Yesterday was a fun day! I got to the gym and opened my gym bag and realized I forgot my gym shoes. That was a very, very long hour on the stair climber. Just remember, #teamnoexcuses.

Today I want to talk to you about what we do between sets. Just as much as what we do when we lift, the time between sets is important. This is a short rest and recuperation time, true. But it is not a fuck off time. We do not want our muscles to call it a day. Further, we want to keep the tension going. I do not give specific time between sets preferring to tell you guys to get back to the weights ASAP, but even when you have your down time you need to be working out and contracting those muscles. Passivity is the enemy of hypertrophy. So forget chatting, forget checking social media and forget that text message you got while lifting (in fact, leave your phone in airplane mode when you work out. Use the save to phone on spotify for your workout playlist and go off the grid. We are here to get work done).

So, we know what not to do, what should we do instead? Arnold says, with regard to mid arm workout, that “there are supplemental things I’d do between sets like stretching my biceps muscle by extending my arm and drawing it backward. I feel that stretching releases the compression of the blood vessels and lets the blood rush in to perform its functions” and, as usual, Arnold’s wisdom here is worth listening to.

In the case above Arnold is working his biceps. After reaching failure on the bicep he is taking a break, but he is, in essence, flexing, through his break. Letting that blood rush to the muscle. Letting the muscle stretch and contract before getting back at it. He is keeping his muscle in a constant state of work.

In between sets there are a couple things people usually do: 1) Play with the phone 2) Check out the girls 3) stare themselves down in the mirror. The thing is, by doing these three things you are leaving gainz on the table…and not just any gainz….easy gainz.

So when you put down your weight and enter your intraset time, focus hard on the muscles you just worked (and presumably are about to work again in the next set) and work on contractions and stretches. Do it hard. It should not be comfortable. Your muscle should feel close to explosion.

Make no mistake, this is not some fancy tip or trick it is quite simply making sure you do everything to maximize the effect of the work you are putting in. You are working hard, don’t leave half the pay on the table because you wanted to look at twitter.