Category: Chest (Page 4 of 4)

      Q and A with Mike Furci

      March 23, 2009 /

      Q: Mike,
      I was told to do dumbbell flys on an incline bench (35-40 degrees). wrong? better? worse?

      A: Better? No. Different? Yes.
      As the angel of the incline starts to go beyond 30% the only difference is the degree to which the deltoids are used. And while we’re on the subject of angled benches, don’t even bother with decline bench. It is a myth that it stimulates the bottom portion of the pec muscles more than the flat bench.

      Also, if you’re performing different angles to change the shape of your pecs, it’s not going to happen. Your shape is genetically predetermined. Train with 100% intensity and stick with the basics.

      Read the rest @ Q&A

      Arms, Bodybuilding, Chest, Foods products, General training, Protein, Weight training

      Stretch for Muscle

      February 21, 2009 /

      Are you typically a hardgainer or have you hit a plateau in the gym? Maybe stretching your muscles more is your answer to making gains again in the gym.

      MensFitness.com lays out six ways to stretch for more muscle:

      Chest. Grab a pair of dumbbells that you can perform 12-15 reps with on a dumbbell bench press, and get into the bottom position of the exercise (your hands near the outside of your chest).

      Back. Hang from a chinup bar in the bottom position of a pullup, palms facing away from you.
      Biceps. Set an incline bench to a 45-60-degree angle and sit on it with a dumbbell in each hand. Allow your arms to hang.

      Triceps. Hold the end of a towel with one hand and grab the other end behind your back. Pull down with the hand behind your back so that your opposite elbow points upward and that arm’s triceps is stretched. You should look like you’re in position to do a one-arm overhead triceps extension.

      Quads. Rest one foot on a bench set to a low incline, and bend the opposite knee so that you go into a split squat position. You should feel the stretch in your rear thigh and that leg’s hip.

      Hamstrings. Rest one heel on a bench, step, or other surface that’s three or four feet off the floor. Bend forward and try to kiss your knee.

      Click here to read the entire article.

      Arms, Bodybuilding, Chest, Exercise, General training, Legs, Men's Health and Wellness, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Training Frequency

      January 2, 2009 /

      How often can, or much more importantly, should I train per week? Optimum recovery time between training sessions is essential if one is going to continue to make progress. Training frequency, which is determined by ones recovery ability, is often a forgotten part of most training protocols. It never ceases to amaze me, how many people train for months and years experiencing little or no success, and never consider the fact they maybe doing too much.

      You can never train too hard, but you can train too much. Training ?too much? can actually be described in two ways. The first and probably the most common way, is training too often. If you are training with 100% intensity, you should not be able to train a body part any more frequently than once every 6-8 days. Everyone should realize that if you are still feeling it from the previous workout of the same body part, then it is best to take a few more days of rest. I have actually heard people say that they train even if they are sore because it is harder on the muscles. True, it is harder on the muscles, but not in a positive way. Ask yourself, ?Where is the logic in training a muscle before it is recovered?? The muscle hasn?t had a chance to adapt to a previous training session and you tear it down with another. Training may stimulate your muscles to grow, but they don’t grow during training. Proper nutrition and enough rest between sessions is what facilitates recovery and allows the muscles to grow. If you train before the muscle is recovered, you not only slow or put a halt to your progress, you increase your risk of injury.

      Abs, Arms, Back, Bodybuilding, Chest, General training, Legs, Neck, Power lifting, Specific workouts, Weight training, Workout programs

      Q&A with Mike Furci: Weight Training vs. Cardio

      July 10, 2008 /

      In his latest Q&A session, Bullz-Eye.com Fitness Editor Mike Furci discusses high protein diets, weight training vs. cardio, and chest workouts.

      Q: Mike,
      I just finished reading your article on Fitness Myth Busters. Although I agree with pretty much everything you said I do have a couple of comments on some things you wrote.

      1. “Screw cardio!”

      Are you serious? I think it’s a known AND proven fact that a good mix of cardio and weight training will provide a better fat loss program than just weight or cardio training alone. ESPECIALLY if we consider HIT cardio training.

      A: It is true, HIT cardio (I assume you’re referring to interval training) is the best way to go if you’re going to put the time in. However, sorry to inform you, it is not a “proven fact” that a mix of cardio and weight training is the best way to go. Show me the evidence of long term success. There is NONE. Visit any gym and you’ll see what I mean. The majority of people who perform cardio regularly don’t make permanent gains. Cardio is vastly overrated as a means of losing body fat. In fact, if a person who is overweight embarks on a cardio program and doesn’t change their eating habits, they are doomed to failure. Adding muscle is the key, combined with a diet lower in refined foods, especially carbs.

      Bodybuilding, Chest, Diets, Exercise, General fitness, General training, Nutrition, Protein, Running, Sports Health and Fitness, Weight training

      Work a desk job? Your shoulders and chest could be suffering

      May 24, 2007 /

      Being a writer, the majority of my day is spent sitting at a desk and starring at a computer all day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining – I love my job. The only problem is sitting at a desk all day is apparently limiting my gains in the gym, and now I am complaining.

      I stumbled onto this article at MSN.com about posture in reference to your shoulders and chest. Human instincts tell us to slouch forward while typing or reading at a computer and with that, our heads also come forward, putting more weight on our neck, upper back and shoulders. Our chest is also affected:

      If your shoulders are slumped forward for long periods of time, your chest muscles become shortened. That is, since these muscles attach to your upper arms, the distance they need to extend when you slouch is less than when your shoulders are drawn back. Over time, the chest muscles adapt to this position as their natural length, pulling your shoulders forward. As a result, many of the shoulder’s stabilizers are overstretched, which makes them weaker.

      Now why the hell are we going to log so much time on the bench press if we’re just going to waste that effort the next six or so hours sitting behind a desk? The article recommends doing “10 standing shoulder retractions every hour when working at a computer.” Stand and pull your shoulder blades together – while also keeping your head and shoulders above your pelvis – for 3 seconds. This movement forces your chest muscles to extend, which prevents them from becoming permanently shortened.

      The article also gets into ways to strengthen the muscles around our shoulders (i.e. rear delts, rotator-cuff, scapular), which we tend to ignore because we don’t see them when we look for gains in the mirror. Doing some of these recommended exercises will in turn grow the muscles will can check out in the mirror, as well as keep our posture straight so that doesn’t effect our workout gains. Plus, as a general rule of thumb, you should always be working out the surrounding muscles in every group, not just your shoulders.

      Chest, General fitness, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Workout programs, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

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