So you're seeing the numbers on the weights go up, you've got great form but still see no change? I was the same for so long. Getting stronger, minimal changes in physique and had no idea why.
I found out why nothing was working and how to change this a few months ago..... Intension and time under tension. Creating tension in the muscle to recruit more fibres. A perfect way to show you this is the bench press. Banging out reps and reps of super heavy weight feeling super pumped. Next time try this. Take off almost half the weight and do a 1 second explosive rep, at the top force your hands inwards (putting intension on the movement) continue to force hands towards each other with a 4 second negative and repeat 8 times meaning a 40-50 second set.
You can do this with every muscle. Back exercises, force your hands apart on any back movement with the same tempo, legs and in particular squats and leg press, force feet down and outwards to create intension on the outer part of the quad. Delts is slightly different. You must protract the shoulder and keep the arm in a straight line. Eg rear delts, protract shoulder (force forwards) and then instead of trying to bring the arms back imagine you are trying to touch the walls either end if the gym, this minimalists scapula movement and maximises "tension" in the target area. It's similar on all delt movements.
Now you've understood the idea of time under tension you must understand strength curves to truly get the best out of each movement. The muscle is weakest at it's fully lengthened and fully shortened position. So to isolate a muscle, all supporting muscles must be either fully shortened or fully lengthened. Good example of this is the dumbbell fly. The bicep is the supporting muscle so aim to fully lengthen this muscle to isolate the pec. Use this thought process on every movement. You won't be able to lift as much but this sport isn't about being strong, it's about looking good and gaining muscle. I will post videos to demo all of this very soon but until then, remember this; time under tension, creating intension, strength curves.... Enjoy the gains :)
