No muscle gets left behind, at least that’s what former two-time Figure Olympia champion Erin Stern believes. In a recent YouTube video shared on September 18, 2024, Stern shared five tips to bring up lagging muscles, regardless of whether it’s due to genetics or simply neglecting a particular body part.
Erin Stern has built quite a portfolio over the years as a professional bodybuilder. From winning two Figure Olympia titles in 2010 and 2012 to nailing a first-place finish in the Bikini division at the 2022 Republic of Texas Pro, Stern has proven that her methods of training are top-notch.
Erin Stern Shares 5 Simple Steps To Improve Lagging Muscles
Taking the knowledge she has accumulated over the years, Stern provides easy-to-follow guides for her followers to improve not only their physiques but their overall health as well. Whether she’s offering her expertise on accelerating fat loss or her principles for eating and training to tone the body, Stern has wisdom to give out regardless of the end goal.
Erin Stern recently posted a YouTube video where she shared her five steps to bring up lagging muscles. She explained that there are usually two reasons for a specific muscle group lacking and that is first, genetics and second, simply neglecting that area.
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“Are you looking to bring up a specific muscle group, perhaps it’s lagging? If so, this video is for you. When it comes to lagging muscles, there can be a couple different reasons for this. The first is genetics.
We’re certainly gifted to build certain muscle groups and other muscle groups not so much. The second reason is that we can inherently just not like to train certain muscles. So, we neglect them. In this video, we’re going to go over five quick tips for bringing up lagging muscle groups.”
Stern’s Five Tips For Improving Lagging Muscles
- Prioritize That Muscle
- Use Effective Exercises
- Frequency
- Volume
- Progression
Tip #1 – Prioritize That Muscle
To improve weak muscle groups, Stern breaks down five simple steps to help improve strength in the lacking areas starting with focusing on the muscle in question.
“If you’re looking to bring up or grow your calves for example, you’re going to do those exercises at the beginning of the week and at the beginning of the exercise.”
Stern emphasized that when focusing on a specific muscle, you should work it at the beginning of the week right after your warm-up when the body is the freshest.
“This is really important when we prioritize something we are putting our attention on it after our warm-up when we’re most fresh we are doing the exercises that are going to help us bring that muscle up and build it” Stern explained.
Tip #2 – Use Effective Exercises
Next, Stern revealed that it is important that the exercises you are using specifically target and work the muscles needing attention.
“Are you doing effective exercises that are going to directly impact the muscles you’re trying to bring up? Now, this goes for compound movements, which are multi-joint movements, your isolation, or your single joint movements. Exercise selection is really key here.”
Tip #3 – Frequency
She also shared that frequency plays a big role in strengthening the muscles, and depending on the area, the number of times to train it per week will vary.
“We must talk about frequency. So it’s not enough to do the exercise once per week or to prioritize once per week. Really looking at two to three times per week depending on the muscle.”
For hamstrings, you need longer to recuperate.
“Now, if you’re looking for something like hamstrings for example, they are typically going to take a lot longer to recover than some other muscle groups so you might be okay with twice a week on that one.”
However, with shoulders or the back, you can train them more frequently.
“Shoulders or back for example, you might be able to get away with three times per week and of course, going back to number one and number two making sure to prioritize that muscle group at the beginning of your workout and choosing those effective exercises.”
Tip #4 – Volume
Stern explains that getting the right amount of volume is important, and since you will be working the muscle group more frequently, you don’t have to do too much at one time. That ensures you’ll get a quality workout in.
“We also have to talk about volume. Now, volume is just the number of sets you’re doing per week. And typically, if you’re only training something once per week, you’re going to try to jam in all of that volume into one week or one day per week and this is just not going to be effective because what’s going to happen is about halfway through the workout you’re just going to check out mentally and possibly physically as well which can equate to junk volume.”
Tip #5 – Progression
Finally, Stern encourages individuals to stay mindful of the muscle groups and if they are plateauing.
“The body is amazingly adaptive and if we don’t continue to add little stressors here and there your body is just going to adjust and adapt and you’re going to plateau. This is what can happen if you don’t build in progression. Now, as a bonus, you may want to look up that specific muscle group so shoulder for example, they are about a 50-50 split between fast-twitch and slow-twitch.”
“Your muscles can vary so you do have a different amount of fast-twitch versus slow twitch,” adds Stern.
Stern never lets anything get in her way of training, including injuries. Just a few weeks ago, Erin Stern revealed that she tore her Achilles and would be needing surgery. Shortly after that, Stern disclosed that she had a blood clot in her calf, forcing her to take it easy when it came to training.
However, she has taken the unfortunate news in stride and used it as an opportunity to share advice on working around injuries. She recently walked her followers through a banded back and abs superset workout, proving there is never an excuse not to train.
Regardless of what body part needs improvement, Erin Stern has the tips you need to make it happen. Now, with her easy five-step guide to bringing up lagging muscles, nothing is standing between you and your ideal physique.
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