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 By: Zach G. Welcome to the omnimorphic training guide. Here I'll be outlining exercises, routines, diet, little tips and tricks, and pretty much everything the omnimorph will need to achieve optimal success in the gym. We're starting out with mass building. This won't be some science manual like many other articles. I'll locate the muscles, group muscles that work together as one (there's really no need to separate the teres major from the latissimus dorsi, is there?). I won't list EVERY exercise (there are far too many, in my opinion, that really needn't be trifled with), so I'll outline what I consider the most effective. Why omnimorphic? Because I think soma typing is useless. Everyone will grow with adequate rest and calories. There is no such thing as a hardgainer, just someone who doesn't rest and eat enough. Genetics are nothing more than fiber ratios, so the key to getting some serious growth is to find out what rep range and workout frequency works best for you.
Calves Someone once said the best people to ask on how to train calves are not those with the best, since those are generally the same people who don't have to train them at all to get growth. In light of that, I'll outline what I believe to be the best moves for calves.
Standing Calf Raises
It's the equivalent of holding a bar about halfway above your chest and moving it up and down an inch or so. That said, don't be afraid to put some weight on there. Calves are strong for their size, and can move a good deal of weight. As with most lifts, get a full stretch at the bottom and then a really good contraction at the top. And if you don't have a machine, use a bar on your shoulders and stand on a wooden block, or a plate.
Donkey Calf Raises A wonderful, if underused, calf move. There is simply no exercise that gets the kind of stretch you will feel here. The machine (for those of you unfamiliar with it) is like a standing machine, only you bend over 90 degrees at the waist, and the pads go on your lower back. The same rules apply here, don't wimp out and do micro-reps. The stretch will be intense, and that's a good thing. Every muscle develops best through a full range of motion, so don't think you can cheat on calves and expect any growth from them.
Leg Press Calf Raises
A substitute, I suppose, for donkey raises. These will put you in about the same position, but instead of your body moving, the sled does. Still a good lift, though, and since my gym has no donkey calf machine, this is where I frequently finish them off. You'll notice I don't have seated calf raises here, and there's a reason for that. Anyone who's done them can tell you where the contraction is felt most: lower calf, around the Achilles tendon. While this may not seem like a bad thing, realize that if your ankle area gets to be 10" or so, actual calf mass becomes optically smaller. In bodybuilding the illusion of size is just as important as the size itself, so that's why I excluded them. Some will argue that they are good for support strength, but I'm willing to bet you'll never find a powerlifter slaving away at seated calf raises.
Hamstrings A muscle that far too few people train. People pull their hams all the time because generally people train legs with leg presses only, and hence they get these strong quads but weak hams, and muscle imbalances like that always lead to injury. Hamstrings are the biceps of the leg, and should be treated as such. FUNCTION: The hamstrings pull your lower leg up against your rear, much like the biceps do with the arm. As such, they are involved in keeping the body balanced any time your legs are bent or your body is bent over, and
Standing/Lying Leg Curls
These exercises are just about the same, save the orientation of your body (horizontal or vertical). It's also rather difficult to do standing leg curls with both legs at once. Being a machine exercise it doesn't take much explanation for how to do it, simply lay (or stand) with your legs behind the pads of the machine, and curl back towards your rear. Get a good strong contraction, and lower to just short of lockout. Lockout here, like for many other moves, takes pressure off the desired muscle, so doing so is counterproductive. Do them one leg at a time, both legs at once, change it up, whatever works best for you. Straightening your toes out or pulling them in changes the stress marginally, so don't think too much about it. Keep your mind in your hamstrings, focusing more on contraction than moving the stack.
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
There is a big rift between people in how this move should be done. Some say keep the knees locked out, some say keep them slightly bent. I tend to fall into the latter category, since I find that when sufficient weight is used to stress the hamstrings the knees don't like the extreme pressure on them. The movement is much like that of a regular deadlift: Bend over with a bar, straighten back out. The stance and leg movement is all that changes. Keep your legs tight together, heels against each other. Knees just bent enough to keep them unlocked, but don't bend them any more. Grab the bar at least at shoulder-width, maybe more depending on your flexibility, and straighten out. Go slowly; keep your back arched like a regular deadlift. The important concept here again is concentration in the hamstrings. The mind is a powerful thing: if you don't feel the muscle working, it isn't. Make sure you think the weight into your hamstrings instead of your back, or it's a wasted move. Lunges, squats, good mornings, and hyperextensions also work, but I will outline them more in the back section. These are the core lifts for the hams.
Quadriceps Few words strike fear into the hearts of all men. Amongst them are "period" "marriage" and "leg day." This is a fear based on the fact that most people consider leg movements to be a full body exertion, rather than just thinking of the quads as muscles like any other. People think of squats and such as efforts on their very being, and hence wimp out before the proper work is done. With the right mindset, leg day can be considerably less painful. Moreover, a well-done leg day is one of the most satisfying feelings in all of bodybuilding. I will not be listing the glute moves separately, since a lack of glutes is a rare problem, and all quad moves done with a full range of motion activate them sufficiently.
Squats
THE leg movement. If you don't squat, you're short changing yourself. It's an exercise surrounded by misconceptions and a good bit of fear. Squats are not bad for the knees, the opposite is actually true. Squats strengthen the muscles and tendons around the knees and protect them from injury. Another lie is that you needn't go the full way down. This is an excuse made by people who ego lift. Simply put, if you don't go the full way down, not only will you not activate all the muscles you could otherwise, but you'll set yourself up for serious injury. When the weight gets high, and the knees aren't strong enough to handle the weight through a full range of motion, the odds are higher that tendons will pop. One more thing, do not use either a smith machine or a pad on the bar. Use a bare bar, put it on your shoulders, not your neck, and squat. Keep your feet around shoulder-width apart, sternum up, stick your butt out, and go the whole way down. People will make excuses that height makes full squats difficult. I'm 6'1" or so, and I squat the whole way down with my feet very close to each other, so don't even try it. Don't worry about pointing your toes in any specific direction, however you normally stand is fine. No plates or wood under the heels, either, as this DOES increase pressure on the knee, and will lead to injury.
Hack Squats (machine)
Simply stand on the machine facing away from it, shoulders under the pads, feet straight in line with your body, knock out the supports and squat the full way down. Because the back stays straighter than in a regular squat, you will feel it more heavily in the quads than elsewhere.
Front Squats
A squat with the bar in front of your head instead of behind. Use either the rack grip (arms in front of you, bent back with hands under the bar at your shoulders) or a regular grip (arms bent and supporting the bar from above). Everything else is the same, but you will find that you use less weight and bend over less, since there is now more pressure on your quads, particularly the teardrop (inner part of the quadriceps).
Lunges
Almost like one-legged squats. With the bar on your back in the same manner as a squat, either step out in front, or backwards and squat down with the front leg (regardless of whether you step in front or behind, the front leg is the one doing the work). This is less for quads as it is for the glutes, but I categorize it here anyway. Don't worry about going too far apart with your legs, just don't go too heavy.
Leg Extensions
This is the quad movement that most use when they are afraid to squat. But it's also one of the best quad finishers there are, being the only true quad isolator, and it oddly enough activates more quad muscles than any other movement, bringing in the rectus femoris (the two smaller middle quad muscles) into play, as well as those "other" thigh muscles mentioned earlier. Another machine move, simply sit there, shins against the pads, and straighten your legs out. Being an isolation move, it's a wasted movement to go quickly and with sloppy form, more so than other moves. Here you have to be sure to go to full extension, the bulk of the stress at the top of the movement, and pause for a split second to get that contraction deep in the muscle.
Sissy Squats This is the only stretch movement for the quads, and I dare any of you to finish leg day with it and not squeal like a girl. Its name is appropriate, since it requires no weight at all. It's a little difficult to put into words, but try to understand as well as you can: Hold onto something upright for stability (a support on a cable machine works well), and stand on your toes. Without bending at the hips, bend your knees and lean backwards as far as you possibly can, then stand back up. It's a difficult movement at first, but just keep at it. Use it as the last exercise in a quad routine, and it will serve you well. Quads are a complex muscle system, and frequently incorporate the glutes as well. Again, just think of them like other muscles, instead of like a full- body exhaustion, and you should have no problems trudging through leg day. Yes I know I left out leg presses, but I think if you squat, leg presses are unnecessary, and will only overdo the glutes.
Back (lower)
Deadlifts
The deadlift is the only true full body exercise. It encompasses every muscle in the body to some degree, and strongly hits everything except for the chest and triceps. It's the simplest exercise to understand, but one of the most difficult to do correctly. Basically put, the deadlift is just picking up a barbell. There is one MAJOR caveat, though: Do NOT round your lower back. The lower back must stay arched at all times. How far you squat down affects the amount of lower back activation. Using an over/under grip (if you use straps an overhand grip works fine), bend down, grab the bar, and stand back up. Don't lean back, as that will cause undue stress on the vertebrae and discs in the spine. There is also the idea that the full deadlift is unneeded for bodybuilders. I tend to agree. There is no stretch portion of a deadlift, so half-deads work just as well. Put the pins in a power rack to the desired height and lift the bar from there.
Good-mornings
Think of this like a deadlift with far more torque. The motion is just about the exact same as in a stiff-legged deadlift, but instead of the bar being under you, it's on top of your shoulders like in a squat. The same rules for back position are true here, arched and tight throughout the movement. Some use this move as a hamstring exercise due to it's similarity to the SLDL.
Hyperextensions
A good-morning in reverse, the hyperextension has no stress at the bottom of the movement and all the stress at the top. As such, it makes a great finisher. There should be a machine for these in your gym, probably one you often see people doing ab work on: A pad in the middle, two handles on either side and slightly in front, and two leg pads in the rear. Lay with your stomach on the middle pads, bend over, and straighten out again. The difference here is that you don't have to completely avoid back-rounding here. Go ahead and let your back assume a natural position through the whole movement. As for adding weight, the easiest ways are to either hold a dumbbell against your chest, or to put a small (!) barbell across your neck like in a good morning. I say small because putting a large barbell there is very difficult and will potentially hurt your head a bit. And not much weight is really needed with the bar on your neck. The lower back is used in a bunch of moves. Any type of rowing, many leg moves. There aren't a great deal of isolation moves for it, but you still need them to assure maximal growth.
Back (upper)
Barbell Rows
Many people think the pull-up or pull-down is the best and most basic movement for the upper back, while I differ for a few reasons. This exercise will indeed utilize more muscles (particularly in the inner back) than pull-ups, and will generally utilize more fibers in the muscles themselves. It's also one of the least understood and least utilized exercises, even rarer to see with proper form. There are two types of bad rows: Standing straight up and pulling the bar a whole inch into their stomachs, or bent over enough, but using a great deal of lower back strength so the upper back is almost eliminated from the move except at the very top. Ronnie Coleman does them this way, and everyone says "but his lats are so thick, so he must be doing them right!" Well he also has another day in the week dedicated to lats, so no. Proper form is as such: Stand with your body at around a 45 degree angle to the ground. Some advocate more, some say be parallel to the floor, and I find this a nice medium. Keeping your back arched, pinch your shoulder blades back and hold them there. The goal is to really hit the lats, so do it. Slow and steady is the key. None of that 4-0-2-0 crap, just a nice controlled negative and positive. Grip doesn't really matter much, I tend to prefer overhand, simply because I think underhand uses the biceps too much, but some think that hits the lats harder, so just try both and see what works.
Pull-ups/pull-downs
Pull-ups vs. pull-downs. It's one of the biggest arguments in bodybuilding. Both have their points. The pull-up people say it's easy to cheat on pull- downs and that since it's not a free-weight exercise it's inferior. The pull-down advocates say pull-downs are easier on the shoulders, work for people who simply can't pump out high reps of pull-ups, and that the free- weight issue is irrelevant because a cable can go in any direction. I tend to fall in the latter group. I know some guys with B-52 lats that have never done a pull-up, and I know guys with no lats at all that only do pull-downs. It varies from person to person, and I believe it hinges on the mind-muscle connection you have. The movement is simple enough, pull your back together and either pull the bar down or yourself up along the way. Your back has no idea which is happening. Just make sure your elbows stay behind your shoulders the whole way.
Cable Rows
This time let your shoulder blades separate, gotta hit them lower traps. Remember, the basic idea with ANY back movement is "squeeze your back, don't pull with your arms." If you find your elbows flying out to either side of you, your arms are taking over. This isn't helpful.
Two-arm Dumbbell Rows
This is an exercise I actually learned about from reading an article about Gunter Schlierkamp. These are KILLERS. The idea is simple, though: Use dumbbells instead of a bar for your rows. Again, shoulder blades pinched, pull with the elbows. Yes, it's hard, and yes, it'll burn. A lot. But do it anyway.
Machine Pullovers
A wonderful move if your gym has the machine. The best are the ones where you put your elbows on pads and pull with them. Some use handles. If your gym has either, you're golden. Just sit down and pull. It's somewhere between a pull-down and a row.
Trapezius
Dumbbell Shrugs
Simple idea. Hold two heavy dumbbells and lift your shoulders as high as they go. The problem is, because it's such a simple movement, people tend to cheat like crazy. They'll use their legs to help move them up, or will barely move at all, holding more weight than they can even handle with marginally good form. For a moment, don't use any weights. Now shrug your shoulders as high as you can. That's how high your shrugging should go. And don't move your shoulders horizontally. This is a plane of motion that your traps do not feel any more than a simple static contraction, which isn't really that helpful anyway. Some say hold the dumbbells to your sides, some say in front. I say let your arms hang however is comfortable. Any extraneous movements will only detract from your traps.
Barbell Shrugs
These are the same as with dumbbells, only (naturally) with a bar. This is even worse in the cheating department. Far too many people load the bar up with plate after plate on each side and just hold it there. The movement is the exact same. Again, comfortable grip, shoulder-width usually works, and the only movement should be your shoulders lifting up towards your ears. Sure, there are a few more moves. Behind the back shrugs and machine shrugs spring to mind, but they are unnecessary. Traps get hit so hard in so many shoulder and back moves that they only need these two exercises for most people.
Rear Delts:
Seated Rear Raises
This is THE movement for rear delts. If you aren't doing these, then you've either got the best genes for shoulders ever, or you have horrible rear delts. The movement is simple: Sit on the edge of a bench, bend over until your stomach is on your thighs, holding two dumbbells under your legs. Now, in a controlled manner, lift the dumbbells upwards, leading with your elbows. The reason for leading with your elbows is if you don't, your side delts will take over, and that'll lead to MORE imbalances.
Standing Rear Raises
This is the same as a seated rear raise, only in a standing position. The advantages are it's a little more difficult to use any type of non-rear delt momentum, so you'll be using less weight. On the flip side, it's one of the most difficult moves to do right. The tendency will be to start doing a row, so go nice and light, still leading with the elbows. Rear raises can also be done on a bench, but every movement is basically the same: pulling your arms backwards, like an "Anti-Fly" of sorts.
Reverse Dips
Exactly what it sounds like. I found this movement to be the most direct move for the rear delts, and easiest to feel in the right places. Taking a dumbbell into each hand, lean back ever so slightly, otherwise this will turn into a lat movement. Now, just pull your elbows straight up and squeeze as hard as you can. You will notice there is some definite back involvement here, but it's minimal, and I think it's not a giant problem considering you'll be getting a solid rear delt move. REPS AND SETS: Rear delts are stabilizers in a lot of movements, but they also lag like crazy on most bodybuilders. This is why they deserve a medium volume, I like to give 4 or 5 sets to rear delts, 3 or 4 should be good for most. Reps should stay around 9, because below that form will degrade more quickly than with nearly any other body part. The reason being given the nature of the movements, it's near impossible to do heavy sets without horrible form.
Side Delts
Side Raises
Really the only movement for targeting side delts, if you aren't including side raises somewhere in your workout you're missing your side delts almost entirely. Seated or standing makes no difference here, as the idea is to be vertical. You'll often see trainers doing this move with elbows locked, I find this to be not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful. It will put your shoulders and elbows in dangerous positions, so keep a soft bend in your elbows while doing this. Move smoothly, and don't thrust your hips forward. Think of a big U in front of you, and move the dumbbells along that path, keeping the tops of the dumbbells facing the ceiling at the bottom of the movement, and each other at the top.
Upright Rows
This is one of those taboo moves that many trainers say hurts their shoulders. My solution is to use dumbbells, an EZ bar, or a cable if worst comes to worst. The main caveat in this move is that pulling up beyond the sternum is unnecessary. Pull the bar/dumbbells/whatever up to about mid- chest, and just stop. Beyond that will make your rotator cuffs run away screaming for mercy. Grip-wise, I like to use a narrow grip. Notice that the wider you go, the less your delts will be working. People often ask why I consider this a side delt move, and I say just look at your shoulder position. The muscle worked the hardest is the one fighting against gravity, and is hence the one pointed straight up. In this case, it'll be your side delts unless you lean back ridiculously far. So, it goes in this section.
Front Delts
Military Presses
Far too many people lower the bar to not even eye level, and then press to lockout. The only way to keep the delts working is to stop a good few inches before lockout, and drop the whole way down to your chin, if not to touching your chest. If it hurts to lower the whole way to the chest (as in the bad kind of hurt), then stop around chin level. From there, push the bar back up, making sure your mind is in your delts and not your triceps, then drop back down. Fluid motion, no pausing.
Shoulder Presses
The term "shoulder press" means dumbbells. The entire concept is the same with dumbbells. Balance will be considerably trickier, and you'll be able to iron out any imbalances between your left and right. This is the main advantage to using dumbbells over a bar. Keep the dumbbells far enough apart to avoid shifting stress to the triceps. All the way down, all the way up.
Front Raises
This is a movement reserved for only the few folks whose front delts actually lag behind the other heads. Adding this to your schedule if the front heads are not a lagging part will most assuredly lead to either overtrained or overdeveloped front delts. By now the motion is easy to figure out, but grip is important. The standard overhand dumbbell grip won't work for a front raise, because the shoulder will rotate and stress will shift to the medial head. Instead, using dumbbells, take a hammer grip, possibly tilted a little so the two dumbbells make a V in the top of the movement, and keep them there. If separated, stress will be lost. The ONLY way for a front raise to work is for the inner elbow to face up towards the ceiling. If, like most trainers, your inner elbow is facing the wall, then your side delts are taking over.
Pectorals
Incline Press
99% of trainers believe that the flat barbell press is the basic move for the chest. As usual, I disagree. There have been more popped tendons and underdeveloped chests as a result of flat barbell pressing than any other chest move. Not to mention its proven ineffectiveness in EMG tests. Moreover, the flat barbell press will leave a trainer with droopy pecs, almost like triangles. An overdeveloped upper chest is never a problem. For the movement, get a bench that inclines to 30 degrees. 45 is a bit too much and will shift stress back to the deltoids. Lower the bar (or dumbbells) to the upper chest, somewhere on the sternum. Many trainers also say flaring the elbows is a surefire road to injury, and I agree, if the weight used is too much and form is sloppy. Flare away, it assures that the chest will be the primary mover. Stop short of lockout, and lower as far as is comfortable. To get the dumbbells into position, place each on your lower thigh, there should be a sort of recess between the heads of the quadriceps. Heave each up, one at a time, quickly. As soon as the two dumbbells are near position, start pushing up. With the heavy weights, there's no chance of pausing and THEN pressing.
Flat Press
I don't really need to describe this move. Everyone knows how to do it. If you don't, you've never been in a gym in your life.
Decline Press
Believe it or not, the decline dumbbell press was shown to be THE most effective chest move in terms of fiber recruitment. The only reason I don't consider it the major lift is that it will also result in a more flat, droopy chest. Again, remember to use a soft decline. Too often trainers get a decline bench, and then put blocks of wood under the front end to raise it up another few inches, sometimes close to a foot. This starts to make the lift rather dangerous actually, with an unnaturally high amount of blood rushing to the head. Plus I find that such a decline is really unnecessary and just plain difficult to get a groove with.
Flyes
I won't delve into the detail of incline/decline/flat flyes, because all the movements are the same, and all the same provisos go into flyes as they do into presses. The important things to remember are that the arms must maintain a constant bend to them, NOT to extend too far, and to keep the arms perpendicular to the body. Too often flyes look like presses with most trainers, mostly because they go way too heavy. Go lighter than you'd prefer to for the most part. Feel the weight in the pecs, and don't click the dumbbells together at the top. It's easy to feel when the chest stops working, and that's when the rep should end. A top squeeze is impossible with flyes, so just use the movement as a stretch.
Cable Crossovers
Using the handle attachments in the high pulleys on a cable station, the movement is the exact same as a fly, only done standing. Again, don't go too heavy and don't extend too far out to the sides. The important thing with crossovers is that the majority of the stress is at the contraction part of the move, so SQUEEZE! Let it feel like your chest is about to tear apart. Yes I left out dips and pec dec. Personally I don't think dips are good for the chest, and pec dec offers no benefits over crossovers.
Biceps
Barbell curls
The straight bar/EZ bar battle is another good one. I again rarely take advice from the IFBB pros, but Bob Cicherillo said of straight-bar curls, "They target the inner bicep head, and I don't know anyone who needs more inner bicep head work." It's odd, but true. As such, I recommend using the outer grips on an EZ bar. As I mentioned in my mind-muscle connection article, the lower arm should not reach vertical, as that's where the bicep loses the stress and the contraction goes away. The movement should have NO swinging whatsoever, the torso should stay still, and the elbows should not lock out at the bottom.
Alternate Dumbbell Curls
This is the mass-builder used in lieu of barbell curls. Seated or standing are equally effective. The only caveat here is that the lack of a bar to limit movement makes it much easier to cheat, so I recommend doing this while seated. There is again a debate over whether or not to let the wrists rotate. I tend to think both ideas have their merits. Obviously the constant tension of keeping the palms facing out is good, but at the same time a split second of rest enables the biceps to get out some more reps and use higher weights, much like a rest-pause set, so you decide.
Preacher Curls
Dumbbells, cables, barbells, it really doesn't matter. The preacher bench is that seat with an angled pad. Not a mass-builder by any means, since the range of motion is ridiculously short. Having the upper arms start out at an angle of around 45 degrees away from the body means that no top contraction is possible. Doing reps quickly is also out of the question, because a fast negative could easily lead to a broken elbow. Don't go too far down, just enough to feel that stretch in the biceps, and come back up just far enough to where the biceps stop flexing, and then go back down.
Concentration Curls
This is another exercise with a myriad of variations. Some do them just bent over, some on the reverse side of a preacher bench or off the back of an incline bench, and of course the most popular way, seated with one elbow pressed against the thigh. The problem with this last method is it makes cheating much easier. A little leaning back and the biceps aren't doing much work at all. If anything, lean over forward and towards the opposite leg. Get that peak contraction and squeeze it nice and tight. The other variations make cheating nearly impossible, and I myself prefer going off the back of an incline bench. It just makes things more manageable.
Triceps
French Presses
Seated or standing, dumbbell or barbell. This is a full movement for the triceps, and possibly the only stretch-type movement. The most important thing here is to keep the elbows close into the sides of the head. Put the barbell on your knees and hoist it up like a shoulder press, using the innermost grips, then, keeping the upper arms stationary, lower the bar behind your head past parallel, then push back up to lockout. For triceps, lockout is essential, because that's what the muscles do. For a dumbbell, kick it up off the knees to the chest, and hold the dumbbell vertical, thumbs crossed in front, palms resting along the underside of the thick head of the dumbbell. I prefer seated here, as going off-balance is ridiculously easy when standing.
Close-grip Bench Press
Remember the bench press? Well, this is almost the exact same thing. Take a grip just inside shoulder width on a straight bar, and keep the elbows tucked into the sides of the body. With an EZ bar, take the inner grips and let your elbow go wherever they want. The reason for the difference is because a straight bar with a very narrow grip kills the wrists. Again, go all the way to lockout.
Skull-Crushers
I only call these "skull-crushers" because that's how everyone knows them. Doing them directly as named is a sure-fire way to get hurt pretty badly. Think of them as "lying French presses". Some even call them that. Instead of lowering to the forehead, lower directly behind the head. Among the advantages are a deeper stretch, a perfectly safe head (whew), and if the upper arms stay stationary, the triceps cannot relax at the top of the movement, as the arms will be angled backward slightly. Another point to remember is that the elbows should again stay tucked in. Some say you generate more power if they flare out, and that's true, but unfortunately you can't derive any extra tricep power like that.
Dips
A rule of thumb is that any movement in which the body moves through space is good. This is certainly no exception. Some even argue that the dip is the ultimate upper body exercise all around next to the pull-up. I don't go quite that far, but it's definitely a good first exercise and a mass- builder. The dip bars your gym has may either be angled or parallel. Parallel is best. The movement is simple enough: grip a bar in each hand, pull your legs up off the floor (you may need a step if you're a shorter person), and lower yourself straight down, then push back up. As for leaning, a perfectly vertical dip will assure that the triceps are the main movers rather than the larger chest and delts. That's a good thing, so don't change it. If you can't get more than 4 or 5, be content with that. Max out. Next week you'll get more. The problem with many trainers with inadequate triceps is that they don't dip because it's hard. Some have shoulder problems with dips, it's true, but the vast majority claim shoulder problems because they just don't like dipping. Get on those bars and get to it. Again, full way down, all the way to lockout.
Rope Pushdowns
I believe pushdowns have two good functions: Warm-up and finishing. I think starting out and finishing with rope pushdowns is perfect. But why the rope? Because the bars offer no significant benefits over the above movements, whereas a rope assures a complete and deep contraction. Putting the rope attachment in the high pulley, grasp each end ABOVE the knob and get a full fist grip around the rope. This is important because it'll help make sure the triceps are doing all the work. Also, at no time should the ends of the rope touch. In fact they should stay about 6 inches apart at all times. This again forces the triceps to do all the work. Keep the shoulders back, and really feel that squeeze at the bottom. Cheating or not going to lockout wastes the potential of the movement.
Rep-wise, I believe higher reps are generally the best way to go. This is because I believe low reps are the best for movements like chest and shoulder presses, so that's the triceps getting maximal work with minimal reps. 8 reps should be the minimum you want for most moves. Dips, as I said, can be an exception, and low reps aren't a bad idea at all.
Forearms
Wrist Curls
Yep, no auxiliary muscles, just pure forearms. The preferred way to do this, I believe, is with a dumbbell, with the arm laying along the thigh so the hand is just hanging over the knee, palm up. From here, lean far over to the same side as the arm working. Get a tight grip on the dumbbell and curl the hand up. Don't let the fingers extend, just get the wrist moving. It's a simple movement, don't try and make it difficult.
Reverse Wrist Curls
Again, no auxiliary muscles, this time pure forearm extensors. Like a regular wrist curl lay the arm along the thigh, hand hanging over the knee, palm down this time. Now, lean in the opposite direction as you would for a wrist curl. These are hard, and will require lightweight. Moreover there will be a tendency to lose your grip on the dumbbell, and that makes sense, but under NO circumstances should you use straps. I've actually seen that, if you can believe it. Wrist straps while doing wrist curls. That's just pathetic.
Forearm Rockers
Think of these like a way to combine wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. Take a moderately heavy dumbbell in each hand and stand up, then curl the wrists toward the body, then away, rocking the dumbbells back and forth, hence the title. These will burn like crazy, but don't let the fact that you'll look goofy grunting while doing them stop you, they're a fabulous forearm developer.
Hammer Curls
Some believe hammer curls to be a bicep move, but I don't see how, as the biceps are nearly relaxed during the movement. Yes they contract a little, but not much at all. It's the exact same as a dumbbell curl, but with the… hammer grip. This means the hands will face toward the body at all times, and the dumbbell will be vertical at the top of the movement. A great way to do these is on an incline bench without alternating. A lot of people believe the forearms deserve no work, that simply deadlifting and doing the various back movements without straps is enough. That may be partially true for the flexors, but not so for the extensors. Plus we work our triceps despite pressing, and calves despite squatting and deadlifting, so don't wimp out of forearms just because they aren't a glory muscle.
Abdominals
Crunches
Reverse Crunch
This is exactly what it sounds like, a crunch in reverse. Rather than the shoulder blades lifting, the hips will. It's nearly impossible to do this move without holding on to something above your head to keep the upper body down. Also important is to just lift the hips straight up. Don't try and arc in or it will become a good way to hurt your back. Keep the legs straight up and down, and move slowly. There's no need to be fast with any ab moves.
Leg Lifts
From the same position as reverse crunches, keep the legs straight and lower them until your heels touch the floor, then pull back up. This is another potentially back-wrecking movement. This is another reason that the reps must be done slowly, to make sure that your lower back doesn't arch at any time. Really feel that stretch in the abs.
The Bicycle
Some consider this to be the only ab exercise anyone needs, and to an extent, I agree. It's guaranteed to hit the entire rectus abdominus, the serratus, obliques, everything. The movement itself is simple, but surprisingly difficult. Laying on the floor, put your hands behind your head and lift the shoulders blades off the floor. Pull both knees up, and you're ready to start. Carefully kick one leg out and at the same time twist as far to the opposite side as possible with the upper body. As you pull that leg back, kick out the other and twist as far as possible to the other side. It's a guaranteed ab-killer, and you'll feel a deep burn everywhere.
Workout Construction Okay, so we have all of our exercises lined out, now what? Well, now we gotta start putting them together, in some sort of order, and get full workouts planned. This is when you'll need to start referring back to all that "stretch, midrange, contraction" stuff I talked about earlier. What do these three things mean? What Do I Mean By 'Type Of Movement'?
Stretch:
Contraction:
Midrange: So why is this important to know? Well, the idea in bodybuilding is not only to apply stress to a muscle, but also to hit the muscle from every angle possible. The only way to do this is to get a variety of types of exercises together. Utilizing all types of exercises will assure that the muscle gets all the necessary work is done. But in what manner should each type of move be used?
Midrange:
Stretch:
Contraction: Okay, so now that we've gotten THAT all sorted out, how do we piece workouts together? Well, the most obvious would be C/M/S/C (I'll be hence referring to the types by the first letters, it should be easy to follow). However, that's not always the best, especially for larger muscles. After all, one type of press isn't good enough, you need at least two. So is C/M/M/S/C best? Well, not necessarily. Remember that the midrange movements are nearly always compound, so that means lots of stabilizers. Stabilizers will tire out more quickly than the main muscle, so stacking two such movements in a row would be foolish (for example, the triceps will tire out quickly if flat presses are followed up with inclines). What Is Bridging? "Bridging" is a good technique here, in which an isolation movement is done between compounds. To put it in our terms, put a stretch movement between midranges, so something like C/M/S/M/C works great. That's a good way to remember things:
C/M/S/C for smaller That first contraction move must be addressed. I don't want anyone to think that's a pre-exhaust movement, because I believe pre-exhaustion to be worthless. Pre-exhaustion has been shown to deactivate the muscles in later compound moves (i.e. midrange or mass-builders) which is the exact opposite of what we want. That first C there means one or two high rep sets, but not nearly to failure. The idea is just to get the muscle accustomed to movement. But what about reps and sets? I know I addressed the issue in terms of whole body parts, but what about exercise by exercise? What About Reps & Sets?
Stretch:
Contraction: Okay, we've got order, sets, and reps all set, so let's make an example workout for a muscle. Sample Quad Workout
Leg extensions: 2x20
And there's a workout that I guarantee will have your quads screaming by the end. Sample Tricep Workout
Rope Pushdowns: 2x20
And that's a perfectly good six set tricep routine. Of course you can add sets or subtract them as you see fit. The more HIT-oriented fellows may want a few less, the volume guys will probably want more. The odd thing that you may notice is that not all exercises will have the same number of sets. A big problem I see is guys using more sets on stretch and contraction movements (which are isolators) than on the big mass-builders. Sometimes, for the volume guys, this may mean doing six or seven sets just of barbell curls. But that's where the most energy is required, and the most mass will be built.
Split Construction So now we've got the way to build a workout all done, now the question is how to start piecing them together. Haphazard split construction can be just as much of a problem as any other weak links in training. The first necessity is to decide how many times per week to work a body part, once or twice. Three times is just excessive unless doing full body workouts. If a body part is to be worked once, then pairing it up with its auxiliary muscles is a good idea (chest with triceps, back with biceps). A muscle should either be worked on the same day as its auxiliaries, or as far away from them as possible. A Quick Look At Auxiliary Muscles:
Upper back: Biceps, forearms, rear delts Lower back: Forearms, shoulders, legs Quadriceps: Hamstrings, Calves, lower back Right off the bat it's obvious that putting triceps the day after chest or vice-versa would be foolish. It would also be a bad idea to try deadlifting the day after squats. The next choice is how many workouts per week total. Three to five is the best for most people, below that is not nearly enough work and above that will lead to quick overtraining. Some Example Workout Splits:
4-day: Chest/triceps, back/biceps, quads/hams/calves, shoulders/traps/forearms 5-day: Chest, Back, Shoulders, Legs, Arms. Those are just some ideas. If you want to work everything twice per week, obviously an even number of workout days are necessary, so here's an idea for a four day split with everything worked twice. Example 4-day Split With Everything Worked Twice:
Back/hamstrings/biceps/side & rear delts And with the above, every workout would be done twice per week. The question then is how to split up the workouts. Should every workout involve all those sets and exercises in both days? Of course not, each workout would take two hours. Split the sets in half, and for ultimate variety, make half the muscles all high reps and half low reps, then switch it for the second work out. What Order Do I Work My Muscles In? The next question is what order to do muscles in. A rule of thumb is to go from the big muscles to the smaller ones. It's much easier to get all the necessary work in your triceps after working chest than vice versa. Some say that a muscle requires fewer sets if it's done directly after a companion muscle (triceps after chest), but I disagree. Doing this means that the muscle will only get worked once for the entire week, so it needs the combined effort that would have been put into it were the muscle worked on chest day then by itself on a later day. So let's put together a potential Chest/Triceps workout: Sample Chest/Tricep Workout:
Cable Crossovers: 2x20
You'll notice I did not put in the tricep warmup set. Simple reasoning for this is, the triceps got worked plenty on the presses, so they've got the blood in them and are primed for some direct work. What Is A 3-day Schedule Mean?
4 day schedules can also be done on a two on, one off schedule (the whole cycle is done in six days), a three day split can do be a three on, two off (the whole thing done in five days), you get the idea. Obviously "on" means a workout day, "off" means a rest day. Some examples of where "on" days could go in a week-long cycle:
4 day: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 5 day: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday And there you have it. All the exercises, and the techniques behind workout and split construction. Later sections of the guide will address diet, rest, and the life of a bodybuilder. If you have any questions, e-mail me at ratpac03@charter.net. Check back soon for part two! Until next time, Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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Midrange: 
You're probably also wondering what a "3 day" schedule means. Generally
that means that's how many days a week are workout days. It can also mean
(more generally) that there are x workouts in a given workout cycle, for
most people that just means one week.
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