SHRUGS
Your trapezius
muscles (called "traps") elevate and support your shoulder girdle (i.e.,
pull your shoulders toward your ears). Simply hold a bar in front of you
and "shrug" your shoulders straight upwards. You don't have to rotate your
shoulders -- just shrug.
An alternative method is to shrug with
heavy dumbbells while either seated or standing. The straight bar must be
held out in front of you, while seated dumbbell shrugs allow the arms to
hang naturally at your sides. This makes dumbbell shrugs a bit more
comfortable and definitely easier on your low back. Holding a heavy bar in
front of you requires strong contraction of your erector spinae
muscles.
Normal shrugging technique (as explained above) activates
the two upper portions of your trapezius (i.e., trapezius I and II). By
leaning forward (about 20-30 degrees), and then shrugging straight up --
not toward your ears, but vertically toward the ceiling -- you will
activate trapezius III and IV. You may wish to support your upper body
against a padded surface (like a preacher curl bench) in order to
alleviate unnecessary stress on your lower back while leaning
forward.
SEATED PRESS
BEHIND THE NECK
Despite
its popularity among bodybuilders, I'm "mildly" opposed to this exercise
for at least two reasons. First, assuming that you wish to do "complete"
presses to lockout, seated dumbbell presses accomplish the same thing
without the same "interference" from having to "crunch" your upper back
muscles in order to get the bar down to your neck. Having to contract your
rhomboids, trapezius III and IV, and your posterior deltoids only serves
to limit the amount of adaptive stress being delivered to your middle
deltoids.
Secondly, after the bar has passed the top of your head,
your deltoids are no longer the prime movers in the movement. The deltoids
are statically contracting at that point, and the serratus anterior and
triceps muscles take over to finish the press to lockout.
Actually, you
can press much more weight to a head height position than you can press
completely overhead. The reason for this is that your middle deltoids are
much stronger than the combined strength of your triceps and serratus.
Does it not therefore make more sense to use a heavier weight and do
"partial presses?"
I think it does, and the simple reason is that
it will deliver a greater adaptive stress to your middle
delts.
FRONT
RAISES
The traditional
method of exercising your frontal deltoids is to raise either dumbbells or
a bar upwards and to the front of your body with slightly bent elbows. If
dumbbells are used, they can be raised alternately or
simultaneously.
I think there's a "better" way.
Using
dumbbells, alternately raise them upwards and to the front as described
above, but with one significant difference. Before raising the dumbbell in
your right hand, lean 20-30 degrees to the right. And, before raising the
left one, lean to the left in a similar fashion. The dumbbells are raised
to about head height to arm's length in front of your face.
The
rationale for this departure from traditional technique is that your
frontal deltoids originate and insert at about that angle from the
vertical plane of your body. Bending sideward while performing the
dumbbell raises places the targeted frontal delt perpendicular to the
floor, thereby making its contraction (force output) more efficient. Do
that, and the adaptive stress is improved.
BENCH PRESS
Your pectoral muscles ("called "pecs") are
developed with bench presses. It's potentially dangerous, so have a
spotter close by at all times. NEVER bench press alone! Have your spotter
help you lift the bar out of the uprights and to a position directly over
your chest. Lower the weight to your chest and press it back up to arms'
length again. Then, after performing the required number of reps, have the
spotter assist you in placing the bar back on the uprights. You can
emphasize your "pecs" more if your elbows are away from your sides
(perpendicular to your torso) during the movement, and your front deltoids
more if your elbows are kept close to your sides during the
movement.
Much of the danger inherent in this exercise can be
eliminated by using a "Monolift" machine. This new device allows you to
position the bar directly over your chest BEFORE you unrack the bar. While
bench pressing, special spotting platforms ensure that, should the bar be
dropped accidentally or should you miss the lift, the weight will not come
down on you. Then, rather than your training partner helping you rack the
bar, he rotates the cradle hooks under the bar while it's still held over
your chest.
There are two particularly troublesome techniques I see
all too often among bench pressers. One is the dangerous practice of using
a thumbless grip. The notion that a thumbless grip will somehow alter the
angle or quality of stress you're delivering to your pecs is outrageously
dumb. Keep your thumbs around the bar!
The second practice is just
as outrageous. I've heard benchers say that by keeping your feet off the
floor -- suspended over the bench or resting on the bench -- somehow
improves the isolation of the pecs and therefore the adaptive overload
being delivered to your pecs. The truth is that while your feet are off
the floor, you're always slightly off balance on the narrow bench you're
lying on, and various stabilizer muscles are attempting to keep you from
falling off the bench. This superfluous muscular activity is detracting
from the stress you can deliver to the pecs. It is certainly NOT improving
it! Besides, being off balance while a heavy weight is hovering over your
face and throat is downright asking for trouble!
But these two
troublesome techniques pale in their potential for disaster in comparison
to the design of the bench itself! Consider: Lying on your back with
300-400 or more pounds in your hands pressing your scapulae into the flat
bench beneath. You lower the bar to your chest. But the scapulae are
pinned to the bench and cannot slide inwards as you lower the bar. And
neither can they slide outward as you raise the bar off your chest. This
is not good! It causes undue stress on the tendons of the long heads of
your biceps. The results?
· Nagging long-lasting pain from biceps
tendinitis
· You can’t lift as much
· Far less strength is
developed
· Poor sports performance.
On top of that, all benches
are made to be 16 or more inches off the ground. Just because the rules of
powerlifting dictate it. This is downright dangerous for shorter athletes
who have to go into spinal hyperextension in order to keep their feet flat
on the ground for better stability. The results?
· low back trauma
·
less stability during training and therefore greater exposure to injury
and less weight being lifted
· poor sports performance, or (worse)
·
ruined sports career from unnecessary injury
Now picture this: Same
weight, same bench. But with a little patented gizmo built into the bench
that allows your scapulae to slide in as you lower the bar, and back out
as you press it back upward. This is how Mother Nature intended for your
shoulder girdle to operate. The results?
· Far less chance of biceps
tendinitis
· 10 percent more weight lifted
· greater strength is
developed
· no unnecessary trauma to the lumbar spine
· better
sports performance, not only because you’re stronger but because you’re
healthier!
You just won’t believe it until you’ve experienced it!
You and your clients are gonna LOVE it!
DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
I favor dumbbell bench presses over benching
with a bar because you can achieve greater adaptive stress with dumbbells.
Dumbbells will tend to force you to keep your upper arms perpendicular to
your torso while lowering them. Many benchers will allow their elbows to
drift inward toward their sides while using a straight bar. This happens
because there's a natural tendency to use the anterior (frontal) deltoids
to assist in moving the bar, thereby robbing the pecs of some
stress.
Also, dumbbells allow you to employ a technique that will
improve the adaptive stress being delivered to your pecs even more. By
carefully (under total control) allowing the dumbbells to drift slightly
off balance toward the outside, you will have to "fight" harder to raise
them. This controlled outward drift allows you to use superior weight
while getting the same benefits afforded by regular flyes. Regular flyes
are done with very light weights, whereas modified dumbbell benches employ
far heavier weight. Again, here's a little technique that tends to improve
the quality of adaptive stress.
PULLDOWNS
With a wide grip on the overhead pulley bar,
pull the bar straight down as though you were pulling the bar straight
through the middle of your head. Of course, you can't do this, so simply
flop your head back out of the way. Don't lean backwards while doing lat
pulldowns, as this will tend to involve other (non-targeted) muscles of
your upper back. This exercise is done exactly like chin-ups, except the
bar comes down instead of your body going up. It's great for developing
your lats, and NOT so great for developing your other back or shoulder
muscles.
Some bodybuilders like to do pulldowns behind their neck.
I'm not convinced that this is a wise technique. Doing so requires that
you contract all of the non-targeted muscles of your upper back (i.e., all
four aspects of your trapezius, your rhomboids and your posterior
deltoids) in order to get the bar down behind your head. Why do this? It
tends to rob you of maximum overload for your lats (your "targeted"
muscles).
Also, pulling the bar so far down that your forearms are
not perpendicular to the floor, but instead almost parallel to the floor,
involves the inward rotators of your upper arm (rotator cuff muscles).
Again, this tends to rob your lats of maximum overload.
One variation
to lat pulldowns that I introduced a few years ago while training a few
strength athletes is catching on in a big way in bodybuilding circles.
It's called "lat shrug-downs." Using more weight than you can pull down to
your chin, attach your hands to the bar with lifting straps and have your
partner pull you down so you can hook your legs under the thigh pads. Then
"shrug" downward with the weight by activating the lats. Do NOT pull with
your arms; leave your arms totally uninvolved. I believe this variation to
be more effective than the traditional "full range" pulldowns at
developing mass and strength.
And, here’s another one! Has it ever
occurred to you that the technocrats -- the "Denizens of the Drawing
Board" who have until now ruled the sports training equipment industry --
have been pulling the wool over your eyes? You have two hands right? Two
arms, two lats. Two sides of your body. So, ummm, how come you only have
one handle to pull down on? And only one weight stack?
Good
question, right? It’s like this: Some sports movements require that one
limb or single-limb movement be stressed at a time. I believe that this
should be more the rule than the exception. When you do pulldowns for your
lats using a conventional bar (tapered at each end), your hands are what?
Three feet apart? What does that do to 1) your range of motion, 2) your
flexibility, 3) your lats (the biceps are the weak link in the pulldown),
and 4) your sports specificity? ZILCH! Or nearly so. The same holds true
for doing low rows ( sometimes called seated long cable pulls). Needed:
Some double-sided twin weight stack
machines!
BACK
EXTENSIONS
Picture
this: The great Olympic weightlifter Vasily Alexeev’s ponderous body
draped over a gymnastics long horse with his feet wedged between the stall
bars of an unbelievably archaic training gym in Moscow’s Lenin Institute
of Sport. With four hundred pounds precariously perched behind his head,
he explodes for five reps of back raises. There is virtually NO hip
extensor involvement, only pure erector spinae contraction. That means 1)
tremendous low back limit strength and speed-strength is developed far
beyond what any other low back exercise could possibly accomplish, and 2)
virtually NO trauma to the tenuous intervertebral discs of the lumbar
spine, which is something no other low back exercise ever conceived can
claim.
By far the biggest muscles of your lower back are the
"erector" muscles. They're also the most visible. Your erector spinae
muscles are designed to extend (and hyperextend) your spine. They do NOT
act on your hip joint, so there's no reason to engage in exercises which
require hip joint movement (i.e., traditional "hypers").
The best
way to target your erectors is with "back extensions." This exercise
requires the use of a specialized bench quite unlike the ones you're
probably used to seeing around the gyms (the "hyper" benches you are used
to seeing are, in my opinion, relatively worthless). The bench of choice
is called (by its inventor, Dr. Mike Yessis) a "glute-ham-gastroc
machine." He called it that because those muscles are the ones the Soviets
target with a similar exercise which Dr. Yessis improved upon.
Glute-ham-gastroc raises are discussed in the section (below) dealing with
leg and hip exercises.
To use this device to target your erectors,
your feet are secured by the two foot pads which are backed by a metal
plate that prevents your feet from slipping through. Your "belly button"
is placed in the middle of the padded support. Your knees are bent. Then,
your feet push against the metal plate in order to "lock" your upper legs
against the padded bench. All of this ensures that only your erector
muscles are targeted, and NOT your hip extensors (gluteals). Simply assume
the described position and flex your spine (round your back downward).
Hold as much weight behind your head as you can, and extend your spine
(straighten it back out again). You should not raise way up by arching
(hyperextending) your back, as doing so places too much strain on the
intervertebral discs of your lumbar spine. Repeat for the desired number
of reps.
This exercise is quite probably the ONLY low back exercise
you will ever have to do. It is that effective.
Noted exceptions
are deadlifts, squats, glute-ham raises and explosive high pulls, all of
which involve the lower back muscles as either stabilizers or synergists.
However, none is done for the express purpose of developing your lower
back, and are probably unsuitable for most trainees outside clinical and
sports-specific applications.
PRESTRETCHED CRUNCHERS
Sometimes the old way is the best way. But
sometimes it’s not. Sport scientists agreed way back in the 50’s that
"sit-ups" were bad for your back, and that "crunches" performed with bent
knees were better. Many different abdominal exercise devices have been
marketed over the past fifteen years, all of which simulated the "crunch"
technique.
But that was then. "Better" replaced "good." In
conventional crunches, you are able apply resistance to your abdominal
muscles for only 50 percent of your potential range of motion. And
crunches performed in the ab machines currently on the market usually
require naught but static contraction from your abs while your hip flexors
move the resistance.
Compare that to the 100 percent greater range
of motion afforded by pre-stretching your badominal wall. For each crunch
you perform, you do twice the work. That means twice the effect. Putting
it another way, twice the work means the same effect in HALF THE TIME!
Partial movements have their place in sports training. Yet, incredibly,
full range ab work has been virtually overlooked by training experts over
the years.
This variation of crunchers is by far the most effective
abdominal exercise there is. I developed this variation during the
seventies, and patented the first abdominal machine ever. The patent was
successfully protected when a large equipment company tried to infringe
upon it. That's why you don't see this particular design element
incorporated into any of the dozens of different designs of abdominal
machines.
But you can do it with no specialized equipment. Simply
follow the directions given for regular crunchers, but do so with about
6-8 inches of padding under your lower back. When lying back, your
shoulders have to go all the way back until they touch the floor or bench,
thereby "prestretching" you abdominal muscles prior to contracting them
during the crunch movement.
This prestretch offers the advantage of
having to contract through roughly double the normal range of motion
afforded by regular crunchers or other ab machines. That equates to
roughly double the adaptive stress and double the benefits.
A few more
points to remember:
* It's a myth that you can "isolate" the upper
from the lower abs -- electromyographic studies show that the minute you
apply resistance, both your upper and lower abdominals kick into action
together;
* Other ab machines on the market are difficult to get
into and out of, are principally hip flexors (the abs are forced to
statically contract while the iliopsoas concentrically contracts to bring
your torso forward or your knees toward your chest), and -- if at all --
involve only a half range movement capability;
* It's a myth that
you should do hundreds of reps of crunches -- your abs, like all other
muscles in your body, respond best to PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE
training;
* Full range crunches are twice as productive than half
range crunches.
RUSSIAN
TWISTS
The Russians are
famous for their great athletes. One of the exercises that all Russian
athletes do for the abdominal muscles, the internal oblique muscles and
the external oblique muscles has become known as "Russian Twists." Every
time you twist, swing a bat, or throw, you use these important muscles. As
for its usefulness to bodybuilders, this exercise tightens the entire
midsection in a "girdle" effect.
Study the accompanying photo of
this exercise. Notice that your lower back remains in contact with the
ground (or, better yet, in contact with an "SI pad" for your sacroiliac,
or lower back), and your feet are positioned close to your buttocks (knees
bent). Holding a small weight directly over your face at arms' length,
twist all the way to the right and then to the left several times. Do not
allow your torso or shoulders to come in contact with the ground while
twisting back and forth. This is a difficult exercise -- it's
great!
SAFETY
SQUATS
Now here is a
GREAT way to do squats right! The specially designed bar makes it easier
to get deep enough into the squat position, easier to keep your back
straight, and with far less danger of injuring your lower back or
knees.
Safety squats are also more comfortable because of the
padded yolk that's resting on your shoulders. This special bar is called a
"safety squat bar," although it has become widely referred to as the
"Hatfield Bar" because of my longstanding endorsement of its benefits. It
allows you to use your hands to both hold yourself in a perfect, upright
squatting position as well as "spot" yourself if the weight becomes too
heavy. In my opinion, every bodybuilder should do squats this
way.
STIFF LEGGED
DEADLIFTS
A lot of
bodybuilders use stiff legged deadlifts to exercise their lower back.
Because your lower back is more efficiently and effectively developed with
back extensions, there is no need to do any other exercise for your lower
back, and ESPECIALLY not stiff legged deadlifts!
Stiff legged
deadlifts are particularly effective for developing your hamstrings (the
back of your upper legs).
The traditional way of performing this
exercise is to lower the weighted bar all the way down to your bootstraps
while standing on a platform or bench with stiff legs (or knees slightly
bent). In this way, it's believed, you'll get maximum effect on your hams.
This may be true to a degree, but you're also going to unnecessarily
expose your lumbar spine to injury. Those intervertebral discs down there
come loose all too easily!
I believe that I've developed a better
way. With barbell in hand, poke both your butt and belly outward. In this
position, you look kinda like one of the "Keystone Cops" you see in the
1920s movies. This variation of stiff legged deadlifts has thus become
known as "Keystone Deadlifts."
This seemingly strange position will
prestretch your hamstrings because of the forward tilt of your pelvis the
position entails. Then, while maintaining this position, slowly lower the
barbell to around your knees, keeping the bar close to your legs during
the descent and ascent.
You must NOT go more than an inch or two
below your knees. By the time you reach your (slightly unlocked) knees,
your hip joints have fully flexed, and further lowering of the bar is
accomplished ONLY through hyperflexion of your spine -- a
NO-NO!
You will feel a decided "burn" in your hams and glutes when
keystones are done correctly. You should feel virtually no discomfort or
stress in your lower back. If you do, experiment with the movement until
you feel no discomfort at all.
The nice thing about doing stiff
legged deadlifts this way is that you can use a far heavier weight,
thereby getting better adaptive stress applied to the target muscles. All
without any low back trauma at all!
One more important caution:
NEVER do this exercise explosively! You'll risk pulling a hamstring or
blowing out a lumbar disc. Bodybuilders are well-advised to steer clear of
heavy deadlifting movements, as they are potentially dangerous to the
lower spine.
STRENGTH SHOE
TRAINING
Sneakers with
special "platforms" attached to the soles keep your heels off the ground
while running, jumping and walking. Most of you may remember Boyer Coe
used to endorse this strange looking footwear. Wearing these strength
shoes around for an hour or so each day while you're running, jumping and
walking will make your calf muscles strong and put meat back there as well
as any calf exercise there is.
Be careful, though! You must
gradually work up to an hour. Begin by wearing them only 5 minutes a day.
Add 5 minutes every third day or so. Don't rush it! You'll find that these
shoes will put on size and add inches to your vertical jumping ability in
a few months!
GLUTE-HAM-GASTROC RAISES
Picture this: Valery Borzov, the great Russian
sprinter (Olympic gold medalist in 1972) in the same archaic setup doing
explosive hip extensions followed by an immediate bending of the knees to
simulate the glute-ham pull characteristic of sprinters in full stride. He
carries 7-0 pounds behind his head. That means 1) far greater gluteal and
hamstring speed-strength, which is something no other sprint training
exercise can claim, and 2) almost one hundred percent injury-proofing
against hamstring pulls, which is also something no other sprint training
exercise -- or any exercise for that matter -- can claim.
Your
"butt" muscles are called the gluteus maximus (or "glutes" for short).
Your hamstrings ("hams") are the backs of your upper leg. And, your calf
muscles are called your "gastrocnemius" muscles (or "gastrocs"). So, a
"glute-ham-gastroc" exercise is one that sequentially strengthens all
three of these muscles in one movement.
This is an exercise
developed in Russia, and perfected by an American sports scientist named
Dr. Mike Yessis. It is the single best weight training exercise there is
for improving speed and explosiveness in running and
jumping.
Bodybuilders can also benefit markedly from this exercise
for the same reasons cited for explosive high pulls. You use your "glutes"
to raise your body to a straight (horizontal) position. Then, your "hams"
continue the movement to pull you up to a bent-knee level, and the
"gastrocs" help the hams finish the movement.
You will need the
specially-built machine described in the section above on back raises in
order to do this exercise.
THE SQUAT HARNESS
There are many variations to the squat
movement. One extremely important one for athletes is the "lunge" squat.
Lunge squats can be done to the left, right or forward, placing the weight
on the lead leg. The quad muscles of the lead leg are targeted with both
front and side lunges. Side lunges also target the groin muscles
(especially the adductor gracilis of the opposite leg).
Also, from
a front lunge position, you can "twist" while ascending from the lunge
position. This is an exercise which I had originally developed for
athletes like down-linemen or shot putters who are required to explode
laterally out of a lunge or squat position. All other benefit too, in that
fuller leg development is achieved in the sartorius and adductor muscles
of the upper leg. Remember, almost every sport requires explosive twisting
motions -- throwing, hitting, exploding laterally off the line, and so
forth.
"Twisting squats," as they're called, require a special
squat harness to wear on your chest and shoulders to hold the short bar in
place. DO NOT attempt to do twisting squats with a long bar, or with the
bar placed on your shoulders! The squat harness is built for safety, but a
short bar or EZ curl bar must be used.
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