Pyramid training: Have you heard of it?
For the newbies, this kind of training is relatively unknown. For those more familiar with the fitness world, and in particular of bodybuilding, pyramid training is one of the best ways to increase muscle volume.
The term used for this kind of training comes from the “triangular” disposition, it has at its base a larger number of repetitions of exercises with a less heavy load, culminating in a smaller number of repetitions but an increase of the load used. therefore, pyramid training means that every series of exercises that are performed changes either the load used or the number of repetitions to do.
This training is essentially intended to those who want to enhance the gains from its usual practice.
The pyramid training method can be ascending or descending, depending on the load of weight used in the exercises, it increases or decreases. The different types of pyramid are used according to the desired physical results, although both provide to its practitioners a significant increase in muscle mass. The ascendant, or rising, is ideal for those who wish to increase their strength; as the descending, or decreasing method, is more indicated to those who want to achieve muscle hypertrophy, the increase the volume of your muscles faster.
On the ascending pyramid, as the series evolves, it favors the increase in the weight at the expense of the number of repetitions: in each series of exercises performed, the weight of the load to lift increases and therefore the number of repetitions must decrease. In this process, the muscles will progressively increase, achieving in the finals reps, very heavy loads. This is a kind of ideal training for those who wish to increase their strength, beyond your muscle volume.
The descent pyramid is the opposite: each series of exercises you make the weight decreases and there is an increase in the number of repetitions. The heavier weights are used at the beginning of the practice, when you’re not tired, and therefore, recruit a larger number of muscle fibers, which leads to an increased growth of the muscles. With this training, the point of muscle failure, considered ideal for those who want to increase muscle volume, is reached from the beginning of the exercises and maintained until the end of it.
But note that this is a very intense and demanding kind of training. Before you start it, you should be previously used to do exercises regularly, because the pyramid method causes great physical fatigue. For this reason, it is also not recommended to persons with certain physical limitations.
