Almost everyone desires to have a well sculpted and warrior like chest. But then, big chests are like prized trophies after a very intense and a great deal of hard work and patience and not all have enough patience to wait for the best and well anticipated results. This is why various weight training professionals have designed different workout programs that can deliver the same results but in a much shorter period of time.

Building muscles for your chest is not that hard to achieve since there is a wide variety of weight training routines and exercises that one can apply and this includes barbell flat press, dumbbell press, seated inclined press, explosive push-ups, chest dips, and lots more. However, the real secret here is to understand the basic concepts and functions of these routines and instilling a great deal of discipline in order for a person to build chest muscle fast.

Pros

Your chest is not like the other parts of your body with a limited choice of exercises. As mentioned above, you can freely make your own program according to your preference. You can either use one or combine two or more types of workout routines to get better results. With these exercises, you can easily add more weight or repetitions for a more intense workout and faster results. Most of these exercises also work on other muscle groups of your body.

Cons

If you are up to building chest muscle fast, then you should prepare your body and mind to take more punishment in a shorter span of time. Furthermore, free weights exercises for your chest wouldn't be isolated unless you are using a machine with you.

Final Thoughts

There is no reward without sacrifice. That is one of the basic rules of life. All options are laid out on the floor to help you build your long desired chest muscles fats and it's up to you to endure all of it to get the expected results much faster.

For more articles written by this writer. Check out Mike Westerdal - Critical Bench Program Review and Joel Marion - Xtreme Fat Loss Diet Review.

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Tags: Build, Chest, Muscle

“What is the best way to gain size?” Because I am a competitive bodybuilder and coach, I am asked this question more than any other, and in my experience, everyone seems to expect that there should be a black and white answer. The truth is that if a black and white answer were to exist, wouldn’t everyone who is seeking physique development already have the body they want?

A common idea in the industry is that in order to get bigger, you must lift heavier and heavier weights and constantly work to gain strength. This is only partially accurate. The problem is that many people misinterpret this approach by striving to increase limit strength (1-rep max) in order to induce hypertrophy. In doing so, they focus exclusively on lifting more weight, thereby training the movement and not the muscle, and this flawed strategy undermines proper muscle fiber recruitment. Lifting better, not necessarily heavier, is what is essential for development! How much you lift is only relative to correct lifting technique and execution.

Another industry plague is the ingrained dogma of bodybuilding. Put simply, bodybuilders are creatures of tradition. They tend to either do what they have always done or follow a trend because a champion bodybuilder did it, not because there is actual expertise behind it. Consider Dorian Yates, for example. Undoubtedly, he had one of the best physiques in bodybuilding. However, he also had countless injuries as a consequence of his training style. Many people followed his system not realizing that only a select few could actually achieve real progress from it. Dorian eventually reverted to more traditional hypertrophy training because he had to think more about the long-term as opposed to short-term, as most bodybuilders tend to do.

Lee Haney, a multi Mr. Olympia, was always known for both size and symmetry. He was one of the last of the mass monsters who had a tiny waist and incredible shape to compliment his sheer bulk.

Most individuals have no concept of how to monitor and vary their training in order to achieve the best possible results because they have simply never been taught properly. Unlike most other sports, bodybuilding (or physique development) has never had the benefit of guidance from real coaches. There are thousands of coaches out there who help elite and amateur athletes alike excel in their chosen sport, be it basketball, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, or many others. Physique development coaches, however–with actual expertise in helping individuals who are not genetically superior to obtain an impressive physique–are a truly rare species.

When it comes to training for size, there is a right way and wrong way to go about it. There is a right approach to use when performing a movement to extract the most benefit, and that includes training the muscle through its full range of motion. This does not mean that every person should do the same program–it simply means that after you take into account the individual, his or her current fitness level, current phase of development, and other factors, you still must apply the same basic principles.

Note: There are many ways to design a program to suit an individual’s current needs, and this should always be taken into account. Given this article’s limited scope, however, only basic body part training is discussed here.

GET YOUR HEAD RIGHT

Pick an objective, and stick to it. When training for physique development, you must recognize this as your main objective–everything must therefore be structured around this goal. Too often I see trainees who want to gain size, but focus only on how much they can bench, squat, or deadlift. Even though these are all great exercises and should be part of a well-designed program, they are merely tools in the toolbox–simply increasing the amount of weight lifted should not be the main focus. Doing so will detract from your goal. Remember, you are training to increase your size, not your 1-rep max. Although I’ll likely be criticized for such a statement, I have learned this through my coaching experiences with hundreds of clients over the years, as well as my own experiences as a former powerlifter. Just because you can bench 400 lbs or squat 500 lbs does not mean you will fully develop your physique. Now this is not to say that you shouldn’t lift heavy; you do still want to incorporate the overload principle. However, the quality of the exercise and obtaining maximum voluntary contraction are the most important objectives, which can only be achieved with proper technique and increased workload capacity with the addition of greater intensities. These principles are much more nuanced than simply lifting as much weight as possible from point A to point B. You want to reach muscle failure, not movement failure, which is when other muscles start assisting in the lift. Your goal is maximum hypertrophy and size, not maximum strength.

Flex Wheeler is another bodybuilder who was known for the sheer beauty of his physique. Few bodybuilders have ever approached the flowing lines and rounded muscles bellies Flex sported at his peak.

Be realistic. As a bodybuilder, you must realize that you have a unique genetic makeup that ultimately determines how fast you can grow and how much muscle you are able to build. Only a very small percentage of lifters can attain success as professional bodybuilders. No amount of steroids will help you achieve that type of size if you don’t have the right parents, so to speak. Be reasonable, work towards building the best physique you can build, and don’t compare yourself to the genetic elite. People often approach me under the misguided belief that they can add 20 lbs of muscle in a few months. This is unrealistic. It is difficult to achieve such gains in an entire year, let alone a few months. Moreover, unless you are a complete beginner, most of you will fight to put on 10 lbs of solid muscle in one year. The more advanced you become, the harder it gets…that is just being realistic.

Also keep in mind that this sport is a marathon, not a sprint. You must be patient, consistent, and tenacious to achieve results. There is no magic pill or single training program that will get you the results you desire. Be focused and be realistic when you set out to become a bodybuilder—in adhering to these simple principles, you will begin your journey leaps and bounds ahead of most of your competition.

GET YOUR TRAINING RIGHT: MISCONCEPTIONS AND MISAPPLICATIONS

Isolation Builds Character…And Muscle
Target training is a must for bodybuilders. You must learn to train only the targeted muscle in the set exercises for that session. Keep in mind that your body will always try to make an exercise easier by recruiting other muscles, so you must always focus on only making the desired muscle do the work. If you fail to do this, other muscle groups will inevitably assist in the lift. This is not what you want when trying to induce an adaptive response in the targeted muscle.

Admittedly, it is technically impossible to truly isolate a muscle. Nevertheless, your goal is to make the targeted muscle the weakest in a group of acting muscles in order for it to achieve maximum overload. This requires knowing the planes and ranges of motion in which a muscle functions in order to effectively overload that muscle. Always ensure that you train the muscle through its full range of motion– research has consistently shown that a muscle stretched with resistance (eccentric loading) will receive the most overload. By doing this, the intensity of the contraction will be much greater, and you will start tapping into your high-threshold motor units, which is essential for growth.

Pause…For What?
If you seek to exert maximum effort and produce development in the gym, you need to avoid the habit of pausing on exercises! For example, many individuals often take a slight pause at the top of every rep on leg presses or squats. Why? Because it makes the lift easier! The pause allows the nervous system to rest, thereby potentially limiting the maximum benefit achieved from the workload. Instead, always focus on the mentality of stretch & contract, and try to keep tension on the targeted muscle over every single inch of every rep. Remember, you are trying to fatigue the targeted muscle and place as much stress on it as possible. Yes, there are certain techniques like extended sets, strip sets, etc., that appropriately incorporate pauses, but in general, focus on just continuously pumping out most of the exercises most of the time.

Anatomical Leverages and the Individual Lifter
When it comes to bodybuilding, the same tired old aphorisms are circulated over and over again: you must squat to get big legs, you must do pull-ups to develop your back, and so on. Throngs of people swear by these statements, and they might actually work for a given individual and maybe lots of others. Take heed, however–this doesn’t mean it will work for you. Your body’s leverages and the lengths of your arms, legs, and torso will play a huge role in which exercises will be more suited for you in order to fully develop a muscle. For example, if you have long legs, doing back squats may produce more stress in your lower lumbar region and decrease your range of motion, thereby preventing your legs from receiving the most overload! Alternatively, if you have long arms, pull-ups are probably going to be extremely difficult due to the range of motion and distance you need to travel to complete one full rep, thereby limiting you to doing minimal reps. This will obviously reduce overall time-under-tension and take away from your back development. There are countless other exercises that are good and/or bad depending on the leverage system of a given individual. So be smart and choose exercises that enable you to fully stimulate the targeted muscle. Do not get caught up in the industry hype that if you cannot perform a certain lift well then you will not grow. I have proven that axiom wrong numerous times with multiple clients over the years. Understanding the range and plane of motion in which a muscle works is critical to achieve maximum overload in an exercise. What does that mean? Technique is more important than how much weight you use. Remember this when you leave your ego in your gym bag.

The Scourge of Ego
There is absolutely no room for ego when it comes to training for physique development. Every day I see guys using their own leverage advantages just to lift more weight, but this approach does not isolate a muscle and most definitely will not produce enough overload for an adaptive response. We have all seen guys doing quarter squats and half reps on DB presses with tons of weight just to try to impress someone. Wake up, egomaniacs! This does absolutely nothing for your development. In fact, all it does is increase the risk of injury and make your head swell because you put a ton of weight on a bar and moved it two inches. Is it then ironic that in spite of so many dazzling plates of glory, your legs are as big around as my wrists?! Ego. Gym bag. Leave it.

Unconventional training and diet were just the beginning. Few bodybuilders have ever looked so good in the “relaxed” pose as the late, great Serge Nubret.

People that ego-train are not making the targeted muscle the weakest in the movement. They simply use leverage and often momentum as well to complete the lift for them, thereby stressing the joints more than the actual muscle they are trying to work. Humble yourself and back off the amount of weight you are using, and instead, put the muscle through its intended range of motion. Invest your time in the gym and stop squandering it–strength will come over time. If you try to force it, you are begging your body to react negatively, if not disastrously.

The Lore of Exercise Sequences
Another misconception is the appropriate exercise order for a particular muscle group. Likewise, a common maxim in bodybuilding lore is, “Thou shalt do compound movements first and isolation movements last.” Why? The real answer is that you can lift more weight if you perform compound movements first. This is more ego-driven nonsense. Again, we must concentrate on training muscles and not egos. Varying the sequence of exercises will keep your body from adjusting too efficiently and help to further isolate muscles. For example, switching up and doing leg curls before squats will do wonders for hamstring development and actually help to engage quads more when doing squats. Just because you will then need to squat less weight than you typically do doesn’t mean you won’t grow (remember your goal??). Your muscle only knows how much stress it is under, not how much is on the bar. Quite simply, if the weight is challenging, then it is the right amount. Variation is one important key to an adaptive response. Therefore, when you write your program, occasionally start a session with flyes, leg curls, etc., and save the big movements for last.

Reps, Weights, and Other Ridiculous Bedtime Stories
Finally, let us address the beloved heavy-weights-for-low-reps tradition. In every gym in which I have ever trained (and in most forums for which I have written), the most common solution proffered for getting big is to use heavy weights for low reps, and the converse of that is to get cut, use lighter weights for high reps. Both solutions are wrong! If you are a bodybuilder, you are always looking to increase your workload capacity; you don’t achieve this objective by using low volume and heavy weights. Most of the time, you achieve it by using heavy weights and high volume. Keep in mind, when I say “heavy,” I mean heavy relative to what you are doing, not “how much is on the bar”. Also, when it comes to volume, you don’t just do a ton of exercises and get results; volume has to be properly and intelligently progressed. To many times trainees take this advice and basically do junk volume with no rhyme or reason other than to do more, but unless the program design is properly applied based on the individual, you will do more harm than good and hinder overall results.

Extensive research has shown that the duration of overload on the muscle produces the most growth, not the amount. Therefore, instead of focusing on how much is on the bar, your goal should be to achieve maximum voluntary contraction on every rep of every set of every exercise you do. This requires proper technique and incredible concentration, which leads to greater overall intensity. Choose a weight that allows you to concentrate on performance, and once you adapt to that, increase the amount of weight you use accordingly. Again, lifting better and harder is more important than simply lifting more.

CONCLUSION

If you have been scratching your head wondering how you should be training in order to be a bodybuilder and develop a great physique, look no further–this article should help to clear up the confusion and dispense with a lot of misinformation and myths out there in the industry. If you take the principles I have discussed and apply them to your training, your results will increase substantially.

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You could say that bench press is a typical and simple weight training exercise that a newbie can have it mastered within the day. But such exercise promises more benefits and advantages than you ever know. All it requires are the techniques to get the most out of your every bench press exercises.

Techniques are also needed in order to make sure that safety throughout the whole exercise is constantly observed. It is not as simple as it may seem. It can be a dangerous and risky routine especially of you do this alone or without a spotter with you. Just imagine several pounds of pure metal coming straight to your chest or neck had you been less careless.

Positives
Bench press techniques are essential factors in getting the best results out of the said workout. It helps you get other parts of the body to be well coordinated in order to work together effectively for a single workout. It is also through this weight training exercise that you'll learn various types of grips that you can use on other exercises.

If techniques are applied properly and appropriately, results can be pretty obvious after a few days or weeks. Bench press helps you sculpt and increase your muscle mass in your chest as well as improve your upper body strength.

Negatives
If you are programmed to do several upper body exercises for the day, bench press is often recommended to be your first. If you have it last, there won't be enough strength left in both of your arms to do at least several presses.

Conclusions
Like any other weight training exercises, bench press should be executed properly in order to get the needed results. Thus, proper techniques should be incorporated throughout the whole routine from which you can typically learn from a professional weight lifter. It is one of those exercises that often need a spotter to secure the safety of the lifter and at the same time make sure that the movements and their direction are right.

Check out more of my posts. Read Mike Westerdal - Critical Bench Program Review and Jason Ferruggia - Muscle Gaining Secrets eBook Review.

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It's been twelve days since you ditched all barbell pressing and withdrawal has been a bitch.

Your cuff rehab routine has been mind-numbing. You miss the strain of the big heavy iron, and good God, what about your shirts? Your pecs and shoulders can't start to shrink now, you just moved up to a size XL.

But you couldn't go on pressing in pain. Wisely, you abstained.

What if I told you there was a press that could change your life? A press that, for once, wouldn't get tagged as a destroyer, but as a healer. One that could add serious muscle in places that no other press could?

If you think you're dreaming, it's time to wake up, cause this exercise needs to be added to your program, regardless of shoulder health.

Complaints about pressing and shoulder pain run rampant and of all pressing implements, the barbell press causes the most problems. It alters the neutral alignment between the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

There are people out there that bench press and overhead press without problems. I know, back in the old days everyone used to press with a barbell for overhead and bench work and they never had problems. Or so everyone tells me.

But you might not be in that category. Don't feel bad if you're not, and don't force yourself into it, either. Your anatomy is different. Your posture is different. Your history is different.

Whether you train yourself, clients, students, or athletes, don't write off pain. I'm sure if Tiger Woods was paying you millions of dollars to train him, you wouldn't make him do anything that would jeopardize his game.

So why subject Mr. Jones to it? Having to miss work because your trainer destroyed you last night isn't hard training, it's assault.

So what can we do if pressing is a no-go? Swiss bars and push-ups are common ways to press around shoulder problems, but not everyone has specialty bars, and loaded push-ups are a pain in the ass.

Enter the unilateral dumbbell floor press, the new/old solution to your pressing problems.

Unilateral exercises are often deemed less effective than their bilateral counterparts because they can't be loaded as heavily. And since the load is offset, it requires more stabilization throughout the body. That means that sometimes, something other than the primary movers can hold you back. Those that have tried the unilateral dumbbell bench press know what I'm talking about.

Lifters often do their presses from a standing position for this very reason. They want to engage the entire kinetic chain to mimic how most movements are performed in both sports and real life.

This may be tagged as "functional" slop, but something tells me that firing the glutes and stabilizing the torso to produce movement at the shoulder isn't a bad thing.

For complicated reasons beyond torso strengthening, the unilateral version just works better. I have an overly scientific theory to explain why and it goes like this – you can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time.

All available attention is allotted to one arm, which, for you math gurus, is 50% more than what there is in the bilateral version. It reminds us that we're doing more than exercising; we're accomplishing a specific goal.

Another advantage is the freedom to move and adjust your body position. If you lose your upper back tightness when taking the bar out of the rack during a bench press, there's no going back.

Dumbbells are easier to adjust, but when you use two you're going to be seesawing with weights above your face, making it look like you're scratching an unfortunate back itch. With only one shoulder pinned down, it's easier to get into proper position.

What if you're the guy with perfectly healthy shoulders that's not lacking in upper chest development? Well, Mr. Franco Columbu, it's still a great exercise for your triceps and lockout strength, just like any floor press variation.

Dumbbell floor presses will help you lift more weight during pressing exercises, and more weight is usually a good thing.

So you have a choice. You could be the guy doing kickbacks to get your triceps jacked, or you could be the guy on the floor doing this exercise. Not only are your triceps going to thank you, but you're also doing your shoulders and upper chest a favor.

The unilateral floor press protects the shoulders because the lower half of the press is eliminated, and that's where funky stuff happens. Shoulders uncontrollably externally rotate themselves into the impingement zone. The slow and controlled descent becomes a ballistic bounce. Even though range of motion is sacrificed, it's better to eliminate the possibility of these things happening.

The true magic, however, happens in the lockout position. The dumbbell compresses the shoulder into its socket, seemingly reversing postural problems. When done correctly, the shoulder blade lies flat on the ground, and the entire body is locked down.

Another beauty is how the dumbbell subtly teeters back and forth. The shoulder stabilizes much like it would during more specific rotator cuff movements, like quadruped rhythmic stabilizations.

Guys can be insecure about a lot of things, but nothing takes its toll quite like a lackluster upper chest.

Sufferers try everything. Flies, cable crossovers, incline pressing. Often, none get the job done because, like other lacking body parts, there's no mental connection with the muscle. Most compound lifts put your body in a disadvantageous position for optimal activation, and that includes incline pressing. When you combine bad activation with sub-optimal biomechanics, you're not going to get a good contraction.

The unilateral floor press gasses the upper chest because it solves both problems. First, you have a free hand so you can palpate your upper chest during the lift. You don't hope it's contracting, you know it's contracting. This sensory connection increases activation.

Second, the biomechanics lends itself to greater upper chest activation. Dr. Clay Hyght, in Building a Bodybuilders Chest explains:

At least one study has shown that using a slightly narrower grip improves upper chest activation even more so than an incline bench angle. This is because using a slightly narrower grip forces the elbows to come slightly in towards the sides (adduction of the humerus) as opposed to them being flared.

Subsequently, this puts the clavicular pectoralis in a better mechanical advantage to do its primary function(s) – flexion and horizontal adduction.

Dr. Hyght was referring to a narrow grip on a barbell. Yet when using a barbell, no matter how narrow the grip, there's a propensity to flare the elbows because the hand is pronated, which shifts the workload to the lower chest.

With a dumbbell, however, it's easier to keep the elbows from flaring because your wrist is in a neutral position, so the upper chest does more work.

The most difficult part about the floor press is getting into position with the dumbbell at lockout without killing yourself. There are two ways to do this.

The first step is the rolling method. You don't need to be a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion to do this, so don't get discouraged. You just need a few principles so you don't twist your spine like a Twizzler.

Lie on your side and cuddle the dumbbell as close to your body as possible with your knees bent. This is going to reduce the lever arm, lowering the torque throughout your spine. Both hands are important, but the top hand is the one that grips the handle; the bottom hand supports.

Next, extend your top leg to the ground. The bottom leg stays tucked.

Begin the roll by looking over your top shoulder. Where the head goes the body follows, so the head always leads. Once you feel a pull in the dumbbell, use your hands to roll it onto your chest and abs. It should be able to rest comfortably here.

Extend both legs, and use both arms to press the dumbbell to a desired side.

Pics are great, but video is often better. Here's a video of the rolling setup and press:

Second is the heave-ho method, and more similar to what you're used to doing on a traditional bench. Spread your legs into a "V" with the dumbbell resting on the ground between them.

Tilt the dumbbell so that side closest to you rests on the ground, with the other side in the air.

Interlock your fingers around the handle. Rock your momentum forward, and explode backward, heaving the dumbbell to the lockout position.

And again, a video description:

Regardless which method you use, you'll be at lockout with your feet extended. Squeeze your glutes and contract your abs to stabilize your body. This becomes more important as the weight increases.

Shift the dumbbell to the desired hand and make sure the shoulder is down and back. For you nerds out there – retract and depress the scapula. This is commonly known as a "packed" position.

However, remember that since you're only dealing with one dumbbell, you have more freedom to move. Wiggle around to set your shoulder if you have to; it's one of the perks this exercise offers.

Once you're confident that your shoulder is down and back, with the blade flat on the ground, either place your free hand on your chest, or let it roam in the air to challenge your stabilization even more. Hold this position for 5-10 seconds and just "feel" the head of the shoulder sink into its socket, while the upper back tightens. Now you're ready to go.

After the isometric lockout hold, slide the elbow down next to your torso. When the upper arm hits the floor, pause for a second while keeping everything tight. It's like the box squat. Just because you come to a dead stop doesn't mean you take a nap.

After pausing, extend the arm to its original position by cueing yourself to push the shoulder blade into the ground. This helps to keep your shoulder packed. Your elbow stays tucked close to your torso; don't let it flare.

After completing your set, hold the dumbbell at lockout again for another 5-10 seconds. If you want more shoulder stability work, you can do what I call "the compass." After your set, at lockout, nudge the dumbbell north, south, east, and west to mimic quadruped rhythmic stabilizations. This can get dangerous with heavier weights, so save it for warm up sets.

After finishing the set for one arm, return the dumbbell to the chest. Grip the dumbbell with the other hand, but use both to get to the lockout position.

Once both hands complete a set, return the dumbbell to the floor by reversing either setup.

If you're reversing the rolling directions, rest the dumbbell on your chest, tuck one leg to the side (the side you plan on rolling to), look over the shoulder, and cradle the dumbbell to the floor.

If you're reversing the heave-ho directions, hold the dumbbell at lockout with both hands, rock your momentum onto your thoracic spine, rock your momentum forward while doing a sit up, and place the dumbbell on the floor in between your legs.

Add mass to your triceps, size up your upper chest, and increase your lockout strength, all while healing your shoulders? You bet!

Stop wallowing in your pressing woes and start doing something about it. Maybe you can't overhead press or bench press just yet, so take care of your problems and increase your strength at the same time. Regardless of your goals, the unilateral dumbbell floor press is worth your consideration.

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Disclaimer - If you can’t afford new clothes, you should probably stop reading now. Applying the principles in this article could leave you needing to purchase a whole new wardrobe. But, hey, that’s a good thing!

Chances are you’ve heard of people using bands in the gym, but may not know what the benefits are or how to use them (and no, we’re not talking about music).

Popularized by Westside Barbell legend Louie Simmons, bands have been helping powerlifters get bigger and stronger for years, but until recently, very few bodybuilders have experienced what bands can do for them. This article will show you how to use them to your advantage.

But first, what the heck is a jump stretch band, anyway?

Quite simply, they’re giant rubber bands.

They’re most commonly used in strength training by securing one end to a stationary object and the other end to the collar of a standard barbell. The beauty is in their simplicity. Just like the smaller rubber bands you use in daily life, the more the jump stretch bands are stretched, the more resistance they provide. This increasing resistance, when used in combination with strength training, is known as accommodating resistance. What the bands do is transform a barbell into something akin to cam-based resistance training machines (think Nautilus® machines).

Arthur Jones, the creator of the Nautilus® training machines, was essentially the first man to incorporate the concept of variable resistance into strength training.  He did this by running a chain over a cam which was shaped like a nautilus shell (hence the company’s name).

 

Legend Mike Mentzer on the Nautilus Pullover machine

The chain was secured to a variable weight stack on one end and a movement arm on the other.  When the trainee lifted the weight by pressing or pulling the movement arm, the chain traveled over the rotating cam.

The changing diameter of the cam altered the movement, thus altering the torque and resistance provided by a given load. The primary function of the cam as Jones designed it was to increase the load when the working muscles were in their strongest position and decrease it in the weakest, thus eliminating the inherent flaw of barbells known as the “sticking point” (the point in the movement where the perceived load is the greatest based upon the pull of gravity and/or musculoskeletal leverage). This allowed for maximal stress to the muscle.

Like Jones, Dr. Fred Hatfield (a record-setting powerlifter) looked for a way around the limitations of barbell training and championed a concept known as “compensatory acceleration”.

His idea was to have the lifter literally push harder on the barbell as the exercise got easier in an attempt to overcome the leverage-induced decrease in resistance. Theoretically, this made the exercise more effective in achieving muscular overload, which is crucial to gaining muscle.

 

Dr. Fred Hatfield hitting a big 1,003lbs Squat

The idea was good, but was limited in practice by the fact that the lifter pushing harder throughout the range of motion still did not eliminate the sticking point. He had the right idea, but not the tools to execute it.

Bands work similarly to a cam in that they both vary the resistance and increase it when the lifter is in the strongest position. Think of a barbell squat: after getting out of the bottom position (the “hole”), the lifter encounters a brief sticking point. When he moves past the sticking point—thanks to leverage—the perceived load gets lighter (anyone who’s ever done a squat before knows that you can partial-squat a whole lot more than you can full squat, since the sticking point is eliminated).

However, when bands are added to the squat, they increase the resistance as they are stretched.  This forces the lifter to push hard against an ever-increasing load through the entire range of motion (ROM), thus dramatically increasing the overload effect.

While bands do not eliminate the sticking point, they do very little to increase the load until after the lifter has pushed through it.

By now, the benefit of bands relative to bodybuilding should be obvious.  Bands allow the lifter to fully work the involved muscles in nearly all barbell movements. The increase in size and strength when using bands can be dramatic.

My personal experience with their use plainly illustrates this fact.

I recently began to incorporate bands into my leg training.  I did so primarily by using them with box squats to varying heights (normally parallel or below).  The bands my training partners and I most commonly used provided 200+ pounds of resistance at the top of the squat. Because of the way they were secured, they provided little resistance at the bottom of the movement when we were on or near the box.  Starting a few inches above parallel, the bands began to “kick-in,” providing progressively greater resistance as we neared lockout.

Here is a video of the morning crew at Westside Barbell, Box Squatting with Resistance Bands:

The difference the bands made in our training was staggering. For instance, when un-racking the barbell and walking out with the weight, the pull of the bands forced us to use tremendous effort just to control our movement, much more so than with just a barbell on our backs. In addition, when we worked up to a fair amount of barbell weight (450 pounds +), the load on our backs in a standing position was nearing or exceeding 700 pounds.  Getting used to this load made our return to squats without bands incredibly easy in that 400-500 pounds of pure barbell weight now felt like nothing on our backs.

The use of bands for just a couple of months forced my upper legs to grow over 2 inches.  I literally grew out of my work slacks and added nearly 20 pounds of body weight during the same period. The growth was explosive, as was my increase in strength. During my stint with band training, I also experienced the most amazing pumping of my quads that I have ever felt!  This pump was the result of a superset of leg extensions and regular (not box) squats with bands.  The combination was lethal, with the bands increasing the intensity exponentially. In truth, the pump was so ridiculous–and painful–that we could only get through the superset once.

One of the basic tenets of muscular hypertrophy is time under tension (TUT).  Meaningful TUT involves both time and stress. In other words, in order to optimally stimulate hypertrophy, the musculature must be stressed with a relatively heavy load over a period of time. Bands increase the TUT with all barbell exercises by maximizing the stress to the involved musculature over a greater portion of the ROM on each and every rep.  Therefore, a given number of reps with bands equates to more work done by the muscles.  Bands increase both efficiency and intensity, which are two of the most important factors in increasing muscular size.

If you’ve never used bands, the idea of adding them can be a bit intimidating. The first question most lifters have is how to secure the bands. I think the best way to become comfortable with using bands is to begin with simple exercises, like squats and bench presses.

Below is a video demonstrating how to properly set up a pair of bands with a typical squat rack:

Below is a video of my training partner Justin Tooley and I speed squatting last week - 10 sets of doubles for me with 420 lbs on the safety squat bar and green bands:

Training with bands places a tremendous amount of stress on both the musculature and connective tissues. As mentioned above, you should incorporate the bands within the parameters of conjugate variety.

Conjugate variety involves alternating exercises by body part weekly, bi-weekly, or every three weeks.  The idea is that even a small variation in a movement has a very different effect on the nervous system, and CNS burnout is a prime driver of overtraining.  Altering exercises regularly allows you to train at a higher intensity level consistently. This will help to optimize your results and prevent overuse injuries.

The following routine can be followed for a three-week period. After three weeks, you should switch the primary exercises. The primary exercise (by body part) is indicated by a star after the name (e.g., Bench press*).  The use of bands will be noted by the word “bands” after the exercise name (ex. Bench press – bands).

The exercise name is followed by the number of sets and reps as follows: Bench press – bands: 10/10/10*/10*

Each number is the number of reps to be done for that set.  Sets are separated by a slash.  Sets with an asterisk after the rep count should be taken to concentric failure.  So, in the above example, 4 sets of 10 reps of bench presses (using bands) are to be performed with the first two sets as warm-ups and the last two taken to concentric (or positive) failure.

Squat* – bands: 10/8/8*/8*Leg Press: 20* (perform these in a slow and controlled manner with a full ROM)Hamstring Curl: 10/15*/15*Stiff-Legged Deadlift (off a 2-4” platform for a greater ROM): 10/20*Ab Crunches: 20*/20*Standing Calf Raises: 15*/15*Bench Press* - bands: 10/8/6*/6*Incline Dumbbell Press: 20*/20*Superset Triceps Pressdown & JM Presses (see video for JM Presses): 15 reps not to failure on the pressdowns (choose a weight with which you could get 20 reps) followed immediately by 8 reps to failure on the JM Press.  Do this for 3 cycles with about 2 minutes rest between cycles.Curl Grip Chins: 2 sets to failure with body weightOne Arm Dumbbell Rows*: 8/8/15*/15*Seated Cable Rows: 12*/12*Dumbbell Shrugs: 15*/15*Standing Ab Crunches Using an Overhead Cable: 20*/20*Seated Calf Raises: 10/15*/15*Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press*: 10/8/10*/10*Superset Dumbbell Lateral Raises with Bent Over Raises: Perform 15 reps to failure of each exercise with no rest between.  Do the side laterals first.  Perform two cycles of this superset.Standing Barbell Curl: 10/10/10*/10*Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 15*Two Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extensions: 10/15*/15*

By now, you’ve seen the power of bands, what they can do for your strength, and how they can help you build muscle quickly. Like many workout-related things, bands are simply a training tool (albeit a very effective one) and should be used as a change of pace to provide variety to your workouts and to help you hit your muscles in ways that simply aren’t possible with barbells, dumbbells, or cables.

Finally, although they can be a bit intimidating, the sheer size and strength gains you can achieve by using a few rubber bands is worth the learning curve. So swallow your pride and do yourself a favor by picking up your bands here (Westside Barbell) and get to training!

And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the discussion thread below!

Written by Chris Mason

Discuss, comment or ask a question

If you have a comment, question or would like to discuss anything raised in this article, please do so in the following discussion thread on the Wannabebig Forums - Building Muscle & Size with Resistance Bands discussion thread.

About Chris Mason

Chris Mason is an author, trainer, and nutritionist. He has published articles in Iron Man, Athlete, Planet Muscle, and Powerlifting USA magazines as well as several online websites including Crossfit.com.

In addition, he has worked with top flight professional strength athletes on both their nutritional and training regimens. Chris is also the co-founder of AtLarge Nutrition. He is actively involved in all aspects of the business to include product formulation.

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Tags: Bands, Bodybuilding

Hey guys, for the more hardcore amongst you, I thought I'd add a good 5 day split that you can follow. If you're reasonably experienced in Weightlifting then this will be ideal for you to increase the results that you're currently getting. I personally used to perform this workout however at the moment I am undertaking Elliot Hulse and Mike Westerdal's famous Lean Hybrid Muscle system!

Here it is:

5 DAY SPLIT

Monday - chest
Heavy flat bench press - 5x5 reps
Incline dumbbell press - 3x12 reps
decline dumbbell press - 3x12 reps
Cable flys - 3x15 reps

Tuesday - legs
Heavy squats - 5x5 reps
Leg curls - 3x10 - 12 reps
Leg extentions - 3x10 - 12 reps
stiff leg deadlifts - 3x10 reps

Wednesday - arms
close grip bench press - 3x12 reps
barbell curls - 3x12 reps
skull crushers - 3x10 reps
incline dumbbell hammer curls - 3x12 reps
tricep pushdowns - 3x12 reps
dumbbell concentration curl controlled negatives - 3x10 reps

Thursday - shoulders
seated barbell shoulder press - 5x5 reps
front dumbbell raise - 3x10 reps
side lateral dumbbell raise - 3x10 reps
rear raise (reverse pec dec) - 3x10 reps
shrugs - 2x25 reps

Friday - back
Deadlifts - 5x5 reps
pull - downs - chin ups - 3x12 reps
single arm dumbbell rows - 3x10 reps
face pulls - 3x12 reps

AS WELL AS:
Calve raises - Tuesday and Friday
Abs - Monday and Thursday
Cardio - certainly at the weekend, but any other day as well, it's great

There you have it, a great and easy to follow 5 day split programme! The idea behind it is that you train each and every muscle equally and you train them hard! The structure of the workouts are so that you should not be too exhausted to complete the next workout. You should in theory be able to carry on doing this 5 day split for weeks on end. However some inexperienced bodybuilders and trainees suffer from bad pain after a hard workout. This is nothing to worry about, it just means that your muscles have had to work a lot harder than usual. The normal period for you to be in pain is 3 days after the workout. When you start becoming more regular in your workouts this pain will decrease and decrease until the point where you get no muscular pain after working out, and therefore you can train harder, and experience more growth!

Hopefully from this workout routine you should experience some extreme muscle growth, however everybody is different and we are definitely not promising that every single person that does this will succeed 100%, we are just going on what we thoroughly believe to be true and effective.

Cameron Hall
CEO CJMuscle
http://www.cjmuscleonline.com

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Tags: Growth, Muscle, Split

 

Pumped up pecs and “ripped abz” may look great in a cheesy cell phone
self-portrait, but a big, beefy back gets noticed from all angles.

As someone who spends 50-plus hours a week in the gym, my fashion choices don’t extend much past T-shirts, shorts, and track pants and maybe the odd pair of Sunday afternoon blue jeans. Yet even meatheads like me occasionally get invited to non-fitness social gatherings, meaning that once or twice a year I find myself fumbling around in “normal people” stores trying to find clothes that don’t make me look like a reject from a Jersey Shore episode.

You guys know the drill: you finally find something that’s a fit in the shoulders and it’s swimming around the stomach yet still too tight in the arms. As for the back — especially when trying on jackets off the rack — forget about it! As much as it annoys me that I can’t just grab-and-go like a normal shopper, I admit to feeling a touch of pride when I try on a jacket or shirt and the seams almost burst at the lats. Sure, it might mean an extra trip to the tailor, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The back is the true measuring stick for the bodybuilder. Though 19-inch arms and heroic pecs may look great in a tank top, a wide and thick back is the ultimate symbol of time spent toiling under heavy iron. You can’t hide a big back even if you wanted to. On stage, it’s the obvious focus in all poses from the rear, but the lats, traps, and posterior delts also contribute to varying degrees in both front and side poses. On the street, it’s equally conspicuous. Calves, arms, and abs can be easily hidden by clothes, but stand behind a well-developed bodybuilder in line at the grocery store and the width of his back says one thing: I move iron.

A well-designed back program doesn’t just make you look good, it also helps to prevent injury. Most rookie trainees are so mirror-focused that their programs often consist of 75% pushing and curling exercises with the odd set of fist-pumps thrown in for good measure. Not only will such haphazard programming build an aesthetically challenged physique, it can result in shoulder problems, strength imbalances, and a posture resembling a Neanderthal scouring the ground for a lost Paleo-Puff.

Massive lats and traps provide the visual “pop” of a huge back.

Building the back takes work. A few sets of lat pulldowns before calling it a day won’t cut it – the back is a complex group of muscles that requires intelligent programming, significant volume, and gut-busting intensity. If you don’t feel smashed after a back workout, then either something is wrong with the program or you left your intestinal fortitude at the dinner table. This article will help you with the programming part; as for the guts, you’re on your own.

In my esteemed opinion, the following are the top back-building exercises that should appear frequently in every bodybuilder’s training journal:

Chin-ups and Pull-ups – Just so we’re on the same page, a chin-up is performed with a supinated grip (palms facing you) while pull-ups refer to use of a pronated grip (palms facing away from you). There’s also a semi-supinated or neutral grip in which the palms face one another, such as V-handle chins. For further variety, you can also vary the distance between the hands (wide, medium, narrow) as well as the grip-width (fat-grip chins).

Chin-ups are the king of back exercises, provided they’re performed correctly. A full range of motion is key: reps should start from a dead hang at the bottom (full stretch) and not stop until the chin clears the bar and/or the chest touches the bar. Coming up 90% of the way and then hyper-extending the neck so the head clears the bar will only lead to sub-par results and a trip to the chiropractor. If you can’t even do one chin-up with perfect form, don’t ditch them in favor of lat pulldowns; bio-mechanically, they’re not the same thing. Instead, perform single-rep sets of negative-only (eccentric) chins, focusing on using the lats and not the biceps to lower your body under control. Once you can do 30-second negative reps, you should be able to bang out a few bodyweight chin-ups with perfect form.

Coaches like Poliquin have long prescribed weighted chins for gaining upper body mass and for good reason. The lats seem to respond to heavy loads, so once bodyweight reps are a breeze, then it’s time to start attaching additional resistance. As a bonus, your biceps will also grow from this stimulation.

Rack Pulls and Deadlift Variations – Many athletes will put deadlifts into their leg days and for good reason — deadlifts thoroughly trash the entire posterior chain, from the hamstrings to the trapezius. But deadlifts are often absent from novice gym rats’ programs, for a number of reasons. First, deadlifts are “scary,” especially to nervous gym owners concerned about bars being bent or seeing their posh “fitness rooms” being overrun by large, hairy men in singlets.
Next, deadlifting is just plain hard work. A standard “five sets of five” can leave trainees gassed for days and sore in muscles that they didn’t know they had. Subsequently, lazy bodybuilders often try to program their way around deadlifts by performing a combination of pulldowns, rows, shrugs, and back extensions.

Nice try.

The German psychologist Gestalt wasn’t a bodybuilder, but if he were, he’d say that an effective exercise is more than just the sum of the parts. There’s just something about squatting down and picking up a gut-splitting weight from the floor. The trunk suddenly begins to grow “thicker,” often at an alarming rate, and the entire physique takes on a more “3-D” look. All deadlift variations work the back to a degree, though lifters seeking to add thickness to the mid-back and erectors often choose partial range deadlifts or rack-pulls. Set the pins in the power rack to just above knee height and be sure to come to a complete stop at the bottom position to minimize momentum.

One of the best deadlifters in the world (930 lbs+ raw pull), Konstantin Konstantinovs knows what a big, strong back can do for you.

Performing rack pulls on back day would likely lead to over-training the lower back if deadlifts or stiff-legged deadlifts are already a part of your leg day, so save these for rotations when leg days consist of one of many squatting variations.

Dumbbell Rows – When performed properly, the dumbbell row is a fantastic exercise for the lats, rhomboids, scapular retractors, and grip. It’s too bad that proviso regarding proper form is a big problem for most lifters. On a good day, I see dumbbell rows performed with too much weight, too much body English, and an incomplete range of motion. Again, that’s on a good day. Typically, overzealous trainees try to outdo one another by using absolutely ridiculous amounts of weight in a piss-poor attempt to be the next dumbbell-rowing YouTube sensation. While there is merit to performing the occasional set of ultra-heavy DB Kroc rows as a finisher, trainees with the lat and upper back development of Larry King need to focus on performing dumbbell rows properly.

The trick is to lengthen the range of motion and pause at the top and bottom. Starting with the dumbbell positioned in front of the head and rowing it up in an arc towards the hip extends the ROM. As for the one-second pauses at the top and bottom, trainees who suck it up and do this will finally feel what it’s like to experience next-day lat soreness!

The finished product should look like a smooth and precise movement, with a flat back and virtually no upper body movement save for the working arm. If you’re still unsure, have a friend film you performing a set; if your form looks anything like trying to start a stubborn lawn mower, then you need to reassess your technique.

Chest-Supported Rows - The barbell row is a real conundrum. On the one hand, it’s a fantastic old-school back exercise that can add size and thickness to the back. On the other hand, most bodybuilders use way too much weight and leg drive, turning this once sound movement into a rounded-back travesty.

Big lats show from the front or back (Phil Heath posing).

Fortunately, there’s chest-supported rows. This variation virtually eliminates all leg drive while supporting the lower back throughout the movement, making them an option even for fatigued or injured lifters. This exercise is a favorite of elite powerlifters who know that a thick upper back can beef up a bench press. Using a wide grip and pausing at the top emphasizes the scapular retractors, posterior delts, and rhomboids.

Seated Rows to Neck with Rope - Building a balanced physique requires training the muscles you can’t see in the mirror, making even those less-flashy muscles a priority. Seated cable rows to the neck are a great way to compensate for too much beach-driven bench pressing.

Set the pulley so that it’s in line with the top of the chest and grasp the ends of the rope attachment, palms down. With the shoulders protracted, begin the exercise by retracting the shoulder blades, then immediately row the rope towards the neck by bending the elbows. Keep the elbows up at all times. The trunk should remain stable in order to minimize lower back involvement, and be sure to pause at the top and bottom position. For variety, a straight bar attachment can also be used (use a wide grip).
Note: when using a rope, rotating the wrists at the top so the forearms are perpendicular to the floor will recruit the external rotators.

Shrugs - To be perfectly honest, I’m not a fan of shrugs. Most nondorks can develop a beastly set of traps just by performing heavy deadlift variations and, ideally, learning to perform the Olympic lifts. But because every dude does shrugs anyway, they might as well do them properly.

For a full range of motion, use dumbbells (not a barbell) and pause at the top and bottom positions for a full one-second. Performing the exercise while seated can help mitigate lower back problems, and please don’t use straps; your grip will catch up. Finally, for the love of God, please don’t roll the shoulders back at the top position. Not only does this stress the shoulder joint, it’s completely illogical and only serves to identify you as a Gym Moron and worthy of ridicule and disdain.

Putting It All Together
To add some much-needed back mass, these exercises can be combined into two effective routines. Perform these routines every 6-7 days. Repeat Routine A five or six times before moving onto Routine B.

Routine A

*Note the two-second pause in the dead-stop (bottom) position.

Routine B

*Note the two-second pause in the top position.

A note on tempo:
I’ve borrowed (stolen?) this tempo prescription from strength coach Charles Poliquin. I highly recommend his excellent PICP courses for learning more about proper program design and exercise methodology.

Here’s how the four numbers work, using 3211 as an example:

The first number is the eccentric tempo or lowering phase. In this example, the lifter would take three full seconds to lower the weight.The second number is the isometric pause at the end of the eccentric. In this example, the lifter would pause for two full seconds (a zero indicates no pause is taken).The third number is the return or concentric phase. This example has a one-second concentric; an X would indicate an explosive return or pulling the weight back up as fast as proper technique allows.The fourth number is the isometric pause at the end of the concentric phase or before the start of the next rep. In this example, the lifter would pause one full second before lowering the weight again.

Get Back To It!
Everybody loves to train the glamour muscles, but it’s the ones that you can’t see that pay the richest dividends. Give these routines an honest go and you too will soon find yourself struggling to find a jacket that fits.

Just please don’t send me your tailoring bills!

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Tags: Basics