Bodyweight Trainer Austin Dunham Shares 5 Secrets for Super Human Strength

When it comes to fitness, experts suggest that a reduction of weight shouldn’t be your end-goal. That’s because weight is a one-dimensional parameter that fluctuates often and does not reflect your health in a holistic way. You’d much rather focus on the foundation of any fruitful fitness programme: Strength. This gives a clear indication of whether or not an exercise is making any difference to your body. If you feel stronger with time, know that you’re on the right path. Your size and shape become secondary in this case.

This is exactly the exercising approach that famous fitness influencer Austin Dunham propagates. He believes that a smart and selective strength training program can take you a long way in your fitness journey - that too, in the least amount of time! Known for his powerful physique and specialisation in calisthenics, Austin surely some tricks up his sleeve that make him as strong as he is. He often shares his knowledge with the world by making YouTube videos about fitness or selling body transformation programmes on his website.

If you too want to build a body as solid and strong as Austin Dunham, AskMen India shares his 5 secrets for super human strength:

Compound

Austin Dunham says that going to the gym or practising isolation exercises are not enough to make you strong. They may strengthen certain parts of your body, but cannot boost your overall strength.

Instead, he suggests that those who are taking to strength-training to practise compound exercises on a daily basis. These are multi-joint exercises that work on multiple muscle groups at the same time. Austin believes that compounding makes the basis of any good workout routine. It gets your joints, muscles and tendons to work in tandem, thereby increasing their strength equitably. He recommends a routine that includes both horizontal and vertical exercises with push and pull movements.

The upper and lower body should be given equal consideration. Examples of compound exercises are weighted pull ups, planche push ups and burpees. Do these consistently for a long period of time until you’ve perfected the movement.

Good form

A rule that is often overlooked by beginners while strength training is the maintenance of proper form. It’s the foundation of a good fitness programme. By the time people learn its importance, their bodies have already adapted to an incorrect way of doing the exercise. They get immersed in the reps and completely dismiss proper technique and posture.

An example of this is the tendency to do half a rep in a pull up by not going all the way down. Such a movement makes you strong in all the wrong areas or not at all. This is why Austin Dunham suggests focusing on your form right from the start. This makes the training process easier and more efficient in the long run.

Lower reps, higher sets

Many people who start strength-training tend to have a misconception that the number of reps they do is directly proportional to the desired results.

Austin Dunham begs to differ.

When it comes to compound exercises, he sticks to a range of 3 to 6 reps at the most. Anything beyond that is a big no-no for him. This is because making a few focused movements pays off better than many mindless ones. While doing difficult exercises, Austin suggests low reps with longer rest periods. He advises people to compensate for this by increasing the number of sets.

Rest

Strength training beginners often underestimate the importance of rest before, after and between sets. Taking a break after each exercise helps your body recover from the strain and prepare itself for what is to follow. This improves your performance and helps you reap the benefits of the exercise to a greater extent, as opposed to the dismissive attitude many fitness enthusiasts tend to show towards rest and recovery.

Austin Dunham suggests a gap of 3-5 minutes between two compound exercises. In case you feel restless, practise some stretching exercises in the meanwhile.

patience

Given the amount of effort and energy a typical strength training programme demands, it’s normal to want to see immediate improvement in your fitness level. Austin Dunham, however, advises people to go slow. He claims that building muscle is not the same as increasing strength.

Your body may bulk up in size in the short term, but building strength is a slow process. This is because the underlying joints, muscles and tendons too have to get stronger. Your nervous system also needs to adapt to the intensity of your training. This process takes time. Keep at your training patiently and you will definitely see results in due time.

Follow these fitness rules by Austin Dunham and watch your body become stronger as soon as it can.

Cover artwork by Dhaval Punatar/AskMen India