Every bodybuilder is put together differently, and we all respond to our training by growing at different rates. As a result, we very often find ourselves confronted with both strong and weaker muscle groups which stand out from the rest. Strong muscle groups are acceptable, as long as they don’t destroy your symmetry. Weak muscle groups are entirely unacceptable, however, and can end up costing you a placing or two when you enter a show. Additionally, a weak muscle group can lead to injury resulting from an imbalance while completing a heavy compound movement. Here are some training ideas for each of the major muscle groups of that body that you can employ to help fix an imbalance.

Chest

Train heavier. Use more sets. Utilize the help of a spotter and begin training to failure more often. Avoid the cables and machines for a bit, and just use lots of heavy iron work. Or, if you have been doing that, try using high repetition free weight work. Eat more. Stretch the chest muscles every day of the week. Spend more time in the Smith machine moving more weight than you can normally comfortably complete on your own.

Back

While free weights are normally prescribed for building back mass, there are some individuals who are unable to properly ‘feel” what the weight should be doing. If this is the case for you, spend some more time on the Hammer Strength rowing machines. These devices force you to move the weight along a pre-determined path or arc. Use five full sets for every exercise, with at least 20 working sets per back day. High repetitions are very effective when it comes to training the back!

Shoulders

Supersets involving lots of side raises and bent over dumbbell raises for the rear deltoids are very effective. Train shoulders on their own day, early in the lifting week to make it a priority when your energy levels are still at their highest. Keep the weights a little lighter than you are used to, but move the weights a little slower to get even more out of each repetition.

Arms

Leave the machines alone and stick with heavy metal lifting – the free weights. Train arms with 12 to 16 sets on a combined triceps/biceps day, as well as on chest day (triceps) and back day (biceps) for 2 to 6 sets. Use “down the rack” training with dumbbell curl sets of 50, 40, 30, then 25 pounds for the dumbbell curls, with every set performed successively.

Legs

If your legs aren’t growing, eat more. Cut back your cardio training, as well as any non-essential or work related leg work that you can do. In other words, if you have small thighs and you spend four hours per night at the club dancing, you might be sabotaging your own returns. Keep the squats to parallel but experiment with the 20-repetition variety. Learn to feel the leg press movement more. Bodybuilders often rush through this exercise, when it is arguably as effective as the squat, and without a doubt much safer.

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