Training Styles for Ensuring Continued Muscle Growth

In previous posts, I have already described the basic principles for adequately stimulate your muscles and induce them growing. However, even these basic principles become useless if you repeat them each and every day. This occurs because of muscle adaptation, which makes unnecessary adding new muscle for handling the same workload. For this reason, I have already pointed to the need of periodically changing your routine, by modifying parameters such as the number of sets, the number of reps per set, the exercises, etc. This is one part of the equation. In addition, you need an overall strategy to be used as a reference for the changes you do in the routine. This post describes some well-known training styles that can be used to implement this strategy, contributing to avoid stagnation, break plateaus and maintain constant progress.

Probably the most important training style for ensuring continued muscle growth is periodization (a.k.a. cycle training). The basic idea is splitting up your training into chapters, where each successive chapter is sufficiently different from the last to elicit more muscle growth. This difference is accomplished by changing some routine variables from one chapter to the next. These variables include the number of reps per set, the number of sets per exercise, the number of exercises per muscle, the exercise selection per muscle, the tempo, the rest between sets, etc. Notice that the number of chapters you can design is almost unlimited, though probably the two most common chapters are “Heavy” (i.e. low reps, heavy weight) and “Light” (i.e. high reps, light weight). The reason for this is two-fold. First, since heavy training puts a lot of strain on the muscular as well as the nervous system, alternating it with light training gives your body a chance to recover and prevents overtraining. Second, while heavy training hits more fast-twitch muscle fibers, light training focus more on slow-twitch fibers. Alternating both, you can fully work all your muscles fibers. Typically, each chapter lasts from 3 to 6 weeks, enough time to determine whether it worked or not, but not too much time to halt your progress again.

Second training style comes from a common situation: After sticking with an exercise for some weeks, one surely would be able to increase the weight and do the same number of reps, or increase the number of reps while using the same weight. This results from muscle adaptation. Obviously, if you decide not to increase the number of reps or the weight, you are not taking your muscles to the maximum, and therefore, you are not forcing them to grow. In order to maintain a constant challenge to the body, progressive overload training style aims for increasing at least one training variable every workout. This can be achieved in a variety of forms such as increasing the reps per set, slowing down the tempo, increasing the weight, decreasing rest time between sets, etc. Unfortunately, it can occur that in some workouts you are not able to increase any variable. Factors causing this include inadequate nutrition and/or rest during the previous days, sickness, injury, mental barriers or overtraining. Identify what are the causes in your case, and respond appropriately.

Traditional training style involves going for the heaviest weight for the desired number of reps for a working set just after having warmed up properly. However, continually training in this way will let you soon or later to a strength plateau. A good way to break/avoid this plateau is introducing periodically pyramiding training style in your routine. With pyramiding, each successive set is done with heavier weight and less repetitions. For instance, if you are performing 3 sets for an exercise, use light weight to get 12 reps on the first set, then increase the weight in the second set so you can get 10 reps, and in the third set increase the weight again in order to reach only 8 reps. Additionally, you can also use reverse pyramiding. In this style, each successive set is done with lighter weight and more repetitions, which allows you lifting maximum poundage before being excessively fatigued.

Further information on these training styles can be found in the “Training Principles” section of Muscle 101 site, while the article “Periodization: The Key To Continuous Gains!” by Matt Danielsson goes deeper into periodization.

Playing with Intensity for Profitable Cardiovascular Sessions

The intensity of cardiovascular training is one of the most important parameters for obtaining the maximum profit of your sessions. Different intensity settings allow focusing on burning fat or improving the endurance. This post details the different goals that can be achieved by adequately setting your intensity and provides pointers for being able to set this intensity easily.

The intensity of cardiovascular training is typically measured with respect to the target heart rate. Traditionally, several training zones have been distinguished. Anything above 85% is considered anaerobic training. Low intensity zone (50-60%) is intended for warming-up or burning calories without stressing the body, though burning a significant amount of calories requires a lot of time. This zone is also a good choice for people just getting started with cardiovascular training or returning from an injury.

The 60-70% heart rate zone is commonly referred as the fat-burning zone, because here the higher percentage of burned calories comes from fat: over 65% according to performed studies. For this reason, this zone is a great option for burning fat with minimal muscle breakdown. Notice that this does not mean that this is the necessary zone for burning fat. In fact, you can burn fat in other zones, as described later.

Aerobic zone (70-85%) is mainly intended for improving endurance, but can be also used for burning fat. In fact, though only the 45% of burned calories will come from fat, this zone can burn a higher amount of fat calories than the fat-burning zone, due to the increased intensity. However, this must be approached with caution, since muscle protein wasted in this zone is also higher. For this reason, it is important to maintain also your effort on weight training to avoid losing muscle. An added benefit of cardiovascular training, especially noticeable when training in the aerobic zone, is that it maintains your metabolism elevated for some hours after ending training, which improves your capability for burning fat during these hours.

Calculating your target heart rate (THR) requires knowing first your maximum heart rate (MHR). The MHR can be theoretically defined as the most times that your heart can safely beat in the span of one minute. There are several methods for calculating your MHR. In the simplest one, the MHR results from subtracting 220 minus your age. This method works quite well, but if you want a more accurate value of the MHR, you can use the Tanaka method, where the MHR results from the following formula: 208 - 0.7 x age. Once you have the MHR, you can obtain the target heart rate by multiplying the MHR by the percentage in which you want to stay (e.g. MHR x 0.65).

It has been speculated that the above methods for determining the MHR are not very accurate, since they only depend on the age. Of course, individuals with the same age can have different sized hearts, stroke volume, blood pressure, resting heart rates, etc. which will contribute to different MHR among them. According to this, some improvements of the formula for calculating the THR have been proposed. One of them is known as the adjusted heart rate or Karvonnen formula. This method takes also into account the resting heart rate by removing it from the MHR before applying the percentage.

Let’s see an example comparing all the discussed methods. Suppose a 25 years old person, who has a resting heart rate of 60, and wants to stay at the 80% of his maximum. His target heart rate using the traditional method will be (220 – 25) x 0.8 = 156. Using the Tanaka method, it will be (208 – 0.7 x 25) x 0.8 = 152.4. Using the Karvonnen formula, it will be (((220 – 25) – 60) x 0.8) + 60 = 168.

You can find further information about the importance of intensity in cardiovascular training in the article “Priming the Cardio System” by Matt Danielsson, and the article “Heart Matters: Are You Training Your Heart?” by Jeremy Likness.

Contribution of Cardiovascular Training in a Successful Bodybuilding Program

Traditionally, a significant amount of bodybuilders has deprecated cardiovascular training, concentrating only on building muscle mass. Nevertheless, bodybuilding’s goal is not only being huge, but also lean and defined. Although proper dieting is the main (and mandatory) instrument to achieve muscle definition, cardiovascular training can strongly contribute in this process. For this reason, this post goes through the basic guidelines for incorporating cardiovascular training into a bodybuilding program.

Regular cardiovascular training has three main benefits for the bodybuilder, namely enhancing overall health (especially the cardiovascular system), improving endurance for exercising, and burning calories in the form of body fat. The latter makes it a prime component in all fat loss programs. However, cardiovascular training must be carefully incorporated in your program, in order to reduce its negative impact on muscle growth. Remember that the more cardiovascular exercise you do, the more muscle tissue your body starts to use for energy after it becomes depleted of glycogen.

The most important aspects to be considered for successfully incorporating cardiovascular training to your bodybuilding program are the intensity of the sessions, their duration and frequency, and their timing in your daily routine.

The intensity of cardiovascular training is typically measured with respect to the target heart rate. Optimal fat burn is achieved in the 60-70% heart rate zone. Lower intensity (50-60%) burns more percentage of fat calories, but the total amount is not very high. Higher intensity (70-85%) improves endurance and burns more fat calories indeed, but muscle protein wasted is also higher. According to this, stay in the zone more convenient for your interests. Additionally, you can also use ‘interval training’, which consists of varying the training intensity during the exercise by moving between the different heart rate zones. This has demonstrated to be very effective for losing fat.

Duration and frequency of cardiovascular training depends on your goals. During the bulking phases, where the main goal is building muscle, you should do cardio sparingly. When losing fat, the key for deciding the duration and frequency of cardiovascular sessions is maximizing the number of burned calories while avoiding muscle breakdown. Best results use to be obtained with sessions of 30-40 minutes, 3-4 times a week.

It is commonly stated that the most effective moment to do cardio is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. In this point, you have been without food for many hours, and this will force your body to burn body fat as energy source, since your carbohydrate stores are empty. However, this also applies to your protein stores, and cardiovascular exercise in these conditions can induce muscle breakdown. Having a protein shake before the cardiovascular session can overcome this problem.

Some people locate their cardiovascular sessions directly before/after their weight training workout. However, this is not recommended. Doing cardio before the workout depletes glycogen stores. This leaves you with less energy to lift weights, making the workout ineffective. Cardio after the workout might help you to burn some additional body fat, but high cortisol levels in this situation will put you in a catabolic state, inducing muscle breakdown and hindering growth. A sensible advice is to keep your cardiovascular training on your days off. If this is not possible, keep it separated from the workout at least 8 hours.

You can find further advice on how to incorporate cardiovascular training to your bodybuilding program in the article “Don't Just Do Cardio, Do It Right!” by James Cipriani, the article “Not All Cardio Is Created Equal” by Mike Hajoway, and the “Cardio” section of Muscle 101 site.

Advanced Training Techniques for High Intensity Workouts

In a previous post, I described some basic techniques to increase training intensity, which is mandatory for stimulating the muscles and inducing them to grow. This post presents more of these techniques, probably not as popular as the previous ones but that can be a good complement when developing your training program. However, some of them must be carefully used, whether because they are very demanding and can lead to overtraining if abused, or because they are intended for very specific purposes, and can be counterproductive if wrongly used. The techniques covered in this post include giant sets, eccentric training, partial reps, and cheat reps.

The concept of a superset can be generalized to a composition of any number of different exercises for one particular body-part performed without rest, which is known as giant set. Typically, the exercises are performed in an order such that you lift the heavier weight first and the lighter weight last. This is not a common technique since it requires high effort and concentration to be accomplished and it cannot be used with all body-parts (probably only back training can take real profit of this technique). The particular case of a giant set where you do three exercises for one body-part is commonly referred as tri set.

Eccentric training exploits the negative part of the exercises (when going from contraction to rest). Studies have shown that this type of training results in greater fiber activation than concentric training, resulting in an increment in muscle mass and physical power. The key of eccentric training is handling a weight that you cannot lift. This can be accomplished in two ways. The first, sometimes referred as ‘forced negatives’, applies when you reach failure in a regular set. At this point, a spotter helps you thoroughly to accomplish the positive part, and then you slowly bring back the weight to the resting position, repeating this process for 2 to 4 reps. Second possibility consists of using eccentric training since the beginning of the set, i.e. do eccentric-only contractions. Load a weight about 125% of your one rep max and focus on controlling this weight during the negative phase of the movement, while one or more spotters perform the positive part. Notice that in both cases having a spotter is mandatory to perform this technique. Eccentric training is very demanding and if done too frequently can lead to overtraining.

Partial reps consist of moving the weight through a partial range of motion. They can be done anywhere in an exercise range of motion. When used in the strongest part, they can contribute to pack additional size by emphasizing the contraction of the muscle. When used in the weakest part, they can help to get through sticking points. Partial reps can also be used to extend a set once you reach failure. Notice that this technique goes against one of the basic principles of bodybuilding, namely using full range of motion. For this reason, it must be used only for one of purposes commented before, since wrongly used or overused, it can exacerbate muscle imbalances.

Cheat reps can be applied when you reach failure and cannot do any more reps with good form. At this point, you can use a bit of body swing or momentum to help get the weight past the sticking point. This technique must be carefully used, since cheating excessively, may lead you to injury. Cheat only to work the muscle harder, not to make the exercise easier, maintaining always the focus on the worked muscle. Probably arm and leg muscles are those that can obtain more benefit with this technique.

I’ll go in detail on these techniques in future posts but, in the meanwhile, you can check the article “Training Styles: Which One is Best for You” by James Sadek, the article “The 16 Most Advanced Intensity Building Techniques” by Nick Nilsson, and the article “A Question Of Intensity” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Basic Training Techniques for High Intensity Workouts

Achieving high intensity in your workouts is mandatory for stimulating your muscles and inducing them to grow. However, plain sets and reps are often not enough for advanced bodybuilders for achieving the needed intensity levels. To deal with this, many specialized techniques intended to increase the training intensity exist. This post introduces some of these techniques, namely supersets, pre-exhaust training, forced reps, rest-pause training, and drop sets.

A superset is a composition of two exercises performed consecutively in a row with virtually no rest between them. Supersets are especially useful when the training time is limited. Two types of supersets can be distinguished. In the first one, you superset two exercises for two different body-parts (typically two antagonistic body-parts). This allows recovering each body-part while working the other one. Typical antagonistic body-parts that can benefit from this technique include biceps/triceps, but also chest/back or quadriceps/hamstrings. In the second one, you superset two exercises for the same body-part. This allows hitting a muscle from two different angles (or hitting different heads of a muscle) without rest. You can superset any two exercises basically, but it is generally more of application when referring to pre-exhaust training (see next paragraph).

Pre-exhaust training consists of doing an isolation exercise followed by a compound exercise for a given body-part. The isolated exercise fatigues the major muscle and, for this reason, during the compound exercise the smaller and weaker secondary muscles must come into action, which allows pushing the major muscle harder. Typically, weight in the isolation exercise is light to moderate and reps are usually in the higher range. Pre-exhaust training can be approached in two different ways. One consists of first doing all the sets of the isolation exercise and the move to the compound exercise. The other uses the superset concept, namely first doing one set of the isolation exercise and then, without rest, doing a set of the compound one. In fact, the pre-exhaust concept can be extended to an entire workout, for instance by doing triceps first, followed by chest. This applies also to biceps and back, shoulders and chest, or calves and thighs.

Forced reps involve working a body-part to failure. When you reach failure, a spotter gives you a very gentle lift to finish the rep and squeeze out the muscle a bit more. As you can see, the utilization of a spotter is essential in this technique, but providing more a mental boost than actual help. In this sense, typical abuse with this technique comes when the trainer relies on the spotter for assistance during most of the set. Notice that properly executed, this is a very demanding technique, and it should not be done for every set.

Rest-Pause training is similar to forced reps, but when you reach failure, instead of getting help from the spotter, you put the weight back on the rack for a few seconds. Then you do a few more reps until failing again, and repeat this process until you get the desired total number of reps. This technique is useful when a spotter is not present and it is very effective for getting past sticking points.

A drop set entails performing a set of any exercise to failure, then drop some weight (the necessary to maintain the same number reps) and, with little or no rest, continue for more repetitions with the reduced poundage until failing again. Notice that a spotter is recommended to keep rest time short (by helping you to drop the weight). Several names are used to refer to this technique, including breakdowns, descending sets, or strip sets, and it entails also a lot of variations, such as the double-drop (reduce the weight once), the triple-drop (reduce the weight twice), or the down-the-rack sets (use every consecutive set of dumbbells down a rack).

Remember that these techniques are great for increasing your training intensity, stimulating in this way muscle growth, but they are also very demanding on the muscular and nervous systems, taking longer to recover totally. For this reason, using them too often (especially those moving around the failure concept), can lead you to overtraining.

I’ll go in detail on these techniques in future posts but, in the meanwhile, you can check the article “Training Styles: Which One is Best for You” by James Sadek, the article “The 16 Most Advanced Intensity Building Techniques” by Nick Nilsson, and the article “A Question Of Intensity” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Warm-up for Gaining Muscle while Preventing Injury

Probably almost everyone would agree that adequate warm-up is mandatory for having an injury-free workout while achieving maximum performance. In spite of this, a considerable amount of people go into their routines without warming up or with a deficient warm-up. This post reviews the importance of warm-up for bodybuilders, and provides some guidelines for warming up properly.

Warm-up plays an important role in bodybuilding. It prepares the body and the nervous system for physical activity. In addition, it increases muscles and joints lubrication and blood flow to the muscles, making them more suitable for weight training. More importantly, warm-up reduces the risk of injury by increasing muscles flexibility and gradually preparing them to the upcoming workout.

For accomplishing an adequate warm-up, the first stage, before any intensive training, must be a general low-intensity aerobic activity, such as light jogging, stationary cycling, jumping rope, or rowing machine, for about 5 minutes, just long enough to raise the body temperature, get the blood flowing and generally prepare the body for activity. After this aerobic activity, you can finish this phase of the warm-up with some light stretching.

At this point, you can move to the weight room. However, even though you have had a general body warm-up, you need additional warm-up for the muscle which you are about to train. Defining this specific warm-up can be tricky, because you must gradually prepare the muscle to handle heavy weights without injuring yourself, but at the same time you do not want to be fatigued when facing your working sets.

A good way for approaching this problem is as follows. Start by giving the muscle a light pump by completing one set of 10-12 reps with a very easy weight (e.g. 40-50% of the working sets weight). Then, in order to gradually habituate the muscle to the heavy weights it will have to handle during the working sets, perform 2-3 sets with low reps (2-5) in a pyramiding fashion, increasing progressively the weight until reaching the 80-90% of the working sets weight, while decreasing the reps. Do not rest too much between these sets (preferably less than 1 minute). Once you have finished all the warm-up sets, rest 2-3 minutes before starting the working sets.

Let’s see an example applied to bench press exercise. Assuming that working sets consist of 6 reps with 100kg (100x6), an adequate warm-up can be as follows: 40x10, 60x4, 75x2 and 85x1. Obviously, this is not a fixed scheme. The needed amount of warm-up sets will depend on the intensity of the exercise. The lower the reps you are performing on the working sets, the more warm-up sets you should do. The higher the reps, the fewer warm-up sets you may need.

This specific muscle warm-up is not necessary on every exercise in a workout. You have to do it only for the first exercise for each muscle group. Once the muscles are warm any further warm-up is just wasting energy. An exception can be made if the following exercise hits the muscle in a substantially different way with respect to the first.

Finally, in the same way that you warm up before starting the workout, it is also a good practice to do some cool down after training. A proper cool down usually consists of 5 minutes of walking or riding a stationary bike at a relatively slow pace, so that your breathing should be able to return to a relaxed pattern and your heart rate should slow. After that, you can follow with some stretching exercises.

Further information about warming up can be found in the article “Warming Up For Mass Gains!” by Shannon Pittman and the article “How Important Is Warming Up?”

Stretching for Safe and Successful Muscle Development

Most bodybuilders neglect stretching in their training program, though a flexible body is an essential requirement for proper muscle development. This post reviews the importance of stretching for bodybuilders, and provides hints about how to incorporate stretching into your program.

Benefits of stretching are numerous. It contributes greatly in preventing muscle injuries (strains, sprains, and pulls) and in delivering blood into the muscle. For this reason, stretching after workout is highly recommended, since the nutrient rich blood can easily reach the fatigued muscle so it can recover and start growing as soon as possible. In addition, stretching makes you bigger and more powerful by lengthening your muscles, and at the same time contributes to give you a cut-look by emphasizing muscle separation. Finally, stretching reduces muscle and joint tensions and plays a role in the healing process of injured or over-trained muscles.

Stretching can be performed after warm-up, once you have finished your workout, or even between sets while training, but never when muscles are still cold. A good approach consists of performing some stretching between sets targeting the muscle that you are currently working. This allows more fresh blood to access the muscle, reducing the lactic acid buildup and giving you more power for the next set. Then, once you have finished working that muscle, you can perform a more thorough stretching, which acts as the "cool down" phase of your workout. This will help to increase muscle size and to reduce soreness.

Whenever you stretch, it is mandatory to do it properly, since stretching is a dangerous type of exercise if done incorrectly. Never force a stretch or go past the point of serious discomfort or pain. Do not bounce at all as this can cause muscle and tendon/ligament damage. You should start gently stretching as far as you can go, that is, until you hit a natural stop which does not hurt but will do so if you keep pushing beyond that point. Hold this position for about 20 seconds without bouncing. Then, contract the muscle statically for 8-10 seconds and gently stretch it again until it stops and maintain this position during 20 seconds more. When doing this second stretch, you will notice that the stopping point has moved, thus enabling you to safely stretch beyond what was previously possible. The reason behind this lies in the body's natural defense mechanism. During the first stretch, in order to prevent tearing a ligament, the muscle that connects to these ligaments tenses trying to resist the pull. By contracting the muscle, your defense mechanism gives out, and you can stretch into a further position.

You can find additional information about all the stretching issues for the bodybuilder in the article “Stretching and the Bodybuilder!”, the article “Contract-Release Stretch” by Matt Danielsson and the chapter “How to Become Flexible” of the book “The Insider’s Tell-All Handbook On Weight-Training Technique” by Stuart McRobert, which includes also a complete program for improving your flexibility. Additionally, you can find a great amount of stretching exercises for the different muscles in the “Exercise Instruction & Kinesiology” section of the ExRx.net site.

Proper Training for the Abdominals

This post concludes (at last!) the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper abdominal training.

Classical aim of bodybuilders has been achieving six-pack shaped abdominals. However, only training is unproductive to achieve this. Surely, you will not see your abdominals unless you eliminate the layer of fat covering them. Effective fat loss can only be accomplished with a proper clean diet in conjunction with cardiovascular exercise (I’ll go deeper on this in a future post). In spite of this, you must not neglect the abdominal work, because it can contribute to the whole picture providing muscle definition and thickening. And more importantly, abdominal work contributes also to prevent injury, since the abdominal muscles are heavily involved in maintaining the posture (along with the lower back), and they act as a stabilizer in almost every exercise.

What is commonly referred as the abdominal body-part is comprised of several muscles, namely the rectus abdominis, the obliques and the transversus abdominis. The rectus abdominis runs down the front of your stomach and its primary function is to flex the trunk. It is a single muscle and, as such, the whole muscle contracts when exercised. Because of this, we cannot really differentiate lower from upper abdominals, though some exercises can put slightly more emphasis in one area than in the other. The obliques, which run down the side of your stomach, have two heads, namely the external oblique and the internal oblique, and though these muscles contribute to abdominal flexion, they are mainly activated through rotation and lateral flexion (e.g. bending from side to side). The transversus abdominis lies underneath the rectus abdominis, and it is responsible for stabilizing the trunk during lifting movements and pulling your stomach flat. Finally, although they are not part of the abdominal core, the serratus anterior and the intercostals muscles, which lie just above the rib cage, contribute also to your abdominal look.

In the past, abdominal training relied on exercises such as sit-ups or straight-leg raises. However, these exercises are based on flexing the hip joint instead of flexing the trunk. For this reason, they primarily involve the iliopsoas muscle, contributing to increase your waist size, while the abdominals are not trained in a productive way, because they are merely exhausted in prolonged static work for preventing your spine from breaking off.

Proper way of training the rectus abdominis must involve decreasing the distance between the ribcage and the pelvis, for example, bringing the chest toward the hips, as occurs in crunches, or bringing the hips toward the chest, as occurs in reverse crunches and hip raises. Obliques training must be approached with caution, because too much oblique development will make you appear blocky, ruining your X-frame. Just in case you need some oblique definition, use exercises with a twisting motion, but with none or very little resistance, and aiming for a good stretch. Side bends can be another option, but also with extremely light weights. Training the transversus abdominis is important for avoiding that your abdominals begin to protrude and for improving your abdominal control. This muscle is engaged using bridges and vacuums. The serratus anterior and the intercostals work synergistically and are best trained using straight-arm pushdowns and pullovers.

Train your abdominals once, or at most twice a week, preferably after the other muscles. Use at least 2 or 3 exercises. People generally use none or low resistance, but you can occasionally experiment with more resistance for giving some relief to your abs (not with obliques!). Finally, perform all the exercises in controlled motion and hold the contractions for a count.

If you need more information for designing your abdominal workout, you can read the article “Atrocious Abs: A Guide to a Rock-Hard Midsection” by Matt Danielsson or the article “Intelligent Abdominal Training for Athletes and Bodybuilders!” by Ben Black.

Proper Training for the Calves

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper calves training.

Calf muscles have been traditionally neglected arguing that they are very difficult to develop because progress in these muscles is heavily determined by genetics. Although is true that some people are genetically gifted with great calves, the rest of us can achieve good improvements in calves with adequate and intense training.

The calves body-part comprises mainly two muscles, namely the gastrocnemius, which is located at the top rear end of the lower leg, and the soleus, which lies underneath the gastrocnemius. The gastrocnemius is made up of two heads, the medial head (a.k.a. inner head) and the lateral head (a.k.a. outer head), and provides the major part of the mass of the lower leg. Usually, another muscle called tibialis anterior, which runs up the front of the lower leg, is considered within this body-part, since it has related functionality. In fact, all these muscles are the responsible of foot movement (flexion, extension and rotation).

Unlike is commonly believed, calves must be trained in the same way you train the other body-parts. Training them intensely does not mean to train them everyday. Train calves once a week, hitting them hard and then let them rest. Use at least 2 to 3 exercises for stimulating the different muscles that comprise this body-part. The gastrocnemius is worked with all standing calf raises versions (with a barbell, one leg version with a dumbbell in one hand, in a leg press machine or in a specialized machine) and with donkey calf raises, while the soleus is trained using seated calf raises. All these exercises are based on the same motion, that is pushing the body up on the toes and return to the original position, letting the heels drop down for having a deeper stretch. On the other side, the tibialis anterior is stimulated with the reverse version of all calf raises exercises.

Due to its fibers composition, optimal calf development occurs as a response to the combination of two training styles, namely heavy weight and low reps, and lighter weight for higher reps. Form is fundamental in calf training. The proper way is to perform the exercises slow and strict, using full range of motion, emphasizing the contraction in the top of the movement, and giving the muscle a deep stretch in the bottom. Some people claim that pointing the toes in different directions stimulates different areas of the calves. There are different opinions with respect to this issue. Try it, and check what works better for you. Finally, don't forget to fully stretch the calves at the end of your workout.

If you need more information for designing your calves workout, you can read the article “Killer Calf Training!” by Jim Brewster or the article “Training the Hamstrings and Calves!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Hamstrings

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper hamstrings training.

In the quadriceps post, we already discussed the importance of training your legs for achieving a proportionate physique. However, some people tend to do only quadriceps dominant exercises when training legs, forgetting about the other muscles of the upper thigh. Of course, this is not recommended either, because you will ruin the muscular balance, which is not also an aesthetic problem, but also can lead you to injury.

The hamstring body-part comprises the major part of the back of the thigh and performs two major functions, namely hip extension and knee flexion, but also assists in knee rotation movements (medial and lateral rotation). The hamstring is made up of 4 different heads: the long head of the biceps femoris, the short head of the biceps femoris, the semimembranosus and the semitendinosus.

For proper development of the hamstrings, you'll need at least 2 or 3 exercises including movements for exercising the two major functions of the hamstrings: knee flexion and hip extension. The first is accomplished using leg curls, which is an analogous exercise to biceps curls. You can choose among seated, lying, or standing versions, though the one-legged versions have the added benefit of avoid muscle unbalances. Use always a full range of motion and squeeze your hamstrings at the top of the movement. You can vary your foot position (inward, neutral, or outward) to shift the focus among the different hamstrings heads.

The second is accomplished using stiff-leg deadlifts (or variations such as Romanian deadlifts). This is a power exercise that has demonstrated to be very effective for stimulating the hamstrings fibers, involving in addition other muscles such as the glutes or the lower back. This is an isometric exercise because the muscle contracts without significant movement (a.k.a. static tension). Proper form is essential when performing stiff-leg deadlifts, because bad form will put your lower back in a potentially injurious position. Bend at the hips while keeping your back straight and knees slightly bent during the whole movement. Do not fully stretch the legs at any point. As you descend, your butt should move back slightly and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. This form can be difficult to master, hence practice a lot and start using light weights.

Hamstrings are also involved to a certain extend when training other body-parts such as the quadriceps (e.g. when doing lunges) or the lower back (e.g. when doing hyperextensions or good mornings). For this reason, some typical workout splits place the hamstrings routine in the quadriceps day (for instance when these two parts are supersetted), while others advocate for splitting legs routine among several days and place hamstrings workout together with the lower back.

If you need more information for designing your hamstrings workout, you can read the article “Hamstring Paradigm!” by Charles Poliquin or the article “Training the Hamstrings and Calves!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Quadriceps

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper quadriceps training.

Leg workout is certainly the most skipped, probably because while training legs you suffer as with no other body-part. However, leg muscles comprise about 50% of your body mass, thus their training is mandatory if you want to achieve a proportionate physique.

The quadriceps is the muscle that comprises the major part of the front of the thigh, and its main function is to extend and straighten the leg. As the name implies, the quadriceps is made up of 4 heads: the rectus femoris, the vastus intermedius, the vastus medialis (a.k.a. inner head), and the vastus lateralis (a.k.a. outer head). Despite this complexity, balanced quadriceps development is not difficult, since all the heads are involved in almost all quadriceps exercises. You can only shift the focus to inner or outer head to some extend by varying your feet stance in some exercises (e.g. squats).

An adequate quadriceps workout should consist of 3 o 4 exercises. The squat is a basic compound movement that builds overall power and strength and it is the most effective way for developing the quadriceps, hence it should be present in almost every quadriceps routine. The squat has the added value of all the exercises that move the body and not the weight, namely stimulating your hormonal release. This exercise is relatively safe if you use correct form, though it is not easy to master, so you have to practice a lot. Keep your back straight and the head fixed in a straight line looking ahead of you during the whole movement, while bending through your knees. Control the weight during all the exercise and use a full range of motion (but without locking out the knees at the top of the motion).

Although none of them can substitute squats, there other good exercises for completing your quadriceps routine. You can use leg presses and hack squats for introducing some variety or if you cannot perform squats with adequate form. Lunges (done with a barbell on your shoulders or a dumbbell in each hand) involve also the glutes to a great extend. Leg extensions are more an isolation exercise that can be used for finishing your routine, or as a pre-exhaustion exercise. Once in a while, try also other squat variations, such as dumbbell squat, front squat, sumo squat, or barbell hack squat.

Many people include exercises for other body-parts such as the glutes and the abductors/adductors in their quadriceps workout, since these muscles already receive a certain amount of work with quadriceps exercises. For the same reason, another popular approach is training these muscles along with the hamstrings. Though specialized machines exist to train the glutes (which can be used for some variety), the best way to work them is using a full range of motion when doing squats. Lunges hit also the glutes and the hamstrings to a great extend. For training the abductors/adductors you can also use specialized machines (which work by opening and closing the legs respectively). Other options are attaching an ankle handle to a low cable pulley or using some squat variation (i.e. sumo squat).

If you need more information for designing your quadriceps workout, you can read the article “Build Monster Quads!” by David Knowles or the article “Training the Quadriceps!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Forearms

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper forearms training.

The forearm is a complex body-part, which is made up of a muscle located in the upper/outer portion called brachioradialis and two counteracting muscle-groups: the wrist flexors, which run the length of the inner forearm, and the wrist extensors, which run the length of the outer forearm. The wrist flexors are composed of six heads: flexor digitorum superficialis, flexor digitorum profundus, flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris, palmaris longus, and flexor pollicis longus. The wrist extensors are comprised of eight heads: the extensor digitorum, extensor carpi radialis longus, extensor carpi radialis brevis, extensor carpi ulnaris, extensor indicis, extensor digiti minimi, extensor pollicis longus, and the extensor pollicis brevis. All these muscles are in charge of controlling the movement of the hand and the fingers, and for this reason, the forearm is the main responsible of your grip strength.

The forearm is a commonly neglected body-part, but an adequate development is mandatory not only for strengthening your grip, but also for symmetry and aesthetic reasons. Good grip is necessary in almost every exercise, especially when training back and biceps. Hence, increasing your grip strength has an added benefit for the rest of exercises, allowing better returns for the target muscles of those exercises since your forearms are not the weak link anymore.

A few genetically blessed people have achieved great forearms only with the indirect stimulation provided in their general training, but the most with less favorable genetics will require 2 o 3 exercises of specialized forearm training. Typically, this training uses to be performed after the biceps routine. In any case, since forearms are used when training almost every body-part, save your forearm routine for last of your workout, in order to not compromise other body-parts training. This is also the reason for avoiding training back the day after the bicep/forearm workout.

As usual, for maximum results, it is best to include in your routine exercises for targeting each of forearm muscles. As commented in the biceps post, the brachioradialis is stimulated to a great extend with all the curl exercises that use a hammer grip or a reverse grip (refer to that post for the list of exercises). Wrist flexors can be stimulated using all versions of wrist curls (barbell, behind-the-back, cable or dumbbell). Wrist extensors are worked using a reverse grip on wrist curl exercises (barbell, cable or dumbbell).

In addition, forearms training should regularly include some specific exercises for improving grip strength. This includes developing the crushing grip strength (fingers work to close the hand against a resistance) and the pinch grip strength (the resistance is held just between the thumb and fingers). I’ll go into details of grip strength training in a future post dedicated to this.

If you need more information for designing your forearms workout, you can read the article “How To Develop Fantastic Forearms” by David Robson or the article “Training the Forearms!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Biceps

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper biceps training.

When referring to biceps body-part, two different muscles are actually considered: the biceps brachii and the brachialis, which are responsible for elbow flexion (moving the hand toward the shoulder) and elbow supination (rotating the palm upwards). As the name suggests, the biceps have two heads, the short head (a.k.a. inner head) and the long head (a.k.a. outer head). The brachialis is a small muscle which lies just beneath the biceps.

In order to get a biceps body-part that looks both big and proportionate, your routine must include exercises for stimulating the two biceps heads and also the brachialis. Don’t use too much exercises (2 or 3 exercises will be enough), because the biceps receives already some work when working the back and, in the same way as the triceps, since it is an explosive and small muscle, it tires quickly.

When training biceps, it is very important to use a full range of motion in all curl exercises, lowering the arms until they are fully stretched. Using an incomplete range of motion will create a gap between the biceps and the elbow (a condition named ‘midgety biceps’). In addition, in single arm exercises you should start always with the weaker arm and perform the same number of reps with the stronger arm to prevent creating imbalances.

The main compound movement for training the biceps is the standing barbell curl. This is a vital exercise for building overall mass in the biceps. Use a shoulder-width grip and keep your elbows pinned to your sides and the back straight to avoid cheating. Using a straight bar involves more the short head, but you can use an EZ-curl bar to save the wrists by putting the hands into a more ergonomically correct position, hitting in this way both biceps heads more evenly.

Other exercises such as alternate dumbbell curls, standing cable curls (barbell and one arm versions) or incline dumbbell curls, which involve also mainly the short head, can be used as a complement/alternative to standing barbell curls. Cable exercises have the added benefit of constant tension, while incline curls allow a maximal stretch. On dumbbell exercises, remember to twist the inside of the dumbbell even further inward as you reach the shoulder in order to exercise the elbow supination movement.

Supinated versions of preacher curls (barbell, dumbbell and cable), spider curls and concentration curls work very well for isolation and peak development. These exercises focus also in the short head, providing in addition a great stimulation for the lower portion of the biceps. For this reason, they are recommended for fixing the ‘midgety biceps’ problem (together with full range of motion, of course).

For shifting the focus to the long head and additionally working the brachialis, you have to use a hammer grip (palms facing each other) or a reverse grip (palms facing down). Hammer grip is used in all hammer curl versions (dumbbell, rope, incline, alternate, cross-body), while reverse grip is used in reverse curl variations (barbell, cable, preacher and drag curls). These exercises (especially all the reverse curls) involve also some forearm muscles (particularly the brachioradialis) to a great extend. You can also focus in the long head of the biceps by using a close grip in some exercises such as standing barbell curls or barbell preacher curls.

If you need more information for designing your biceps workout, you can read the article “Want Big Biceps? Here’s How to Get Them!” by David Robson or the article “Training the Biceps!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Triceps

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper triceps training.

The size of your arms is highly determined by your triceps, since it covers about 2/3 of the muscle mass while the biceps covers only the remaining 1/3. The triceps brachii consists of three heads: the long head (a.k.a. inner head), the lateral head (a.k.a. outer head) and the medial head. The main function of the triceps is to extend the elbow (straightening the arm). In addition, the long head of the muscle is also the responsible of bringing the arm down towards the body. For this reason, the medial and lateral heads are recruited only by movements at the elbow joint, while the long head can be recruited by movements occurring at both the elbow and shoulder joints.

Your triceps routine must include exercises for stimulating the three heads of the muscle, using both compound movements and isolation exercises. Don’t use too much exercises (2 or 3 exercises will be enough), because the triceps receives already some work when working the chest and the shoulders and since it is an explosive and small muscle, it tires quickly.

Compound exercises involving the triceps include the french press and its variations (e.g. skull crushers or lying triceps extension), the close-grip bench press (which involves also the chest and the anterior deltoid to a great extend) and parallel dips (keeping your body straight up for hitting more the triceps and less the chest). These exercises provide an overall stimulation for all the triceps heads. This also occurs with triceps pushdowns (using a straight bar, a v-bar for a more natural wrist position or a d-ring attachment for the one-arm version), but this is more an isolation exercise.

Although previous exercises stimulate the long head of the triceps to some extend, if you need additional work for this head, you can use exercises in which your arms are raised overhead, such as overhead triceps extensions (barbell, dumbbell or cable variations). Focusing on the medial head and the lateral head is probably trickier. However, you can target the medial head to some extent performing exercises that use a hammer grip, such as triceps kickbacks (one arm at a time or both arms at the same time), the dumbbell french press (one arm at a time or both arms at the same time) or rope pushdowns (pulling your hands to the side at the end of the movement for achieving a better contraction). For recruiting the lateral head you can perform exercises using a reverse grip (i.e. supinated grip, the same you use in biceps curls), such as reverse pushdowns, reverse cable overhead extensions, reverse one-arm pushdowns or the reverse french press.

Proper execution is very important when training your triceps. Perform strict movements, keeping your elbows as close together as you can, and maintaining constant tension on the muscle. In addition, use full range of motion, emphasizing the muscle contraction and achieving a good stretch during the negative part of the movement.

If you need more information for designing your triceps workout, you can read the article “Tri’d & True: Your Journey to Dubs…” by Mike Hajoway or the article “Training the Triceps!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Chest

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper chest training.

The chest is made up of two main muscles, the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. The pectoralis major is the main visible part of the chest and allows bringing the arms in front of it in a hugging motion and it is also heavily involved in any pressing movement that happens in perpendicular form to the body. The pectoralis major consists of two separate heads: the sternal head (a.k.a. lower pecs) and the clavicular head (a.k.a. upper pecs). The pectoralis minor is directly under the pectoralis major and it helps pulling the shoulder blade down.

Training the chest requires 3 to 4 exercises. The base must be some kind of pressing movement. The barbell bench press in a flat bench is the most popular exercise. It provides general chest stimulation, with special attention to the sternal head. Alternate this exercise with the dumbbell version, which involves also the stabilizers and allows better stretch. Your chest routine must include also some exercise for stimulating the clavicular head. This can be accomplished with the incline versions of the bench press. If you have started with barbell flat bench press, then use dumbbells for the incline bench press, and vice versa.

Pressing exercises tend to involve the triceps and the deltoids (the anterior head) to some extend in addition to pectorals. When performing these exercises, try to place the stress on the chest. To do this roll your shoulders down and back into the bench (i.e. scapular retraction) and keep them in this way throughout the entire movement. In addition, use a grip on the bar/dumbbells that puts the forearms perpendicular to the floor when arms are in a 90 degree position and emphasize the contraction (without locking the elbows) at the top of the movement.

For completing your chest routine you can choose from a variety of exercises. Flat/incline/pec-deck flies isolate the pectoralis major, developing especially the outer part. Flies are commonly used as a pre-exhausting exercise for the chest. Parallel dips (leaning a bit forward for hitting more the chest and less the triceps) and decline variations of bench press and flies can be also part of your chest routine, especially for giving special attention to the lower and outer parts of the muscle. Dips have the added value of all the exercises that move the body and not the weight, namely stimulating your hormonal release.

Close grip bench press, apart from working the triceps, hits also the chest, focusing in the inner part. Grab the barbell using shoulder width and squeeze the chest at the top of the extension. Cable crossover is a good isolator for the chest. Use light weights and maintain always a strict position in this exercise. Finally, for training the pectoralis minor you can use pullovers. This exercise has the ability of stretching the ribcage out a little bit and it hits also the lats and the serratus. Raise only the weight to the point where the tension on the pectoralis minor begins to drop off.

If you need more information for designing your chest workout, you can read the article “Champion Chest Development” which describes the right exercises for achieving symmetry and balance in your chest or the article “Training the Chest!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Shoulders

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper shoulders training.

The primary muscles in the shoulder are known as deltoids. The main function of these muscles is lifting and rotating the arms on the shoulder joint, and also assisting the triceps in pressing weights overhead and the pectorals in pressing weight to the front of the body. The deltoids are made up of three separate heads: the anterior (a.k.a. front) deltoid, the lateral (a.k.a. side) deltoid, and the posterior (a.k.a. rear) deltoid. The shoulder includes also a group of four muscles, called rotator cuff, that help to stabilize your arm during movements and allows the shoulder joint to move in multiple directions.

For training the shoulders adequately you have to combine a compound movement for building overall size and strength in the muscle, with some isolation work for each head to maximize muscle growth and striation. This leads to at least 4 exercises. If you have a specific head that is lagging behind, you can add an additional exercise for it, or change the order of the exercises to prioritize this head. Remember that your goal should be achieving a full and complete shoulder development with a good balance between the deltoid heads, and you must adapt your routine to accomplish this goal.

Your choice for the compound exercise should be a variation of the shoulder press, preferably the dumbbell press or the military press. Dumbbell version is more complete, because it uses more supportive muscles and allows deeper stretching. When doing this exercise, be sure to describe a wide motion (the forearms must be always in a 90 degree angle with the floor). For your compound exercise avoid the behind-the-neck press, since it increases the risk of rotator cuff injuries.

Stimulating the lateral deltoid is crucial for adding width to the shoulder. The best exercise for this is the lateral raise or any variation thereof, including the dumbbell lateral raise, the cable lateral raise, the one-arm lateral raise, the seated lateral raise, the lying lateral raise or the incline and decline one-arm lateral raise that stress the upper or lower portions of the deltoids. When doing this exercise, control the weight during the whole movement and avoid cheating. The lateral deltoid can be worked also using upright rows but, as I commented in the trapezius post, this exercise puts your shoulder joint in a position very prone to injury.

The posterior deltoid uses to be a commonly neglected shoulder part for most people, but it is essential for proper shoulder symmetry. Your options for training it include the rear lateral raise and its variations (e.g. dumbbell, cable, etc.) or a machine that simulates that effect. In addition, you can also perform rowing exercises, but maintaining your elbows up.

The anterior deltoid receives a certain amount of work when you are training your chest (with bench press, and especially with incline bench press), and for this reason, it is uncommon to have development problems with it. If you need to isolate the anterior deltoid, you can choose among barbell front raises, cable front raises and alternate dumbbell front raises.

Finally, it is a good practice adding to your routine some work for the rotator cuff in order to prevent injuries, for instance doing internal and external rotation exercises with cable or dumbbells.

If you need more information for designing your shoulders workout, you can read the article “Boulder Shoulders” by Jon Huston or the article “Training the Shoulders!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Trapezius

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper trapezius training.

The trapezius is a large diamond shaped muscle placed on the upper back which is the responsible of retracting the shoulder blades and carrying or assisting in all lifts that go from a lower to a higher point. Two different portions can be differentiated in the trapezius: the lower trapezius, which consists of the middle and the lower fibers, and the upper trapezius, which consists of the upper fibers and the levator scapulae muscle.

The trapezius is a commonly neglected muscle, but it is mandatory to work it for a proper upper back development. This muscle is trained in a very simple manner and responds even to the shortest amount of exercise. You need to hit the trapezius from two main angles in order to develop the upper and lower portions. The upper trapezius is stimulated using a shrugging motion (i.e. shoulder blades moving upward) while the lower trapezius needs a backward shrugging (i.e. shoulder blades retraction).

The lower trapezius is already worked in back rowing exercises and for this reason you won’t probably need additional training for it. Anyway, if you require more training for this body-part, you can do seated cable shrugs. Use the same stance as you would use for seated cable rows, but keep your arms straight and simply retract the scapulae.

The upper trapezius has been traditionally trained with the back or with the shoulders, since both recruit it to a point. You can alternate both options when designing your programs. The best known exercise for developing the upper trapezius is the shrug. This exercise includes several variations such as barbell shrug, dumbbells shrug or gripless shrug in a standing calf-press machine. Free weights exercises are perhaps best for mass building, but gripless shrug is a good choice for people with weak or sensitive hands, since the arms are not involved in the exercise. Dumbbell shrug is preferred over barbell shrug because it allows a more natural grip (i.e. hammer grip). In addition, barbell shrug forces you to stand slightly unbalanced, as the bar is a couple of inches away from your center of gravity. Upright rows also work the upper trapezius, as well as hitting the shoulders. However, I don’t specially recommend this exercise since it puts your shoulder joint in a position very prone to injury.

For proper development of the upper trapezius, you'll need at least 1 to 2 exercises, including always at least one shrug-based exercise. Use weights as high as you can handle them with strict form and keep the movement simple (shrugging upwards). Never rotate your shoulders when doing shrugs, since this can lead you to a chronic rotator cuff injury.

If you need more information for designing your trapezius workout, you can read the article “Bull-headed? Build a Massive Neck” by Matt Danielsson or the article “Training the Trapezius!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Lower Back

This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper lower back training.

The lower back is made up of muscles called erector spinae, which are mainly responsible of maintaining the posture (along with the abdominals), and for this reason, they act as a stabilizer in almost every exercise. In addition, they protect and guard the nerve channels, and they are the primary muscle responsible for straightening the back from a bent position and for arching the spine.

Training the lower back requires 1 to 2 exercises. Deadlifts are probably the best option. This is a great exercise, because apart from working the lower back, it also provides a lot of overall strength, it accustoms you to handling heavy weights and it stimulates the release of anabolic hormones into your bloodstream. It is important that you dedicate some effort on getting the right form in this exercise, since bad form can lead you to injury. Remember to keep your back straight during the whole movement. Deadlift variations can be also used for training your lower back. For instance, although stiff-legged deadlifts hit mainly the hamstrings, they also involve the lower back to some extent.

You can alternate deadlifts with hyperextensions and good mornings, which work the lower back by bending it using a full range of motion. However, I don’t specially recommend these exercises (in particular good mornings) because you are in a very harmful position and using too much weight or a bad form can lead to a serious injury that could end your training days. Therefore, when doing these exercises, use light weights and maintain always a strict form.

As a final comment, I want to emphasize the need of training the lower back, which is probably one of the most neglected body-parts. As commented, the lower back acts a supportive muscle in a great amount of exercises, and ignoring it will decrease your performance in these exercises, and even worst, will increase your chance of getting injured. In addition, the lower back plays an important role in your overall back development.

If you need more information for designing your lower back workout, you can read the article “All Out Back Training” by John Giljum or the article “Training the Back!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Proper Training for the Upper Back

This post starts a series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This first chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper upper back training.

The upper back is a complex body-part made up of several muscles. The largest visible muscle of the upper back is the latissimus dorsi (a.k.a. lats). Lats are very important, because they determine your upper body size, width, thickness, and V-shape. Lats are worked by every pulling movement that stays in one line with them, i.e. pulling front to back or downward. Another important muscle in the upper back is the trapezius. Since it is trained differently from lats, I will cover it in a future post. Finally, under the lats and the trapezius, there are some additional muscles (teres major, teres minor, infraspinatus and rhomboids) which contribute to upper back thickness. The same exercises used to train the lats hit these muscles too.

Training the back properly can be complicated. The main problem is that you cannot see your back while you are training it, and for this reason, you cannot see how you are performing, you cannot see the results. The key is to develop a mind-muscle connection. You must visualize the exercise, slowly execute the movement, and focus on the contraction, holding it for a second and feeling the burn in your back. In addition, you must always use weights that allow you maintaining proper form with a full range of motion. This is extremely important because bending your back when lifting heavy weights is one of the prime causes of injury. So be careful, and keep a straight back (slightly arched) during all back exercises.

For proper development of the upper back, you'll need at least 3 to 4 exercises. Your exercise selection must include adequate training for the two main features of the back: thickness and width. Thickness is developed with rowing exercises, such as barbell rows, one-arm dumbbell rows, T-bar rows or seated cable rows. Width is developed with exercises that pull downward, such as chin-ups/pull-ups or lat pull-downs. Chin-ups/pull-ups (especially when using wide-grip) are crucial for building a wide back. You can vary the grip and style of lift of your chin-ups/pull-ups for targeting different zones of the back.

Both width and thickness are essential for possessing a balanced back. If are lucky and your back is already balanced, then you can design 50/50 programs (50% exercises for width, 50% exercises for thickness) using some of the exercises introduced in the previous paragraph. You can also use 66/33 programs, but periodically switching the dominant feature between width and thickness. However, if you have one feature that is better than the other, your must design 66/33 programs that focus on the feature that is lagging behind.

If you need more information for designing your upper back workout, you can read the article “All Out Back Training” by John Giljum or the article “Training the Back!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.

Exercise Selection for a Complete Muscle Development

When designing your training program, you are faced with the decision of choosing a set of exercises for properly training each muscle group. There are a great amount of different exercises (probably several hundred), thus complicating this selection. This post presents some issues you must take into account for performing an adequate exercise selection.

Exercises can be classified depending of the type of movement performed. On one side, compound exercises involve two or more joint movements and thus stress several muscle groups. On the other side, isolation exercises involve only one joint movement at a time, stressing only one specific muscle. Compound exercises are superior to isolation in building muscle mass. However, although you can build plenty of mass using only compound exercises, isolation work is mandatory for a complete muscle development, because it allows emphasizing on every muscle striation. Your routine for a given muscle should include movements that hit that muscle in different ways and from different angles using both compound and isolation movements. That is why you should include 2-3 exercises when you work each muscle.

Some movements offer the possibility of being performed using free weights (barbell and dumbbells) or machines. Free weights provide a more complete work and are better at preventing muscle imbalances, since they involve stabilizer muscles more than machines. Therefore, the basis of your routine should be using free weights. Machines have to be minimized except of some exceptions like the cable station and the leg extension, but don't look down on machines because they can be used to introduce some variety occasionally.

Your selection should avoid dangerous exercises that can lead you to injury. There are some popular exercises (e.g. behind-the-neck pulldown or behind-the-neck shoulder press) that involve movements with wrong biomechanics, being a chance to injury yourself. In a future post, I’ll go deeper in the trouble with these exercises.

However, your exercise selection should not be immovable. The muscles grow because they accustom themselves to the stress being put onto them. If you train a muscle always in the same way, your progress will slow, and possibly even halt because your body adapts to the motion, and no longer needs to build new muscle to do that motion. The key is varying your workouts every 4-6 weeks by altering one or more factors (i.e. number of reps, sets, tempo, exercise selection, etc.).

For supporting your exercise selection process, you can find a comprehensive exercise directory in the “Exercise Instruction & Kinesiology” section of ExRx.net site. Each exercise description contains the preparation and execution instructions (demonstrated with an animated gif), the involved muscles and the exercise classification (compound/isolation, push/pull, etc.). The Bodybuilding.com site provides another complete exercise directory in its “Exercise Guides” section, including video guides for describing the exercises correct execution.