Reason 1: Calisthenics Indorses Leanness, Barbells Promote Bulking According to the dictionary definition, an aesthetic physique is one that’s pleasing to look at. The condition requires a combination of decent muscle mass and leanness. If you have one without the other, the impact on the spectator suffers. If you’re in “bear mode”, you have the […]
Short answer: The goal of the trainee determines the value of each exercise. If you are training primarily for strength and muscle hypertrophy, then the overhead press is a better choice because it offers a great range of motion right away and a straightforward progression unhindered by extreme balancing requirements. From an athletic standpoint, the […]
FAQ: What are feeder workouts? Feeder workouts are frequent pump training sessions designed to massively accelerated the hypertrophy of a specific body part. The modern originator of the feeder template is Rich Piana who uploaded several videos on the subject. According to Rich, feeder workouts should be done the day after a hard training session […]
The Bulgarian split squat (BSS) has the highest potential to produce hypertrophy of the lower body out of all single-leg lifts because: The difficulty of the exercise can be amplified to a very high level. The range of motion at the knee and hip joints is sufficiently long and can be increased even further by […]
Short answer: Professional bodybuilders and the amateurs imitating them in the gym often perform partial reps, especially when working the shoulders and the chest. Why? The official explanation behind this strategy is that partial repetitions ensure constant tension on the targeted muscle group and therefore hit the area harder. However, a good argument could be […]
Short answer: Together squats and deadlifts offer a very powerful formula that can result in decent development of the upper leg as they allow the lifter to overload the quads, glutes and hamstrings with progressively heavier loads. Nonetheless, naturals promised miracles will have to readjust their expectations as the promoters of 5×5 routines and the […]
Short answer: Theoretically, 5×5 routines are not inherently bad for building an aesthetic physique. But the poor nutritional advice, the unnecessary hype, the elitist attitude, the false claims, the egos of the coaches, the broscience and the needless glorification of barbell strength surrounding the 5×5 method often play a number on people who don’t know […]
Short answer: The shoulders participate actively in pressing and pulling exercises. Many lifters develop decent deltoids without doing isolation work or dedicating a special day to the muscle group. But the high market share of the shoulder in big compound lifts does not make direct work obsolete. In some cases, extra focus on the area […]
Short answer: Biceps curls are a very potent and mighty functional exercise. The 5×5 sycophants demonized it with an ulterior motive in mind – to dress their “revolutionary” barbell routines as superior for naturals. But curls are and will always be the go-to biceps builder. When implemented properly into a routine, curls are not a […]
Short answer: The chin-up is a pull-up variation done with a supinated/underhand grip (palms facing towards you). Subsequently, the biggest arm flexors i.e. the biceps receive a significant market share in the exercise. The contribution of the biceps combined with the ability to scale the chin-up forever by adding weight, turn the movement into a […]
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 […]