Short answer: Dips are a very effective overall chest exercise, but they do not emphasize the upper chest because the pressing happens at a downward angle facilitating the recruitment of the lower pectoral fibers rather than the uppers. The clavicular head [upper chest] participates in the exercise, but not nearly as much as it does […]
Short answer: If your shoulders are healthy and flexible enough to assume the bottom position of the dip, the exercise is safe. Nonetheless, it would be naive to think that dips cannot cause issues – mechanically, they’re not the most shoulder-friendly exercise. People with a history of shoulder problems should be cautious. Issues may also […]
Purpose. This post contains a blueprint for building the biggest latissimus dorsi muscles [lats] achievable naturally through pull-ups. Pull-ups – The Perfect Candidate The following properties make pull-ups the logical choice when selecting a movement for lat construction: 1. Simplicity. The best muscle-building exercises are simple. The more complicated a movement is, the less suitable […]
Short answer: In most cases, the classic barbell squat is a very adequate quadriceps builder that can get you to your maximal quad potential. The strongest points of the squat are its closed-chain nature and the convenience that it offers in terms of programming. The squat allows you to overload the quads with very heavy […]
Short answer: The traps can be developed without shrugs as many back exercises (e.g., deadlifts, rows, overhead presses…etc.) hit the area. Nonetheless, shrugs are the most straightforward method to stress the zone and trigger a hypertrophy response. If you are dedicated to building the best trapezius, that you can, some form of shrugging could be […]
Short answer: The overhead press hits the entire shoulder girdle, and in some cases, it can be sufficient as a solo exercise. When done with proper form, the movement activates all heads of the shoulder, although the front deltoid is always doing the heavy lifting. Using too much weight and turning the overhead press into […]
The key to more muscular legs as an ectomorph, or any other body type for that matter, is the performance of basic, compound exercises that hit the primary movers of the thighs (quadriceps and hamstrings) directly and without detrimental limitations and “distractions” coming from the stabilizing muscles. The logical choices are high-bar back squats, leg […]
Many ectomorphs have fallen victim to the persistent brainwashing of the mainstream fitness media which continuously push the idea that skinny guys should train differently than everybody else. A medium degree of brain activation would reveal that this notion is based on manipulations designed to extract coins from men desperately trying to upgrade their bodies. […]
Don Howorth (b.1935) is a popular bodybuilder from the 1960s whose otherworldly deltoid development earned him the title “the Duke of Delts”. There are many photos of him in which he showcases incredible width that immediately steals the attention of the spectators. Don Howorth initiated his muscular ascension in the summer of 1955 and peaked […]
The shrimp squat and the pistol are two of the most popular 1-legged squat variations, and while both movements have undeniable differences neither of them has an inherent and clear advantage over the other when the goal is muscular growth and strength cultivation. Overlapping Benefits The shrimp and the pistol squat are like different phone […]
The term “incel” stands for involuntarily celibate. Some say that it describes a very small minority of men who spend most of their awake hours producing misogynistic content and playing video games while rotting in a dirty garage and heaving poisonous sighs, but that’s not actually true. The reality is that most average men have […]
The hypertrophy scholars are attributing modern muscular growth to revolutionary advancements in the field of sports science and nutrition, but more often than not, the presented athletes are chemically enhanced. To acquire a more realistic idea of what a man can achieve naturally without injecting PEDs, one has to go back to an era when […]