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 […]
I have an extended experience on the love battlefield. I’ve done every form of pickup – online dating, cold approaches of strangers, warm approaches of former and present co-workers…etc. I’ve accumulated such a lengthy track record of rejections that sometimes I would be doing a mundane task and a long-forgotten date would resurrect into my […]
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 […]
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 […]
The goal of this post is to compare the muscular development of men’s physique competitors to that of bodybuilders from the Golden Era of Bodybuilding [the 1970s]. The evaluation is based on statistical data taking into account bodyweight, height, body fat estimates and FFMIs [Fat Free Mass Index]. All bodybuilders and men’s physique models are […]
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 […]