Welcome to the world of intermediate bodybuilding. You’ve spent a year or three in the gym, and you finally have a handle on nutrition. You know what you should be eating, and you stick to a pretty good bodybuilding lifestyle all around. You’ve reached the point where you’re past trying to get ‘big arms’ and you have advanced to the point of a new goal – complete and balanced bodybuilding development.
Unless you have been blessed with superior genetics, you probably have noted your shoulders are one area which certainly could use a little bit of special attention. You train them weekly of course, but since they’re just not shining like some of your standout body parts do, you are aware of the fact you need to do more. Here are a few tips for better ...Posted in: Training | | Comments (0)
Every muscle group in the body connects to another muscle group by virtue of location and tendon placement. They all work together to form a unique network of muscles, unified in the single purpose of completing tasks we ask of it. When we attempt a simple lift, such as the bench press for example, hundreds of small muscle groups and thousands of fibers are called into play. The simple act of benching 135 pounds for a single rep requires contributions (in terms of contraction and the exertion of force) from the pectorals, three heads of the deltoids, triceps, forearms, and back muscles to a lesser extent. Additionally, we may even exert some force all the way down to our calves as we use our entire body to help move the weight, as is the case in some ...Posted in: Training | | Comments (0)
Pyramiding your sets is simple, and it can be used to ensure that you are adequately hitting both the slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Not only does this give your joints a rest in avoiding four ultra-heavy sets and ensure you are properly warmed up before attempting heavy weights, but it stimulates as many possible muscle fibers in the targeted muscle group as possible. Here is a sample shoulder routine, which uses pyramid sets.
Military Barbell Press – Standing Or Seated
12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps
Adding mass is the key with this movement, so you want to go hard and heavy after a nice clean warm-up. Use a back brace to ensure the lower back doesn’t wear too much strain, and hit this exercise like Arnold used to, 30 years ago – Heavy and intense!
Hammer Strength ...Posted in: Training | | Comments (0)
Q: Dude, my front delts are sorely lacking. I never do isolative exercises for them I always feel they get enough on chest days, but I guess I'm wrong. What's a quick way to add more meat to my FD without sacrificing strength on bench day?
A: Well, first off, the most obvious answer is to add front delt work into your routines. The problem is, it could affect your bench. However, if you were comfortable dropping some pounds in the bench until your delts improve, and your chest is good, then we'd do that. If you're patient, your bench actually will make your front delts bigger, unless you're doing something wrong or making your chest concave and bracing with your upper back. Add FD work a month or two before cutting to make them appear thicker and denser. You can have insanely strong ...Posted in: Training | | Comments (0)

