Tip From Super Strict to Slighted Cheated Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip From Super Strict to Slighted Cheated Add some size to your arms with this challenging training method Here' s how to do it by Christian Thibaudeau September 23, 2020February 25, 2021 Tags Training Change the Strictness of Mechanical Drop Sets Mechanical drop sets are one of my favorite methods for hypertrophy. It consists of doing two or three variations of the same movement as a "superset" but with descending difficulty. You start with your "weakest" or hardest variation. When you hit failure (or close to it) you switch to the second weakest variation. When you hit failure (or close to it) on this one you finish with the maximum reps you can in do your strongest movement. A typical example would be to go from pronated (reverse) dumbbell curls to supinated (normal) dumbbell curls to hammer curls. But one approach that a lot of lifters don't use – and that might be even more powerful – is to do the exact same exercise but change the "strictness" of the movement to allow you to keep getting reps even as you hit failure or close to it. How could it be more effective? Well, you'll keep pounding the same muscle whereas, in the previous example (pronated/supinated/hammer), you're only able to get more reps because you're hitting different parts of the arm flexors. So here's how you do it by just changing the strictness: 1 Start with wall standing curls barbell or dumbbells The back of your head, upper back, butt, and heels must touch the wall behind you. Actively push into the wall with your neck. This will increase neural transmission and allow for better recruitment. When you hit failure (or one rep in reserve) you... 2 Move away from the wall and switch to regular standing curls Keep the form strict. This will still be easier than curling against the wall. Crank out reps to failure then... 3 Switch to slightly cheated curls You can use a little bit of upper body momentum. Just bend at the torso, going slightly forward and rocking it back to start the weight up. But – and here's the important part – the eccentric (lowering of the rep) should be slow and strict. With curls, a slight cheat is fine as long as you do the eccentric under control. You can take as much as 10 seconds of rest between the three steps. Try starting with a weight you can do for 8-10 reps on the first exercise and do 3 work sets. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip 4 Ways to Increase Grip Strength The harder you can hang on and squeeze, the stronger you can get. Try these drills. Arms, Exercise Coaching, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips Tom Morrison October 11 Training Tip Do Prisoner Extensions for Hams & Glutes Build your posterior chain and boost your deadlift with this exercise. Check it out. Tips, Training Bret Contreras May 6 Training Thib s 35 Minutes to Hardcore Muscle Use different force curves and the principles of high-threshold hypertrophy to gain serious muscle with only three workouts per week. Bodybuilding, Training Nate Green July 5 Training Tip The Most Painful Exercise for Biceps Growth Give your arms a case of swoliosis with this curling technique. Training Gareth Sapstead February 20