1001 Muscle Building Tips

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124. CARDIO TYPE AND DURATION
You may be a bodybuilder at heart but you still need to do cardio. This is especially true during the precontest season. Write down the type of cardio you performed (machine or aerobics class), duration, and intensity level. This information will be invaluable the next time you compete or need to get ready for a photo session.

125. HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Even though it's very subjective, don't be afraid to jot down how you feel each day. Are you in a positive or negative mood? Do you have enough energy for all your daily activities and your workout? Are you still motivated to hit the gym, or would you just as soon do something else? The answers to these questions are often a good way to determine of there is a problem with out training or eating.

126. STRETCHING TO PERFECTION
It's ironic how many people spend thousands of hours contracting (shortening) their muscle by weight lifting, and yet devotelittle or no time to lengthening the muscles. Stretching is nothing more than the opposite movement to weightlifting. Stretching lengthens the muscles, plays a major role in warming the muscles, and research shows that stretching can also indirectly stimulate muscle growth. For maximum effect, spend 10 to 15 minutes each day stretching, and hold each stretch for 15 to 25 seconds.

127. STATIC STRETCHING
Static stretching involves moving into a designated position slowly and holding for 15 to 25 seconds. Holding for less time than this will not affect the muscle enough to cause a physiological change in length Holding for more time than this can actually cause muscle tearing and injury. Static stretching is best performed at the end of your workout.

128. DYNAMIC STRETCHING
Dynamic stretching involves actively stretching muscles through movements that will mimic the training activity to follow. Forward lunges and leg swings are good examples. You are better served performing dynamic stretches during your pre-cardio routine in order to increase body coordination and circulation in joints and muscles.

129. EASE INTO IT
To fully stretch a muscle or joint you must slowly ease into it. Take 30 to 40 seconds to move slowly into a strech. The maximum point to stretch to is the point at which you just begin to feel pain in the stretched muscle. Many experts call this the "pain edge." With time your "pain edge" will move further and further along as you gain flexibility.

130. BE CONSCIOUS OF FOOT POSITION
One of the first things you'll notice when you begin stretching is that the position of your feet can make a big difference to the stretch. For most leg stretches try to keep your feet dorsi-flexed (the foot and lower leg make a 90-degree angle) rather than pointed. This is especially true for hamstring streches.

 

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131. HEEL DROPS (CALVES)
Stand on a step riser, your feet shoulder width apart and your heels hanging off the back so that only your tows are on the edge. Slowly drop one heel down until you feel the stretch in your calf. Don't force the stretch. If your heels touch the floor you will need a higher step. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds and return to the starting position. Switch legs and repeat many times.

132. SEATED STRADDLE (MANSTRINGS)
Sit up straight on a mat with your legs open as wide as possible. Gently lean forward over one leg as far as you can until you feel the hamstrings become tight. Push your shoulder to your knee as you lean forward. Hold for a few seconds and then lean more into the stretch. Hold again, and then return to the starting postion. Switch legs.

133. FLYAWAY (CHEST)
Stand straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Lift your arms out to the side of your body at shoulder height, plams facing down. Reach behind as far as comfortably possible and hold.

134. BACK STRETCH (BACK)
This is excellent exercise both for stretching the lower back muscles and reducing the stress on the lower back ligaments and discs. Lie on your back. With the knees bent, draw your legs towards your chest. Hold this position for 15 to 20 seconds and then relax.

135. REACH BEHIND AND PULL (BICEPS AND TRAPEZIUS)
Stand straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Bring one arm straight out behind you, palm facing down. Reach your other hand behind your back and with an underhand grip, gently tug on the wrist of the extended arm. Hold and then repeat on the other arm.

136. STRAIGHT ARM ACROSS (REAR DELTOID)
Stand straight with your feet together. Grab your right elbow with your left hand and pull it across your chest toward the opposite side. Hold, and then swtich arms to stretch the other shoulder.

137. UPPER SCOOP (BACK)
Sit on a mat with your legs extended straight in front of you. Collapse the upper body intil you can reach the back of your calves. Exhale and hold while trying to reach as far as possible, stretching the back.

 

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138. ELBOW BEND AND PUSH (TRICEPS)
Stand straight with your feet together. Bend one arm behind you head, reaching down until your palm hits the middle of your shoulder blades. Use your free hand to grasp your elevated elbow and pull it toward the back of your head. Hold, and then switch arms.

139. ROLL ON THE BALL (ABDOMINALS)
Lie on an exercise ball so that it's situated in the middle of yor back. Drop your glutes down and bend your legs. Place your hands behind your head, which should be lying back over the ball. For a bigger stretch, you can extend your arms as far down as possible until you are touching or nearly touching the floor. Hold, then release.

140. LYING GLUTE AND HIP STRETCH (GLUTES, HIPS)
Lie on a mat with your back flat on the floor. Cross your left leg over your right so your left heel is touching your right knee. Lift your upper body so you can hug your right knee and gently pull it toward you. Exhale and hold, then switch and repeat on the other side.

141. LYING QUAD STRETCH (QUADS)
Lay facedown on a mat, and then raise you upper body to support yourself on your forearms. reach behind you with your left hand to grab your left foot and pull until your heel touches your glutes. Hold the position and switch legs.

142. THE TOUCH (HAMSTRINGS, LOWER BACK)
Sooner or later someone will say to you "can you touch your toes?" Besides being a test of flexibility, touching your toes is a great way to stretch your hamstrings and lower back - even calves. Make sure you don't overstretch when first doing this exercise, as it can be stressful on the lower back. For the same reason don't bounce at the bottom.

143. OVERHEAD STRETCH (BACK, CHEST)
This is a very simple movement that can be performed every day. Stand up and raise your hands above your head. Clasp your hands together and push as high as you can, trying to touch the ceiling.

 

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144. SPECIFIC MUSCLE WARM-UP
Don't walk into a gym and immediately throw your top weight on the barbell. Many a pec-delt tie-in has been torn that way (the area where the chest and front shoulder muscles join together). Always perform a couple of light-to-medium, high-rep sets before putting your maximum weight on the bar.

145. INCREASE YOUR WARM-UP IN PROPORTION TO YOUR STRENGTH
As the muscles get stronger the need for a warm-up becomes greater. A beginner may get by on a quick five-minute warm-up but once you start using hundreds of pounds on your exercises you'll need to adequately prepare the muscles. You may save time by skipping your warm-up, but at what cost? A torn pec or biceps msucle will set you back many months of training. A lower back injury coul dbe a lifelong menace.

146. CONSTANT EVALUATION
If you are training hard, eating well and getting sufficient rest, yet you are not making gains, then something is amiss. You have to find out where you're going wrong. Don't continue training in the exact same manner hoping the problem may solve itself. You have to sit downand re-evaluate your whole approach. The best way to do this is to refer to your training logs and records.

147. PHOTOGRAPHS
Taking a set of photos when you begin training is a good way to evaluate your physique. We should warm you that the first set of photos you take will probably depress you, as you will no doubt compare them to the bodybuilding superstars in Muscular Developement Magazines. But over time as you make progress your physique (and photographs) will start looking like more and more the ones you see in the bodybuilding magazines.

148. TAKING MEASUREMENTS
Opinion is split on taking measurements. Unless you are one of those genetically gifted types, you probably won't see a rapid change. For example, it takes on average about 10 pounds of muscular bodyweight to add a sngle inch to the arm. Coincidently, this is about the amount of weight the average person can expect to gain in the first year of training. On the bright side, in four or five years you'll be sporting 20-inch arms.

 

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149. WHEN TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE
Few people achieve success without help from others. Even something as individualistic as weight training has room for doubling up. A training partner provides numerous advantages. For starters you won't have to keep bothering other people for a spot. Another benefit is motivation. On days when you don't feel like training (or training with enough intensity), your training partner can encourage you. You can then reciprocate on his or her lazy days.

150. FRIENDLY COMPETITION
Another benefit of a training partner is that you and your training partner can engage in little competitions. If he gets 10 reps, you try to do 11. This back and forth will do wonders for your progress.

151. BRUTALLY HONEST
A good training partner can be honest. You may think your physique is flawless, but your partner can quickly bring you back to reality. This brutal honesty wil help you immensely if you decide to compete in a bodybuilding contest down the road.

152. THE RIGHT TIME
The most basic thing to keep in mind when choosing a training partner is what time you both like to work out. If you're a morning person and he or she prefers late evening, odds are you two will never mesh. Try to pick someone who works out around the same time of day as you do.

153. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
Nothing derails a good workout like negativity if you're training with someone who is always complaining and constantly seeing the downside to everything - get rid of them! You want someone who will motivate you to train harder, not get you thinking about chainging sports. It doesn't matter if your training partner can bench press as much as you can. What's more important is his or her mental approach to training.

154. THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY
One of the main benefits of a good training partner is that they can motivate you to strive for higher goals. They will not be able to motivate you if they only making every second or third workout. This inconsistency is telling you that working out is very low on their priority scale. Drop them and look for someone else.

155. IS STRENGTH IMPORTANT?
Although not as important as attitude and consistency, it does make sense to train with someone who is in the same strangth range as you. It won't make any difference on most machine and dumbell exercises, but a huge difference in your bench press weights will mean a lot of loading and unloading the bar. Of course a slight difference in strength might be a benefit. You can push yourself to catch up on you partner's stronger exercises, and he can try to match you on exercises in which you are stronger.

156. THE STRONGER SEX?
Does your training partner have to be of the same sex? Absolutely not. Some of the best training partnerships consist of a couple. Knowing that there is a female watching you will bring out the best in you, and most women who train with weights want to show the guys that they belong in the weightroom. Unless there are major differences between the two of you with regards to some of the other more important traits already discussed (you can find a way around the strength differences), try training with someone of the opposite sex.

157. DOUBLE THE KNOWLEDGE
The best scenario is if your training parner has an equal but different range of knowledge and experience than you do. You can alternate back and forth, drawing on one another's suggestions.

 

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158. WHAT DO I WANT?
One of the most fundamental questions you should ask yourself before you pick up that first dumbell is "what do I want to achieve from bodybuilding?" For some, losing a few pounds and perhaps some general conditioning is all they are after. Building a 50-inch chest is the furthest thing from their minds. For others, nothing short of elbowing the current Mr. Olympia off the stage will suffice. Keep in mind that even if your goal is dethroning the current Mr. Olympia, you don't start training at the Mr. Olympia level. Start out slowly and gradually progress to the next level.

159. KEEP IT SIMPLE
The primary goal at the beginning level is to learn how to train - nothing fancy, just basic sets and reps. For the first few months follow a full-body three-times-a-week training routine. Pay strict attention to form and increase the weight only when the muscles are capable of handling it.

160. COMPOUND EXERCISES
When beginning bodybuilding, virtually all your exercises should be compound. Compound exercises are those in which more than one joint is involved and more than one muscle group is utilized. Compound exercises are the ones that allow you to use the most weight, and hence they are the best for gaining mass. Examples of compound exercises are bench presses, squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, barbell curls, chin-ups, and shoulder presses.

161. TO BULK OR NOT TO BULK
Bulking up was a popular term back in the '60's and '70s. It basically means eating as much as possible and training as heavy as possible to gain as much bodyweight as possible. The reason bulking up has fallen out of favor is that much of the weight gained is fat, which has to be lost if you want to compete (or even just look good). Today many bodybuilders try to keep their off-season weight to within 20 pounds of their competitive weight (as opposed to the 40 to 50 pounds years ago). Unless you are very skinny and have a hard time gaining muscular body weight, we don't recommend bulking up.

162. RIBCAGE EXPANSION
Although the chest muscles receive all the glory, it is the underlying ribcage that makes up most of the chest measurement. While you can't enlarge the ribs, it is possible to slightly lengthen the cartilage and ligaments connecting the ribs to the sternum (center rib bone). We should add that by your early 20s these soft connective tissues have hardened, so the techniques for expanding the rib cage won't have much effect. Ribcage expannsion works best in the teenage years. The two best exercises for expanding the ribcage are breathing squats and cross-bench pullovers.

163. BEWARE OF THE BOXY LOOK
Although ribcage expansion may be desirable for some, for others is should be avoided. Those with narrow should structure should probably avoid trying to expand the ribcage, as it will only leave you looking like a "box". By this we mean you'll be nearly as thick as wide. Those with boxy physiques tend to look fat in clothes.

 

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164. CRUNCHES-TORSO AND LEG POSITION
When performing crunches always keep your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Performing any exercise with the legs locked out straight, particularly adominal exercises, adds excessive pressure on the lower back. Also, raise the shoulders only 8 to 10 inches off the floor. Raising all the way up to your knows doesn't work your abs harder, it just brings the hip flexor muscles into play.

165. CRUNCHES-ARM POSITION
When you start performing crunches, keep your arms across the middle of the chest. This makes the exercise easier by "reducing" the weight of the arms. As you get stronger you can move the arms farther away from your abdominals - first to behind your head, and finally to a fully stretched-out position above your head.

166. CRUNCHES-WATCH THE NECK
One of the big mistakes people make when performing crunches with the hands behind the head is to push the back of the head with the arms. This not only takes some of the pressure off the abdominals, it also puts stress on the neck. Try to keep your elbows pointed outwards at all times and keep your head stationary by locking your eyes on a point on the ceiling.

167. CRUNCHES- DON'T LOCK THE FEET
Another mistake many bodybuilders make when performing crunches is to lock their feet. The primary culprits for this are abdominal boards with rollers. Locking the feet will place excessive stress on the lower back as you crunch forward, in addition to working the hip flexors excessively.

168. SUCK IT IN
Well the military was right: regularly sucking in your gut and puffing out your chest does work. Before you hit the sack every night (and/or first thing in the morning) practice pulling in your abdominal muscles. Count to 10 and then release. Doing 3 or 4 "sets" of this simple exercise will make your waist appear smaller.

 

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169. VACUUM
Vacuums are a variation of the suck-it-in tip discussed earlier. Suck in your stomach, puff out your chest, and then blow all the air out of your lungs. Hold for 10 seconds. Three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane was a master of this technique.

170. BACK EXTENSIONS
Most muscules work in pairs and the abdominals are no exception. In this case the opposing muscles are the spinal erector (lower back) muscles, and you should train them regularly. One of the simplest exercises to work the lower back is to lie face down on the floor and gently raise the toso upwards. Don't excessively arch (hyperextend) the lower back. You must strike a balance between working the lower back muscles and plaing too much stress on the lower back ligaments.

171. LEAVE THEM TILL LAST
As the abdominals and lower back muscles are used for stabilizing on most of the exercises for the legs and torso muscles, you should train them after these larger muscle groups. Fatiguing them early will interfere with the execution of these exercises and could lead to an inury of the lower back.

172. LYING LEG RAISES
As with crunches, never perform the exercise with totally straight legs. Always keep a sllight bend at the knees. Start with the incline board at the lowest level and gradually increase the angle over the weeks and months to make the exercise more difficult.

173. LEG RAISES - LEAVE YOUR BUTT ALONE!
Some people rest their hands under their butt when doing lying leg raises. This adds extra stress to the lower back and tends to shift the stress from the lower to the upper abs.

 

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174. BARBELL SQUATS
Squats are considered the best quad exercise. They'll also stimulate muscle growth over your entire body. With the barbell resting across the shoulders, slowly squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position. Do not bounce at the bottom of the movement. Try to keep the torso perpendicular to the floor. Don't let the body start leaning forward - doing so could lead to a lower back injury.

175. SMITH-MACHINE SQUATS
Even though barbell squats are king when it comes to building the legs, there are a few occasions when you may want to use the Smith machine. Those with poor flexibility in their Achilles' tendon may find it difficult to keep their balance when doing regular babell squats (the old "up on the toes" syndrome). The Smith machine will allow you to keep your feet slightly forward or back in your stance, enabling you to keep your feet flat on the ground. Also, those with injured lower backs or knees may find the Smith machine less stressful on these areas.

176. LEG PRESSES
Leg presses are a close second to squats in terms of effectiveness and have the advantage of letting you use hundreds of pounds of weight in relative safety. As you lower the platform by bending your knees, don't bounce at the bottom of the movement. You run the risk of damaging your knees or ribs. Likewise don't lock the leggs completely straight at the top as you could hyperextend and tear the knee ligaments or cartilage.

177. HORIZONTAL OR 45 DEGREES?
If you gym has both the 45-degree and horizontal leg press, try both to see which one feels more comfortable or gives you the best leg workout. If you find both equally effective, try alternating them on different leg days.

178. LYING LEG CURLS
This exercise is one of the best for developing the hamstring muscles. As you raise the lower legs toward your butt, don't let yoru butt lift off the bench in an attempt to move the weight. There should be no jerking or bouncing as you lift the weight up.

 

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179. LEG CURLS - DON'T HYPEREXTEND
Many of the older leg extension machines allow you to extend th legs past the lock-out position. In other words you can hyperextend at the knee joint. While you may be giving the hamstring muscles a better stretch, you are also forcing the knee joint through a greater range of motion than it was designed for. Try to keep your legs from locking out completely on leg-curl exercises.

180. FLAT BARBELL PRESSES
Like squats, barbell presses are considered on of the best for stimulating muscles, in this case your chest, shoulders, and triceps. With a slightly widerthan shoulder-width grip, lift the bar off the rack and slowly lower it to your mid-chest. Push it back up to arms' length. Don't bounce the bar off your chest. Likewise don't arch your lower back excessively when lifting. For a few extra pounds of weight you run the risk of lower back injury.

181. INCLINE BARBELL PRESSES
Incline presses are performed the same way as flat presses except you are lying back on a tilted or inclined bench. This shifts the stress from the lower and outer chest to the upper chest. Instead of lowering the bar to yourmid-chest, try lowering it to your collarbone. Keep your elbows back throughout the movement.

182. IT'S ALL IN THE ANGLE
As you perform incline barbell presses, experiment with different angles on the bench to see which angle hits the uppper chest most effectively. Too high and it's more a should exercise. Too low and you are virtually doing a flat bench press.

183. SUPINE DUMBELL PRESSES
This exercise is very similar to supine barbell presses except that you use two dumbells instead of one barbell. Try to keep your upper arm at 90 degrees to your torso as you lower the dumbells to just below chest level. Push them back up until they just touch at the top. Dumbells allow you to get a greater stretch at the bottem of the exercise than a barbell.

 

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184. DUMBELL PRESSES - 90 DEGREES IS SAFEST
Ironically one of the primary advantages of dumbell presses is also one of the disadvantages. Dumbells allow you to lower the arm past the shoulders' natural range of movement. The barbell will come in contact with your chest before this happens. For safety considerations lower the dumbells only until your upper arms are parallel to the floor or just slightly below.

185. INCLINE DUMBELL PRESSES
Most everything we said about incline barbell and supine dumbell presses also applies here. Experiment with different angles and don't let the upper arm go far below shoulder height.

186. THE WEAKEST LINK
The primary disadvanteage of incline dumbell presses is that you will reach a point at which your chest and shoulders are capable of lifting more weight than you can hoist off the floor and into position. When this happens have two spotters pass the dumbells to you at arms' length. Lowering the dumbells to the floor at the conclusion of the exercise is not usually a problem.

187. YOU KNEES - A HELPING HAND
As we just stated in the previous tip, it don't be long before your chest is capable of lifting heavier dumbells than your arms are capable of hoisting into position on an incline press. When this happens and no one is around to help, try using your knees to position the dumbells. Hoist the dumbells from the floor and lay them on your knees in a vertical position. As you lean back towards the bench force one and then the other dumbell upwards by rapidly pushing upwards with you knees.

188. DIPS
Dips are another great exercise for packing muscle mass on the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The late Vince Gironda was the most vocal spokes person for dips, an excellent exercise for developing the clean line that separates the chest from the ribcage. Grab the bars with both hands and with the torso leaning forward and chin tucked down on your chest, slowly lower your body between the bars to a comfortable stretch (for most this will mean your shoulders are in line with or just slightly above the bars). Return to the starting point by straightening the arms. As with dumbell pressess, avoid bouncing at the bottom of the movement.

189. PARALLEL OR V?
Diping bars come in many shapes and sizes. In some, the bars are parallel to one another. Others start wide and join together at one end, forming a "V." If you're lucky enough to work out at a gym that has a couple of different styles of dipping bars, experiment. The advantage of the V-shaped bars is that they allow you to take a different grip widths. Generally you'll find the wider the grip the more the outer chest is worked, while narrow grips bring in more th triceps and shoulders.

190. DIPS: THICK OR THIN?
Besides shape, dipping bars may be thick or thin. Again, if your gym has an assortment of dipping bars to choose from, experiment to see which feels most comfortable and effective for your chest and shoulders. Most trainers prefer thicker bars for dips and thinner bars for chins.

191. ASSISTED DIPS
For those who have trouble lifting their bodyweight on regular dips, try the assisted macine. The macines works by providing an upward force as you perfrom the exercise. In simple terms the machine is making you ligther. Your goal on assisted dips is to use less and less weight (not more weight as with most exercises). With tiime you should be able to lift your full bodyweight and you'll be able to use the parallel bars. Eventually you may be strong enough to add weight with the use of a diping belt.

 

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192. CHIN-UPS
Chin-ups are one of the best exercises for adding width to the back. They'll give you that much sought-after V-shaped look. You will need access to your gym's overhead bar to perform this exercise. With a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip, pull yourself up until your eyes are in line with the bar. Slowly lower your body back down until your arms are just short of lockout.

193. HANGING AROUND FOR WIDTH
If you are still in your teens you have another method for increasing your back and shoulder width. Simply hanging from a shin-up a bar can spread the scapulae (shoulder blades). After you complete your regular chin-up sets, hang from the bar for as long as possible and let your shoulder blades stretch out as far as possible.

194. ASSISTED CHINS
Chins are great but unfortunately not everyone can do them. From day one you'll have to lift your entire bodyweight. If you can't lift your bodyweight, try an assisted chin-up machine. This apparatus is usually part of the same machine that allows assisted dips. You kneel or stand on a platform that provides upward pressure as you lift yourself up. Just as with the assisted dips, you use less and less weight (assistance) as you get stronger.

195. LAT PULLDOWNS
Can't do chin-ups and don't have access to an assisted chin-up machine? Lat pulldowns are a close second. Instead of having to pull your entire bodyweight up to a stationary bar, you pull the bar down toward you. We strongly urge you to pull the bar toward your collarbone or chin. Some people pull the bar down behind the head to their neck. Pulling behind the head puts extra pressure on the rotator cuff (the collection of small muscles and tendons that attach to the shoulder blade). Everytime you move the bar up and down there is repeated chafing of the rotator cuff. With time it could become inflamed or worse, torn. There is virtually no difference in terms of effectiveness. Pull the bar to the front.

196. THINK OF THEM AS HOOKS
When performing lat pulldowns, try to think of the hands as merely hooks. The more you squeze and grip with your hands the more biceps and forearm involvement you brng in. Since these smaller muscles fatigue before your larger back muscles, your back will not get enough work.

 

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197. BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWS
Another basic back exercise, barbell rows add strength and mass to the central back region. Bend forward and grab a barbell with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip. The torso should be held at approximately 30 degrees to the floor. Pull the bar toward the lower rib cage. Lower the bar to just short of arm lockout.

198. KEEP THE NATURAL ARCH
Even though you'll routinely hear instructors say, "keep your back straight," the human spine is in fact not straight, but slightly curved. Try to keep the natural arch in the lower back when you perform barbell rows. If you let the back round (i.e. if you reduce the natural curve), the lower back muscles relax, placing most of yhe stress on the ligaments.

199. BENCH BARBELL ROWS
If you find standard rows stressful on the lower back, try performing the exercise on a flat bench. Simply lie face down on a high bench and have the bar placed directly underneath. If you have long arms you may need to bridge the bench up on blocks of wood or milk crates to get a good stretch.

200. REVERSE-GRIP BARBELL ROWS
To target the lower and central lats more, try reverse-grip barbell rows. The main differences from a regular row are that you use a narrower grip (about shoulder width) and you hold that bar with a revere grip (palms facing forward instead of backward). Because reverse-grip barbell rows bring more of the biceps into play, you'll find that you can use more weight. Former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, would use over 400 pounds on this exercise!

201. T-BAR ROWS
A close variation of the barbell tow, the T-bar row is another great back-thickening exercise. Most gyms have a special T-shaped apparatus for this exercise, but a regular barbell (and the V-shaped attachment used on the seated row exercise) will suffice as long as you find a way to keep on end anchored to the floor (either have a training partner hold it down with his foot or stick the bar in a corner and place a few heavy dumbells or plates on top). Grab the handles or V-shaped apparatus and pull the bar towards the torso. As with barbell rows, try to keep the torso at about a 30-degree angle to the floor and the lower back slighltly arched. Return the bar to just short of a locked out position.

 

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202. T-BAR MACHINE ROWS
Even with perfect technique many people find T-bar rows stressful on the lower back. Equipment manufacturers have responded to this by offering a version of the T-bar that has an angled pad to rest the torso on. If you find regular T-bar rows stressful on the lower back and your gym has such a T-bar, try incorporating it into your workouts.

203. SEATED ROWS
Seated rows are like barbell and T-bar rows in that they are great for hitting the muscles in the center of the back. You will need a cable machine to perform this exercise. Grab the V-shaped pulley attachment and sit down on the floor or on the machine's seating pad. With your legs slightly bent, pull the handle into the lower ribcage. Slowly stretch forward until your arms are fully stretched. As you pull the handle towards the torso, try to squeeze the shoulder blades together. That will fully stretch the chest muscles and contract the back muscles. Don't let the torso go past 90 degrees as you pull the handles in.

204. ONE-ARM DUMBELL ROW
If your gym doesn't have a T-bar or seated row and you find barbell rows stressful on the lower back, one-arm dumbell rows are a good substitute. Place one knee and hand on a flat bench. Lean you weight onto your arm and keep your back arched. With the free hand, grab a dumbell and pull it upwards in a sawing motion. At the top of the exercise your upper arm should be parallel with the floor. One-arm rows place less stress on the lower back because you are braced on the bench. Be sure to reach right down to the floor each rep - stretch those lats.

205. USE THE MIRROR
If you find your coordination lacking while doing dumbell rows, try placing the bench parallel to the mirror. This allows you to adjust your torso and arm position as you excute the exercise. At the conclusion of a set, allow the arm to stretch down, stressing the lats. Hold this straight-arm position for 9 seconds and feel the burn.

206. ROTATIONS
One of the few disadvantages of repeated pressing movements is stress on the small rotator muscles located at the shoulder on the scapula. Most people start doing rotations only after they've incurred a rotator cuff problem. Try to strengthen the rotators from day one, and be sure to warm them up before doing any chest or shoulder pressing movements. Grab a light dumbell or weight plate. Hold your upper arm tight to the body and, with your elbows at a 90-degree angle, slowly rotate your lower arms in toward each other and out from the body.

 

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207. FRONT BARBELL PRESS
This exercise is one of the best for adding size to the shoulder muscles, particularly the front and side shoulders (anterior and medial deltoids). Sit down in the shoulder press rack (preferably one with a vertical back support). Reach back and grab the barbell with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip. Lift the bar up and out so that it's positioned above your head. Slowly lower the bar to your upper chest or collarbone and then press back up to arms' length. Don't bounce the bar off your collarbone at the bottom of the exercise.

208. TO THE FRONT ONLY
Although some bodybuilders prefer to lower the bar behind the head when doing barbell presses, we advise against dong this. As with behind-the-head pulldowns, there is considerable stress placed on the small rotator muscles when doing this.

209. DUMBELL PRESSES
As with flat barbell and dumbell presses for chest, you can substitute dumbells for a barbell when working shoulders. Sit down in a chair with some sort of back support and raise a pair of dumbells to shoulder height so that the palms are facing forward. Press the dumbells upwards and inwards so that they touch above the forehead. For variety you can alternate pressing the dumbells. As with front barbell presses, dumbell presses primarily target the front and side shoulders.

210. A SLIGHT TILT
To reduce the pressure on the rotator cuff when doing barbell presses, set the angle of the adjustable bench at about 80 degrees. If you don't have access to an adjustable bench, keep your butt slightly forward on the vertical bench and lean slightly backwards.

211. LATERAL RAISES (ALSO CALLED SIDE RAISES)
Side raises are probably the best exercise for widening the shoulders because they add size to the medial (side) shoulder. With both the elbows and knees slightly bent, raise a set of dumbells outwards and upwards, until the arms are parallel with the floor. Slowly lower the dumbells down so that they meet in front of the body. The palms should be facing together at the bottom of the exercise. Resist the urge to swing the body as you lift the dumbells. This adds stress to the lower back and lessens the effectiveness of the excercise.

 

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212. TRICEPS PUSHDOWN
Pushdowns are one of the best exercises for targeting the triceps muscles. You will need to use your gym's cable pushdown for this exercise. Grab the attachment with the palms facing downwards, hands about shoulder width apart. With the elbows held firmly against the torso, push downwards until the arms are locked out. Slowly raise the attachment back up to about chest level. For variety you can use different attachments. They probably won't make much difference to your triceps but they may make a big difference to your wrists.

213. FRENCH PRESSES
One of the best exercises for adding mass to the triceps, French presses have been performed successfully by bodybuilders for years. Although you can use just about my type of bar, most bodybuilders find the EZ-bar less stressful on the wrists and elbows . The key to this exercise is to keep the upper arms locked in position and elbows pointing at the ceiling. The only thing that should be moving is your forearms.

214. LYING EZ-BAR EXTENSION
This is another great one for adding mass to the triceps muscles. With an EZ-curl bar placed on the edge of a bench, lie back and grab the bar with a narrow (10 to 12 inches) grip. Raise the bar above your forehead, and with the upper arm locked vertical with the floor, lower the bar to the forehead by bending at the elbows. There should be little or no upper-arm movement. The popular nickname for this exercise is skullcrushers, but we strongly urge you to avoid actually crushing your skull.

215. INCLINE OR DECLINE EZ-BAR EXTENSIONS
For variety try doing your EZ-bar extensions on a decline or incline bench. You'll find that decline extensions target more of the upper triceps, while inclines bring in more of the lower triceps.

216. DUMBELL EXTENSIONS
While sitting on a flat bench (or better still, one that has some sort of vertical back support), grab a dumbell and lower it behind the head, trying to keep the elbow pointed at the ceiling. You may need to reach across the front of the body with the free hand for balance and supprt. Some bodybuilders prefer to do this exercise with both hands at once. In this case grab the dumbell as if you were about to volley a volleyball (i.e. the fingers pointing backwards and the palms facing the ceiling). The advantages of using two hands at once are that it saves time and it keeps you balanced (as oppsed to one-arm extensions, for which you hold a weight on one side).

217. BENCH DIPS
While dips are usually performed as a chest exercise, with modification they can be an excellent triceps exercise. Instead of performing the movement on dipping bars, arrange two benches so that they are about four feet apart and parallel to one another. Position yourself between the benches so that your heels are barely resting on one bench and your hands are resting on the other (fingers facing forward). With the knees slightly bent, slowly lower your body between the benches until your butt is about a foot off the floor (your upper arms will be approximately parallel with the floor at this point). Return to the starting position by straightening the arms. Resist the urge to bounce at the bottom of the exercise, as this places tremedous stress on the elbow, wrist, and shoulder joints. Need more weight? You can rest a plate or two on your lap, or hold a dumbells between you legs.

 

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218. DIP, NOT ROCK!
When performing bench dips, make sure the benches you are resting your feet and hands on are stable. Either use benches with a wide base, or place some weight plates or dumbells on the base ends. Even though it rarely happens, there is the risk of one of the benches tipping over in the middle of your set. You can probably guess the damage this will cause if you are dipping with two or three plates resting on your lap.

219. NARROW PRESSES
Narrow presses are another staple exercise for packing mass and strength onto the triceps. The exercise is performed much like standard barbell presses for the chest, with the exception that the grip is much narrower - only about 10 to 12 inches apart. As you press the bar upwards, concentrate on pushing with the triceps and not the chest and shoulders.

220. STRAIGHT OR EZ-BAR?
For variety, try experimenting with straigth and EZ-curl bars when doing narrow presses. Many bodybuilders find straight bars stressful on the wrists. On the other hand others hand discovered that straight bars seem to target triceps more effectively. See which one is least stressful and most effective for you.

221. STANDING BARBELL CURL
Considered one of, if not the best biceps exercises, barbell curls are also one of the easiest to perform. Grab a short straight bar with a shoulder-width or slightly wider grip. Slowly curl the bar up until the forearms are at about a 45-degree angle with the horizontal (about 8-10 inches from the shoulders). Lower the bar back down to within a couple of inches of your thighs. Don't swing the body in an attempt to lift a few extra pounds. The only thing moving should be your forearms. Experiment with the EZ-curl bar as well. You probably won't find much difference to your biceps but there may be a big difference in your wrists.

222. DO THE TWIST
The biceps perform three function. In addition to the familar raising of the forearm and as a secondary muscle in raising the arm from the shoulder, biceps also rotate the forearms. You can make alternate dumbells curls more effective by twisting the dumbells from an inward to outward position as you raise them. Twisting the dumbells as you lift and lower (called supination) stimulates the biceps over their full range of motion.

 

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223. STANDING DUMBELL CURLS
This exercise is virtually identical to #221 except you use two dumbells. Using dumbells gives you the option of raising them in alternate fashion (as one dumbell is rising the other is lowering). Curling with dumbells also assures that each arm is subjected to the same degree of resistance.

224. PREACHER CURLS
Preacher curls (also called Scott curls after bodybuilding's first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott) are another basic biceps builder. They are especially effective at working the lower biceps and filling in the gap between the upper forearms and lower biceps. Start by sitting on the stool or bench attached to the preacher board (a padded board angled at approximately 45 degrees). Raise or lower the seat so the preacher board fits snug under your armpits. Reach forward and lift the barbell off the rack (most preacher benches have an attached barbell rack) or have a training partner pass you the barbell. Curl the bar up until your forearms are parallel with the floor. Slowly lower back down until your arms are just short of locked out. Do not bounce at the bottom of the exercise. Many bodybuilders have torn their biceps tendon doing just that. Once you tear a biceps tendon you only option is surgery, and 100 percent correction is unlikely.

225. INCLINE CURLS
As far as the biceps are concerned, incline curls are the opposite of preacher curls. Instead of working the lower biceps to a greater degree, they target the upper biceps. As the name suggests, you perform this exercise on an incline bench. Grab two dumbells and sit down on the bench (between 45 and 60 degrees will work best). Curl the dumbells upward until your forearms are almost vertical with the floor. Slowly lower back down until your arms are just short of a lockout.

226. THUMBLESS?
As you try out the various biceps exercises, experiment with keeping the thumbs on the same side of the bar (or dumbell) as the fingers - this is called a thumbless grip or a false grip - or on the opposite side to the fingers. You may discover that one grip feels more comfortable than the other and may give you better biceps stimulation.

227. STANDING CALF RAISES
You will need access to a standing calf machine to do this exercise. Step up onto the machine's foot support and rest the pads atop the shoulders. With your legs locked, lift yourself up on your tiptoes as far as possible. Lower back down, trying to drop you heels as low as possible at the bottom. We have to warn you that out of all the muscles you will train, the calves hurt the most! A couple of sets will leave them burning with pain.

228. CALF-INDUCED SHOULDER RASH?
Don't be alarmed if you discover a slight rash on each shoulder the day after you do standing calf raises. In simple terms, the combination of pressure and thinness of the skin in the shoulder region causes the breakage of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. It will clear up within a day or two. Adding two sponge rubber pads under the pad may help you avoid this problem.

 

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229. TOE PRESSES ON LEG PRESS
This exercise is an example of using a machine for an exercise other than the one it was designed for. Sit down in the leg press machine and place your toes on the bottom edge of the pressing platform. Instead of moving the platform by bending at the knees and using your thighs, you flex at the ankle and use your calves. As with standing calf raises, go for the maximum stretch at the top and bottom of the exercise. The primary advantage of this exercise is that you don't have hundreds of pounds placed across your shoulders as you do with the standing calf raise.

230. EXPERIMENT WITH FOOT STANCE AND WIDTH
As you perform toe presses, try experimenting with different stances. Try both wider and narrower than shoulder width. Try toes turned in, forward, and out. Each different angle hits a different part of the calf. When the toes are pointing out at "ten to two" the inside of the calf is worked. The outside is stressed when the toes are pointing in.

231. CALF STRETCHING
Calf training is as much about stretching as it is about lifting weights. Perhaps no other muscle group relies as much on extending its range of motion as the calf. As you are resting between sets, stand on a high block of wood (or the calf machine's foot block) and practice stretching your heels as far down as possible. The more flexible your calf and associated Achilles' tendon, the greater your range of motion when you perform calf raises. The end result is greater calf development.

232. FOR ALL TO SEE
If your calves are weak and you need incentive to train them, try a tip from seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger. Early in his career Arnold had weak calves and a lazy attitude about training them. To kick himself in the ass, he cut the lower legs off his sweat pants so his calves were always on display. Because of negative comments from others and his own dissatisfaction with how they looked, Arnold made calf training a priority.

 

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233. PLANT YOU FEET FIRMLY ON THE FLOOR
Even though the bench press is primarily targeting the upper body, the legs play a major role in stabilizing. If you don't believe this, try benching with your legs up in the air. Both your coordination and strength suffer considerably. When benching try to keep your feet pressed into the floor. Try not to let them move, slip, or rise.

234. LOCK YOUR BODY TIGHTLY TO THE BENCH
What the floor is for your feet, the bench is for your torso - a platform for stability. When you lie on the bench, try to become part of it. Try to lock your back, glutes, and shoulders as tightly tot he bench as possible.

235. USE A SECURE GRIP
Perhaps unnecessary to say, but you'd be surprised the number of bodybuilders who haphazardly grab the bar when benching. As soon as you grab the bar, lock both fingers and thumb tightly around it. Never use a false (thumbless) grip when bench pressing.

236. KEEP YOUR WRISTS LOCKED AND STRAIGHT
To reduce the amount of stress on your wrist ligaments, keep your hands and forearms lined up while benching. Don't make the mistake of allowing your hand to flip back towards the back of the forearm.

237. KEEP THE FOREARMS VERTICAL
Although there are exceptions, the correect grip width on the bench press is the one that keeps your forearms vertical throughtout the full range of motion. This will allow you to generate the most power as you push upward. Any wider or narrower is wasting energy, as your body will be trying to keep your forearms from sliding inwards or outwards.

238. PAUSE AT THE BOTTOM
If you plan on entering powerlifting competitions you will need to practice pausing the bar at the bottom of the exercise. The pause doesn't have to be a long one - about a second - but it will be required in competition to get a pass from the judges. Another reason for pausing is that it eliminates any bouncing. Bouncing the bar off the chest is a great way to break the sternum, a rib or tear a rotator - any of which can set yor training back months if not years.