A question asked frequently concerning training and angle variation is whether you can add more muscle size by using more angles to exercises for each muscle group. The answer to this question is that this is not necessary. Most bodybuilders have the misguided notion that by adding more angles, sets and repetitions their physique will be enhanced by recruiting all the muscle fibres. Here is an example I got from a lifter in the gym on his chest workout routine. His workout includes the flat bench presses, incline presses, dumbbell flat presses, cable crossovers, dips, the fly machine and decline presses, using 4 sets of 10 reps. According to him, he might be under the illusion that he is doing a great job. He is entirely wrong. The first mistake he is making is replicating exercises such as the bench press and dumbbell flat press which are similar. It is not necessary to repeat exact exercises like the cable crossovers and fly’s twice in a workout. This kind of chest training routine is an absolute mess. He not only over-exercised, but he duplicated some of the workouts doing more reps and sets unnecessarily for the training he was undertaking. Just remember that the focus is to stimulate the muscle.

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We all know that nothing can match the quality of workout you obtain when you’re in the weight room 6 to 8 hours per week moving the metal. Let’s be honest – that’s where bodybuilding gains are made. (That, and in the kitchen!) There are a lot of workouts out there which can help to minimize muscle loss during periods of extended rest, or to deal with limiting injuries. However, it should be noted that none of them are going to help you build muscular weight in the same way that lifting weights will. You might get ‘toned’ and you might feel great, but just as with the gimmick machines you see on television infomercials, the gains will not be there.

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Very often, bodybuilding literature trumpets the need for full-range repetition in all bodybuilding movements in the gym. This is important for beginner bodybuilders, who often will have wasted effort, in the best case, and injuries, in the worst case, from partial rep form. We’ve all seen the man in the squat rack doing “power courtesies”, moving the weight down 2 inches while claiming to do squats. We’ve all seen the teenagers on the flat bench with more weight than they can handle, pressing the weight through a 3-inch range of motion then high-fiving their friends on a set well done. The truth is, for most trainers, partial reps mean the muscle is only doing partial work, and therefore not receiving the maximum potential for stimulation in the exercise. In other words, partial reps equate to a great deal of wasted time in the gym. However, for advanced trainers, partial repetitions can be useful when used at the conclusion of a workout for very specific purposes.

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