Training / Strength And Speed
LEGITIMATE HARDCORE EXERCISES:
CRUNCHES
At first, it might not seem like there’s anything “hardcore” about crunches; after all, there’s no barbells, dumbbells, or Smith machines involved – it’s just you and gravity working against each other. But take a seat and try busting through 5 or 6 sets without any rest: that burn you’re feeling around you midsection is about as hardcore as it gets. The truth is, washboard abs come out only if you combine the right diet with an effective training schedule. Do that, and you’ll have abdominal muscles larger than moguls on a mountainside.
If you’re reading this, we’re going to assume you’ve already got the diet down pretty solid (for more, see the Diet section of the website). The good news is, that’s half the battle; if your abs are showing, it’s a good sign you’re in peak physical condition – lean and strong. But if you really want your midsection to look iron-like, you’ve got to train it… hard. The best way to do this is to focus your efforts on both the upper and lower abdominals. For this reason, two separate exercises might be necessary: Standard Crunches for upper emphasis, and Vertical Bench Crunches for lower emphasis.
The Standard Crunch:
1. Lie on your back on the floor (gym floor a little grungy? Grab an exercise mat or a towel), hands behind your head or in front of you. Rest your legs across a flat bench in front of you, or keep your feet flat on the floor – whichever works best to give you stability.
2. Without lifting your entire back off the floor, curl your shoulders and trunk upward toward your knees, rounding your back, concentrating on crunching the abdominal area. Your shoulder blades should come up off the ground, but your lower back should still be on the floor. Give the abs an extra squeeze and repeat.
The Vertical Bench Crunch:
1. Position yourself within the Vertical Bench Machine so that you’re able to support your upper body on your elbows and forearms. Knees bent, lift your legs up so that they are just below ab-level (a 90-degree angle from your upper body).
2. From here, raise your knees up as far as possible, rounding your back. At the top, hold and crunch the abdominal muscles together, then lower your knees to ab-level. Repeat, keeping your knees from sinking below ab-level.
Neither of these exercises should be performed rapidly; like any muscle group, you want to work the abs in a controlled, methodical fashion. It’s equally important to remember that the abs need to be isolated to bring out their full shape and separation; in other words, you can’t rely on squats and deadlifts (which engage the abs as stabilizer units).
To get even more out of your Standard Crunches, try wedging a rolled-up towel under your lower back. Not only does this provides support, but the new angle created may force the abdominal muscles to work harder at the start of the exercise and give you more of a contraction throughout. You can also vary the angle of stress on the abs by raising and/or lowering foot position.
Of course, truly iron-like, bulletproof abs don’t come out from just two exercises alone. Remember, there are at least a dozen different ways to work the ab muscles – from roman chairs, to reverse crunches, to leg raises, to cable crunches, and so on. Switch things up every once and awhile so your abs can keep feeling the burn… and maintain the hardcore results you deserve.
TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
Primary Muscle Worked: Triceps
Big horseshoes. We’re not talking about the game you used to play in the backyard on weekends; we’re talking killer horseshoe tri’s – the kind that make everyone else’s jaw drop. If you want big arms, there’s nothing wrong with a pair of big, peaked biceps, but that’s just half of the equation; a big set of triceps will give your arms an even bigger look. Skull-crushers (also known as triceps extensions, nosebreakers, or head-bangers) effectively isolate and develop these muscles; they are the ammunition for the big guns. So put down that horseshoe and let’s get started.
Believe it or not, the triceps are actually built to be bigger than the biceps. Consequently, they need to be hit harder, heavier, and with more sets than the bi’s to get that full, strong-armed look. If you’re going to use skull-crushers in your routine (and you should), you’ve got to make sure to do them the right way – after all, drop that bar on your skull, and you’re going to have more than just a headache for the next couple of days. To start:
1. Lie along a flat bench, the top of your head at one end, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Using an overhand grip, take hold of a barbell (we strongly suggest an E-Z curl bar for proper form and isolation of the muscles) with your hands about 10 inches apart, and bring the bar to the midline of your chest.
2. Press the weight straight up over your chest until your arms are locked out. Unless you’re rotating your shoulders, the weight should end up behind the top of your head. Your arms should not be at a 90-degree angle.
3. Keeping your elbows otherwise stationary, lower the weight down to your forehead.
4. Repeat to failure.
Skull-crushers performed in this manner work the triceps all the way from the elbow up to the rear delt. It’s important to note that at the top of the movement, your arms should be at about a 15-degree angle for max contraction; this also ensures that the triceps are under constant tension from the weight. Skull-crushers that finish with your arms straight up transfer the tension from the muscle to the joint – reducing the workload as well as the results.
Pay careful attention to your arms during the exercise: the only movement should be in your forearms. To fully isolate the tri’s, your elbows should remain stationary; if you’re letting them flare out to the sides, you’re just not going to get the results you’re looking for.
When you can’t do another rep, you can still get more work out of the triceps by repping out with some close-grip presses. The tri’s are also hit well with dips, one-arm dumbbell kickbacks, cable pressdowns, and reverse cable pressdowns. Standing triceps presses, too, make a great alternative to developing the muscles.
“Almost” may count in the game of horseshoes, but when it comes to having horseshoe tri’s, either you’ve got them or you don’t. Make sure you’ve got them (or are working to get them) with the proper form and dedication to this important and impressive-looking set of muscles.
ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROWS
Primary Muscle Worked: Latissimus Dorsi
Secondary Muscles Worked: Posterior Deltoids, Teres Major & Minor, Rhomboids, Spinal Erectors
Think you’re a real gym rat? Better be able to back that statement up - literally. A strong back is key to a truly hardcore physique. A broad, mountainous upper back helps to tie in the shoulders and arms for a thick, well-rounded muscular look. Whether you’re an amateur or an IFBB pro, you can look tough from the front, but if you don’t have it in back, you’re only half the weightlifter you could be. The right exercises, however, can help develop an eye-popping mountain range of lats and other back muscles. Looking for a great way to hit them? Say hello to one-arm dumbbell rows.
The largest muscles of the upper body are located in your back. The lats are the large, triangular-shaped muscles that extend from the shoulders down to the small of the back on both sides. These can and probably should be worked from multiple angles, but if you’re writing the book on back, chapter one could be on one-arm dumbbell rows. To perform the exercise correctly:
1. While kneeling with your left knee at the midpoint of a flat bench (your left foot should just hang over the back end), bend forward at the waist and place your left hand on the forward end of the bench. Your right foot should be firmly on the floor planted slightly back of your left knee. With your free right hand, grab a dumbbell at arm’s length with your grip so that your palm faces inward and parallel to your chest.
2. Without heaving or jerking the weight, lift the dumbbell smoothly up to your side, at the point between the bottom of your lats and the top of your waist, concentrating on using your back to lift the weight instead of your arm. Keep your back flat, your torso stationary, and concentrate on initiating the movement by squeezing your scapula (shoulder blade) up and in towards your spine before you begin to bend at the elbow. This will have the effect of transferring the majority of the load off your biceps and onto your back muscles.
3. Slowly return to the starting position; repeat.
4. After you’ve finished the set, switch arms (and sides of the bench) and repeat.
One-arm dumbbell rows work each side of the back independently; by targeting each side of the back separately, you avoid the bilateral deficit that often occurs with consistent use of T-bar or barbell rows. Moving through a full range of motion, one-arm dumbbell rows allow you a full stretch at the bottom of the movement all the way through to an intense contraction at the top. Hit the lats one at a time, and you’ll be able to do so harder and heavier – and the results will be even more impressive.
Developing a thick, massive back is crucial to a quality physique. But that “V-shape” isn’t grown overnight. Wide-grip chin-ups, close-grip chins, pulldowns, deadlifts, and wide variety of rows can all be incorporated to work the lats from numerous angles and give your workouts greater variation. So what are you waiting for? Put your back into it.
OVERHEAD DUMBBELL PRESSES
Primary Muscle Worked:
Front Delts
Secondary Muscles Worked:
Side Delts, Triceps
No matter how big your bi’s and tri’s are, your arms would be completely useless without your shoulders. The muscles of the shoulder – the deltoids – are the only muscles that rotate and lift the arm. Without them, you arms would be stuck at your sides; the range of motion you put your arms through every day would completely disappear. Working the shoulder muscles hard in the gym gives you the strength you need to power through all kinds of movements. Add overhead dumbbell presses to your routine, and you’re setting the deltoids on a path to thick monster-sized muscle.
Overhead dumbbell presses train the front and side heads of the deltoids. The movement itself is military presses, except that with military presses, you’re using a barbell; a pair of dumbbells gives you a greater range of motion and calls on the muscle not only to lift but also to stabilize the weight as well. The overhead dumbbell press can be completed in two steps:
1. Sitting on an upright bench feet shoulder-width apart, grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at shoulder height with your palms facing out and slightly in. Keep your back straight, shoulders back, and chest out.
2. Lift the dumbbells straight up, turning your palms out completely as you do, until your arms are fully extended and the dumbbells touch at the top of the movement. At this point, the dumbbells should be centered directly above your head. Slowly lower the weight to the starting position, or as far as possible to ensure a wide range of motion.
It may seem easy enough, but overhead dumbbell presses are actually a deceptively tricky. You must have a very good sense of balance to effectively lift large amounts of weight, but in lighter amounts, it may be hard to feel whether or not the weight is leaning too far forward or backward. Some tips:
| DO | DON’T |
| Keep the weight balanced, your head and torso in a straight line | Lean back or lean forward – this means your poundage is too heavy |
| maintain a slow, steady press, keeping tension in the muscles at all times | Relax your abs or lower back – they help to stabilize the movement |
| Exhale as you push the dumbbells overhead | Sway or rock your body to gain momentum |
| Inhale as you bring the dumbbells back down | Lose control of the weight; keep the dumbbells balanced on both sides |
One more important tip: if you’re lifting some very seriously-sized dumbbells, you may want to hoist them to the starting position using your thighs as a springboard. Lifting heavy poundages this way helps you to avoid injuring your back. A weight belt might also be helpful for the same reason.
If you’re looking for some variation, overhead dumbbell presses can also be done standing, but this requires superior balance; lighter weights should be used to start.
BARBELL CURLS
Primary Muscle Worked: Biceps
Flip through the latest copy of your favorite physical fitness mag, and you’ll see why the biceps are such popular muscles. When you work the biceps in the gym, you can see them pump and bulge more than any other muscle (no wonder you like hitting biceps poses). But in order to hit a good pose, you’ve got to hit the bi’s, and there are a number of ways to hit them. From preacher curls and hammer curls to concentration curls and cable curls, it might seem like your workout’s got more curls than a lock of Richard Simmons’ hair (yuck). But it’s time to get back to basic training – the barbell curl is one of the most popular and effective exercises for building quality biceps.
One of the most basic and most popular of biceps exercises, standing barbell curls are great for developing the overall size of the biceps. A straightforward approach to this lift that incorporates the proper form will get you the arms you’ve been working hard to achieve. There are 3 steps to a barbell curl:
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell (either a regular barbell curl or an E-Z curl) in an underhand grip, keeping your hands shoulder-width apart. Your shoulders, hands, and feet should make two straight lines through your body. Let the bar hang down at arm’s length in front of you, keeping your back straight.
2. Curl the bar up and out in a wide semi-circle, bringing it up as high as you can without moving your elbows. Your elbows should stay in against your body the entire time. Continue to flex the biceps hard at the top of the movement.
3. Lower the weight, following the same range of motion. Resist the weight the entire way until your arms are fully extended.
With this exercise, it’s very important to maintain an strong range of motion, so unless you’re doing cheat curls (more on that in a minute), you shouldn’t be leaning one way or another. A few more tips:
| DO | DON’T |
| Keep strict form; doing so keeps all of the Resistance on the biceps | Rely to heavily on your back and shoulder muscles |
| Keep your elbows in; this means the biceps are still supporting all the weight | Move your elbows; this allows the biceps to rest as joints do the work |
| Keep your elbows down while the biceps lift the arm | Let your elbows come out; this won’t isolate the biceps and uses the delts |
By altering your hand position on the bar, you can also change the way the biceps are worked. Holding the bar with a closer grip, for example, puts more stress on the outside part of the biceps. At the same time, adopting a wider grip gives you the chance to hit the inner part of the biceps.
When it comes to variety, you’ve got a lot of options, and cheat curls offer up a great way to blast the bi’s. Cheat curls are a lot like regular barbell curls, but you do call on the strength of your back and shoulders to help your arms in lifting greater amounts of weight. You’re still keeping your elbows stationary at the waist, but because you’re using an amount of weight that makes it very difficult to do only a few regular barbell curls, your back and shoulder muscles provide the strength needed to keep the set going.