good thread...
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- Thread starter heavylifting1
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Thanks! Good info right here.
The basis of high intensity training
Arthur Jones created HIT back in the 1970's as an alternative to the high volume routines that often gave his gym followers little results. He scientifically tested his methods in order to convince skeptics in the training industry. Mike Mentzer and others that he trained took what they learned from Jones and created their own twists to the system. The most influential spokespersons for modern day HIT training would likely be people like the sadly departed Mike Mentzer, 6-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, and others who you'll no-doubt find if you do a simple Internet search.
Here's a list of the most important exercises:
Legs and lower back - deadlifts, squats, leg presses
Back and biceps - rows, chins, shrugs
Chest, shoulders and triceps - Bench press or dips, overhead press
Abs - sit-ups or crunches
With these exercises you keep in mind poundage targets that are hard but achievable, and when you accomplish them, raise the stakes and set new ones. "Ah", you say, "but I'm a bodybuilder! Unconcerned with strength, I only want big arms and bulging pecs, big enough to make the girls drool over my better than perfect body!"
Nope. The reason why poundage targets are used is that poundage targets are not only the simplest indicators of progress, but also the best. There may not be a completely linear relationship between size and strength, but one does exist and if today you can curl 100 lbs for 6 repetitions, yet in 6 months you manage 140 lbs in the same fashion, your arms will undoubtedly be bigger. Focus on getting stronger in the "big basics" and your body will develop much better than it would by measuring yourself each week.
Here are some good targets to work to over the medium to long term, once you reach these you will have surpassed 99% of all weight trainers all over the world, and will likely be one of the stronger guys in your gym.
Squats to 1? above parallel: 315 lbs x 15, 400 lbs x 1
Deadlifts: 385 lbs x 10, 500 lbs x 1
Bench press: 275 lbs x 8, 335 lbs x 1
Standing shoulder press: 180 lbs x 6
Bent over rows: 255 lbs x 10
Lifting these poundages at 210 lbs bodyweight, would roughly equate to an arm of over 16 inches and a chest of over 45 inches, depending on your height obviously. Do these sound small? Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms were 19 inches, he may have claimed otherwise but at his peak they were measured by Arthur Jones in fair and controlled conditions. Nowadays bodybuilders still claim measurements that are far in excess of what they truly are, and if I were you I would take those (and their poundage claims) with a pinch of salt. The only bodybuilder I would believe when it comes to his lifts would be Ronnie Coleman. He has powerlifter strength in a bodybuilder's body, just check out his videos.
Arthur Jones created HIT back in the 1970's as an alternative to the high volume routines that often gave his gym followers little results. He scientifically tested his methods in order to convince skeptics in the training industry. Mike Mentzer and others that he trained took what they learned from Jones and created their own twists to the system. The most influential spokespersons for modern day HIT training would likely be people like the sadly departed Mike Mentzer, 6-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, and others who you'll no-doubt find if you do a simple Internet search.
Here's a list of the most important exercises:
Legs and lower back - deadlifts, squats, leg presses
Back and biceps - rows, chins, shrugs
Chest, shoulders and triceps - Bench press or dips, overhead press
Abs - sit-ups or crunches
With these exercises you keep in mind poundage targets that are hard but achievable, and when you accomplish them, raise the stakes and set new ones. "Ah", you say, "but I'm a bodybuilder! Unconcerned with strength, I only want big arms and bulging pecs, big enough to make the girls drool over my better than perfect body!"
Nope. The reason why poundage targets are used is that poundage targets are not only the simplest indicators of progress, but also the best. There may not be a completely linear relationship between size and strength, but one does exist and if today you can curl 100 lbs for 6 repetitions, yet in 6 months you manage 140 lbs in the same fashion, your arms will undoubtedly be bigger. Focus on getting stronger in the "big basics" and your body will develop much better than it would by measuring yourself each week.
Here are some good targets to work to over the medium to long term, once you reach these you will have surpassed 99% of all weight trainers all over the world, and will likely be one of the stronger guys in your gym.
Squats to 1? above parallel: 315 lbs x 15, 400 lbs x 1
Deadlifts: 385 lbs x 10, 500 lbs x 1
Bench press: 275 lbs x 8, 335 lbs x 1
Standing shoulder press: 180 lbs x 6
Bent over rows: 255 lbs x 10
Lifting these poundages at 210 lbs bodyweight, would roughly equate to an arm of over 16 inches and a chest of over 45 inches, depending on your height obviously. Do these sound small? Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms were 19 inches, he may have claimed otherwise but at his peak they were measured by Arthur Jones in fair and controlled conditions. Nowadays bodybuilders still claim measurements that are far in excess of what they truly are, and if I were you I would take those (and their poundage claims) with a pinch of salt. The only bodybuilder I would believe when it comes to his lifts would be Ronnie Coleman. He has powerlifter strength in a bodybuilder's body, just check out his videos.
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spartan1
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Nice work keep it up.
cdan19
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The essential fatty acids (EFA's: Omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and Omega-6 linoliec acid) are the fats most often referred to as beneficial for bodybuilders. Omega-3, found in all cold water fish, and Omega-6, found in evening primrose oil, and safflower and sunflower oils serve a variety of functions and should be included in anyone's diet if general good health is sought.
Some of these functions include:
The generating of electrical currents that make our heart beat in an orderly sequence.
I'm with J.Thom on this, I look forward to the continued information and free education I get not only to help with BB but for general health alone it's awesome. I never knew the Omega's assistance in keeping the electrical currents of heart steady. I have had occurrences where my rhythm goes into "A-FIB" and is not valve related but electrical. Cardiologists prescribed some nasty heart med at (topral at 50mg) with all sorts of bad sides, second opinion did not agree. I regularly take in 3 grams a daily of fish oil and have for some time and that was because of information I learned over the years right here. Cardiologist never mentioned Omega's at all. Keep up the great work.
Some of these functions include:
The generating of electrical currents that make our heart beat in an orderly sequence.
I'm with J.Thom on this, I look forward to the continued information and free education I get not only to help with BB but for general health alone it's awesome. I never knew the Omega's assistance in keeping the electrical currents of heart steady. I have had occurrences where my rhythm goes into "A-FIB" and is not valve related but electrical. Cardiologists prescribed some nasty heart med at (topral at 50mg) with all sorts of bad sides, second opinion did not agree. I regularly take in 3 grams a daily of fish oil and have for some time and that was because of information I learned over the years right here. Cardiologist never mentioned Omega's at all. Keep up the great work.
Drink Ample Water - Water is crucial to building muscle mass for these 5 reasons:
Strength - Ample water in your body means strength. Dehydration of only 3% can lead to a drop in strength of 15%.
Energy - Dehydration can cause headaches and leave you tired, unmotivated and unable to reach adequate intensity in your workouts.
Optimal Digestion - the digestive process relies on water for efficiency.
Less Injury Potential - water is the primary component of the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints and keeps your training healthy.
Cell Volume And Supplement Effectiveness - when you supplement with creatine or any product that adds volume to the muscle?these supplements pull water into the muscle. They become volumized with water and grow larger as a result.
Strength - Ample water in your body means strength. Dehydration of only 3% can lead to a drop in strength of 15%.
Energy - Dehydration can cause headaches and leave you tired, unmotivated and unable to reach adequate intensity in your workouts.
Optimal Digestion - the digestive process relies on water for efficiency.
Less Injury Potential - water is the primary component of the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints and keeps your training healthy.
Cell Volume And Supplement Effectiveness - when you supplement with creatine or any product that adds volume to the muscle?these supplements pull water into the muscle. They become volumized with water and grow larger as a result.
Create Variety In Your Training
Any good training regimen needs to include variables that can be toggled to alter training for specific purposes. A weight lifter, for example, would take into consideration their specific exercise techniques, pounds lifted, sets per lift, reps per set, tempo per rep, rest between reps, rest between sets, emphasis between concentric, eccentric, and/or static contractions, number of sets, set order, supersetting, and so on, ad nauseum.
That's a lot to take into consideration, and by adjusting just a few of those variables you can focus your training down to hone in on your strengths or weaknesses.
Perhaps most important though, is that creating variety in your program keeps you from getting bored with what you're doing.
Obviously though, no matter how many variables you might switch around during, say, your bench press, if you are just plum bored with bench pressing, you're still stuck.
So don't be afraid to completely switch around your workouts to keep yourself entertained and sharp. If you're an endurance runner, toss some speed work into the mix, or vice versa. If you're a power lifter, mix in some yoga.
Adding variety is the best way to keep yourself on track without getting bored, as well as a great way to keep your body sharp by forcing it to adapt to something new.
Any good training regimen needs to include variables that can be toggled to alter training for specific purposes. A weight lifter, for example, would take into consideration their specific exercise techniques, pounds lifted, sets per lift, reps per set, tempo per rep, rest between reps, rest between sets, emphasis between concentric, eccentric, and/or static contractions, number of sets, set order, supersetting, and so on, ad nauseum.
That's a lot to take into consideration, and by adjusting just a few of those variables you can focus your training down to hone in on your strengths or weaknesses.
Perhaps most important though, is that creating variety in your program keeps you from getting bored with what you're doing.
Obviously though, no matter how many variables you might switch around during, say, your bench press, if you are just plum bored with bench pressing, you're still stuck.
So don't be afraid to completely switch around your workouts to keep yourself entertained and sharp. If you're an endurance runner, toss some speed work into the mix, or vice versa. If you're a power lifter, mix in some yoga.
Adding variety is the best way to keep yourself on track without getting bored, as well as a great way to keep your body sharp by forcing it to adapt to something new.
Fact or Fiction?
You can completely reshape a muscle by doing isolation exercises.
You can't limit growth to only one area of a muscle. Larry Scott, for whom the 'biceps peaking' Scott curl was named, had tremendous biceps, but he didn't have much of a peak. The shape of your biceps, or for that matter, any muscle, is determined by your genetic makeup. When you work a muscle, any muscle, it works on the all-or-nothing principle, meaning that each muscle fiber recruited to do a lift -- along the entire length of that muscle -- is contracted fully. Why would a certain number of them, like the ones in the middle of the biceps, suddenly start to grow differently or at a faster rate than its partners? If anything, the muscles that are closest to the insertion points are the most prone to mechanical stress, and you don't see them get any bigger than the rest of the muscle. If they did, everyone would have proportions like Popeye.
This is true of any muscle, but you're probably thinking, what about quads? I know that when I do hack squats with my feet together, it tends to give me more sweep in my legs. Sure it does, but the quadriceps are made up of four different main muscles, and doing hacks with your feet together forces the vastus lateralis muscles on the outside of the leg to work harder; consequently, they grow proportionately along their entire length and give the outer quads more sweep.
As further evidence, take a look at a picture of any young professional bodybuilder before he was developed enough to become a pro. He will have virtually the same structural lines as he does today. All that has changed is that his muscles are now bigger.
You can completely reshape a muscle by doing isolation exercises.
You can't limit growth to only one area of a muscle. Larry Scott, for whom the 'biceps peaking' Scott curl was named, had tremendous biceps, but he didn't have much of a peak. The shape of your biceps, or for that matter, any muscle, is determined by your genetic makeup. When you work a muscle, any muscle, it works on the all-or-nothing principle, meaning that each muscle fiber recruited to do a lift -- along the entire length of that muscle -- is contracted fully. Why would a certain number of them, like the ones in the middle of the biceps, suddenly start to grow differently or at a faster rate than its partners? If anything, the muscles that are closest to the insertion points are the most prone to mechanical stress, and you don't see them get any bigger than the rest of the muscle. If they did, everyone would have proportions like Popeye.
This is true of any muscle, but you're probably thinking, what about quads? I know that when I do hack squats with my feet together, it tends to give me more sweep in my legs. Sure it does, but the quadriceps are made up of four different main muscles, and doing hacks with your feet together forces the vastus lateralis muscles on the outside of the leg to work harder; consequently, they grow proportionately along their entire length and give the outer quads more sweep.
As further evidence, take a look at a picture of any young professional bodybuilder before he was developed enough to become a pro. He will have virtually the same structural lines as he does today. All that has changed is that his muscles are now bigger.
Don't over train.
We have all over trained at one point or another and we all know from experience that it is a very frustrating situation. Over enthusiastic beginners think that the more they train, the bigger they will get. However, this approach doesn?t work because our muscles need time to recover and grow. It is important to train hard and with high intensity to make muscles grow but training for too long will lead to over training which can eventually lead to injuries. Your workout should not last for more than 45 minutes for maximum gains and every muscle should not be trained for more than once a week. Remember, muscles are not made in the gym; you need to eat right and take adequate rest in order to make them grow.
We have all over trained at one point or another and we all know from experience that it is a very frustrating situation. Over enthusiastic beginners think that the more they train, the bigger they will get. However, this approach doesn?t work because our muscles need time to recover and grow. It is important to train hard and with high intensity to make muscles grow but training for too long will lead to over training which can eventually lead to injuries. Your workout should not last for more than 45 minutes for maximum gains and every muscle should not be trained for more than once a week. Remember, muscles are not made in the gym; you need to eat right and take adequate rest in order to make them grow.
Calories should be cycled. I strongly believe in caloric cycling as this will not allow the metabolism to get used to a certain caloric level; something that leads to stagnant results.
Therefore, bodybuilders in search of just muscle mass should follow 5 days of high calories (lean body mass x 15) with two days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12). Bodybuilders in search of losing fat while building muscle at the same time should follow 5 days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12) with 2 days of higher calories (lean body mass x 15). (Note: If you build muscle and lose fat at the same time you will not gain muscle as fast as you would if you just concentrated in muscle mass. However, you get to get both goals accomplished at the same time).
People interested in bodysculpting should alternate between two weeks of lower calories (around 2000 for men and 1200 for women) and two weeks of higher calories (around 2500 for men and 1500 for women). These caloric intakes assume a normal activity level that only includes Body Sculpting training. Those of you involved in activities like marathon running or heavy physical labor jobs need to adjust your calories upwards accordingly mainly in the form of carbohydrates in order to support your higher levels of activity.
Therefore, bodybuilders in search of just muscle mass should follow 5 days of high calories (lean body mass x 15) with two days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12). Bodybuilders in search of losing fat while building muscle at the same time should follow 5 days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12) with 2 days of higher calories (lean body mass x 15). (Note: If you build muscle and lose fat at the same time you will not gain muscle as fast as you would if you just concentrated in muscle mass. However, you get to get both goals accomplished at the same time).
People interested in bodysculpting should alternate between two weeks of lower calories (around 2000 for men and 1200 for women) and two weeks of higher calories (around 2500 for men and 1500 for women). These caloric intakes assume a normal activity level that only includes Body Sculpting training. Those of you involved in activities like marathon running or heavy physical labor jobs need to adjust your calories upwards accordingly mainly in the form of carbohydrates in order to support your higher levels of activity.
Lift Progressively Heavier Weights.
A fundamental requirement for anyone wanting to achieve size is to increase the amount of weight lifted from session to session. This increases the intensity of the session and ensures the muscles are subjected to sufficient stress, which will, in turn, elicits results.
The beginner bodybuilder would first aim to achieve a certain number of repetitions, with a certain weight (say 10 repetitions with 50 kilograms on the bench press). The following week, 2.5 kilograms would be added, and so on, until the lifter can only complete six-eight repetitions.
The aim will then be to, once again, complete 10 repetitions with the weight they are currently achieving six-eight with. The truth is, the only way to progress in bodybuilding is to subject the muscles to greater a greater level of intensity on a continual basis - commonly know as progressive resistance training.
In fact, a plateau may ensue if the same intensity is applied to the muscles day in day out. A plateau will halt progress and could diminish results. If one finds they cannot increase their training weight, overtraining might have occurred and this will need to be addressed before further gains can be made.
A fundamental requirement for anyone wanting to achieve size is to increase the amount of weight lifted from session to session. This increases the intensity of the session and ensures the muscles are subjected to sufficient stress, which will, in turn, elicits results.
The beginner bodybuilder would first aim to achieve a certain number of repetitions, with a certain weight (say 10 repetitions with 50 kilograms on the bench press). The following week, 2.5 kilograms would be added, and so on, until the lifter can only complete six-eight repetitions.
The aim will then be to, once again, complete 10 repetitions with the weight they are currently achieving six-eight with. The truth is, the only way to progress in bodybuilding is to subject the muscles to greater a greater level of intensity on a continual basis - commonly know as progressive resistance training.
In fact, a plateau may ensue if the same intensity is applied to the muscles day in day out. A plateau will halt progress and could diminish results. If one finds they cannot increase their training weight, overtraining might have occurred and this will need to be addressed before further gains can be made.
Remember Rest Is Required
Finally, to end off our bodybuilding tips, always remember to rest. Far too many people make the mistake of training too hard, too often, without allowing time for recovery.
If you don't allow the body to rest before you go back in the gym, instead of getting stronger, you're just breaking it down further and getting weaker.
Ideally you should take one day off between each weight lifting workout, but if you prefer to do an upper/lower split that has you working out at a greater frequency, then just be sure you have at least two full days off a week.
Also, for the cardio-minded, this does not mean go and do forty-five minutes of intense cardio activity. This means rest - active rest if you must (as in a light walk, jog, or swim).
If you try to push your body hard in other activities on your designated days off, it's going to impact progress.
Finally, to end off our bodybuilding tips, always remember to rest. Far too many people make the mistake of training too hard, too often, without allowing time for recovery.
If you don't allow the body to rest before you go back in the gym, instead of getting stronger, you're just breaking it down further and getting weaker.
Ideally you should take one day off between each weight lifting workout, but if you prefer to do an upper/lower split that has you working out at a greater frequency, then just be sure you have at least two full days off a week.
Also, for the cardio-minded, this does not mean go and do forty-five minutes of intense cardio activity. This means rest - active rest if you must (as in a light walk, jog, or swim).
If you try to push your body hard in other activities on your designated days off, it's going to impact progress.
Never Go More Than Two Weeks Without A Change
If you've ever reached a point with your workouts where it feels as though you are just not gaining any more muscle, this is a sure sign you're in a plateau.
Plateaus do tend to impact just about everyone at some point or another unless you are being very careful to avoid it.
What exactly is a plateau? A plateau can be defined as any point in time where you go more than two weeks without any type of progress. To you, the dedicated lifter, it spells wasted gym effort and time.
In order to prevent this plateau from occurring, your job is to make sure something in your program is always changing. This could be the order of which you perform the exercises, the amount of rest you take in between sets, or even the type of exercises you are performing.
If you can't bump up the weight in a successive session, it's time to change something else. If you do that, you will be sure you get the results you're looking for.
If you've ever reached a point with your workouts where it feels as though you are just not gaining any more muscle, this is a sure sign you're in a plateau.
Plateaus do tend to impact just about everyone at some point or another unless you are being very careful to avoid it.
What exactly is a plateau? A plateau can be defined as any point in time where you go more than two weeks without any type of progress. To you, the dedicated lifter, it spells wasted gym effort and time.
In order to prevent this plateau from occurring, your job is to make sure something in your program is always changing. This could be the order of which you perform the exercises, the amount of rest you take in between sets, or even the type of exercises you are performing.
If you can't bump up the weight in a successive session, it's time to change something else. If you do that, you will be sure you get the results you're looking for.
Don't Be The King Of Pain.
Most of us are guilty of making some rather dumb decisions when we experience pain during a workout. These decisions range from reducing the weight load, to choosing another exercise that doesn't hurt, to simply working through the pain. Kinda like dumb, dumber, dumbest.
Look, if you simply reduce the weight until it no longer hurts, you're no longer experiencing a benefit from the exercise (because the load is too low to elicit a training effect), and yet you're still irritating the tissues! Of course, it's a step in the right direction to discontinue the offending exercise, but you need to take it a step further-see a qualified medical professional and find out what's wrong.
Now you're armed with important information that will help you choose the best strategy for solving it. If instead you simply switch exercises, you run the risk of eventually turning into one of those guys you always see at the gym who is now reduced to about two or three exercises (usually performed with the aid of various support aids like neoprene knee sleeves, etc.) that he can do without pain.
Most of us are guilty of making some rather dumb decisions when we experience pain during a workout. These decisions range from reducing the weight load, to choosing another exercise that doesn't hurt, to simply working through the pain. Kinda like dumb, dumber, dumbest.
Look, if you simply reduce the weight until it no longer hurts, you're no longer experiencing a benefit from the exercise (because the load is too low to elicit a training effect), and yet you're still irritating the tissues! Of course, it's a step in the right direction to discontinue the offending exercise, but you need to take it a step further-see a qualified medical professional and find out what's wrong.
Now you're armed with important information that will help you choose the best strategy for solving it. If instead you simply switch exercises, you run the risk of eventually turning into one of those guys you always see at the gym who is now reduced to about two or three exercises (usually performed with the aid of various support aids like neoprene knee sleeves, etc.) that he can do without pain.
Perform Exercises That Work At Least Two Muscle Groups At Once
Bodybuilding tip number three is to focus on compound exercises. You only have a limited amount of time you can spend in the gym each day due to both time and recovery restraints so if you waste this time on exercises that only work one or two smaller muscle groups, you aren't exactly maximizing your potential.
Instead follow the rule that for 80% of your workout you'll only perform exercises that work at least two muscle groups.
The shoulder press, for example, will work the shoulders and the triceps. The squat will work the quads and the hamstrings. The bench press will work the shoulders, chest, and the triceps (even the biceps to a very small degree).
On the other hand, the barbell curl will only work the biceps, triceps pushdowns will only work the triceps, and leg curls will only work the hamstrings.
All of those exercises aren't really giving you the best results-to-energy invested trade-off, so it's best you keep them limited.
What's more is that compound lifts you'll typically be able to lift more weight with, and since you read the first tip in this article, you know that's paramount to success.
Bodybuilding tip number three is to focus on compound exercises. You only have a limited amount of time you can spend in the gym each day due to both time and recovery restraints so if you waste this time on exercises that only work one or two smaller muscle groups, you aren't exactly maximizing your potential.
Instead follow the rule that for 80% of your workout you'll only perform exercises that work at least two muscle groups.
The shoulder press, for example, will work the shoulders and the triceps. The squat will work the quads and the hamstrings. The bench press will work the shoulders, chest, and the triceps (even the biceps to a very small degree).
On the other hand, the barbell curl will only work the biceps, triceps pushdowns will only work the triceps, and leg curls will only work the hamstrings.
All of those exercises aren't really giving you the best results-to-energy invested trade-off, so it's best you keep them limited.
What's more is that compound lifts you'll typically be able to lift more weight with, and since you read the first tip in this article, you know that's paramount to success.
Make Your Warm-Up Set Heavier
Here's a great bait-and-switch trick for the nervous system. Work up in weight as normal on a lift to warm up, but make your last warmup set a few pounds heavier than the load you plan to use for your first work set. Just make sure you perform fewer reps in the warmup set than in the work set. So, if you want to squat 315 for five, you might work up to 320 or 325 in your last warmup set for two reps?it shouldn't be very difficult or tiring. Rest, then back off to 315 and go for five reps as planned. The set should feel easier than it would've otherwise, and you might try to go heavier next week.
Here's a great bait-and-switch trick for the nervous system. Work up in weight as normal on a lift to warm up, but make your last warmup set a few pounds heavier than the load you plan to use for your first work set. Just make sure you perform fewer reps in the warmup set than in the work set. So, if you want to squat 315 for five, you might work up to 320 or 325 in your last warmup set for two reps?it shouldn't be very difficult or tiring. Rest, then back off to 315 and go for five reps as planned. The set should feel easier than it would've otherwise, and you might try to go heavier next week.
Improve Your Bench Press Form
In my opinion the bench press is probably the hardest powerlift to master. I have agonized for years over its nuances, while feeling strong, confident and natural on deadlifts and squats.
The truth is that most of us have sub-par bench press form. For the most part we learned our current bench press form by simply plopping our butts on the bench and just trying to push the weight off our chest. While this works, it's horrible (and generally shoulder-destroying) form. Bad form is usually characterized by:
Arms flared close to 90 degrees.
Back flat.
Back relaxed.
No lower back arch.
No leg drive.
No overall body tightness.
Death grip on the bar.
Etc.
I could go on and on. The point here is this...improve your form. There are probably hundreds of quality bench press form videos on Youtube from reputable strength trainers. Find them, fix your form, and you will press more weight. I guarantee it.
In my opinion the bench press is probably the hardest powerlift to master. I have agonized for years over its nuances, while feeling strong, confident and natural on deadlifts and squats.
The truth is that most of us have sub-par bench press form. For the most part we learned our current bench press form by simply plopping our butts on the bench and just trying to push the weight off our chest. While this works, it's horrible (and generally shoulder-destroying) form. Bad form is usually characterized by:
Arms flared close to 90 degrees.
Back flat.
Back relaxed.
No lower back arch.
No leg drive.
No overall body tightness.
Death grip on the bar.
Etc.
I could go on and on. The point here is this...improve your form. There are probably hundreds of quality bench press form videos on Youtube from reputable strength trainers. Find them, fix your form, and you will press more weight. I guarantee it.
Getting close to 1K views and only 2 pages brother! These are some high quality information and we all appreciate it bro!
Don't starve yourself. Starvation is one of the worst ways to try and lose weight. Not only will you lose valuable muscle, but once the starvation plan is over you risk gaining substantial amounts of bounce back weight. Men should not eat under 1800 calories per day, and women no fewer than 1200 calories per day.
I really enjoy coming to this thread and reading daily. Your giving great information with nothing in return! There is a lot of lurkers out there reading this thread and gaining something positive from it everyday. Thx Heavy!
Add green powders and lemon water.
Nobody pays attention to the little things such as staying alkaline, but the fact is that is much harder to make progress if your body is in an acidic state. I for one do not eat my 6 servings of vegetables in a day. There, I admitted it.
Green powders are an easy and tasty option to get said six servings in. It makes for a good post workout shake if mixed with whey. This concoction blunts the body's cortisol response very effectively.
The lemon water (taken in the am, and made from the juice of one lemon mixed in water) serves as liver detox. A functioning liver is a must have for fat loss and overall happiness. One of the main jobs of the liver is it to pump fat out of the body. However, if it is constantly busy with getting rid of toxins, it simply becomes much less effective.
Nobody pays attention to the little things such as staying alkaline, but the fact is that is much harder to make progress if your body is in an acidic state. I for one do not eat my 6 servings of vegetables in a day. There, I admitted it.
Green powders are an easy and tasty option to get said six servings in. It makes for a good post workout shake if mixed with whey. This concoction blunts the body's cortisol response very effectively.
The lemon water (taken in the am, and made from the juice of one lemon mixed in water) serves as liver detox. A functioning liver is a must have for fat loss and overall happiness. One of the main jobs of the liver is it to pump fat out of the body. However, if it is constantly busy with getting rid of toxins, it simply becomes much less effective.
Add Pulling on Press Day
This point somewhat overlaps with the previous one but one easy way to add more volume for the back is simply to perform one set of pulls after each sets of presses. This will enable you to grow your back more and keep your shoulders happy and healthy. My personal favorite combos are: incline bench and pull ups and military press with face pulls or low rope rows.
This point somewhat overlaps with the previous one but one easy way to add more volume for the back is simply to perform one set of pulls after each sets of presses. This will enable you to grow your back more and keep your shoulders happy and healthy. My personal favorite combos are: incline bench and pull ups and military press with face pulls or low rope rows.
Add a shake before going to bed.
Sometimes it is simply a matter of getting another 500 quality calories to kick start the growth process. I prefer to keep my pre-bed shake low on the carb side, and made with coconut milk, whey protein and green powder. This makes for a nice snack.
Another option would be protein ice cream. Simply mix some chocolate whey with two tablespoons of milk or water, add one tablespoon of almond butter, freeze for 10 minutes. Delicious sludge!
If you feel you tolerate carbs well, by all means, add some oatmeal.
Sometimes it is simply a matter of getting another 500 quality calories to kick start the growth process. I prefer to keep my pre-bed shake low on the carb side, and made with coconut milk, whey protein and green powder. This makes for a nice snack.
Another option would be protein ice cream. Simply mix some chocolate whey with two tablespoons of milk or water, add one tablespoon of almond butter, freeze for 10 minutes. Delicious sludge!
If you feel you tolerate carbs well, by all means, add some oatmeal.
Get a pump. I have written about this before, but getting a pump is fun and practical at the same time. Arnold Schwarzenegger was right, once again, when he said that the pump is the best feeling in the world; the blood rushing into the muscle and so forth.
Aside from making you look humongous and superhuman, the pump ensures three very important matters.
It means that you trained the muscle correctly, as opposed to performing joint work.
The blood in your arms is stretching the fascia, a tight sock-like tissue surrounding your muscles. The more you stretch the fascia, the more room your muscles have to grow.
The blood carries nutrients to the muscle, which are needed for repair and hypertrophy.
Aside from making you look humongous and superhuman, the pump ensures three very important matters.
It means that you trained the muscle correctly, as opposed to performing joint work.
The blood in your arms is stretching the fascia, a tight sock-like tissue surrounding your muscles. The more you stretch the fascia, the more room your muscles have to grow.
The blood carries nutrients to the muscle, which are needed for repair and hypertrophy.
