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Attitude
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Training
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Topics covered:
Tips,
Quads,
Hams,
Calves,
Abs,
Chest,
Back,
Shoulders,
Triceps,
Biceps,
I couldn't possibly list all the exercises
you could do here, as there are surely several hundred, probably even thousands
of different exercises. The exercises listed here will give a good selection
to chooses from in planning your routine. I'll also list some sample routines
you might want to try out, but first, some words of advice.
- Vary your workouts, don't
do the same routine or exercise for a muscle for more than 6 weeks,
otherwise your progress will slow, and possibly even halt. Your body
adapts to the motion, and no longer needs to build new muscle to do
that motion. my workouts usually differ every week, though I don't know
if this is the most beneficial!
- Use proper form. Don't
worry about lifting more weight all the time, you're in the gym build
muscle, not (try to) show off, I hope. Don't sacrifice good form in
favor of lifting more weight. Poor form makes you vulnerable to injury,
takes stress off the muscle you are working, and makes you look like
an idiot. When doing curls, your elbow should not move at all. If it
does, some muscle other than your biceps is lifting the weight. Cheating
may be all right (if you don't have a spotter), on occasion, and only
for the last rep or two, but keep in mind that cheating is probably
the most likely time to injure yourself.
- Perform each repetition
slow and deliberately. If you want your muscle to grow, you have to
put it under a lot of stress. By just using momentum to lift a weight,
and letting the weight drop down, you are just wasting your time. Sure,
you might be able to do more reps or more weight, but you won't grow,
and you risk injury.
- On all exercises, don't
let your joints 'lock out'. In the squat, go all the way up, but stop
just before you lock your knees. For shoulder/bench press don't lock
out your elbows. By not locking out you keep the muscle under constant
strain, lessen the chance risk of injury, and your muscle's will grow
more.
- The bigger the exercise
( the more muscle you activate ) the longer the rest. For example, you
might rest 5 minutes between heavy sets of squats, and less than 2 minutes
between sets of curls.
- The more intensity, the
longer the rest. i.e. less than 8 reps requires a few minutes rest,
whereas volume usually requires less rest i.e. ~60 seconds.
- Bigger muscles take longer
to recuperate. Quads and hams may need 5 or more days rest to recover,
whereas arms may only need 2 or 3.
- Stretch a bit after warming
up. Stretch a little between sets. Stretch a lot after working a muscle.
It prevents soreness ( a bit ) and allows for greater growth. I like
to finish of a muscle with a few set s of an exercise that allows me
to fully stretch the muscle, like fly's. See my
stretching page for more info.
- Wait at as long as it takes
for your muscles to fully recover before working that muscle again.
Muscle damage is cumulative, and training too soon will cause more damage
than can be repaired, and you open yourself up to overtraining.
- Use a full range of motion
to maintain flexibility, to stretch the muscle during the exercise,
and just because. Partial reps may be OK ( though I don't see much material
on these ), as they let you handle more weight in the concentric part
of the motion. But accompany them with sets of full reps to prevent
muscle imbalances.
- Don't cheat the weight
up to force out another rep. Use a spotter, or find an an exercise that
lets you spot yourself ( like concentration curls ). Forced reps or
eccentric failure shouldn't be practiced to often anyhow, as this puts
some serious strain on your nervous system, and can quickly lead to
burnout.
- When working several muscles,
try to work muscles in the same area, since the blood is already there.
Don't work legs, and then go do shoulders. Legs should obviously have
a day devoted to them alone. Supersets are good for those pressed for
time, as blood is in general area, and set for one muscle is a stretch/warm-up
for the other.
- Don't get carried away
and to 20 sets for a muscle. What I like to do is warm up for about
3-4 sets (low reps to prevent lactic acid buildup) followed by two or
three heavy sets on some free weight exercise. Then I'll do one or two
heavy sets of another exercise or two. Usually I don't do more than
6 heavy sets per muscle group. Perhaps you've heard of one-set workouts,
and they do have some followers, but studies have shown that multiple
set cause a greater release of testosterone.
Here's a link to Global
Health & Fitness where you can get some demonstrations of various exercises.
You need Quicktime to see the demos. Only selected demos for non members.
The Quads are the front part of
the thighs, and as the name implies, consists of 4 muscles. The knee joints
pretty much only let your leg flex in one plane of motion, making it rather
difficult to target individual muscles of the quads. Some say different
foot positioning during the squat targets different areas of the quad. Though
I don't know for sure if this is true or not, I do know that if you do the
squat, or most any quad exercise, you don't have to worry about underdevelopment
of any one muscle in your thighs.
When I first started doing heavy squats I noticed a tightness/soreness/pulling
at the very top of my thigh, near the groin. I talked to a trainer about
it, and he told me I've got a muscle imbalance, and that I would have train
my adductors more. So if you experience the same thing, try this exercise:
Sit on the end of a bench holding onto the sides, your legs straight. Then
pull your knees up towards your chest, bending your legs. Most of the time
you see this as an abdominal exercise, but I think that is a bit of a misconception,
kinda like people doing old-fashioned sit-ups for abs. Do a couple of sets,
and you'll see where you get sore! Vary how much you bend your knees to
get the most out of this exercise.
Squats
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This is by far the single best exercise you can do for your body. It uses probably about 60%
of all your muscles, gets your heart pounding, is said to expand your chest, and is said
to cause an increase of testosterone in your blood. That said, it is also the most difficult
exercise to master, and master it you must. Proper form is of utmost importance. If you can't
use proper form, practice with light weight and stretch your hips, legs, and groin till you can
(not necessarily all in one day!).
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- Do several warm-up sets,
with some stretching to prepare for heavier sets. Stretching allows
you to use better form, and makes it easier to go further down in the
squat.
- Take longer rests between
sets than with other exercises. Catch your breath. Rests can last up
to 5 minutes.
- Use a foot stance that
allows you to go down as far as possible. Preferably close to shoulder
width apart (maybe more), toes pointed out no more than 30 degrees.
- Never let your back round
out, keep it slightly arched.
- Never let your hip move
out of the center line of motion. Use a mirror to check your form. Keep
your hips under the bar, not swing out back excessively.
- Never let the bar move
ahead of your feet.
- Keep your eyes level -
don't look down, and don't look up
- Don't lock out your knees
at the top of the motion.
- Go Down until your thigh
is roughly parallel with the floor.
- Don't use belt's and knee
wraps unless using a lot of weight. If you use them early on, your muscles
won't develop to support you, and you risk injury when you do go to
heavy weights.
- Don't come up so fast as
to cause the bar to bounce. Not only can this lead to injury and instability,
it would indicate that you are lifting way to fast! Slow down and get
the most out of each set.
For more information, visit Dr.
Squats web site. For his page on squatting specifically, go
here!. There you'll find discussion of myths, advantages, different
variations, and various techniques.
Other exercises include: leg extensions, hack squats, and leg press are
some of the more popular exercises, but believe me, they just don't compare
to the squat. Perhaps a little later on I will cover some of these exercises,
but for now, I'll leave it at that.
Lunges
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Kind of like a one-legged squat, this is a good exercise to alternate with squats for some variety.
Someone asked me if this would be a good exercise for the glutes, and I looked for an answer, but
couldn't find one. My guess would be yes, since it's kind of like doing stairs, which is great for
the butt. Probably an even better way to target the glutes would be to do 'step ups' onto a bench.
But balancing could be difficult.
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- Place a barbell on your
shoulders, or hold it between your legs, or hold onto two dumbbells
at your side.
- Do only one leg at a time!
Watching people constantly switching legs makes me whince, they throw
themselves off balance every rep, their foot position is inconsistent,
it's just plain ugly, and I can see no benefit.
- When in the lunge position,
your knee should not be in front of your toe (this is why inconsistent
foot position in alternating lunges is bad).
- Bend your forward knee until
your back knee just touches the ground, and lift.
I've never really been a big fan
of lunges, probably cause my knees have a tendency to tweak pretty easily.
Mind you, it might help in strengthening the knees if done with lighter
weights. Lunges will take a bit of getting used to because of the balance
needed, but do have many benefits to make them worth your while.
Hack Squats
I basically never do this exercise.
Maybe if you have back problems, this exercise would be good for you, but
otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it for the same reason as a smith squat
machine. You don't need any balance and it puts extra strain on your knees,
which is very bad. Think about it, doing a hack squat is the same as regular
squat except for one aspect: its easier! If you want it easier, you're wasting
your time.
Leg Extensions
These are fun from time to time,
but should definitely not be your only exercise. Perhaps as a finishing
exercise cause it gives a pretty good stretch, and a really good burn. Not
much to say about how to do it, just do it sparingly, and save your energy
for real exercises. Think of this exercise as a triceps kick-back. You don't
do those for mass, do you?
Leg Press
These could be beneficial in building
some power in your legs. You can do a lot of weight fairly safely, and it's
still a pressing motion. In following the triceps analogy, the could almost
be compared to close grip bench. Though no replacement for squats, they
can add some beneficial spice to your leg routine.
Sample Leg
Routine
My leg days are usually pretty
simple: Squats, leg curls(or stiff-leg deadlifts), standing & seated calf
raises. The truth is, I haven't been working legs consistently for all that
long, so I can get away with doing such a simple workout and still make
some pretty decent gains. I think great gains could be made with such a
simple routine for most people, as long as you vary your sets, reps, and
lifting speeds.
For quads alone, I would do something like 6 sets, with reps of 10, 10,
8, 8, 6, 6. Or something like that. Sometimes I'll just to 6 sets of 4-6
reps, or 4 sets of ~15 reps. What ever I feel like. Definitely start your
workout with squats, since they require the most energy and focus. Then
move to leg press for a few heavy sets, warm-up should be unnecessary, and
perhaps finish with a set or two of leg extensions.
Try this on heavier leg days:
- cycle for 5 minutes to warm
up
- 3-4 consecutive warm-up
sets, increasing the weight every time, reps of ~ 8,6,4,2
- 3-4 working sets of squats,
reps of ~10,8,6
- 2-3 working sets of leg
press, reps of ~8,6
- 1-2 working sets of leg
extensions, reps of ~10
Try this on lighter leg days:
- cycle for 5 minutes to warm
up
- 3-4 consecutive warm-up
sets, increasing the weight every time, reps of ~ 8,6,4,2
- 2-3 working sets of squats,
reps of ~15,12,10
- 2 working sets of leg press,
reps of ~12,10
- 1 working sets of leg extensions,
reps of ~15
With such a large muscle, you
need a long rest between sets, so I prefer to superset quad exercises with
hamstrings. It's simple, on heavy days do a set for quads, rest 2 minutes,
do a set for hams, rest 2 minutes, start over. This gives your muscles 5
minutes between sets, plenty of time to recuperate for another heavy set!
On light days, rest only 1 minute between exercises.
This is the biceps of the leg,
located on the back part of your leg. This is another often neglected and/or
under-trained body part. Most common exercise is leg curls, where you lie
on your stomach, and lift the weight behind you with your ankles. This is
a great exercise for starting out, but if you want to hit them as hard as
you can, then try this exercise!
Straight leg deadlifts
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This is a bizarre exercise! You could have been doing leg curls for a while already, but this one'll
still get you sore, so start easy. It may not feel like it does a lot, and you may be tempted to throw
on more weight, but trust me, do only light sets for the first week or two.
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- Warm up a lot for this
exercise, since ham strings are very easy to pull. Start off with very
light weights.
- Do some stretching between
sets, being careful not to pull anything.
- Feet should be close together,
at most shoulder width apart.
- Start standing straight,
keep your legs straight ( but still slightly bent! ), holding on to
the bar either palms facing your legs, or powerlifting grip (one palm
in, the other out).
- Let your butt move back
as you bend at the hips to lower the weight. Keep you back neutral (straight).
Do not let your back round out!
- I have heard various arguments
as to how far to lower the weight. Some say about 45 degrees is plenty,
any further and you just work your lower back. Others say go all the
way down. I think it is important to focus on just moving at the hips
so that only the hams are doing the work. Just like your wrists shouldn't
bend when you are doing curls.
- My most reliable source
so far recommends not bending past 30-35 degrees, going any lower puts
too much strain on the lower back, and...
- When straightening out,
do not hyperextend, or over-straighten your back. Just straighten out
to a point where it is comfortable.
Leg curls
This is probably a better exercise
to start with since it lets you warm up your hamstrings. Straight legged
deadlifts can be quite deceiving in that they don't really feel like they're
doing to much, and it is easy to strain your muscle in a bad way without
sufficient warm-up. Pretty much every gym has this machine, and it comes
in two variations: flat and with a hump. The purpose of the hump is to eliminate
your hip flexors from becoming involved. Recently in Muscle Media I have
read that the bench with the hump is better, but I have also read the opposite.
Everyone has a different theory! The advice that holds true for any machine
is to keep your hips planted on the bench, and use only your leg biceps
(hamstrings) to move the weight.
Since this muscle is often neglected, I would recommend going fairly light
the first few workouts, but since the hamstring is primarily a fast twitch
fiber, you will want to move towards lower reps with more weight for maximal
development. Using different foot spacing on the pads may also help target
different heads of your leg biceps, much like arm biceps exercises do.
Sample routine
for Hamstrings
As I said earlier, I prefer to
superset hamstrings with quads. Here I will just the hamstring workout.
- cycling 5 minutes to warm
up
- 3 consecutive sets of leg
curls for warm up, increasing weight, decreasing reps (8,6,4), followed
by 3 minute rest
- 3 working sets of leg curls,
reps of 6-8
- 1-2 warm up sets of stiff-leg
deadlifts (just in case!)
- 3 working sets of stiff-leg
deadlifts, reps of 4-8
For lighter days, lessen weight,
increase reps, decrease rest time. Refer to quad sample routine for more
details.
Calves are often argued to be
the most difficult muscle to develop, probably cause we use it every day
the instant we stand up. It's used to being worked lots, and so doesn't
respond much to training. Recently a training article in Muscle Media pointed
out that the trick is in stressing the calves in different ways, from different
angles. For instance, holding a dumbell in one hand, and balancing yourself
with the other hand, do one legged calf raises on a block, and move the
dumbell in front of you, behind you, and change hands for the same calf.
I believe the calves can be coaxed into growth with lower reps/higher weight
like most muscles. You just gotta really push them, with nice slow, deliberate
movements.
Seated calf
raises
Being done on a machine, there
isn't that much to say for this exercise. It works the part of the calf
that lies closer to the bone, so it won't give you that wicked, upside-down
heart shaped calf. But it will add mass, and make your calf a lot thicker.
Pack on the weight, do slow, full reps. Let your heel go down as
far as possible, and push your heel all the way up, until your almost on
you tipee-toes. This exercise works mostly the soleus, the muscle closer
to your bone, and being mostly slow-twitch muscle, you should use a higher
rep range, i.e. ~15 reps
Standing calf raises
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These can be done as described in the intro to calves by holding a dumbell in one hand and balancing
yourself with the other. Or if you prefer, on hack squat machines, or other calf raise machines that
may be available. Standing on a block do a full reps, contracting hard at the top, and stretching
all the way at the bottom. This can also be done with a calf raise machine that you stand under, or
donkey raises. This is the exercise you'll want to do if your looking for a good shape in your calf by
working the gastrocnemius, which is primarily a slow twitch fiber, and requires lower reps, less than 10.
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Sample calf
routine
I'll usually finish my leg day
with these, or maybe tack them onto another day. Since, by the end of a
workout I'm looking to get out of the gym and pursue any semblance of a
life, my calf workouts are usually sorely lacking. To hurry things along,
I like to super-set the two heads of the calf muscle as well, alternating
seated and standing calf raises.
- 1-2 warm-up sets of each
exercise
- 2-3 working sets of each
exercise, 6-8 reps for standing, 10-15 reps for seated.
- always be sure to use full
range of motion, and fully stretch the calf at the bottom position of
each rep.
Glutes get a lot of work from
most compound exercises that are used to develop quads such as the squat
and leg press. Also, using stiff-legged deadlifts also involves the glutes
to a certain extent. To use the glutes more durind stiff-legged deadlifts,
lower your body as low as possible, without losing the neutral position
of your spine, i.e. don't round your back!!
If you want more glute work, lunges work well, or even better, stepping
up onto a raised block. Much like lunges, put a barbell on your shoulders,
or hold onto two dumbbells at your sides. Then, stand in front of a box/step
(anywhere from a few inches to 2 feet high), step onto the box one foot
at a time, and lift your wait up. Then switch feet. This requires a fair
bit of balance, so practice with very light weight.
In the spirit of (kind of) going from
the bottom up, I will now talk about abs. Oh, those precious abs. If you
can't see 'em, chances are no exercise directed towards them is gonna help
too much. You need to burn off the fat in order to see your abs. But the
bigger they are, the sooner you'll (kind of) see them. So let's talk abs!
Crunches
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By far the most basic exercises, and by no means
to be mistaken with sit-ups. Don't waste your time on sit-ups! They're
not to too good for your lower back, and work the muscle that pulls
your spine towards your hips, not your ribcage. You need to focus
on pulling your ribcage towards your hips. That is the essence of
the crunch! |
- You ever heard of a Swiss
ball? It's a large rubber ball, and crunches are great when lying on
it. Basically, you should want to extend your range of motion, which
a Swiss ball easily facilitates. Your abs are more stretched in the
starting position than when you are just lying on the floor, and your
rep covers about 30% more range of motion. An decline bench doesn't
really work any better than lying on the floor, cause your still just
lying on a flat surface, and your range of motion isn't increased. If
you don't have Swiss ball, you could try lying on a sofa or bed, with
your shoulders just hanging over the edge.
- Another contraption some
gyms may have is like an incline bench with a hump that sticks out and
supports your lumbar (lower back) region. Then it has a rope attached
to a cable/pully system, and you hold the rope in both hands over your
shoulders. This provides the resistance as you pull your torso forward
and down.
- Do slow contractions, really
squeezing it. Don't try to pump out 50! Using the method just described
to increase your range of motion really helps you to make a slow contraction.
And putting some weight on your chest will make it burn like never before!
Abs are a fast twich fiber, so you want to keep reps low around 6-10.
Hip raises
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Not leg raises, but hip raises. What you do is lie flat on the floor, steady yourself with your hands,
and raise your legs so they're pretty much straight up (you could also put your hands under your glutes for
support, and a self-spot). Then lift your hips off of the floor. These target the lower abs,
which are often a tough spot to hit.
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- Keep your lower back on
the ground. This may not make sense, but trust me, you should only be
lifting your hips off the ground, and if you're doing it right, they
won't lift more than two inches.
- Try and do it slow, though
you may find this hard to do. I haven't yet perfected this exercise
myself, so try different things, different hand positions, bend your
knees, etc. Just don't use momentum by swinging your legs!!
Definitely one of the most popular
bodyparts to train, possibly only second to biceps. The pec's actually consist
of 2 main muscles (per side), pec minor and pec major. Pec major is the
one you see, pec minor is underneath it, but shouldn't be neglected.
The old stand by is the bench press, and for good reason. It is a great
way to build some mass, you can use a lot of weight safely, and don't have
to focus so much on form as you do with dumbbells. But the extra balancing
required with dumbbells is exactly what makes dumbell presses a great exercise
for blasting through training plateaus. It brings into play muscles all
over the place, and if you switch to dumbell presses as opposed to barbell
presses for say 3 workouts, I guarantee you'll go back to you bench press
stronger.
Barbell Bench
Press
Not too much to say here, I'm
sure most everyone has done them! Here's some common mistakes I still see
in the gym (and can't believe I do see some of them), and some tips:
- Don't bounce the weight
off your chest! I can't fathom what people are thinking when they
do this, it just blows my mind! You risk some major injury, and aren't
even putting your muscles under continuous stress. Sure you could maybe
'lift' more, though I hardly call it lifting.
- Your elbows should, at
the bottom of the motion, be at a 45 degree angle to your body to take
some stress off your shoulders.
- Use a wider grip to avoid
involving the triceps. At the bottom of the motion your elbows should
be at a 90 degree angle.
- Don't arch your back, or
lift your ass off the bench.
- Lower the bar to near the
bottom of your chest. The easiest way to accomplish this is to concentrate
on your forearms always pointing straight up.
- Don't lockout your elbows
at the top of the movement.
Muscle Media has a nice article
on improving your bench press, so check
it out!
Dumbell Bench
Press
As I said earlier, this exercise
is excellent for pushing through a sticking point. The last time I tried
it, I increase my barbell bench by about 20 pounds after 2 weeks. This exercise
involves so many surrounding/supportive muscles that don't get activated
too much by a barbell bench, but when you go back to the barbell bench,
those muscle are there to help you push even harder! I would recommend switching
this exercise off with a barbell bench every couple of weeks, or when you
feel like you need it.
- Sit on the end of a bench
with the dumbbells resting on your knees. You may need someone to help
you lift the weight to here.
- Lie down, bring the weight
with you, so that you are lying flat on the bench, the dumbbells next
to your waist.
- The first rep is the hardest
(well, actually the last rep should be the hardest!), so get a spotter
to help you lift the weight the first time. This is only if you are
using really heavy weights. If you don't have a spotter, you could always
use less weight and slow down your reps!
- Another benefit of this
exercise is that it lets you lower the weight further, and get a fuller
contraction at the top of the movement. If you can't seem to get sore,
or just want a really good stretch, squeeze you shoulder blades together
at the bottom of the rep. I've heard people say you shouldn't let your
arms go below parallel with the floor, though I can't imagine why! Maybe
as a partial rep.
- Try to keep your forearms
pointing straight up.
- Don't lockout your elbows
at the top of the movement, as this causes a big loss in stability.
Pullovers
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This exercise directly targets the pec minor. You lie on a bench with only your shoulder blades/traps resting
on the bench ( so you and the bench make a T ). Your feet should be flat on the floor, knees bent, butt hanging
low. Now grab a (light) weight, raise it above your head, and lower it behind your head, keeping your arms
straight, but elbows not locked. Lower it as far as possible to get a good stretch, and raise only to a point
where the resistance begins to drop off.
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When I see people doing this exercise,
I almost always see them lift the weight until it is straight above their
heads so you can really squeeze your pecs. That's all nice and good, but
this exercise isn't for your pec major anyway, and doing this motion doesn't
keep the pec minor under constant tension.
- Lie on a bench, perpendicular
to it, with only your upper back on the bench, feet flat on the floor,
knees bent, ass hanging low.
- Lift a weight and lower
it as far as you can behind your head, keeping your arms straight, but
not locked.
- Lift the weight only about
30 degrees or until the tension is taken off the pec minor.
This exercise give a great stretch,
and works an otherwise unused muscle, adding yet more size to your chest
than pressing movements alone could bring.
Variations
of Bench
Variations include:
- Decline bench: head is
lower than body, isolates chest more, not involving shoulders as much,
also really good for close-grip to target the triceps.
- Incline bench: Uses shoulders
a lot more, and can really develop your pecs closer to your collarbone.
This should almost be a part of most every chest workout for even development.
- Various grips can also
be used to target different muscle fibers. A narrower grip involves
more triceps whereas a wider grip isolates the chest.
Sample routines
for the Chest
- 3-4 consecutive warm up
sets on bench press, increasing weight, reps of 8,6,4,2, followed by
3 minute rest
- 2-3 working sets of flat
bench (barbell or dumbell), reps of ~6(heavy) or ~10(light), rest of
2(light)-4(heavy) minutes.
- 2-3 working sets of incline
bench, (barbell or dumbell) same rep and time range as flat bench.
- 2-3 sets of pullover, lighter
weight, 8-10 reps
- 1-2 sets of fly's for a
good stretch. Use less weight, but let the weight nearly touch the floor.
The back is usually ignored in
favor of the chest. It's a pity really, because the back is a much larger
muscle than the chest, and so would probably react more favorably to exercise.
Not to mention a V-taper always good to have! A nice thick back is unmistakable,
and makes you look more impressive in a shirt than large pecs do.
The Irreplaceable pull-up/chin-up
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The chin-up is by far the single best exercise
for the upper body. With it you can target every muscle in your back,
and other muscles as well. The key to using the chin-up to it's fullest
potential is to vary the grip and style of lift. Here's a list of
some of the variations and what areas each one targets, along with
some general tips, as usual! |
- Standard, shoulder width
grip, palms facing you chin-up. This one tends to involve the biceps
a lot, so I would save this exercise till near the end of your back
workout.
- Standard, wide grip pull-up,
palms facing away from you. This focuses most of the strain on your
lats, and is in my opinion crucial for building a wide back.
- Close grip, palms facing
you chin-up. This works the brachialis a lot.
- Palms facing each other,
close grip pull-up. This one is done with one of those small, triangular
devices usually use on the cable row. Just hang it over the chin-up
bar, and pull yourself up so your chest touches your hands. This exercise
is great for developing the rhomboids ( down the middle of your back).
- Palms facing each other,
wide grip pull-ups. This is easiest on the wrists, and would probably
let you do the most weight/reps.
- Let yourself all the way
down so that your shoulder blades go up. This gives a full stretch,
and allows for a greater range of motion.
- Pull yourself all the way
up, until the bar touches your chest, or your chin at least gets above
the bar, for obvious reasons.
If you do a combination of chin-up
variations, you will find that you get a complete back workout. There's
even a good chance that your biceps will get a great workout too.
The Deadlift
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This exercise is great for building a lot of power, and a really thick back. People I workout with tend to
think that it's more of a leg exercise, but if I can convince them to do 'em with me, the next day they
usually realize how wrong they were!
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- Grab the bar with both
palms facing you, space slightly more than shoulder width apart.
- Always keep your back slightly
arched, or at least straight.
- legs should be about shoulder
width apart.
- Lift in one smooth motion,
moving your hips and back at the same time. It may take some practice
to get the motion down pat, but it's worth it. A common mistake is to
straighten your legs, then your back, or vice versa.
- Keep the bar as close to
your body through the entire motion. Unfortunately this can lead to
some scraped shins which really sucks, so one trick is to put a pad
on the bar, then you can let it roll up your legs.
- Keep your shoulders back,
and look straight forward.
Barbell rows
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An obvious variation of this is the bent over
dumbbell row which allows for a greater range of motion, but I find
the bent over barbell row activates more muscle. This exercise may
or may not be necessary, depending on which variations of the chin-up
you do. The chin-up that most closely emulates the barbell row is
the close grip, palms facing each other chin-up. If you have access
to a machine that lets you rest your chest on a pad, it better isolates
your back. |
- Grab the bar with palms
facing you, more than shoulder width apart.
- Bend at the hips, keep
your back arched, and knees bent.
- Pull the bar up to your
chest, at the bottom of the pec.
- Vary the grip to target
different regions.
- Vary the angle of your
torso to target upper or middle back more.
- Keep your head up and shoulders
back.
- Do full reps, letting the
bar all the way down for a full stretch. It may be necessary to stand
on something elevated to achieve this, or load on a bunch of smaller
plates so you can go lower without them touching the floor.
Seated Cable
rows
This exercise just feels different
from barbell or dumbell rows. It feels like you can squeeze the muscle a
little more, hold the contraction a little longer. And so, I like to throw
this exercise into my routine from time to time. It's pretty straight forward:
- I prefer a to use the handle
that has your palms facing each other, and close together, though you
can use pretty much any bar you want.
- Sit far back enough so you
can let the weight stretch you fully before bottoming out.
- Straighten your back and
pull your hands towards your waste in one smooth motion, not letting
your back past a 90 degree angle. In other words, at the end of the
motion, your back should be straight up. Squeeze your hands into your
waste, and slowly return the weight getting a full stretch.
- For added intensity and
a better stretch, you could try doing this exercise one arm at a time.
A Sample back
routine.
- 3-5 consecutive warm up
sets of barbell rows, deadlifts, and maybe pulldowns
- 2 working sets of wide-grip
pullups, as many reps as I can.
- 2 working sets of chinups,
as many reps as I can.
- 3-4 working sets of deadlifts
(save it for last, cause you won't be doing much after these!)
When you're finished, maybe throw
in a set of light pulldowns to fully stretch your back, or just hang from
a bar, and work your wrists if you still can!
Shoulders are used in most every
other upper body exercise, so it is important to train them not only for
size, but also strength, especially the supportive muscles like around the
rotator cuff. I found that doing some exercises for strengthening the rotator
cuff really helped stabilize bench and shoulder presses. I prefer to use
higher reps on shoulder exercises to avoid injury.
Rotator cuff
exercises
The rotator cuff is developed
by doing rotating exercises for the shoulder. There are actually 4 muscles
that make up the rotator cuff, but it's usually just two (external rotators)
that are neglected. One is trained by a rotating exercise with the elbow
close to the torso, the other with the elbow straight out. Training these
external rotators can increase stability, strength and symmetry, so give
them a try!
On exercise: grab a light dumbbell, hold your arm out parallel to the floor,
bend the elbow 90 degrees, and lower and raise the dumbbell. Keep your upper
arm stationary as your forearm lowers in front until almost dangling straight
down, and lift until your forearm is upright.
You could also do what I just descriped while sitting backwards on a preacher
bench, and resting your elbow on the the pad. Adjust the seat so your upper
arm is parallel with the floor.
To work the other external rotator muscle keep your elbow at your side,
and use a waist high pulley device to rotate your forearm in that position.
Or you could lie sideways on a flat bench, keep your elbow at your side,
let your forearm drop down in front of you, and lift it till it's pointing
straight up.
Shoulder press
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I wouldn't recommend doing these behind the neck as this puts a great deal of unnecessary strain on the
shoulder girdle. Tends to work more of the front delts, and the middle delts some. Rear delt work must
not be neglected! Obvious variations of this exercise are using barbells or dumbbells.
Using dumbbells uses more supportive muscle and is a great exercise to use every once in a while for the
same reasons that doing dumbbell benching is so good. Be careful to not let your arm wander to far back,
as this is probably where most shoulder dislocations occur!
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Lateral raises
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Usually performed standing, knees slightly bent, slightly leaning forward ( to target the rear delts
more ), elbows slightly bent. Raise the weight as fast as you can, and lower slowly and under control.
I find that doing one arm at a time (hanging on to something with my free arm) gets me a much better
burn.
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Seated Rows for the shoulders
Using a rowing machine (no cables),
adjust the seat/handles so that you are pulling the bar towards your shoulders.
Use a wide grip and keep your elbows up through the entire motion. This
is a great rear delt exercise!
Upright Rows for the shoulders
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Grab a barbell more than shoulder width apart, and raise the bar until your upper arm is parallel
with the floor. This is usually done with a narrow grip, which can put strain on the wrists, and also
calls into play triceps and traps. This exercise targets mostly just the middle deltoid head.
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Front Barbell/Dumbell
raises
Grab the bar with a greater than
shoulder width grip, and lift the bar in front of you body until your upper
arms are just barely over parallel with the floor. Most people do this with
a narrow grip, but using a wider grip allows for better isolation of the
middle head of the deltoid. Dumbbells allow greater intensity as you can
focus on each shoulder individually
Sample Shoulder
Routines
You should really take a good
look at your shoulders and determine which part of it requires the most
work before you try to design a workout for shoulders. As you can see, there
are a huge number of exercises for the shoulders, allowing a huge variety
of routines, each putting various degrees of emphasis on the three different
heads of the shoulder.
Emphasizing the front deltoids:
- incline bench press
- shoulder press
- front raises
Emphasizing the middle deltoids:
- shoulder press
- upright rows
- lateral raises
Emphasizing the rear deltoids:
- shoulder press
- seated later raises (leaning
forward a bit)
- seated rows for the shoulders
I would start any shoulder workout
with a thorough warm-up, including a few light sets of rotator cuff exercises.
If you want to swing your arm as a warm-up, do so in a controlled manner,
perhaps holding onto a light weight, like a 5 or 10 pound plate. Do 2 or
3 sets of 2 or 3 exercises, paying particular attention to the eccentric
portion of the lift. I have a really hard time getting my shoulders to be
sore, so I actually tend to work them more often than most other muscles.
The triceps are actually a lot
bigger than the biceps, so if your looking for big arms, don't neglect these!
They get some work from the bench press, but not a lot. They require a lot
more stimulation than just that. They have the same kind of tendon connections
as the quads, and so can be subjected to two distinctly different motions:
pressing-close grip bench (like a squat for your arms), and extending-skull
crushers/French press (like leg extensions).
Close grip
bench press
This is an important exercise
for building mass, just as the squat is for the legs. I like to use and
EZ bar since it is easier on the wrists. I have heard of all sorts of elbow
positions for this exercise, from out to your sides, to next to your body.
I believe next to your body is the more mechanically correct position. Do
what ever feels better for you! And even though next to your body might
not feel like it is working the triceps too much, try it once for a bunch
of sets, and let your soreness the next day decide for you! A flat bench
is probably best for this exercise.
Dips
Dips are another great exercise
for the triceps. To work the triceps, try to keep your torso straight, as
opposed to leaning forward which will cause the pecs to become the primary
muscle. Lower yourself until your triceps are parallel with the floor, and
lift yourself all the way up, explosively. As these get easier, you may
want to hold a dumbell between your feet, or hang a plate from your waste
for more resistance. When starting out, or working out at home, you could
do dips between two chairs or benches with your feet up on one chair, hands
behind your butt on the other chair, lowering yourself till your triceps
are parallel with the floor.
French press/skull
crushers
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This works the outer head of the triceps, whereas the previous exercise works the inner head more.
Lying down, keeping your elbows stationary, lower the weight (EZ bar is nice for this as well) to your
forehead. You can keep your elbows pointing straight up, but angling them back a bit gives a better stretch.
Using a decline bench as opposed to a flat bench also gives you a greater range of motion.
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Sample routine for triceps
I usually like to work my triceps after
doing chest since they're already warmed up, though some people find that
doing the bench press burns out their triceps too much. Do whatever feels
best for you. Even though I'll be warmed up from bench, I like to do a few
warm-up sets just in case, usually French press as it works my elbow through
a full range of motion. For my working sets I would use something like:
- 3 sets of dips, increasing
the weight, reps of 10,8,6
- 2 sets of close grip bench
(8-10 reps) alternated with
- 2 sets of French press (10-15
reps)
- rest between set anywhere
from 1-3 minutes.
- I choose my rep ranges based
on how the exercise feels on my elbows. I can't do a lot of weight comfortably
on French presses, so I'll use lighter weight and higher reps.
Ah, finally, the biceps. This
muscle ranks right up there with chest for popularity. There is nothing
too revolutionary to say about biceps training. Stretch them good with an
exercise like incline curls or using a preacher bench, use a lot of weight
with barbell curls, and give them a good, focused workout with concentration
curls or alternating dumbell curls (seated), and you should have no problems
with biceps development.
Please realize that it would be a lot more difficult to increase biceps
size without increasing the rest of you muscle mass. Or stated differently,
it would be easier to put an inch on your arms if you gained 10 pounds of
muscle on your entire body. In fact, if you stick more with compound exercises
like chin-ups, deadlifts and squats, your arms will undergo a great deal
of development as well. Besides, having larger shoulders makes your arms
look bigger anyhow, just like bigger calves make your quads look bigger.
Since the arms are a small muscle group, you can work them out more often
than larger muscles like legs and back, but I would definitely focus my
energy on the larger bodyparts, especially for the first year of bodybuilding.
Barbell curl
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Touted as the mass builder of all biceps exercises, probably cause it lets you handle a lot of weight,
and is a relatively compound exercise as far as biceps go. Stand with feet shoulder width apart, grab the
bar with roughly shoulder width grip, maybe a bit less or more, keep your elbows at your sides and live in
a smooth motion. Lower bar in a controlled motion. Pretty straight forward, meat-and-potatoes type of
exercise.
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Reverse barbell curl
Pretty much the same as above, though
you may find you'll need a wider grip, grab the bar with palms down/facing
you. This works the brachialis and forearms more, just thought I'd mention
it here.
Incline dumbell
curls
Lying on an incline bench, let
your arms hang down at your sides, palms facing back. As you lift the weight,
rotate your hands so your palms are rotated 180 degrees (facing your face
at top of lift). This is a great full range of motion exercise, and gives
a good stretch. I prefer doing one arm at a time.
Alternating dumbell curl
Sitting on a bench, arms hanging at
your sides, lift one dumbell through a complete rep, then lift the other.
This is my favorite, as it lets me focus on each arm separately, and handle
more weight. Try to keep your elbows at your side, and torso steady.
Concentration
curl
Be prepared to lower your weight
if your gonna do this exercise. Either sit on a bench, or bend over and
lean against something (knees bent) as you curl one arm at a time. Twist
your wrist so your pinkie is closest to your shoulder at the top of the
lift. This exercise is said to work the outer head of the biceps and really
develop a good peak.
Preacher curls
This is another great exercise
for full range of motion, with a good stretch. Take the time to adjust the
seat/chest pad for greatest comfort. You don't want to be hunched over the
pad, and you want your elbows to rest on the pad fairly easily. Spotters
are highly recommended on this exercise! Also a great exercise because it
basically prevents any cheating!
Sample routine for biceps
In all honesty, I don't work my biceps
all that much. I usually let my chinups comprise the whole of my biceps
workout, though I am starting to get into it again. When I do get around
to working biceps, it usually looks something like this:
- 3-4 warm-up sets of 8,6,4,2
reps, rest 2-3 minutes
- 3 heavy barbell sets of
8-10 reps
- 2-3 seated alternating dumbell
curls, 6-10 reps
- 2 reverse curls, 10-12 reps
for a better stretch you might
consider:
- 3-4 warm-up sets of 8,6,4,2
reps, rest 2-3 minutes
- 3 sets of preacher bench,
10,8,6 reps
- 3 sets of alternating incline
curls, 6-10 reps.
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