Category: Bodybuilding (Page 14 of 15)

Lift. Heavy. Weights.

August 7, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

One of my closest friends – and amateur bodybuilder – often stresses that it doesn’t get any more complicated than just lifting heavy. He always says, “ Like Dave Draper always says, “Train hard, eat clean, and be happy”.

You can sugar coat it any way you like, but at the end of the day if you’re not challenging yourself in the gym, you can’t expect to reap the benefits. Not only that, if you’re still hitting the same 3×8 with the 30lbs on dumbbell curls you were last year, don’t look in the mirror and wonder why you’re struggling to fill out the sleeves of that Hollister t-shirt your girlfriend bought you last Christmas. The only way to expect muscular gains is by challenging your muscles to handle greater and greater loads. The only way to do that is by fighting each and every session to increase the weights you’re using.

Anyone who thinks that light weights and high reps are the keys to getting ripped is kidding himself. You want to get huge? Lift heavy weights. You want to get ripped? Lift heavy weights. What’s the main difference? Nutrition. Feel free to cycle your training and throw in some moderate to light work to give the central nervous system a break, but the meat and potatoes needs to be heavy and demanding. So join the battle on the rubber mats the next time you’re training and blast it. Start leaving the gym with the knowledge that you defeated the iron – it did not defeat you. As the days fall away and those small victories start to add up, the time will come when you’ll reach the mountaintop only to set new goals and dreams far beyond anything you ever thought you could accomplish. Now that’s hard work and there isn’t anything finer.

Bodybuilding, Exercise, General fitness, General training, Men's Health and Wellness, Motivation, Power lifting, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

Triceps, isolation or function?

July 10, 2007 / Mike Furci

All too often, a personal trainer or instructor will isolate a particular muscle so much that it becomes detrimental to the workout. You may be asking, “How can you isolate a muscle too much? Isn’t that what all the magazines say to do?” Yes, that is what a lot of magazines tell you to do, and I agree it’s good to isolate the muscle being worked. I’ll even go one step further and say that it is not only good but also absolutely necessary for optimum muscular growth. However, many instructors and fitness enthusiasts are so concerned with isolation exercises that they’re neglecting form and function.
How does form and function relate to triceps training? Let’s look at what the triceps actually do. The triceps extend, or straighten, the arm. For example, without your triceps it would be virtually impossible to grab a beer from the fridge. That would truly be a tragedy. Without triceps, your arm would be in a constant flexed state. This having been said, exercises that stress movement only at the elbow (such as triceps pressdowns) are solid movements. However, I am starting to see less and less multi-joint movements used in workouts. Examples of multi-joint movements for the triceps would be close grip bench presses, dips and a few others. These exercises involve not only the elbow joint but the shoulder joint as well.

9 Weeks to Bigger Arms

Arms, Bodybuilding, General training, Weight training

Adjustable dumbbells, are they worth it?

July 5, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

Those in a time crunch or fortunate enough to have a home gym might want to check out a set of adjustable dumbbells.

I purchased a set a few months ago and after giving them a complete test run, I fully endorse them. I won’t even say the name I purchased to show I’m not trying to pimp a certain brand. Besides being a bit pricy (mine were about $250.00), there are several benefits to having a set:

1) Work out in the comforts of your own home.
Let’s face it, many of us are busy and sometimes running to the gym for an hour or two isn’t an option. Even on the busiest of days, anyone should be able to hammer out a couple sets using these dumbbells without waiting for certain weight to become available.

2) No waiting.
To expand a bit on benefit #1, there’s no waiting for weight to become available. How many times have you either gone up to an uncomfortable weight or stayed at a weight that wasn’t challenging enough because you had to wait for dumbbells to become available?

3) Space.
Not all of us have the space to set up a full dumbbell rack. A set of adjustable dumbbells can fit neatly under a bed or in a closet.

4) Complete your home gym.
In order to get a more complete workout, one needs to mix dumbbell exercises with barbell movements. Those who already have a weight bench, pull-up bar, dip machine, treadmill?and/or a full cable set, could easily complete their home gym with a?pair of adjustable DBs.

Like I said, they’re expensive and the more weight you want, the more you’ll pay so don’t have sticker shock if you look into a set. However, they’ve done wonders for me, especially considering I don’t have the space or time to get full workouts in as much as I would like. So check a set out, there are plenty of sites that give reviews of adjustable dumbbells on the net. ????

Bodybuilding, Equipment and Gear, Exercise, General fitness, General training, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

Mastering the Pull-up

April 25, 2007 / Anthony Stalter

As a beginner – or even if you’re experienced – nothing can be more embarrassing than jumping up on a bar and only banging out one pull-up. In fact, the average person approaches the pull-up bar like he or she is about to steal something, looking around to see if anyone else is watching before hammering out a sloppy, uncontrolled couple of sets.

Well, stop it, because you’re only hurting yourself by not maximizing the value the pull-up can bring. Your latissimus dorsi (back) is the biggest muscle in your body and if you want a V-shape torso, the pull-up can’t be viewed as the red headed stepchild of your workout any longer.

Here is an article from Men’s Health magazine dedicated to mastering the pull-up. It has a step-by-step guide on helping you improve add reps to your pull-up routine. It doesn’t matter if you can do 0 to 1 reps or 8 to 12, this article should help you maximize the benefits of the pull-up.

Here’s a taste of what the article offers. For the entire column, click here.

Your Best Effort: 0 TO 1
The problem: You’re not strong enough to lift your body weight.
The fix: Turn your weakness into an advantage with heavy “negatives.” Doing only the lowering portion of an exercise with a heavier weight than you can lift is a fast way to build strength.
How to do it: First, a couple of definitions.
– Chinup: This is the same movement as a pullup, but you’ll use a shoulder-width, underhand grip. Because your biceps are more involved, it’s a little easier than the pullup.
– Neutral-grip pullup: Again, it’s the same basic movement, but you’ll grip the parallel bars of the pullup station so your palms are facing each other. This is harder than a chinup, but not as hard as a pullup.
Now follow the workout schedule below, using this method of performing negatives: Place a bench under a pullup bar and use it to boost your body so your chin is above the bar. Then take the prescribed amount of time — either 5 to 6 seconds or 8 to 10 seconds — to lower your body. Once your arms are straight, jump back up to the top position and repeat. Rest for 60 seconds after each set.
Week 1: Chinup : 3 sets : 5–6 reps : 5–6 seconds
Week 2: Neutral- grip pullup : 3 sets : 5–6 reps : 5–6 seconds
Week 3: Neutral- grip pullup : 2 sets : 5–6 reps : 8–10 seconds
Week 4: Pullup : 2 sets : 5–6 reps : 8–10 seconds

Back, Bodybuilding, Exercise, Specific workouts, Uncategorized, Weight training, Workout programs, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

Growth Zone my ass

April 4, 2007 / Mike Furci

Time under tension is a great tool to use when trying to make gains in size and strength.? It’s well accepted that in order for one to stimulate muscle to induce gains the optimum time under tension is 20 – 60 seconds for the vast majority of people.? In the April 2007 issue of Ironman magazine William Litz has written an article on extending time under tension using partial, burns and X-reps.

Let me start by addressing the before and after pictures included on the second page of the author.? Underneath the pictures it states, “William Litz took his physique from a soft 220 to a hard, abs blazing 210 in only eight weeks using X-reps partials and stretch overload.”?

Does he really think the readers of this magazine are that deficient in their reasoning ability they wouldn’t see how ludicrous the caption under the pictures is?? In a word, YES.? Remember that magazines primarily exist to sell product and could care less about dispensing valid training advice.? Most of what is found in muscle magazines is nonsense filler, like this article.

In this worthless article Litz states, “Why burns fell out of favor is beyond me.? It clearly produced amazing builds in the decades before chemical warfare.”? Yet performing burns and partials for over ten years proved ineffective for him.? He used partials and burns sice the early 90’s, but didn’t make “ab blazing” gains until using X-reps, which are a variation of partials and burns.?

Litz also claims new research indicates that bottom, or stretch position burns are more beneficial, but to keep variety alive.? No research is sited in the article.? Litz would like you to keep in mind that stretch position partials can activate a lot of fibers and may even lead to fiber splitting, if such a phenomenon exists.? It may lead to, if such a phenomenon exists?? Are you kidding me?? You could actually transport yourself from place to place within seconds if such a devise existed.

The fact is, we humans have a finite ability to recover from physical stress.? Stress induced by high intensity training is no exception.? There is no reason what-so-ever to take a set beyond momentary positive failure.? In fact, partials, negatives and other forms of extending sets fell out of favor because they do more to over-train individuals than anything else.? Top bodybuilders are always sited as proof a certain training program works, but what about the 10’s of thousands who use these vary programs and get nowhere.

You can not force growth.? If your progress has come to a halt, you’re not recovering.? Using partials and burns should only be used by advanced lifters wth low frequency.? Pushing beyond, doing more without allowing recovery, will only exacerbate the problem.?????

Bodybuilding, General training, Magazine Hype, Weight training, Workout programs