Im pretty sure everyone gets to a point in the workout journey and they wonder... how can I make this exercise more difficult. Most of us can vouch for this being true if not because we have wondered ourselves but because we have all seen those epic gym fails on IG and YouTube that make us cringe. Well if you are unsure of how to make an exercise more difficult and want a safer approach... here are 5 ways.
GO HEAVIER
Duhh. The most obvious might be going heavier. This without a doubt makes a specific exercise more difficult. Just remember that mastering an exercise with controlled form and tempo is more important than just adding weight and sloppily lifting it. Heavy weights should be programmed over a period of time. Ego shouldn’t get in the way.
While were here and I mentioned mastering and exercise with controlled form and tempo I want to cover the topic of tempo and time under tension (TUT).
Slowing down an exercise or speeding it up doesn't really make it "more difficult". I sorta get short of words here how to explain this so here's an analogy. Say you are on a mountain skiing. You approach a double black diamond the most difficult terrain on the mountain. Now this is already the most difficult "exercise". By going slower it doesn't make the terrain any easier and by going faster it doesn't make it any harder. The terrain is what it is. If you do it on one ski... now that makes it harder. If you did it backwards... that makes it harder.
Raise Center Of Mass
This one could probably be better or best explained by an intellectual physicist but I'll take a swing at it. Have you ever tried to carry all the groceries inside in one trip? I hope so because if not you're missing out on some great self competition. Anyway assuming you have, where did you put all the bags? Maybe some were bags where you could put around your shoulders. In this case they were balanced out and centered. The other bags you probably slid the heavier on
es up over your forearms to the elbow crease. Last were the lighter bags in your hands. If you haven’t tried it this way it is the most logical based on our center of mass.
Now let's correlate this over to weights. Let’s say we are doing a kettlebell squat with 2 kettlebells. We can start with the kettlebells at our sides and perform the squats, a double kettlebell suitcase squat. Next we would bring the kettlebells into a racked position for a front squat. To make this the most difficult you could then press the kettlebells overhead and perform an overhead squat.
Double Kettlebell Suitcase Squat
Double Kettlebell Front Squat
Double Kettlebell Overhead Squat
Adding weight further from our center of mass creates a more unstable position for our bodies. This effectively makes the exercise more difficult. Good luck on your next grocery trip!
Asymmetrical Loading
I want to discuss asymmetrical loading because I think it goes nicely in tandem with raising the center of mass. I’ll come back to this in a bit and explain.
First, in my opinion and experience, most people looking to build muscle and strength that I have seen in the gym over the years, lack asymmetrical training. A lot of people get caught up in using machines and barbells and there is nothing wrong with that, especially for basic strength development. However if we are looking to make an exercise more difficult you can and should be adding some type of asymmetrical loaded exercises.
Some Benefits Of Asymmetrical Training
Balance and Core Strength
Eliminating Dominant Patterns
Improves Body Awareness
Some Exercise Examples
Single Arm Dumbbell
Bench Press
Overhead Press
2 Point Row
Single Leg Dumbbell
Bulgarian Split Squat
Single Leg RDL
Suitcase Deadlift
Single Arm Kettlebell
Turkish Get Up
Farmer Carry
I wanted to make a point about how both raising the center of mass and asymmetrical lifting can go in tandem making an exercise a double black diamond in difficulty. Let's use the same examples.
Single Kettlebell Suitcase Squat
Starts lower center of mass and uses an asymmetrical load
Single Kettlebell Front Squat
Uses a higher center of mass along with an asymmetrical load
Single Kettlebell Overhead Squat
Furthest center of mass possible and once again an asymmetrical load
Make Unstable
First things first, I am not saying to load up a barbell and then stand on a stability ball and start doing back squats. Sure that is certainly making the exercise unstable but it also proves way more risk than reward. Typically when looking for instability in an exercise we would aim for the torso and upper body for the most effective outcomes.
Here is an example for the core. Everyone has likely done a plank… How do we make it more difficult? We can use a stability ball under our elbows instead of the more stable hard floor.
My favorite example for the upper body would be using a resistance band wrapped around a squat rack safety bar. Then doing a push up with your hands on the bands. This creates an insane amount of instability and is a great way to make a push up more difficult.
Add A Dynamic Element
Adding a dynamic element is ultimately progressing an exercise from a stable controlled environment into a more fast paced environment which challenges the stability of an exercise. You may initially think of plyometrics as an example but to make an exercise more dynamic it doesn’t have to be that intense.
For example you could do a Bulgarian Split Squat and to make it more difficult you can change the move to a bowler squat. It works very similar muscles but adds more balance and speed to the exercise.
If you were to do a push up you could immediately think of a clap push up but take it down a notch and think of a push up with a T-Rotation. You can certainly make an exercise more difficult by making it a plyometric version but keep in mind that making something more difficult can also be done by adding a dynamic capability.
There you have it
5 ways to make the exercises more difficult in your workouts. There really are a ton of other ways but these stand out to me as some of the most effective and easiest to understand. Enjoy and have fun programming them into your workouts. As always I'm here to help make your workouts more effective and to get you the results you are looking for. So don't forget to ask me if you have any questions.
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