What if I told you it's not enough to just go through your reps and sets? Optimizing your time at the gym is what's going to help you achieve your goals faster. There's no shortcuts to building muscle, but I have one tool you can use starting today to maximize your gains.

The primary driver of muscle growth is progressive overload, which means lifting heavier and heavier weights over time. If you want to build a strong physique, your number one goal of your weightlifting should be adding weight to the bar over time.

This is essential especially for intermediate and advanced weightlifters because they can no longer rely on their “newbie gains” to make progress.

According to research, the best way to gain muscle strength is by performing 1-6 reps per set; for muscle growth, your ideal rep range is 8-12; and for muscle endurance, 15-30 reps prove most beneficial. A typical set of 10 reps for an average lifter will take anywhere from 15-25 seconds depending on lifting speed. By putting a muscle under longer tension (TUT), you can cause extensive muscle breakdown leading to bigger muscle growth. The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn throughout the day. That is why building a lean muscle is necessary for changing your body composition and blasting out the fat.

With that being said, how can you use TUT (time under tension) to maximize your gains?

1. Slow down the eccentric portion of the lift. In other words, eccentric means elongating the muscle. For example, when you are doing a bicep curl lowering the dumbbell down will be the eccentric movement and curling it up - concentric.

2. Make sure you maintain a good form, since the longer sets can fatigue you faster.

3. Maintain high intensity. If you are simply going through the exercise it doesn't guarantee the results you are after. Exercise as well as the weight should be challenging enough to cause muscle fatigue towards the end of your set.