You know that you want to, and possible should, start working out and getting into shape. But maybe you don't like the gym or you want something to do when you're not going to the gym? Well then you need to learn muscle building at home techniques. Muscle building at home does not have to be difficult, it can even be fun, but you are going to need to have motivation and dedication to really get the results that you are looking for here.

Starting on a Diet Plan

If you want to start muscle building at home, the first step needs to be for you to create a proper diet plan. Many many people make the mistake of thinking that exercises come first and are the most important part, but this is actually not the case. Instead you are going to need to focus on your diet and what you are eating before being concerned with the exercises that you are doing.

Getting Equipment

Now before you can start muscle building at home, you are going to have to get the right equipment for yourself. You are going to need to get weights for one. Make sure that you are aware of what amount of weights you are getting, it might be best to get a dumbbell set where you can change the dumbbell weight. This is because although you do want to challenge yourself at the same time you do not want to overdo it and end up injuring yourself, this does not help you get into shape.

Make sure that you consult your physician before you start trying to muscle building at home. This is important so that you know how to safely use the weights at home but also it is important as it will ensure that you are going to lose the most body fat in the shortest amount of time. Also this will ensure that you don't have any health condition at play that you are going to have to be concerned with when working out.

You also want to keep in mind when you start muscle building at home that, unlike weight machines, free weights do not restrict movement, which personally I think makes them a lot better. Consider your exercise motivation for the quality and durability of the weights that you are thinking of buying, make sure they are fit for purpose for what you have in mind.

You also want to make sure that the weights you are going to be purchasing are going to be easy enough for you to store. Especially if your home is already cramped it is very easy to lose an entire room to a set of equipment for muscle building at home, which is why I would recommend a set of dumbbells.

I'm Joe Gore and I have created http://www.24hrbodybuildingfitness.com/ using information I have researched and put into practice through my own fitness routine. Take action now and visit my website at the above link.

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Tags: Building, Muscle, Start

So why do the Bulgarians have such a successful national weightlifting program? Do they use anabolics in excess? Do they need to use them? I will answer this question and more right here.

By: Critical BenchOct 18, 2005 Email More SHARE

This article was written for the single purpose of exploring Bulgarian training methods as they can and should be used by your run-of-the-mill American weightlifter.

Well, that and for the purpose of firing off a little rant. But, if you can get through the ranting, I promise there will be some training stuff somewhere in there ...

Begin Rant

As of late, it seems that an increasing number of people have taken to saying that the Bulgarians have lost their edge, and that Bulgaria is 'no longer dominant' in international weightlifting.

I am not altogether sure exactly what results these folks are looking at. The 2000 Olympics, for example, which was about the worst meet in 3 decades for the Bulgarians, still saw 4 Bulgarian-trained lifters on the medal stand.

Six students of the Bulgarian system medaled at the 2002 World Championships. As of March 2003, if one were to look at the IWF men's rankings one will find that the Bulgarians have a lifter ranked in the top 3 in ALL SIX classes that are 69 kilos and above. Not only that, but in 4 of those classes the Bulgarian is ranked number one.

So, it seems to me that in the 'ever-expanding world of the 21st century', the Bulgarians are continuing to more than hold their own in weightlifting. Especially when one considers that Bulgaria is a nation of about 8 million, while countries of half a billion sit and flounder with no lifters and no medals.

But I digress... the fact is that the Bulgarians are still good. They are better than good. And the single most important reason for their success is their training methods.

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Yes, after comments about how the Bulgarians are not that good anymore come out one side of the mouth, comments about how their training is worthless usually comes out of the other. The most common version of this old song and dance is a statement to the effect of "Oh, that routine would KILL you!"

Inherent in this excuse is one of two common premises.

First is that the Bulgarians succeed with their training solely because of enormous amounts of drugs.

Second is that only their hand-picked genetic freaks could handle that kind of workload.

 Drug Offenders?

The problem with the first point is that the Bulgarians are not that high on the list of IOC drug offenders. Sure, there are Bulgarians that use banned anabolic substances. But, the same can be said for EVERY international team, and I do mean *EVERY* team.

The fact is that the Bulgarians dominate the middleweight classes, where excessive use of anabolics might just put a lifter over his class limit. Some countries which will remain nameless (*cough*Russia*cough*), always seem to have their best lifters drifting through the 94s and the 105s on their way to being 135 kilo heavyweights.

This type of situation seems much more indicative of drug use, but of course the whiners do not want to hear logical arguments. Additionally, the Bulgarian training system is not the type that would draw too heavily upon the benefits of using anabolics.

The Bulgarian-type workout consisting only of a moderate number of not-quite-maximum singles imposes a heavy burden on the CNS, but if one is looking for CNS stimulation or recovery there are better places than steroids to find it.

Central Nervous System:
The central nervous system along with the peripheral nervous system comprise a primary division of controls that command all physical activities of a vertebrate (a life form with a spine).

Neurons of the central nervous system affect consciousness and mental activity while spinal extensions of central nervous system neuron pathways affect skeletal muscles and organs in the body.

Again, contrast this with traditional training programs in the Russian regimen where athletes of high sports mastery would be training on up to 80 different lifts/exercises a year, with about 25% of these done for sets of 5 reps or more, and you can see a training protocol that drastically has its effectiveness increased by substances that will increase protein synthesis and help recovery at the cellular level.

 Genetic Freaks?

The second point (that of genetics) has a grain of truth in it. The best Bulgarian lifters have been in the system for quite some time, and have risen to the top from among the best of the best.

However, one can look down the Bulgarian ranks to see if it is the 'system' or the 'individuals.' Bulgaria usually has a deep team of lifters, so much so that they can afford to sell half of them to foreign countries.

I somehow doubt that, again, in this nation of only 8 million people there are that many more 'perfect weightlifters' born than anywhere else. The other thing is these lifters have slowly worked up to what they are doing over that long time that they have been in the system.

Bulgaria does not throw its 14-year olds into a situation where they go from doing nothing to doing 27 workouts a week where they snatch to a heavy single.

In fact, many Eastern European nations that start lifters as young as 12-years old have them doing only about 30% of their training as specific preparation for as long as 3 years. It takes them a long time to ramp up to the volumes they are handling once they are competing at the world level.

 A Brutal Training Program.

Finally, as an adjunct to both points, people need to realize that the training program, as the elite Bulgarian lifters follow it, IS brutal. However, drugs are not as big a piece of the pie as they are made out to be. Neither is genetics.

The Bulgarians have massages before, during, and after workouts. Do you?

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The Bulgarians take all sorts of herbs and 'adaptogens' and are deeply involved in legal sports performance pharmacology. Are you?

The Bulgarians on the national team don't have to keep a 9-to-5, 40-hour a week job. Do you?

The point here is that there are many recovery factors that can come into play that make a Bulgarian routine more accessible to their lifters than to the average American.

That said, if you are willing to do some homework on herbs and learn a little bit about sports self-massage, etc., you also can reap the benefits of increased recovery.

The Bulgarian Blitz

All that having been said, I simply refuse to accept the idea that there is nothing to learn from their training.

In fact, I have arrived at what I believe is a way to work *anyone* into a system that at least draws upon the same principles as the Bulgarian training methods, and have been using it with myself and others.

You might never get to 'Full-on Bulgarian' status, but you can definitely make their type of workouts work for you ...

 Step 1:
Basic Routine Template

Monday:

Snatch: 3 singles, using 'Maximum Training Resistance'Clean & Jerk: MTR matrix Front Squat: 3 singles, using MTR, then 2 doubles with MTR -15 kilos

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday "Matrix A."
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday "Matrix B."
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday "Matrix C."

[ See Below For An Explanation Of A, B, & C Progressions. ]

Wednesday:

Back Squat: 3 doubles with Monday CJ MTR + 20 kilos Power Snatch: 3 singles with MTR Power Clean and Push Jerk: 3 singles with MTR Romanian Deadlift: 3 triples with Mon CJ MTR + 20 kilos

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday.

Friday:

Snatch: work up to true 1RM CJ: work up to true 1RM Front Squat or Back Squat: work up to true 1RM

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday.

[Basically this is a 'Total Day' or a simulated competition. Again, you don't want to psyche up like this is the Olympics, but you do want to 'let loose' and push yourself to darn near what your absolute max for that day would be.]

 

Weight Lifted

Reps (1-10)

One-Rep Max

There you have it. Pretty simple, eh? And who could complain about that volume or frequency? If you cannot handle the above workout schedule, then you have some serious recovery issues. You may want to consider retiring from weightlifting and taking up cross-stitch, or something else less stressful.

Maximum Training Resistance.

Now, one of the important concepts here is that of "Maximum Training Resistance." This is what some of you may have heard referred to as a 'daily max' before.

The definition of the MTR is "the maximum resistance that can be overcome one time without a strong effort of will or emotional stress." This is key in this program; at least as I have it structured to work for the individual.

We want to use the MTR so as not to burn out the nervous system. Thus, on Mondays and Wednesday, the singles in the classical and power lifts must NOT be 'balls to the wall, my youngest son is hanging suspended over a Judas Cradle' type of lifts. They are 'I can walk up to the bar and pull this weight' lifts.

What Is A Judas Cradle?
The Judas Cradle, also known as the Judas Chair, was a torture device used in the Spanish Inquisition. The Judas Cradle was a pyramid-shaped seat. The victim was placed on top of it, with the point inserted into their anus or vagina, then very slowly lowered by ropes. The intended effect was to stretch the orifice over a long period of time. Saving a person from such a device would require the equivalent of a rather intense power lift.

Of course, you have to toe the line. Also, you have to learn whether you are missing lifts because you are actually working above your MTR, or because your form sucks.

For me, it is an issue of pulling in the snatch and clean and the drive in the jerk. If I am pulling the bar high enough to snatch it or clean it, and driving it high enough to jerk it, I don't feel that I have exceeded my MTR, whether I am making the lifts or not.

If I am missing my snatches out front, it is likely just because of my crappy first pull and lack of a full shrug, and not because I am going too heavy. As a lifter progresses, he will learn exactly where that line is.

At the start of the program, Mondays and Wednesdays only will be done using the 'MTR Matrix'. This matrix will appear at the end of the article, and I will place appropriate comments with it.

 Step 2:
Adding A Session.

Alright, the first step beyond the basic workout on your way to becoming a Bulgarian. What is it?

On the middle day of the week, you are going to do 2 sessions. The session you have already been doing will be the a.m. session, and the following will be done in the p.m:

Middle Day PM

Snatch 80%/2 (3-4 sets) CJ 80%/2 (3-4 sets) Snatch Pulls; 3-4 sets of triples with a weight 10 kilos over what was used for the snatches.

 

The issue here becomes on what day of the week are you able to add a session. So, if you can do an a.m. and p.m. workout Thursday, that becomes your 'middle day', and you are now lifting Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday.

Though, if adding an a.m. (or basically just a session 2-3 hours earlier in the day) session is a big stumbling block, continuing on with the progression of the program might be next to impossible.

The other issue here is when to take these steps. That, I am afraid, is up to the individual lifter and/or his coach. I would say that once you have been 'through the matrix' a couple of times at each and are able to keep making progress, add the next step. Your body is ready for the challenge.

 Step 3:
Adding A Day.

So, you have added a session. A few months later, you should be ready to add a fourth day. What previously would have been the M, W, F workouts, respectively, will now take place on Mon, Tues, and Sat. What do we add in?

On Thursday, you will do a workout that looks exactly like Monday's. That wasn't so hard, was it?

 Step 4:
Adding A Session.

You have now been lifting 4 days a week, twice on Tuesdays. Your hair has gotten a little longer than is stylish, and you tend to wear T-shirts bearing '80s slogans that were not even cool in the '80s. It is time to move on ...

You will add an a.m. session to Monday (with the previously done Monday session moved to the p.m, or done second). What will that a.m. session look like?

Monday a.m. Session.

Snatch: 85%/2 (3-4 sets) CJ: 90%/2 (2-3 sets) Back Squat or RDL to MTR

 Step 5:
Adding Two Sessions.

This is it. The final bump in the road. It may have taken you a year and a half to work through the prior steps. You now can answer your cell phone between the clean and the jerk portions of the lift, and you got a new driver's license that says "Boevski" instead of "Dave Smith". You are ready for the final step in truly becoming a Bulgarian ..

What is added? It's simple, really. On Thursday you add an a.m. workout that looks the same as Monday's a.m. workout, and on Saturday you do the following workout (though it is more of a CNS warm-up than a workout) in the a.m:

Saturday

Back Squat 80%/3 (3 sets) Power Snatches: 'light' Power Clean and Push Jerk: 'light'

 

Barbell Push Jerk

 

Conclusion

So, there you have it. You now do 8 workouts a week. Craziness? Hardly, if you have added the steps only once you were ready. Not quite as extreme as the Bulgarians?

Think again, because you are now using almost the exact same routine that the Bulgarian team has been doing since new Head Coach Plamen Asparukhov took over for Abadjiev in 2001 and reaffirmed the Bulgarian team's commitment to staying in line with IOC doping regulations.

You now train just like Boevski and Jeliazkov, so good luck and go lift like them ...

 The MTR Matrix

This is basically a system of volume/intensity progression that was used by the old Bulgarian regime that has not fallen out of favor. You can play with and rearrange the weeks as you like, but my preference is to go A-B-B-C-A. Some people can handle A-B-B-C-C-A. Try different things and see what works for you.

Also, to start with a lifter is probably best off basing the entire mesocycle on the MTR that was used during the first week. So, the weeks will just build upon each other.

As the lifter becomes more comfortable with the system and his own capabilities, however, he will become more in tune with what his true MTR is on any given day, and during weeks B and C, respectively, will basically just do a second wave and a third wave back up to that weight irrespective of what MTR was used during week one.

"A" Week:

Predicted MTR -20kilos for 2 reps.Predicted MTR -10 kilos for a single.MTR for 3-4 singles.

"B" Week:

Perform A week progression.MTR -10 kilos for a double.MTR -5 kilos for a single.MTR +5 kilos for 2-4 singles.

"C" Week:

Entire B week progression performed.Double with MTR -20 kilos.Double with MTR -10 kilos.3-4 more singles with MTR plus 5 or 7.5 kilos.

So, if you were doing a simple A-B-B-C-A progression over 5 weeks, and you found that your snatch MTR was 100 on the first Monday, for the next 5 weeks your Monday snatch workouts might be as follows:

Week 1: 80/2, 90, 100 (3-4)
Week 2: 80/2, 90, 100 (3), 90/2, 95, 105 (2-4)
Week 3: 80/2, 90, 100 (3), 90/2, 95, 105 (2-4)
Week 4: 80/2, 90, 100 (3), 90/2, 95, 105 (3), 80/2, 90/2, 105 (2), 107.5 (2)
Week 5: 80/2, 90, 100 (3-4)

At this point, the lifter would start over, this time likely using 105 as the MTR for the first A week in the mesocycle.

 

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Tags: Blitz, Bulgarian, Weightlifting

What I recommend

Multi-vitamin. I recommend an inexpensive multi-vitamin from your local drugstore. Do NOT go into places like GNC to get a multi-vitamin because it will not be cheap or tested for safety. If you want a safe, effective multi-vitamin, walk into your local drugstore and get one there. A multi-vitamin is good for filling any gaps in your diet and overall health.

Green Tea. I do not recommend the green tea extract pills, I only recommend drinking the good stuff. Green tea is high in antioxidants and is good for overall health. If you don't like green tea, don't worry about it. Green tea will NOT make or break your results.

Fish Oil. Fish oil is more of a "maybe" on my list. If your diet has a sufficient amount of fatty acids, then you won't need a fish oil supplement.

That's it! I don't recommend anything else because everything else is just a waste of money and totally not needed. People may argue that protein powder should be on the list however, protein powder is a food not a supplement. Anything that has calories is considered food, supplements do not.

I recommend you buy your supplements at bodybuilding.com since they will be the cheapest there, however don't get caught in the trap. When you visit bodybuilding.com, you will be overwhelmed on the amount of supplements available. Trust me, 90 percent of them do absolutely nothing!!!

SUPPLEMENT FAQ

What about Creatine? Creatine is a supplement that has very mixed opinions. In my opinion, Creatine is a waste of money. Trust me, I have tried almost every supplement out there. Creatine is a waste of money. It's more beneficial to use the money for healthy food. May work for others, but I'm skeptical.

What about pre-workouts? Pre-workouts are the biggest scam ever. I have tried twenty-three different pre-workouts and they all do the same thing... nothing! If you think they're doing something, then you are falling for the pre-workout trap. It's not the pre-workout, it's your mind. Companies that make pre-workouts want you to believe that they work, so they add caffeine to give you a jolt. Then they have you hooked into thinking that you can't workout without a pre-workout. Abracadabra... customer for life.

CLA? I took CLA for about 4 months and nothing happened. I can tell you that any results you get while taking CLA will be from your diet and exercise routine, not from CLA. CLA is a waste of money and who knows what it could be doing inside your body.

What about Fish Oil? Fish Oil is actually a decent supplement however, your diet should contain essential fatty acids, which means you don't need to waste your money on Fish Oil. If you feel that you don't have enough fatty acids in your diet, then you actually might want to supplement with a fish oil supplement.

Glutamine? Again, I really don't believe supplements like these are necessary. You shouldn't need a supplement to help you recover faster because the diet should do all the work. Diet is so important in bodybuilding no matter how many supplements you take, the diet will be the key factor in your success. From my experience, Glutamine does help a bit with recovery, but a lot of protein powder out their already has Glutamine in it, so therefore you don't have to spend any extra money on Glutamine.

Weight Gainers? The problem with weight gainers is that they are mostly empty calories. It is true that some weight gainers have a lot of vitamins and minerals, but it would be a thousand times better to eat actual food. The other thing is you have to drink this weight gainer, which means your body will not absorb all of the nutrients. You're body can only absorb nutrients so fast. It's almost like someone drinking three scoops of whey at one time, and another person drinking the whey slowly throughout the day. The one who is drinking the whey slowly throughout the day will absorb the most amount of nutrients. The one who drank the whey all at once will most likely crap it out.

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Tags: Advice, Building, Muscle

by Lee Boyce – 4/8/2013
Supramaximal holds
Extended sets
One-and-a-half reps
Ladders

The strength training industry has come up with some pretty cool and innovative ways to pack on muscle mass and increase strength, with the above methods serving as prime examples.

Sometimes, however, it doesn't need to be complicated to make progress. Something as simple as pulling or pushing "dead weight" can help you blast through even the most frustrating strength plateau and get you on track to building muscle again.

The primary benefit of deadstop training is that it shuts off the stretch reflex so that it doesn't offer any assistance during the hardest phases of the lift.

Some salty coaches will go so far as to say this is the best way to measure someone's "true" strength as it's just muscle against load – no assistance from the meddling stretch reflex or any other efficiency hack.

This is partly why powerlifting meets require a full stop during the bench, squat, and deadlift competition – to get an uncompromised assessment of true muscular strength in a given movement. No bounce off the sternum/hope I don't snap a rib technique allowed.

Another benefit of deadstop training is that it gives you a split second to re-establish your technique. On movements like the deadlift, you can physically readjust yourself between reps so that your pull happens from the best possible geometry.

Compare this to training with the stretch reflex where we typically see technique degrade with each successive rep. Better movement always yields better results.

Deadstop training means coming to a full stop at the bottom of a deadlift, squat, bench press, and the like. However, when most lifters think of "deadstop training," they think of deadlifts and maybe a bench press movement.

That's no fun! Not to mention that in sports like football or even sprinting, aggressive pushing movements (blocking from the chest, pushing off the ground for a start) are required, meaning performing dead stops with your pushing and squatting movements can have considerable application.

The truth is, you can apply it to a variety of exercises, and in many different ways. Let's start with the most common applications before touching on the more obscure.

Not only are deadlifts awesome for adding lower and mid-back thickness and size, they're also an awesome way to improve overall force production and develop max strength. Adding a deadstop to the mix makes a "no cheating" exercise even more of a challenge as you must treat every rep like its own set because you take the time to readjust your technique.

Check out the video of my much skinnier self performing deadstop deadlifts:

Yup, there is such thing as a deadstop squat. Cutting off the stretch shortening cycle doesn't have to be limited to only the pulling movements – applying this technique to "push" exercises can be a great stimulus for muscle development and strength gains.

This is the most common deadstop squat variation. Let's forget all the propaganda about lower back muscle and lumbar spine injury – if you stay tight and don't "relax" at the bottom of a box squat, and you don't have any pre-existing conditions or use a box that's too low (taking away ideal pelvic position during your seat), you should be fine.

Here's the bonus: Using box squats with a wide stance allows for a more vertical shin position, meaning lowered knee stress and more glute and hamstring activation.

If you do have issues with your lower back or are just neurotic regarding box squats, then try bottom-up squats. They have the same deadstop effect on the muscles, without the bottom-end compressive forces that a box squat creates.

Since you get to rest the bar right down on the pins, you have the chance to give your lower spine a bit of a break while making any needed adjustments to your technique.

As you'll see in the video below, pin squats are also great for taller lifters since depth issues often plague us. Sometimes boxes aren't high enough to work with to get the right form, but setting up the pins at a level that suits you can be beneficial.

The cool thing is, when you follow up these variations with sets that do incorporate the stretch reflex (like typical full range squats), you'll have amped up your nervous system to recruit its fast twitch muscle fibers much more efficiently and get a hell of a lot more out of your workout.

Using the power rack for deadstop training can work with upper-body work, too. Pin presses for both the shoulder press and bench press are fantastic options. As a tall guy, one reason I like pin presses is that it helps avoid the unwanted shoulder capsule stress that we long-armed lifters often must endure in the bottom range of a heavy bench press.

To mitigate this, setting up the pins a couple inches above chest level can be a huge benefit – not only will it be much more comfortable, but the slightly shortened range of motion usually means more weight can be lifted. Nothing wrong with that.

The same thing applies here. Focus on letting the bar settle on the pins before "bouncing" it up for another rep.

These are often used as a deadstop movement. The difference, however, between a pin press and a floor press (apart from the obvious) boils down to tension. During the "dead" part of the floor press, when your elbows are on the ground, you still need to maintain constant muscular tension. Otherwise, the dumbbells or barbell will fall down and crush your skull.

You don't get a break as you do in dead stop variations, so certain muscles (like the forearms and scapulae) will constantly be holding an isometric contraction – and as the set continues, your rate of fatigue will be faster than that of a pin press.

Long story short, if size and max strength is the goal, then these little things begin to matter. We want to get the most out of every rep.

Too many lifters perform their rowing and overhead pulling exercises with the stretch reflex. At times this can help increase muscle recruitment or rep performance, but often tapping into the absolute strength of the muscle fibers is what's needed.

Deadstopping your pull-ups offers a real indicator of your true pull-up strength and is more humbling than even performing weighted pull-ups.

As for rows, here's the Mountain Dog himself doing a set of deadstop single-arm rows:

The nervous system can take a beating with all this deadstop training, especially since deadstop training is typically paired with heavier lifting.

Knowing this, an easy way to incorporate this method without your neurotransmitters giving you the finger is to kill all your negative reps, where applicable.

In pressing exercises like pin presses and large lower body movements like bottom-up squats and deadlifts, almost "dropping" your negative rep can do your body plenty of good in terms of long term sustenance.

Just make sure you're not reckless about it – be in control when dropping the weight and ensure you still keep some tension on the bar or dumbbell.

Why is this helpful? The eccentric phase of a big lift is the part that's most taxing. One of the reasons Olympic lifters use bumper plates in training and competition is so that they can drop the weight and shirk the demanding (and dangerous) eccentric phase of repeatedly lowering heavy loads, saving themselves for the concentric movement.

By sparing our strongest muscle fibers the negative, we're keeping our nervous system at bay and can train with deadstops more frequently.

I'll concede there were no atoms split during the writing of this article, and I certainly didn't forge new ground in the strength and conditioning world.

Still, not everything you read needs to be the Newest And Greatest Information Ever. Sometimes all it takes is a proven old school trick that's been around for decades to break even the most stubborn plateau.

Try using these variations to shake up your routine and get your nervous system firing on all cylinders again. Let your weight settle to a dead stop so your gains don't have to.

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Tags: Deadstop, Revisited, Training

If you have been stuck benching 250 lbs. and really want to get to 300 lbs. then reading this article will be the biggest step you take this year. Get ready to bench 250, 300, 400, or more!

Quick Tips & Questions 

 Tips To Keep In Mind Keep your elbows tucked in to your side and use your strong triceps to help the lift. The Bench Press Strength! manual contains the appropriate volume and intensity of triceps work to prepare your arms. Use your whole body in the lift. Push against the floor with your feet. Keep your upper back muscles tensed and keep the upper back on the bench for stability. Push the bar straight up to reduce the movement distance. Practice your technique! Heavy lifting is a combination of skill and muscular work, so you learn how to perform the movement most efficiently. Identify your weaknesses so that you can train appropriately.

 Questions To Ask Yourself What are your weaknesses in the bench press? Liftoff? Lockout? What are your strengths in your lifts? What are your specific goals for the bench press? What is your training schedule? - Detail each workout day. Have you had any injuries? What training program has given you the best results in the past?

Bench Press Tips From The Experts 

The first step to improving your bench (even before designing your program) is figuring out what the heck is stopping you from benching more weight.

 What Is Your Weak Area In The Exercise?
 

If You Fail At The Bottom: If you just can't get the weight off your chest (but would have no problem with the lockout), you need to become more explosive in the start of the movement. Dave Tate recommends you incorporate explosive pressing. This is described later in this article as "Dynamic Effort" training.

If You Can't Complete The Lockout: If so, then your triceps strength (or lack of it) may limit your success. Use a combination of heavy close-grip presses and triceps extensions to build the necessary triceps strength.

Pick the weak spot in your bench and make it a priority in training.

 Other Factors...
 According to Sarah Clarke, gold medalist at the 2002 Canadian National Powerlifting Championships in the 75 kg weight class, "You can't let your legs dance around or tap your feet when things get tough. This reduces your power generation in the bench press. Instead, you must set a strong foundation with your legs.

Press your upper back into the bench and use this to aid in pressing the bar. Stability is a key in a heavy bench press, so putting your feet on the bench isn't going to help you out one bit. Tension throughout the entire body is mandatory in the bench press."

Review each rep afterward and use this feedback to improve each future rep. According to Tate, you should "stay tight, keep the elbows tucked, drive your heels into the floor and shove your body away from the bar as you press".

Practice your technique. Treat strength development like any skill development. Perfect practice makes perfect presses.

You have to do it over and over again to find your best method of benching.

 Strengthen Your Upper Back.
 

Bench Press Strength Techniques 

 Maximal Effort Training 
This type of training refers to the sessions where you lift as much weight as you possibly can for a specific number of repetitions.

For example, a 5 RM maximal effort session would require you to work up the best weight that you can lift for 5 repetitions with good form.

 Dynamic Effort Training 
Dave Tate recommends devoting one day per week to "dynamic effort" training. Dynamic effort training is designed to increase explosiveness. The foundation of a dynamic effort workout is opposite to a traditional workout.

Because the focus of a dynamic exercise is to move the weight as fast as possible, you will use much less weight. In addition, rather than performing a small number of sets and many repetitions, you will perform a larger number of sets with a smaller number of repetitions (i.e. 8 sets of 3 repetitions for the bench press).

It is extremely important to push the bar with maximal force on each rep. Don't take it easy just because it is a lighter weight. Adding chains and bands (see below) helps increase the resistance at the top of the movement. You must press with maximal force to overcome the added resistance at the top of the movement. Tate describes dynamic effort training as, "compensatory acceleration" and that "it can help you break through sticking points".

The key to getting through a sticking point as Tate describes it is to, "train to accelerate through the sticking point". If you explode the bar up, you can break through your sticking point. When training with the dynamic effort, focus on bar speed. If the bar slows down from rep to rep, it means the weight is too heavy. Use a resistance that is ~50% of your estimated 1 RM bench for 8 sets of 3.

 The Use Of Bands & Chains in Bench Press Training 
Adding a chain or band increases the resistance at the top of the movement. For example, if you have 225 lbs. on the bar plus a 10 lb. chain on each side, you will bench press 225 lbs. off your chest but you will lockout 245 lbs. The chains must be attached to "unload" onto the floor when the bar is lowered.

The same principle applies to the bands. The bands are looped around both a secure object at ground level and the ends of the barbell. The bands then provide less resistance at the bottom of the movement.

Bench Press Exercise Descriptions 

Remember to always have a spotter for heavy bench pressing and for the lift-off. Your spotter will help you get the bar off the rack and out to the start position. You will also need them to make sure that you complete every repetition in your set.

 Bench Press 
Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench. Grip the bar using a medium-width grip. Have your spotter help you take the bar from the rack. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the bottom of your chest. Pause briefly and then press the bar back up above the chest in a straight line.

 Dynamic Bench Press 
Attach the chains or bands to the ends of the bar as required. Make sure to anchor the bands under the rack or with very heavy dumbbells. Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench. For the first 3 sets, grip the bar using a medium-width grip. Use a slightly wider grip for the next 3 sets, and a slightly narrower grip for the final 3 sets. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the bottom of your chest. Accelerate the bar up as quickly as possible. Perform all 3 reps as fast as you can.

 DB Floor Press 
Lie on the floor and hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms turned toward your feet. Lower the dumbbells until your upper arms contact the floor. Pause briefly and then press the dumbbells straight up above the chest.

A floor press strengthens the mid-point of your bench and demands a strong grip. It also removes the leg drive from the exercise and makes you work harder while forcing you to keep your body tight.

Do 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps. Start with no more than 75 percent of what you use in a normal flat bench dumbbell press.

 

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Tags: Bench, Improve, Press

There are a few particular chest workouts that are really going to be great for you but you just don't yet know which ones they are. There are also some terrific chest workouts which you can try and that you can do if you are a female, however, most women don't tend to want an overly muscular and worked out chest. It is generally more for the men, who want to work out their pectoral muscles and who want to benefit from really good chest workout ideas.

Ideas

One of the great chest workouts to try, and is going to be a great starter for you, is the cable crossovers exercise which is performed as follows:

1. Hold the pulleys in each hand, after setting the resistance for the pulleys and positioning the pulleys above your head.

2. Step forward of an imaginary line between the two pulleys while having a slight lean forward in your posture from the waist up and pulling your two arms together in front of you. This is the starting position.

3. Slowly let your arms travel back in an arc until you feel a slight stretch in your chest, maintain a slight bend in the elbow to stop bicep stress and breathe in as you perform this movement. Note your shoulders should be moving but your body and arms should remain in the same positions.

4. Using the same arc motion return your arms to the starting position. Remembering to breathe out at the same time and to keep your body and arms in the same positions while moving the shoulders.

5. Continue until the desired reps are reached.

Another great chest workout exercise to try is the incline dumbbell press, my favorite one, which is very similar to the bench press exercise. The exercise is simple as follows:

1. Set-up by sitting down on the bench supporting the two dumbbells on your thighs, then once settled on the bench lift your dumbbells up to shoulder width apart in front of your chest. Finally twist your hands so your palms face away from you as if you are holding a bar between the two.

2. Keeping control of your dumbbells constantly push them up with your chest as you breathe out.

3. Once you reach the top hold and then lower your dumbbells back down to your chest.

4. Repeat the movement for the required repetitions.

A final exercise which I think is great is the press up. It is simple, effective, works more than just the chest, can be varied to increase or decrease difficulty and is easily done anywhere and without weights. It is performed as follows:

1. Lie flat on the floor and place your hands just above shoulder width apart, and holding yourself on them with straight arms.

2. Lower yourself down while inhaling until your chest almost touches the floor.

3. Hold and then return to the top while exhaling.

4. Repeat for the required repetitions.

These three exercises will be a great start to your chest workouts.

A little bonus advice an exercise rhythm that works great for me and others who I have researched is to do the following. The motion you breathe out on, i.e. the strenuous part, should take 1 second, then you hold at the top for 1 second, then the motion you breathe in on, i.e. the relaxation part, should take 2 seconds. This should help you to get the max out of your reps and you will certainly feel it.

I'm Joe Gore and I have created http://www.24hrbodybuildingfitness.com/ using information I have researched and put into practice through my own fitness routine. Take action now and visit my website at the above link.

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by Dan Blewett – 4/1/2013

Every year in May I go off to chase a dying dream – pro baseball. Having suffered some major injuries at key moments in my career meant my path was going to have to be the one less traveled. Independent baseball has been great for my soul, but terrible on my body.

If you've ever taken 5 months off from your normal workout routine and replaced it with tons of overnight travel, long days in the August sun, gas station meals, and limited gym access, you'll know what a toll it takes on the physique.

I typically enter my season at 190 pounds and 8-9% body fat; I show visible abs, a reasonably wide back, and large thighs. By the time I get home in mid to late September, I'm 185 pounds and 12-13% body fat. By my own standards, I'm skinny-fat – and there's not much worse than skinny-fat. Sigh.

Rather than ease into things, I bum-rush the weights and push through the soreness. Three years running I've added 10 pounds while reducing my body fat by 2-3%, all in a month's time.

In this article I'm going to share my 4-week plan for the 15-pound swing – 10 pounds of lean mass while removing 5 pounds of fat. Be advised, however – it's not for the faint of heart.

This isn't a complicated plan. Rather, it's quite simple because the two key components are volume and hard work. When you have those two components, you're most of the way there, anyway. Here's how it breaks down:

Low-Technique Compound Lifts + Goal Rep Sets + High Overall Volume + High Overall Intensity

Following are the big players in this scheme, the ones I feel provide the best bang for the buck considering the formula above.

Front squats are a fantastic builder of the core, quads, and back, not to mention they're easy (relatively) to learn. Almost all of my young athlete clients start their barbell squatting careers with the front squat, and it pays major dividends later on as they learn the other variations.

On this plan we're going to be pushing through long sets, so having a low-technique squat variation is crucial. The weight placement won't allow a round back, so you have less to worry about as fatigue sets in.

I watched my back get bigger and wider than it's ever been doing almost nothing but front squats. If you have a big front squat, you have a solid back. Can't have one without the other.

This one is going to get some jeers, but some of my push-up sets are among the hardest tests of my training career. We have two in my facility that we especially like, which are employed a number of times during this month of hell.

The rules here are simple: take the number of continuous push-ups you can do in a set before failing and multiply this by 2.5. Then, complete this number without allowing the knees to touch the floor. You can hold plank or pike to the down dog position for rest, but that's it.

I've only had 10 or so athletes out of 100+ complete this test. It's 95% mental. Here's how it plays out:

The volleyball player in the video had a 50-rep set because of her 20-rep personal best. My personal best is 60 consecutive push-ups, give or take a few. So, my Horrible Hundred was 150.

On Day 1 last year just getting to 100 took me 10:25. Three weeks later, I'd cut 4 minutes off that initial time and started using 150 as my goal. On my personal best I reached 100 in 3:03 and finished all 150 in 6:08.

That means that last 50 push-ups took roughly 3.5 seconds apiece. The last 40 were basically 40 sets of 1. This is called grinding it out.

Oh, and core work is included in this test – don't forget that every minute of push-ups is a minute in plank, and thus a great core workout.

We also do a to-failure set wearing a 50-pound weighted vest. My personal record is 50 consecutive push-ups without allowing my knees to touch. This was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Scoff at the push-up if you must, but my arms went from 14.5" on Day 1 to 16" on Day 28. Not bad for a month of bodyweight exercises.

The king of upper body exercises. Those who can do 4 sets of 12 are, in my book, deemed strong. Problem is, every year when I return from the season I can only get 4 or 5 in my best set.

I recall Chad Waterbury writing about total volume being the important factor in workouts, rather than the way they were chopped up. You can't get your chin-up numbers up fast enough if you only designate a handful of sets to them – 4 sets of 4 just won't be enough volume to see significant growth.

Enter: The Goal-Rep set.

The chin-up is the number one exercise in my gym that gets assigned goal-reps. Because most untrained clients can perform few, if any, we have to get volumes up.

Want to make moderate progress? Get in 30 reps, twice a week. Good progress? Fifty reps, twice a week. Want to pack 10 pounds onto that scrawny frame in just a few short weeks? Try 200 reps per week. We want to get close to that.

I know what you're thinking. Overtraining! To that, I say, go talk to John Broz, any elite gymnast, Olympic lifter, distance runner, baseball pitcher, or powerlifter. Your body will adapt.

Can you sustain 200 chins a week forever? I'm confident the answer is no. However, for a month it's doable, and I've done it numerous times.

Plus, we're not starting there – we're working up to it. You'll be sore, tired and mentally drained, but your back and forearms won't look like cigarillos anymore.

One tip, though – use freely rotating handles or rings. They'll keep the elbows happier. At the very least, use neutral grips if you don't have access to handles.

Glute-ham raises (GHRs) are the bomb. I love them for what they've done for my squat and for the size of my hamstrings. Yet, weak people don't love them, and for good reason – "It feels like my hamstrings are tearing."

Yes, this is the exact feeling an untrained person gets the first time they jump on the GHR. For this reason, it's not the best idea to start banging out mammoth sets of them if they're beyond your ability.

What I prefer to do is either start with sliding leg curls and build strength, and/or reduce the lever arm on the GHR and gradually lengthen it as we go.

This is also the same plan of action I use with some of my exceptionally tall pitchers who aren't quite there yet for full glute-ham raises.

The glute-ham raise is another exercise that's well suited for the goal-rep scheme in this plan, and we'll use it until proficiency increases to where we can then return to higher volume sets of 8-12. Sliding leg curls are great for sets of 12-20.

Face pulls are a great, simple rotator cuff and upper-back exercise. We prefer to use a 41" mini band and stretch it apart during the pull. This puts a little more emphasis on external rotation.

I like to mix the scapular retraction and external rotation we get from face pulls with Y raises that provide movement on the scaption plane. I'm not picky – do them prone, at an incline (shown) on a bench, or stability ball.

If you use a chain, as shown in the video below, you'll get the added benefit of dynamic stability. The faster you move with the chain and pause at the top, the more their erratic movement will force you to stabilize the joint.

During this program the arms get plenty of tension and stress from the high volume of overhead pulling. Because of this, it's not a great idea to be concurrently deadlifting heavy.

But the back and hamstring development of the Romanian deadlift is a great compromise – we use lighter weights for higher reps to build work capacity. The front squat stays as the main leg lift, with glute-hams and Romanian deadlifts as assistance work.

I'm not going to go into any sort of depth regarding the nutrition required of this program. However, there are three maxims:

Surrounding your workouts with a shake containing a 2-3:1 ratio of carbs-protein is ideal. For most, this is going to be somewhere in the 60-90 grams of carbs and 30-50 grams of protein range.

Don't worry – your body will use all of it. Check out the Plazma™ Reactive Pump™ Stack for a very effective approach with the math done for you.

If you aren't very carb tolerant, reduce the carbs slightly and stay where you think your body responds best – we're all different. But look at this shake as your saving grace to get you through to next week.

To get strong and big in a hurry you need calories, so don't expect to subsist on broccoli and green tea. All I tell my clients who want to gain good weight is to eat green things in each meal, choose whole foods first, and then pound as much of it as possible.

You'll need the oatmeal, rice, sweet potatoes, and quinoa to get enough calories to complete these workouts, but you need to start every meal with the veggies and fruits that are going to supply the micronutrients your cells need.

You've read enough about fish oil without me having to talk you down from the Omega-6 ledge yet again. I recommend a liquid fish oil or high-potency pill like Flameout™ that will keep your joints happy. The elbows especially may be stressed from all the overhead pulling; fish oil is going to keep them relatively calm.

These are all important aspects of any good program, but this isn't a typical program – it's a rush on size and strength. If you want to get more flexible, increase tissue quality and mobility, go ahead and add it at your discretion.

But all that good stuff is beyond the myopic scope of this program.

* if you're man enough to make it

Max Rep Set with 20-pound vest/chain added
Max rep set with 40-50 pound vest/chains added

We're using three different rep ranges on the squats – 10, 6, and 3. We need the 10-rep days to build volume and lactic acid tolerance – if you're deconditioned, you'll need to develop some stamina in a hurry to handle the rest of the week.

The 3-rep day is intended to get maximal strength up so that you can handle more weight on the 10 and 6 rep days. I like placing it after the 10-rep day because it's shorter and requires less mental energy, even though the actual bar weight used will be lower due to fatigue from the 10-rep day.

The 6-rep day should be the hardest, that magical mix of strength and hypertrophy where you can put a much more substantial load on the bar and still have relatively high time under tension and total work volume.

Jason Ferruggia is a big advocate of 6-8 rep ranges for hypertrophy, and I'm an absolute believer as well. With these three squat days you'll have three distinctly different bar weights that are all intended to push your strength and size back up to respectable heights in a hurry.

Hate front squats? Go with a back squat if you prefer. I favor the front squat, though, for it's simplicity, back-building properties and relative impunity to lower back roundness.

Further, if you can't handle GHRs I suggest the body curl or a higher volume of sliding leg curls, stability ball curls, or another hamstring flexion exercise.

Can't hack the overall volume? Don't have the guts to finish the Horrible Hundreds? Too sore at the start of the next workout? Well, I don't have much help for you there – you're going to have to tolerate a certain degree of fatigue, ache, and soreness.

You simply can't avoid it while declaring blitzkrieg on the iron. Getting good results in a short time comes with a price – it ain't easy and I assure you this won't be fun.

But if you can make it through the month, you'll laugh as you return to your 3-day split. Rest days? Only squatting once a week? That's chump talk.

See you in the gym. You'll be spending a lot of quality time there.

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Tags: 4Week, Radical, ReInflation