlebell set between them. Squat down and grab the top of the kettlebell with both hands using a palms-down grip. Maintain a neutral spine as you explosively stand up while pulling the kettlebell to chest-height. As the weight passes above your hips, quickly transition both hands to the “horns” of the kettlebell (the handle stems on either side). Stabilize your body in the upright position, with the weight held just below your chin, before reversing the process to lower the weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• Sets and Reps: 12 reps
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Single-Arm Push Press

• How to Do it: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width. Hold the kettlebell in one arm, with your hand near the front of your shoulder and the “ball” of the kettlebell supported along your forearm. Dip down a few inches into a short-range squat and use your body as a spring to generate force as you stand up while pressing the weight to lockout overhead. Slowly lower the weight to the starting position. Repeat all reps for one arm before switching sides.
• Sets and Reps: 5 reps per arm, 10 reps total
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Straight-Arm Sit-Up

• How to Do it: Lie on the ground with your legs bent and your feet flat. Extend your arms overhead with the backs of your hands touching the ground. Perform a full range of motion sit-up, bringing your chest to meet your knees. As you rise up, bring your arms from overhead to straight out in front of your chest. In the top position, your elbows should be near your knees. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 8 reps
• Rest time: No rest before returning to the first exercise. After three minutes of continuous work, rest for one minute. Perform a total of two “sets” of three minutes.

EMOM HIIT Workout

EMOM training is an intense, time-based protocol which typically requires performing one set of an exercise every minute on the minute. Generally, you have 60 seconds to complete a given number of repetitions. The only rest time is the remainder of that minute, because the next “set” will begin at the start of the next minute. This intense training method incentivizes you to work harder and faster so you can get more rest.

While the most common EMOM uses one-minute periods, you can adapt the method to almost any timeframe. This allows you to perform a higher volume of work with more reps per exercise and/or more exercises per workout. The goal is still to complete each work phase as quickly and efficiently as possible so that you can get enough rest to maintain your performance in the upcoming rounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In this HIIT workout — “E4MO4M” or “every four minutes on the four minutes” — you have four minutes to complete all of the work below. You can use different weights for each exercise to keep the reps challenging, but pre-arrange the weights before starting the workout to save time.

The goal is to finish all 102 repetitions in three to three-and-a-half minutes so you can get some rest before starting the next set. Perform three to five total circuits — a 12 to 20-minute workout.

• Single-arm dumbbell row: 15 reps per arm, 30 reps total
• Single-arm clean: 12 reps per arm, 24 reps total
• Single-arm push press: 10 reps per arm, 20 reps total
• Goblet squat: 16 reps
• Alternating reverse lunge: 6 reps per leg, 12 reps total

Bodyweight HIIT Workout

Bodyweight HIIT workouts can be surprisingly effective. By removing any external load, you reduce the likelihood of raw strength being a limiting factor and you can focus on technique and straightforward effort.

Many bodyweight exercises can be programmed with speed and intensity for a HIIT workout. Here are two ways to blast your upper and lower body.

Lower Body HIIT Workout

This is a relatively advanced workout for lifters who’ve mastered basic technique and can safely perform plyometric jumps quickly, explosively, and safely. Less-experienced lifters can choose an alternative exercise like alternating lunges.

Air Squat

• How to Do it: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width. Drop into a squat position, with your thighs roughly parallel to the floor. Keep your hands near your chest and upper body roughly vertical. Quickly return to the starting position. Keep your feet on the ground throughout the exercise.
• Sets and Reps: Perform continuous repetitions for 20 seconds, ideally reaching 18 to 22 reps.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Jump Squat

• • How to Do it: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width. Squat down partially, with your thighs above parallel. Let your hands drop down to your side. Bring your arms up near chest-height as you stand up explosively and jump into the air. Soften your landing by catching yourself in a squat and smoothly transition to the next repetition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• Sets and Reps: Perform continuous repetitions for 20 seconds, ideally reaching 10 to 12 reps.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Squat Hold

• How to Do it: Bring your hands to chest-height and lower your body into a deep squat position. Your thighs should be at least parallel to the ground, or deeper if possible. Actively push your feet into the floor and engage your glutes and core to remain stationary. Maintain an upright torso. Don’t lean forward as you fatigue. Your muscles will be on fire as they work to hold the position. Embrace the burn.
• Sets and Reps: Hold the position for 20 seconds.
• Rest time: No rest before returning to the first exercise. Complete two consecutive sets. Advanced lifters can rest one minute before performing a third set. Extremely advanced lifters should aim for three consecutive sets.

Upper Body HIIT Workout — 55’s

This workout uses the countdown method for an extremely efficient HIIT workout — lots of work, minimal rest. It is often used in a circuit of two or three exercises, to give each muscle group slight recovery for optimal performance.

To perform the countdown method: Complete 10 repetitions of the first exercise, then immediately complete 10 repetitions of the second. Immediately do nine reps of the first exercise, then nine reps of the second, followed by eight reps of the first, and eight of the second, etc. Continue all the way down to one rep of each to complete a total of 55 reps of each exercise.

Be sure to time how long it takes to do the workout. The progression goal is to complete the same workout faster each time you repeat it. This also creates a competitive environment and personal challenge to keep your intensity high.

Push-Up

• How to Do it: Support your body on your toes and hands, with your hands set slightly outside shoulder-width. While keeping a straight line from your neck to your ankles during each rep, bend your elbows to lower your entire body, and press to full lockout. To reduce shoulder joint strain, aim your elbows more towards your feet than your shoulders.
• Sets and Reps: Countdown method, 10 to one reps.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Chin-Up

• How to Do it: Grab an overhead chin-up bar using a palms-up grip with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart. Pull your body up until your chin or neck is in-line with your hands. Lower yourself under control until your arms are almost fully extended. Don’t allow your shoulders to shrug up in the bottom (stretched) position. Maintain a tight core to prevent any leg swinging.
• Sets and Reps: Countdown method, 10 to one reps.
• Rest time: No rest before returning to the first exercise.

HIIT for Fat Loss, Conditioning, or Both?

HIIT Workouts are often used as part of a fat loss plan. Fat loss occurs when you create a calorie deficit by consistently burning more energy than you consume. Various types of exercise can contribute to increasing energy expenditure, but it’s much less than you think. Over-focusing on exercise has been shown to be less effective for fat loss than using a more well-rounded approach that combines goal-focused nutrition and training. (2)

The main benefit of fat loss workouts is the maintenance of muscle mass, so that when you do lose weight, the majority of that loss comes from body fat. In order to stimulate muscle preservation, you need to work your muscles close to failure, and HIIT workouts are an effective and efficient way to do that in a short period of time.

HIIT Workouts can also be used to improve conditioning or endurance, as well as general cardiovascular health. HIIT workouts have consistently been shown to be as effective as other cardio training methods when it comes to improving general conditioning and multiple cardiovascular health markers.(3)(4)

Time to HIIT It

HIIT training can be an extremely effective and (relatively) enjoyable part of any training plan. When paired with appropriate nutrition and combined with structured strength training and some low-to-moderate intensity aerobic (steady-state) training, you end up with a comprehensive training program and should be able to see improvements in performance and body composition. The key to HIIT training is to always remember what it stands for. You can’t avoid putting the high intensity into your high intensity interval training.

References

1. Ito S. High-intensity interval training for health benefits and care of cardiac diseases – The key to an efficient exercise protocol. World J Cardiol. 2019 Jul 26;11(7):171-188. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v11.i7.171. PMID: 31565193; PMCID: PMC6763680.
2. Johns, D. J., Hartmann-Boyce, J., Jebb, S. A., Aveyard, P., & Behavioural Weight Management Review Group (2014). Diet or exercise interventions vs combined behavioral weight management programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis of direct comparisons. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 114(10), 1557–1568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.07.005
3. Bacon AP, Carter RE, Ogle EA, Joyner MJ (2013) VO2max Trainability and High Intensity Interval Training in Humans: A Meta-Analysis. PLOS ONE 8(9): e73182. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073182
4. Batacan RB, Duncan MJ, Dalbo VJ, et alEffects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studiesBritish Journal of Sports Medicine 2017;51:494-503.

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This staple movement isn’t just for gymnasts or calisthenics enthusiasts. It’s a fundamental old school exercise that’s been used by bodybuilders and strength athletes for decades.

Adding dips to your workout routine will target your pecs, triceps, and shoulders for an all-around bigger, fuller, stronger upper body. Here’s how to use only your body weight to deliver a deep burn and explosive pump for your chest.

• How to Do Dips
• Dip Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of Dips
• Muscles Worked by Dips
• Who Should Do Dips
• How to Program Dips
• Dip Variations
• Dip Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do Dips

Dips can be done on dedicated dip bars, at an assisted dip station, or a sturdy and stable pair of chairs. Whichever setup you’re using, ensure it’s at a height where you can keep your legs and feet off the ground when in the bottom (stretched) position. This will allow a full range of motion for maximum benefit.

Step 1 — Get up on the Bars

Step up to the dip station and grab the bars with palms your facing inward. Keep your arms straight — depending on the setup, you may need to sightly jump into the locked out position. Bend your legs slightly so that your arms support your entire body weight.

Keep your back straight and your head looking forward. Engage your core and glutes by squeezing them both to keep your entire body tight.

Form tip: Ideally, your hands should be roughly shoulder-width distance. Some dip bars are angled to allow different grip widths. If your hands are farther apart, shoulder-joint strain can increase and tension on your chest muscles can decrease.

Step 2 — Lower into a Stretch

Slowly lower your body until your elbows are roughly at 90-degree angles, if your mobility allows. Maintain a forward-looking head position, but let your upper body angle slightly forward to increase recruitment of the chest muscles.

Your elbows will naturally angle slightly outwards. Avoid excessively flaring your elbows directly to the sides, which can increase strain on the shoulder joints.

Form tip: Use a slow tempo to ensure control, maximum muscle tension, and boost muscle growth. (1) Take up to three seconds to reach the bottom position.

Step 3 — Drive up to Full Contraction

Push your body up in a controlled, fluid motion. Stop once you’re back at the starting position with nearly straight arms. Briefly pause at the top to stabilize your body and minimize any swinging.

As your body rises, focus on feeling constant tension contracting your chest muscles. Engage the mind-muscle connection by focusing your full attention on the pecs and visualize the muscle fibers working.

Form tip: Your body’s path upwards should mirror the lowering phase. Your head and shoulders should arc slightly in front of your hands on the way down, and your upper body should return to a fully stacked position with your elbows above your wrists.

Dip Mistakes to Avoid

Dips are a classic bodyweight exercise that can add strength and size to your chest, arms, and shoulders. However, poor form can lead to suboptimal results or potential injury, including wear and tear on your rotator cuff tendons. (2) Fortunately, the most common errors are relatively easy to avoid.

Locking Your Elbows

In the top position, avoid locking your elbows ramrod straight. Maintain a slight bend in your arms to keep them under constant tension and yield optimal muscle-building results. (3) Paying attention to your arm position at lockout reinforces using a relatively slow tempo while focusing on maximum muscle recruitment.

In addition, locking your elbows puts them in a potentially hyperextended state, which may increase your risk of injury.

Avoid it: As your body approaches the top of the movement, pay attention not only to your chest muscles contracting, but your arm position. This will be difficult to do if you use sloppy, swinging repetitions, so maintain a constant, fluid motion throughout each repetition.

Dipping Too Low

The bottom, stretched position of most exercises is where the involved joints are under the greatest potential stress. Save your shoulders by paying close attention your depth when doing dips.

Going too low, beyond the point where you feel your shoulder muscles stretching, can significantly strain the joints. Remember, form is king when it comes to any exercise. Bodyweight exercises, including dips, are no different.

Avoid it: As you lower your body into the stretched position, you should feel both your chest muscles and shoulder muscles stretching. Don’t let your ego talk you into using an excessive range of motion. If you can see a mirror during the exercise, pay extra attention as your elbows approach a 90-degree bend. Stopping slightly higher is more acceptable than dropping too low.

Benefits of Dips

This basic bodyweight exercise allows you to build muscle mass and strength in your upper body, particularly your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Mastering strength training exercise with your bodyweight can also help to reduced your overall risk of injury and improve core stabilization.

Increased Muscle Mass and Strength

Doing dips stimulates your pecs, triceps, and core significantly. By stretching and creating tension on the entire chest muscle, dips are an efficient exercise for boosting muscle growth. (4) Bodyweight exercises have also been shown to be comparable to free weight exercises for building strength. (5)

Improved Joint Health

Maintaining muscular balance is essential for joint stability and overall health and performance, and bodyweight training is a highly effective solution. (6)

If you perform many pulling exercises or participate in activities that are pulling-intensive (e.g. training on rowing machines, pull-ups, many combat sports, etc.), regularly performing dips can build strong pushing muscles to help prevent muscular imbalances. A 10% increase in strength training volume has shown to substantially minimize overall injury risk. (7)

Improved Core Stabilization

Dips aren’t solely a chest exercise. You’ll engage your core by keeping your lower body stable throughout the movement. While your core isn’t directly trained during dips, it is strongly recruited to provide total-body stability and coordinated movement as you press. Improved core stability helps to promote overall strength, health, and injury prevention. (8)

Muscles Worked by Dips

Dips are a highly effective exercise for strengthening the muscles located in and around the chest. While dips primarily target the chest itself, the triceps and shoulders are also directly trained, as well as smaller stabilizers throughout the upper body.

Pectoralis Major

The pectoralis major is a thick, fan-shaped muscle that’s the largest muscle of the front chest wall. The pecs have multiple functions controlling arm movement including flexion and adduction (bringing the arms toward the body’s centerline)(9)

The pec major has two heads, the clavicular (upper chest) and the sternocostal (mid and lower chest). When executing dips, the clavicular head is more significantly worked as you approach the top portion of the movement. The sternocostal head is more highly activated as you lower into the stretched position. (9)

Triceps Brachii

The triceps consist of three separate but functionally similar muscle heads — the long, medial, and lateral. These are found on the back of the upper arm. The triceps are responsible for straightening the arm at the elbow joint, extending the shoulder, and moving the arm behind the torso — all of which work in sync during dips. (10)

Dips apply tension on all three heads of the triceps. Interestingly, the medial head, in particular, is more activated when the elbow is flexed beyond 90-degrees and the body reaches a relatively significant depth. (10)

Anterior Deltoid

The anterior deltoid (front shoulder muscles) is involved when raising the arm forward, in line with your body. More particularly, it’s engaged when moving your arm from behind your body to the front and/or overhead. During dips, the anterior deltoid is activated when your upper arm moves from the 90-degree bent position into the top position with your arms straight arms by your sides.

The anterior deltoids shoulder not be the primary working muscle during dips, but they are recruited significantly, which is why lifters with pre-existing shoulder problems may not be comfortable performing the exercise.

Abdominals

The abs are worked statically to control your lower body and maintain a stable total-body position. Similar to performing pull-ups, it’s not uncommon for lifters to feel some ab tension (or even post-workout soreness) in their abs after several intense sets of dips.

While your abs aren’t contracting through a significant range of motion, they are recruited to maintain control over the hips and pelvis, and prevent any leg swinging.

Who Should Do Dips

Whether you’re pushing a lawnmower or pushing a weight overhead, having adequate upper body pressing strength is essential. Dips can help to increase muscle mass, improve functional strength, and build greater upper body mobility.

Bodybuilders and Physique Athletes

Dips are a bodyweight-only alternative to the bench press or other chest pressing exercises. It allows lifters to train the chest with high tension, high intensity, and minimum equipment. Dips can help to sculpt the chest by working the pecs at a unique angle, creating an effective stimulus for growth. (11)

Strength Athletes

Any lifter focused on moving maximum weight in a pressing movement (bench press, overhead press, clean & jerk, etc.) can benefit from adding dips to their accessory training. By building the chest, shoulders, and triceps, you can improve the potential power and strength those muscle can exert. (12) The bodyweight dip also allows an intense workout with relatively less load, which can reduce cumulative stress on the joints.

How to Program Dips

Most beginners will find the dip to be challenging because you’re required to lift the majority of their own body weight, which can be too difficult due to lack of strength. Fortunately, persistence and effort will yield improvement. Experienced lifters can also benefit from the exercise as a training staple for size and strength.

Unweighted, Moderate Volume (Sets and Reps)

When chasing optimal muscle gains, training the bodyweight dip with four to six sets of 12 to 15 reps, once or twice a week can be highly effective. Approach failure on the final reps of each set to ensure appropriate intensity. This total volume provides your chest with sufficient time under tension to trigger muscle growth.

Weighted or Unweighted, Low Repetition

Performing low volume with low repetitions, such as four to five sets of three to six reps, is a reliable method to build strength. This low volume can be achieved by suspending weight from a belt, holding a dumbbell between your feet, or from simply being unable to perform more than six repetitions with good form.

Performing unweighted, low repetition sets frequently throughout the day is one effective method for building strength and improving technique. This is known as greasing the groove and it’s a highly effective way to master any bodyweight exercise, including dips.

Dip Variations

Dips can be used by lifters and athletes of any fitness level to apply tension to the multiple heads of the chest, triceps, and delts. Begin with more manageable versions of the dips while focusing on form, then add intensity and volume as you progress.

Ring Dip

Ring dips are a more challenging variation that requires significant muscular coordination, balance, and stability. This exercise applies tension to the pecs through a long range of motion while also challenging the smaller stabilizers in the shoulders and upper back.

Ring dips are a popular exercise in CrossFit programming, as well as general gymnastic-based programs, but the increased recruitment of the upper body stabilizers can help to improve muscular coordination and overall shoulder health when programmed appropriately.

Triceps Dip

This very subtle variation uses slight adjustments to your arm and torso positions. These will decrease emphasis on the chest and increase recruitment of the triceps, making it a popular and efficient arm-building movement.

The first significant difference from the chest-focused dip is to maintain an upright torso during the descent rather than leaning forward, to reduce recruitment of the chest muscles. Even more importantly, keep your elbows near your body and aimed towards the wall behind you. (13) Don’t allow them to flare outwards.

Dip Alternatives

If a lack of shoulder mobility or pre-existing injury prevents you from executing dips, there are plenty of alternative exercises you can do to continue adding size and strength to your chest.

Push-up

Good ol’ push-ups. This classic exercise is an excellent alternative to dips that still uses your own bodyweight to apply tension to the pecs and pressing muscles.

Some experienced lifters consider push-ups to be too easy but, like dips, push-ups can be progressed with increased volume or external load to consistently challenge the muscles. The chest and shoulder muscles aren’t put through a significant stretch during push-ups, compared to dips, making them an ideal option for lifters with pre-existing joint pain.

Bench Press

The classic bench press is an excellent substitute for dips because the potential to move heavy weights can carryover to size and strength gains. Some gym veterans would rank the bench press on par with dips as fundamental chest-building exercises.

The flat barbell bench press is obviously essential for powerlifters, as one of the competitive lifts. Its potential to build upper-body strength can also carryover to other strength athletes including strongmen and strongwomen.

FAQs

Are dips bad for the shoulders?

Using proper form and avoiding the technique mistakes explained above, dips will place more stress on the pecs, triceps, and anterior deltoid muscles instead of the associated joints. This optimal muscle recruitment can significantly reduce the risk of injury.

However, if the exercise is executed with improper form or too heavy a load, dips may lead to shoulder impingement, potentially straining the rotator cuff tendons. (14) Fundamentally, the principles which apply to all exercises apply to dips — do them properly, with programming appropriate for your fitness level, and you’ll minimize potential hazards.

How should I program dips with other presses in a chest workout?

Specific programming variables will depend on a number of factors, including your experience level, training frequency, and goals. Generally speaking, performing one to three various types of presses in a single workout can be an effective way to train your chest.

Ideally, the exercises will be diverse — such as the flat barbell bench press, dips, and incline dumbbell press. Redundant training — such performing the flat barbell bench press, flat dumbbell bench press, and close-grip barbell bench press in one session— will deliver excessive fatigue and minimal results.

Time to Take a Dip

Shoulder injuries, poor shoulder mobility, and lack of “pushing strength” can interfere with daily life and hinder performance in the gym, on the platform, and on the field. However, incorporating dips into your training program can pack on muscle, increase strength, reduce injury risk, and enhance physical performance for lifters, athletes, and weekend warriors alike.

References

1. Wilk, M., Zajac, A., Tufano, J.J. The Influence of Movement Tempo During Resistance Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy Responses: A Review. Sports Med 51, 1629–1650 (2021). doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01465-2
2. Mckenzie, Alec & Crowley-McHattan, Zachary & Meir, Rudi & Whitting, John & Volschenk, Wynand. (2021). Glenohumeral Extension and the Dip: Considerations for the Strength and Conditioning Professional. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 43. 93-100. 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000579.
3. Burd NA, Andrews RJ, West DW, Little JP, Cochran AJ, Hector AJ, Cashaback JG, Gibala MJ, Potvin JR, Baker SK, Phillips SM. Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. J Physiol. 2012 Jan 15;590(2):351-62. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200. Epub 2011 Nov 21. PMID: 22106173; PMCID: PMC3285070.
4. Krzysztofik, M., Wilk, M., Wojdała, G., & Gołaś, A. (2019). Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(24), 4897. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16244897
5. Calatayud, J., Borreani, S., Colado, J. C., Martin, F., Tella, V., & Andersen, L. L. (2015). Bench press and push-up at comparable levels of muscle activity results in similar strength gains. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 29(1), 246–253. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000589
6. Harrison, Jeffrey. (2010). Bodyweight Training: A Return To Basics. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 32. 52-55. 10.1519/SSC.0b013e3181d5575c.
7. Lauersen, J.B., Andersen, T.E., Andersen, L.B. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Dec;52(24):1557-1563. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099078.
8. Huxel Bliven, K.C., Anderson, B.E. Core stability training for injury prevention. Sports Health. 2013 Nov;5(6):514-22. doi: 10.1177/1941738113481200.
9. National Institutes of Health: Stat Pearls. Anatomy, Thorax, Pectoralis Major Major.
10. Landin, D., Thompson, M., Jackson, M. Functions of the Triceps Brachii in Humans: A Review. J Clin Med Res. 2018 Apr;10(4):290-293. doi: 10.14740/jocmr3340w.
11. Baz-Valle, E., Schoenfeld, B. J., Torres-Unda, J., Santos-Concejero, J., & Balsalobre-Fernández, C. (2019). The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance trained men. PloS one, 14(12), e0226989. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226989
12. Reggiani, C., & Schiaffino, S. (2020). Muscle hypertrophy and muscle strength: dependent or independent variables? A provocative review. European journal of translational myology, 30(3), 9311. https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2020.9311
13. Cinarli, Fahri & Kafkas, Muhammed & Soylu, Abdullah & Yılmaz, Nurkan. (2021). EFFECT OF ELBOW ANGLE ON TRICEPS BRACHII AND PECTORALIS MAJOR MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING PARALLEL BAR DIP. 27. 57-69.
14. Escamilla, R. F., Hooks, T. R., & Wilk, K. E. (2014). Optimal management of shoulder impingement syndrome. Open access journal of sports medicine, 5, 13–24. https://doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S36646

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When it comes specifically to weight training, one of the most effective methods for drilling proper form is known as “grease the groove” training, or GTG. When you grease the groove, you deliberately practice an exercise with relatively light weight for low reps, which makes the exercise feel “easy.”

This unique approach lets you focus on technique rather than focusing on tooth-grinding intensity in each set, and it can be an incredibly useful way to master an exercise by building skill and strength. Here’s an in-depth look at this unconventional and highly effective approach.

• • Grease the Groove Training Explained
  • How Grease the Groove Training Works
  • Why You Should Use Grease the Groove Training
  • How to Program Grease the Groove Training

Grease The Groove Training Explained

“Repeated submaximal training” is technical-sounding jargon for the method known as grease the groove training, often referred to as simply GTG. It’s a rethinking of a training week. And a rethinking of sets and reps. And a rethinking of intensity and recovery. Basically, GTG encourages you to rethink your entire approach to training in order to improve technique, increase strength, and build endurance.

Instead of performing gut-busting sets to failure, every set is stopped long before muscular fatigue sets in. Instead of attacking a body part with 15 sets once or twice per week, you might train a specific exercise for 10 or 20 total sets over the course of a single day, and then repeat it the next day, and the next day, and the next.

GTG specifically uses high frequency training (multiple workouts per week and/or per day) combined with low intensity (less-challenging weights) and low volume (fewer sets and reps) to develop strength, endurance, and technical skill with complete recovery.

The “grease the groove” method, and expression, was popularized by kettlebell expert and strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline in the early-2000s. Pavel has summarized the method as “training as often as possible while remaining as fresh as possible.”

“Training as often as possible” can actually mean training multiple times per day (time permitting). Because GTG training is commonly applied to bodyweight exercises like push-ups or pull-ups, the convenience of those exercises lends very well to being performed at nearly any time of day, in nearly any location. For a person working from home, for example, this can be ideal.

“Remaining as fresh as possible” refers to restricting intensity, as well as volume, to allow the recovery necessary for the frequent training. GTG hinges entirely on frequency. By repeating an exercise with increased frequency, you’re creating patterns within your nervous system that build strength by “learning” how to perform the exercise more efficiently. (1)

How Grease The Groove Training Works

GTG training involves your central nervous system as much if not more than it involves the muscles moving the weights. A weight training exercise is just like any other skill or activity. There’s technique involved, and regularly practicing that specific technique under ideal conditions is the most effective way to improve it.

For example, if your goal was to get better at hitting fastballs, you’d be at the batting cage every afternoon telling the pitching machine to forget about the curveball and just give you the heater. You wouldn’t just show up to the ballpark on Saturday, take some swings, and come back next week to try again.

The same general principle applies whether you’re knocking dingers outta the park, doing pull-ups, squatting, doing the clean & jerk, or performing any other movement you might need to focus on.

GTG is a way of training the nervous system to create motor pathways from the brain to the muscle fibers required to perform an exercise. (2) By repeatedly performing a given exercise using textbook form, proper technique and movement patterns develop. This improved technique can allow a lifter to improve strength, as both the CNS and the muscles involved in the exercise adapt to the training.

Weight training typically requires progressive overload — adding more weight or performing more reps each week to consistently challenge the body — to trigger an adaptation. GTG works on a nearly opposite progression model. Not only does GTG not require extra weight or more reps in each session, but consistently adding that type of overload would prevent GTG from delivering results.

To grease the groove, every rep needs to be performed relatively comfortably and with minimal difficulty. A reliable rule of thumb is to perform roughly half as many repetitions or load nearly half as much weight than you’d be fully capable of. For example, if you can deadlift 315 pounds for six reps, you’d grease the groove with 155 or 185 pounds for six. If you can perform five pull-ups, you’d grease the groove performing two reps per set.

The training is specifically meant to feel easy in every session, almost like warm-up sets. Once you start cranking up the frequency and performing multiple sessions per day, you’ll appreciate the relatively low intensity.

Why Use Grease The Groove Training

Grease the groove training is primarily a method to increase strength. It can also serve to improve technique and build high-rep endurance, but it’s most widely known as a training method for improving basic strength.

GTG is most often applied to bodyweight exercises like push-ups and pull-ups, due to their convenience for high frequency training. However, any weight training exercise can be used as long as the load is properly chosen and the exercise can, of course, be performed often.

If you wanted to perform GTG with the bench press, but didn’t have a home gym, your primary hurdle would be getting to the gym at least once a day, every day, to make grease the groove training as effective as possible. That’s impractical for some people, but if you can make it work, you can reap the benefits.

High frequency training has been repeatedly shown to be extremely effective for building strength. (3)(4) Grease the groove training allows a higher training frequency without compromising overall recovery.

Because GTG builds strength and is well-suited to bodyweight training, it’s a popular method for calisthenics-focused lifters, especially beginners. If you can only do three pull-ups, GTG is an extremely effective way to bump your max reps into double-digit range. Similarly, it can be a useful technique for conquering challenging exercises like single-leg squats (pistols) or handstand push-ups.

Many lifters who are required to pass bodyweight exercise fitness tests, often used in law enforcement or the military, have used GTG training to improve their testing scores by increasing their max rep push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, or other testing criteria.

One aspect where GTG falls short, however, is for muscle-building. Intensity and volume play extremely significant roles in building muscle, and those programming cornerstones are necessarily minimized with grease the groove training. (5)(6)

How to Program Grease The Groove Training

GTG is most commonly and most effectively applied to one specific exercise or movement, rather than a general body part. Multiple exercises could be trained with GTG if they have minimum overlap and don’t work similar body parts.

Choose the Right Movement

For example, training pull-ups and barbell rows with GTG would be counterproductive because the back would be directly worked in each exercise and you wouldn’t be fresh for each session. However, training pull-ups and squats or dips and barbell rows could be very effective because the exercises involve different muscle groups.

GTG could make you reconsider your idea of “high frequency.” Repeating a workout three times per week would certainly be considered high frequency under normal training circumstances, but GTG takes it to the next-level.

Repeating workouts every day is common programming for grease the groove training. Repeating workouts every few hours, multiple times per day, is even more common. Again, sheer practicality can be one limiting factor with this approach.

Investing in a simple doorway pull-up bar can be an excellent decision for anyone working from home. Performing one set of half of your max-rep pull-ups every few hours is a time-tested approach to build pull-up strength and increase your total numbers. If your current max is three pull-ups, performing one perfect rep every time you walk past the bar (on the way to the bathroom, on the way back from the kitchen, etc.) is a textbook GTG training plan.

Over time, you’ll build both the skill and strength to perform more than one rep per set without being significantly fatigued. As you adapt more, you can sporadically test yourself and should find that you’ve beaten your former “max rep” limit without ever struggling in a workout.

A similar approach can be used for other exercises, most effectively with free weights. Again, many lifters don’t have access to a variety of machines on a regular basis, but if you’re a personal trainer working in a gym, for example, or an office worker with an on-site gym, it can certainly work.

Maintain a relatively low effort in each mini-session, performing one set of three to five reps with roughly half as much weight as you’d be otherwise capable of. If you can overhead press 155 for five reps, perform GTG using 75 pounds for five reps, as often as possible without fatiguing yourself, whether that’s every two hours or twice a day.

Soon enough, you’ll find that 75 pounds for five will feel even easier and you can increase the weight very slightly, to continue the process before eventually testing (and breaking) your old PR.

Avoid Training Overlap

One key to optimizing recovery is to avoid performing the same exercise in both your GTG plan and your standard training. If you’re in the gym training your back once per week, you could simultaneously perform GTG pull-ups every day as long as pull-ups are not part of your in-gym workout.

Overlapping GTG with your current training program is simply a matter of choosing your priority exercises and applying the GTG method (training those movements daily or multiple times per day with low volume and low intensity), while removing those same exercises from your current routine.

You could also follow an entire program based on GTG. Because it’s a strength-focused method, choose one compound (multi-joint) exercise per body part and train each movement every day or multiple times per day, performing one set of low reps with a weight suitable for a warm-up. Remember that you should never struggle or strain on any rep during GTG training and your form should remain picture-perfect.

It’s Easy Being Greasy

Grease the groove training can be used by beginners as well as the most experienced lifters. It’s perfectly suited for refining technique, sharpening the CNS, and building strength, which are benefits no lifter ever outgrows. Consider your overall training plan, pick one or two priority exercises, and get a little greasy.

References

1. Carroll, T. J., Riek, S., & Carson, R. G. (2001). Neural adaptations to resistance training: implications for movement control. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 31(12), 829–840. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200131120-00001
2. Duchateau, J., & Enoka, R. M. (2002). Neural adaptations with chronic activity patterns in able-bodied humans. American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation, 81(11 Suppl), S17–S27. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002060-200211001-00004
3. Ochi, E., Maruo, M., Tsuchiya, Y., Ishii, N., Miura, K., & Sasaki, K. (2018). Higher Training Frequency Is Important for Gaining Muscular Strength Under Volume-Matched Training. Frontiers in physiology, 9, 744. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00744
4. Ralston, G. W., Kilgore, L., Wyatt, F. B., & Baker, J. S. (2017). The Effect of Weekly Set Volume on Strength Gain: A Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 47(12), 2585–2601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0762-7
5. Lasevicius, T., Schoenfeld, B. J., Silva-Batista, C., Barros, T. S., Aihara, A. Y., Brendon, H., Longo, A. R., Tricoli, V., Peres, B. A., & Teixeira, E. L. (2022). Muscle Failure Promotes Greater Muscle Hypertrophy in Low-Load but Not in High-Load Resistance Training. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 36(2), 346–351. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003454
6. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of sports sciences, 35(11), 1073–1082. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197

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