It’s no secret your time spent working out is valuable. It clears your mind, speeds the metabolism, expedited fat loss, burns tons of calories, the list goes on! But wouldn’t this all be better if you were getting even faster visible results? It’s time to talk from.
Training Form is the heart of your workout. This is what allows your body to take advantage of each movement and get the most out of your routine as a whole.
If you’ve ever felt like “the workout just sucked” or you couldn’t feel much, it’s likely due to committing one if not all of these beginner form mistakes.
The top questions from my 1-on-1 clients this week had to do with training form. Based on that I wanted to bring you a live feed summarizing the biggest mistakes along with a handful of pointers to tighten your form up.
The video embedded above is well worth the watch! Here are the mistakes I cover in a summary:
❌Throwing the weight
❌Bad posture
❌Improper weight
❌Improper form
❌Lack of intensity
I hope this demonstration helps you correct any wrongs and build on what you’re doing right. Thanks for watching and talk soon!
]]>Home training, even with only body resistance can be incredibly effective. But only if you keep it smart and avoid the common pit falls that keep people stuck.
As we breakdown the tip 10 mistakes, keep one major rule in mind: less is more. You’ll get faster results along with a more potent and fulfilling workout by keeping your intensity on the high side.
Sugary soft drinks, soda, sports drinks — they all contain super high sugar contents. Excessive sugar is strongly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and many other health problems.
Even many of the modern-favorite energy drinks are overloaded with sugar and other unnatural stimulants.
The Fix: Stick to water and other calorie-free sweeteners like diet sodas. You’ll feel better, get better results, and perform much stronger in all workouts and tasks.
This is a major reason many cannot overcome snack cravings. It’s nearly impossible to resist indulging without balancing healthy fats.
The fix: Two times per day eat one serving of any of the following; peanuts, almonds, coconut oil, or avocado.
Studies show that people who eat the most fish have a lower risk of several conditions, including heart disease, dementia, and depression. This is what makes it essential to your performance, including the added joint health benefits.
If you regularly eat fish you’re good to go. Admittedly it’s rarely on my menu.
The fix: Take two fish oil tabs in the morning and two around dinner time.
The importance of getting enough quality sleep cannot be overstated.
Poor sleep can drive insulin resistance, disrupt your appetite hormones, and reduce your physical and mental performance. It’s impossible to lose fat with high cortisol levels (caused by hormone imbalance).
The fix: Eat one serving of carbs before bed. And or try taking the natural supplement combo of 5-HTP & GABA.
It’s a myth you can’t have carbs before bed — complex carbs help you sleep.
We’re told to avoid the sun — this is good. Overexposure of ultraviolet rays destroy your skin.
But there’s a catch; an adequate amount of Vitamin D brings a wide array of benefits to include improved bone health, increased strength, reduced symptoms of depression, and a lower risk of cancer.
The fix: Take Vitamin D-3000. This is an amazing supplement that comes cheap and packs amazing benefits. It covers you on your Vitamin D and then some. I’ve shared this one with clients over the years as one of the best kept secrets.
You’d think fruit is good for you. It’s not. Sure, there are some basic benefits from a select few fruits like oranges (vitamin c) and bananas (potassium) but most fruits will slow your fitness game down — especially with home training.
You’ll get all the benefits of fruits and then some on a balanced nutrition program that includes correct protein levels.
The fix: Dump the fruits for dark leafy green vegetables like asparagus, spinach, and kale. If you want to enjoy one piece a fruit per day, that’s acceptable, but never go over that.
Your home workout sessions should be brisk and powerful. A HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) sessions that has you maxed out and breaking a sweat is a good example.
‘Less is more’ as a concept is very important here. If you’re training over 20 minutes, it’s unlikely that your HIIT session was done correctly. You should be gassed by the 15 minute marker and ready for a cool down.
The fix: Complete a mix of HIIT, speed drills, or low-rest exercises.
I’m not going to suggest that everyone get super-crazy about their macros. Personally I’m not a fan of fit bits, macro counting or anything of the sort.
But I will never suggest you ‘just wing it’ — this is one of, if not THE biggest reason people fail. You should always follow a structure meal plan where you weigh out your proteins and carbs.
The fix: Understand and adhere to my concept of Baseline Meals. Simply put; meal 1 on Monday is exactly the same as meal 1 on Tuesday and so on. Following a meal plan is essential if you’re in this for visible results.
👉Here’s how I create my own and for clients | TAP HERE
Without high enough protein, you will not be able to get your metabolism revved up. It’s like trying to race a performance vehicle on little-to-no fuel.
The fix: Topping your tank off daily with the golden rule of 1 gram or protein per pound of lean body mass is always a good barometer.
Never commit to just one workout.
This sets a bad precedent for your subconscious. You say to yourself, “tomorrow I’ll do that one,” and your mindset settles for one = one reward. The both know this leads nowhere.
It’s not one workout or one day that matters — it’s what we do over the long run.
The fix: Commit to an 8 to 12 week program. This allows you to reframe your journey into an experience.
You commit to effort and results over a set period of time with a program that increases in difficulty. This is the key to forcing dramatic physical changes along with strengthening your mindset.
If you’re ready to get serious and take the reigns on home fitness I’d like you to start the program that people were switching to before it was cool to train from home:
My signature body resistance only HIIT Fusion. We just broke over 10,000 downloads and I’d be thrilled to have you come on board.
It boasts an incredible 8-weeks of unique, core-focused ABS and FULL BODY routines. It scales from beginner to advanced and is perfect for both male and female.
Like all my products it’s a no-hassle money back guarantee. From the minute you access this HIIT program you’ll see the ease of layout. No monthly payment or lame app to manage. This is the only straight-forward HIIT system of its kind.
Put the tips here to use and stay inspired — drop me a line anytime!
]]>The following steps will give you an edge on building lean mass. They are proven and work for almost any body type and fitness range from beginner to advanced:
STEP 1: Train progressively heavier each week.
STEP 2: Prioritize the Big Two, squats & deadlifts.
STEP 3: Sleep 6-8 hours minimum or you won't recover.
STEP 4: At least 1 cheat meal per week.
STEP 5: Use a meal & training plan customized to you. Get started with your NEW program here 👉https://ryanengelfitness.com/newprogram
STEP 6: Repeat steps 1-5 using your program. Nothing worth anything will be QUICK or EASY. Stay consistent!
Join us in VIP here on FACEBOOK 👉https://www.facebook.com/groups/1019840711423668/
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]]>When people who are unfamiliar with training or building an elite fitness body, the fallacy is to go out and run (while dieting) and you'll lose a ton of weight. Cardio is the ultimate form of fat shedding, but you have to know which type is right for you, and when it will be the most effective! Think of it this way; you only get so much time in your day - If you're going to choose to do cardio at some point in your day - you're making the right choice. Now I'm going to help you choose the BEST form of cardio to perform while making that choice!
1. Fasted Cardio - This is performed first thing when you wake up and on an empty stomach. This is the best form for fat burner and muscle retaining. I recommend this five days per week and no more than 30 minutes max. If you're already lean and your goal is to burn extra fat, just walk on an incline for 20 minutes!
2. Post Workout HIIT Training - High Intensity Interval Training is highly effective for burning fat and can also strengthen muscle. After you've put in 45 minutes to an hour of weight training your body begins feeding on fat, so now interject hit training and prepare to really decimate body fat. HIIT should be performed in high intensity as it's name is implied - This means I recommend this only twice per week and on higher carb days - I realize my video explanation of HIIT is a tad short - As I filmed this I realized HIIT will need it's own video where I'll give some onsite examples for you to use - Looking forward to that one!
3. Steady-state Cardio - Tried and true. You can't go wrong with 70% effort steady cardio. Though it comes in at 3rd on my list - make no mistake - it's very effective. My only issue with steady state - It's boring! I always try to spice it up by listening to audio books or watching Netflix on my iPhone. Steady-state comes in handy when you've already performed your HIIT for the week or if you're having a low-carb (or zero-carb) day. This means your energy is already sapped and you still need to get your cardio in. This should be done 20-60 minutes. Let me know some of your time-killing secrets to get through cardio.
THE UPSHOT
Stop wasting your time with the wrong forms of cardio! Quicker and higher intensity is much more effective for fat loss and lean muscle gains. Using these methods will guarantee you faster fat loss.
BCAAs are useful for those looking to gain muscle mass, as well as those trying to preserve lean muscle while eating at a caloric deficit. In particular, they're instrumental for bodybuilders trying to lean out in advance of a competition or athletes who've worked hard building up their lean muscle but now want to shred.
For many reasons, eating less than your body requires to maintain its normal functions and support your physical activity can contribute to muscle breakdown. The less body fat you possess, the harder your body tries to latch onto the remainder. This means that your body will resort to lean muscle as fuel, which is not great for anyone looking to achieve a toned, aesthetic physique.
Muscle loss takes place when the body boosts protein breakdown (i.e., catabolism) to free up amino acids in the muscle for energy. At the same time, levels of protein synthesis will also decrease due to your reduced energy intake while dieting. This is a complete double whammy for anyone trying to hold onto their lean muscle mass.
The fundamental equation for muscle mass is: Rate of Protein Synthesis - Rate of Protein Breakdown. If your rate of protein synthesis equals your rate of protein breakdown, you'll be status quo - neither gaining nor losing muscle. If your rate of protein synthesis exceeds breakdown, you're on the road to Gainsville. And if your rate of breakdown exceeds the rate of synthesis, you'll be losing muscle. The latter is what tends to happen when someone gets on an extreme fat loss diet, which elevates protein breakdown and reduces synthesis.
As if that wasn't enough, working out can actually compound the catabolic effects of restrictive dieting. This occurs because the leaner someone becomes, the less energy and available glycogen stores he or she has. If you're excessively tired or weak, you aren't able to perform optimally and your muscles will eventually adapt by using less energy. When this happens, you won't experience any gains in lean muscle mass; in fact, your body may turn to muscle for energy because you're no longer using it to lift heavy loads!
If you're looking to thwart muscle loss and even promote muscle gains, you should consider including BCAAs in your stack. There are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Leucine in particular stimulates protein synthesis, possibly even to a greater degree than a standard protein on its own. Additionally, BCAAs increase our cells' capacity for protein synthesis, not just the rate of protein synthesis.
On the flip side of the equation, BCAAs also can reduce the speed of protein breakdown. How this phenomenon works is rather complicated, but suffice it to say that BCAAs slow down the cellular processes involved in protein breakdown. If you're decreasing protein breakdown and simultaneously increasing protein synthesis by supplementing with BCAAs, you're going to maintain your lean muscle at the very least (and more likely experience growth).
As if their direct effects on muscle preservation weren't enough, BCAAs can also help boost the intensity of your workouts. BCAAs will compete with tryptophan, another amino acid that converts into serotonin, for entry into the brain. The lower your serotonin levels during exercise, the less likely you are to feel fatigued and drained during your training session. By reducing the amount of tryptophan entering the brain and the amount of serotonin ultimately produced, you'll actually be able to train harder for longer periods of time.
If you fancy yourself a supplement guru, you're probably thinking: "But wait! You can get BCAAs from whey protein. Why should I spend more money on some overpriced BCAA supplement when I can get what I need from my regular shake?"
The problem is that, although whey protein is rich in BCAAs, relying solely on your whey protein to supply BCAAs is not as effective. When you consume BCAAs through whey, they have to be freed up through digestion and then absorbed into your bloodstream. This process can last several hours, even though whey is a relatively fast-digesting protein.
By contrast, BCAAs in supplement form are free-floating, do not require digestion, and can be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Even a couple grams of a straight BCAA supplement can spike blood amino acid levels much more than 30 grams of whey protein. This shakes out to a faster, more immediate effect on protein breakdown and synthesis.
Another cool fact: BCAAs bypass the liver and gut when consumed, going directly into the bloodstream. This means that they're available to be used as an energy source virtually instantaneously during your training session (assuming you stock up pre- or intra-workout). Valine and isoleucine are what's called glucogenic amino acids, which means the body can convert them to glucose and use them as an energy source to prevent you from losing steam mid-workout.
Importantly, BCAA supplementation may be unnecessary if you consume enough solid protein sources in your diet - think lean meats, eggs, legumes, cottage cheese, etc. This is because BCAAs are present in the protein-rich foods we regularly consume.
If you're concerned you're not getting enough protein, however, supplementing with BCAAs is essential. How much you need depends on your goals, but a typical dosage ranges anywhere from 5-10 grams. Consider taking your BCAAs pre-workout, intra-workout, post-workout, or some combination thereof for best results. You may also wish to take a dose of BCAAs first thing in the morning to help reverse the muscle breakdown effects that occur overnight from the extended period of fasting.
]]>Out of the gate, it’s important to understand that there are two main muscles in your calves: the superficial gastrocnemius (upper part, which bunches when you flex it) and the soleus (bottom part, which is slightly wider). There are a couple of smaller muscles that you’re hitting with standard calf raise movements, but these are the big cahunas that take care of most of the work.
The gastrocnemius is implicated in several lower-body exercises (e.g., squats) because it attaches both above the knee and below the ankle joint. When your knee is bent — think seated calf raises — your gastrocnemius cannot fully stretch / contract, so your soleus is doing all the work. If you want to work both major muscles, straight-legged calf exercises are where the action’s at.
Now that you’re an expert in calf anatomy, here are a couple tips to get you off on the right foot with your calf workouts.
Remember how I said the gastrocnemius was involved in many lower-body exercises? You’re going to absolutely max out and blow your thigh workout if you try training calves first. Make sure to structure your routine so that your leg presses, squats, leg curls, lunges, etc. come first, then tack the calf work on towards the end before your abs and cardio.
It’s always best to start your calf workout with a move that engages the greatest amount of muscle. If you start with seated calf raises and tire out the soleus, you’re not going to have a very fun time with your standing calf raises (where, if you remember, both muscles are engaged).
Standing calf raises can be done on a machine, sled, leg press, or hack squat. They’re all pretty comparable, so do whatever feels most comfortable. When it comes to form, make sure your foot, knee, and hip are aligned, and that your feet are spread about hip-width apart with toes pointing forward.
A couple general tips for straight-legged movements:
• Keep your knees unlocked at all times to avoid putting stress on the joints.
• Lower yourself as far as possible to fully stretch the calves and Achilles tendons. To facilitate this, place only the balls of your feet on the platform and leave your heels hanging slightly over the edge.
• Do not bounce when reversing direction!
• Go up as high as you can on your toes and hold that contracted position for one count.
If you’re wondering why calves are so hard to grow, a big contributing factor is that the gastrocnemius and soleus are made up of a higher percentage of slow-twitch muscle fibers than other muscle groups. This is very helpful in our daily lives, since it means the calf muscles can withstand a lot of bang up and recover relatively quickly. The downside? The calf muscles are really damn stubborn and growth-resistant.
One way to shock your calf muscles into changing for the better is to consistently shake up your routine. In the beginning, do 4 sets of 8–12 reps. After seeing how your body responds, then you get to experiment. Try banging out a 10-rep set or 20-rep set with lighter weight. Go a bit faster with your reps once you start to feel the burn, or hold your contractions for 3–5 counts instead of one.
Let me know what you think of these tips! If you feel like your legs are on fire and can barely walk after your calf workout, congrats — you’re doing it right.
]]>On the surface, side lateral raises are deceptively basic. Although there's not much to this move at first glance, many lifters make key mistakes when performing side laterals that greatly lessen their effectiveness not to mention increase the risk of injury. Here are four of the top errors people make when rocking out their side laterals, as well as corrective tips to address them:
Too many people stand with their upper body totally erect during their side lateral raises (or worse yet, with their torso leaned back). This shifts the focus of the exercise to the shoulder's anterior head (the front) and reduces the engagement of your side delts. To avoid this mistake, be sure to keep a slight bend in your knees and lean forward when performing your side lateral raises.
If you find yourself using an amount of weight on this lift that requires you to swing your upper body back and forth and heave the weights around in an uncontrolled manner . . . yeah, you're doing it wrong. All this does is reduce engagement of the side delts and boost chances of shoulder injury - not good.
With side lateral raises, it's important to bear in mind that the amount of weight you're lifting isn't what counts - it's the direct amount of tension placed on the lateral head of your shoulder. So stop trying to look macho and focus on proper form. (Trust me, if I had a quarter for every person who cared how much you can side lateral raise I wouldn't even have enough to buy a piece of bubblegum.) Grab a lighter weight and concentrate on doing the exercise with minimal momentum, strict control, and maximum tension.
Always maintain a nice, tight core when performing side lateral raises (or any other weightlifting move, for that matter). Flexing your abs in a forceful manner and maintaining a locked ribcage throughout the full movement happens to be one of the best ways to maximize the level of tension on your side delts since it keeps your body from swaying backwards as you lift. Try doing that type of hardcore contraction just once and you'll realize what a difference it makes!
Guys, there are front raises for a reason! When performing side laterals, you should be lifting out perpendicular to your body, not towards the front. If you do the latter, you're just training the anterior head of your shoulder instead of the side delt. To get the most out of your side lateral raises in terms of shoulder width and thickness, keep a slight bend (no more than 10-30 degrees) in your elbows and be sure to raise your arms fully to the sides.
]]>If you speak to any experienced lifter, chances are they have devoted a good amount of time to building up their bench press. Using the right muscles, hitting the right angles, positioning your body in the right manner - all of these seemingly minor elements can add up to major success or failure when it comes to hitting your goals. The more little mistakes you're making, the more you're falling behind.
Across the clients I've worked with, here are five of the top bench press snafus that I've diagnosed, along with how to course correct before it's too late:
You've probably seen plenty of guys at the gym lowering the barbell down only an inch or two per rep, likely because they've got WAY too much weight piled onto the bar. In fact, forcing yourself through a larger range of motion (ROM) will promote muscle and strength gains much more than pushing yourself to lift ridiculously heavy loads.
When you perform your bench press, get the bar down as close to your chest as you can - ideally touching it - for every single rep. If you're concerned about your shoulders, try using board or floor presses to shorten the ROM naturally instead of artificially truncating the movement.
Another common mistake particularly newer gym goers make is to bounce the bar on the downward portion of the rep. When you do this, you're actually cheating the movement by generating momentum that makes it easier to lift the bar. If you happen to drop the weight too sharply, you can also damage your ribcage.
If you find yourself having to bounce the barbell to get it back up, you're lifting too heavy. Lower the weight to the point that you can comfortably touch the barbell to your chest or, if you're really going for strength, pause the barbell before pushing it back to start.
Splaying your elbows out to the sides when you bench press puts incredible stress on the shoulders and joints. You're also changing the pathway of the barbell such that you decrease the distance the weight has to travel. Try grasping the barbell with a narrower grip and maintaining a posture in which your elbows are kept close to your sides as the barbell drops. This will help avoid injury and make for a more effective exercise.
There are so many different things that people do with their feet when they bench press. Some are tappers, some are flailers, and some put their feet up on the bench to "target their core." First of all, bench presses are NOT abs exercises - that's what you have pushups, farmer's carries, and hanging leg raises for. Second, if you want to get the most out of your bench press, dig your feet into the floor for a solid foundation. Tense your quads, squeeze those glutes, and really tighten up your body overall to increase your strength and stamina.
Saving the best for last, let's talk about grip for a second. Many people tend to grasp the barbell high in their palm or even around their fingertips, which is a definite no-no. This is a great way to decrease your strength and damage your wrists, particularly as the amount of weight lifted gets heavier. Instead, be sure to grip the barbell deep in your palm, keeping your wrists bent slightly throughout the course of your set.
]]>Of course, whether or not your gym has the kind of atmosphere you desire depends in large part on how well (or poorly) your fellow gym-goers adhere to certain unwritten gym rules. If you find yourself surrounded by people completely lacking in self-awareness or etiquette, those 60 minutes of blissful relief could turn into an hour of hair-pulling frustration.
There are any number of gym rules we're expected to follow, many of them commonsense and not all that challenging. Nevertheless, from time to time most people find themselves running afoul of one or more of these gym rules. Here are nine of the worst violations you may be committing (knowingly or unknowingly):
After your supersets / giant sets / pyramid sets, the bench or machine you just got up from is bound to be covered in sweat. Don't be the guy who walks away leaving puddles of liquid for the next guy to clean up. Be a champ and wipe down the equipment after you use it.
That water bottle or backpack next to the squat rack isn't just there for kicks. It's the international symbol for, "Hey bro, this machine's taken." Whether the person has gone to the bathroom, jumped over to another machine to do a superset, or run to get some water, chances are they won't be thrilled when they return to see you happily squatting away in their spot. Follow the code and don't snag equipment when someone else is clearly using it.
If someone can carry on a functional conversation with you while bench pressing, chances are they aren't working nearly hard enough. Do your fellow gym-goers a favor and wait to talk to them until after they've finished their set.
There's nothing more annoying than searching high and low for the 80-pound dumbbells, only to find them right where the 25-pound dumbbells are supposed to be. Don't perpetuate a vicious cycle of misplaced weights - just stick them where they belong.
We all know that guy who critiques others at the drop of a hat. Unless you see someone about to injure themselves performing a movement incorrectly, keep it to yourself. Harassing others about their form just breeds drama . . . and potential embarrassment if you're the one in the wrong.
Every gym has that token guy who loves air boxing in between his sets. Unfortunately, this is about as effective a filler as juggling a shake weight. It's not only completely pointless as a form of cardio, but also dangerous to those around you if you accidentally throw a right hook. Just stop.
Those people you see at the gym killing themselves day in and day out are there for one thing: to train. There's no harm in asking for a tip every so often if you're a beginner, but you should never attempt to get free training sessions from an experienced lifter. People make a living providing that type of advice, and you don't want to be known as the local moocher.
The last thing anyone wants to see at the water fountain is the leftover crud from your protein shake. When mixing your post-workout, be sure to keep your distance from the fountain and never EVER dump old shaker contents into a public drinking space.
Dropsets are a phenomenal training technique, but not during peak gym hours. There's nothing worse than one guy grabbing up all the weights when the gym is packed. If you're hitting the gym at its busiest, make peace with the fact that you're going to need to be judicious about the amount of equipment you use at one time.
]]>Sometimes when people try to train their lats, they find themselves getting a stronger pump in the biceps or forearms, which obviously isn't stimulating back growth. Fortunately, a little self-awareness and attention to form can help correct these training snafus and get you building the aesthetic back you've always wanted.
Here are my top four tips for dominating and getting the most out of your back workout:
Perhaps the primary mistake that trainees make - often across the board, but particularly with regard to back exercises - is overdoing it on volume. Yes, there's a correlation between how strong and how large a muscle is. That said, there's a much stronger link between muscle development and time under tension / the ability to "feel" it performing the work. DO NOT underestimate the mind-muscle connection! Going too heavy on your back lifts will disrupt the focus on your target muscle areas, thereby preventing you from reaching maximum stimulation.
For the best results, mix up your routine with lower rep counts using heavier weight some days and higher rep counts using lighter weight other days. Generally, if you can't feel the muscles in your back flexing and tensing to perform the exercise, you're probably lifting too heavy.
The second biggest culprit leading to an underdeveloped back is the failure to take advantage of the complete range of motion (ROM) for each exercise. Look around your gym sometime at how many people are rushing through their back day movements, either consciously or subconsciously. This severely short-changes the exercise, limits progress, and poses a greater risk of injury since in all likelihood proper form isn't being observed.
To fix this mistake, be sure that you're taking every rep on a back exercise from a deep stretch to full contraction. Partials should only be used when you're beat and don't have the strength to knock out full movements for the last couple reps.
Another common error that people often make - again, when rushing through their back day workouts - is to bounce at the bottom of the movement without holding the stretch. One of the most reliable methods for boosting hypertrophy (i.e., increases in muscle size) is to create trauma in the muscle fibers, which in turn signals to the body that repair and growth are needed to stave off future injury. By failing to hold the stretch under tension at the bottom of your lat exercises, you deprive yourself of quicker, more efficient progress.
When training back, some gym goers tend to focus exclusively on certain types of movements at the expense of others that would hit multiple dimensions. There are three essential angles that any back workout should cover: vertical, which would be your lat pulldown; horizontal, which would be your seated cable row; and bent-over rows with a barbell or dumbbells. By hitting different angles on back day - and varying up your grips - you'll be in a much better position to build an overall well-developed back.
]]>If only I had a dollar for every person who asked me whether they "really need to" squat. The answer: YES, you damn well do if you want decent legs! Of course, if you have a chronic knee injury that literally prevents you from getting into squat position, you get a pass. Otherwise, it's time to get that butt into the squat rack. Sure, leg presses, leg curls, and box step-ups have their place. But there's no substitute for the barbell squat when it comes to building legs of steel (and no, doing them on the Smith machine doesn't really count unless you train at a gym where you have no choice).
Closely related to the non-squatters are the infamous quarter-squatters. You know 'em: The (mostly) guys who load so much weight onto the bar that they can barely go 10 degrees for one rep before failing. This is completely pointless.
For meaningful results, you should be squatting below parallel, with your hip crease below the top of your patella. Going through the full range of motion is optimal for strength and muscle building. Also, contrary to what the gym bros will tell you, science indicates that full squats are actually GOOD for improving knee structure and avoiding injury.
Getting enough of all three macronutrients is important no matter what your fitness goals, but protein is the most critical for strength building. If you're serious about getting big, strong legs, you need to be hitting at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight (and sometimes more) on the daily.
Are you one of those people who likes to warm up with 15-20 minutes of cardio? Or are you trying to slog away on the treadmill for miles after your weight lifting? Either way, you're not optimizing your cardio for strength and size gains. The best way to get your cardio in when trying to build lean muscle is to incorporate some High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is excellent for boosting cardiovascular health while safeguarding your muscle mass and improving metabolism.
Your body's pretty smart. When you impose stress on your muscles, they adapt to better deal with that tension over time. As a result, going to the gym for weeks on end performing the same number of sets / reps of the same exercises in the same order is a recipe for leg day disaster.
The whole point of strength training is to gradually progress in intensity so that your body never gets too used to the same routine. Some great ways to shake things up include adding (or decreasing) the number of sets and reps, boosting your weight volume, chopping rest times, using different equipment (dumbbells versus barbells), and throwing in some new movements.
]]>When you perform exercises with dumbbells, it requires greater stabilization to successfully perform each rep. This, in turn, engages more muscle fibers, which is key for forcing lean muscle growth. Although you may feel as though you're working harder repping that barbell when you bench press, studies show that using dumbbells instead will yield greater returns by recruiting more muscle fibers in the biceps especially.
Training with dumbbells forces the limbs to work unilaterally. Because it's impossible to overcompensate by lifting heavier with one arm than the other, using dumbbells is a great way to stave off - and correct - muscular imbalance.
No matter how you slice it, there are several advanced lifting techniques that just don't adapt well to barbells. Rest-pause sets, mechanical advantage dropsets, and traditional dropsets, to name a few, are very difficult to perform smoothly using barbells. If you're not training with dumbbells, odds are you're missing out on some highly effective techniques for size and strength gains.
Achieving maximum range of motion is one of the most surefire ways to overload the muscles in order to build them up. There's only so far you can extend your range with a barbell row or press, but this isn't the case when using dumbbells. Increasing your range of motion by training with dumbbells will add a whole new dimension of overload to your mass-building routine.
Many benefits of training with dumbbells have the dual advantage of helping to safeguard against injuries. By enhancing your range of motion, you will avoid putting your joints in unnatural positions that create risk of sprains, strains, and worse. Moreover, the probability of injury significantly decreases when you identify and eliminate muscle imbalances.
]]>Ultimately, your hamstrings are to your legs what your triceps are to your arms. Well-developed hamstrings are key to decent leg size and can help boost performance on your other leg moves. While hamstring curls are definitely a good place to start, there are a number of other power moves to target and build up this important muscle group. Here are four exercises that deliver some pretty awesome bang for their buck:
Believe it or not, box squats when performed properly can engage a ton of hamstring tissue. If you’re focusing on hamstring development, box squats actually beat out squatting to full depth since there’s less quad recruitment as a result of the reduced knee flexion and increased hip flexion. When performing this move, always come to a full stop seated on the box while keeping your torso tight. Use a slightly wider stance with toes pointed out to ensure the emphasis remains off your quads.
Hip thrusts offer a great way to train hamstrings without placing undue amounts of stress on your lower back. They also can be a saving grace following injury. Although these moves do target the glutes more than some other exercises, the hamstrings are doing a fair amount of the work as well.
If you’re really ready to torch some hamstring tissue, Romanian deadlifts are the way to go. Generally, you should be keeping your rep count between 6 and 8 when executing this move so that you can go as heavy as possible with the weight.
Movements that target the eccentric strength of the hamstrings are very important for overall leg development. The good news? You can achieve this with bodyweight exercises only. To perform eccentric glute hamstring raises, simply get into a tall kneeling position with your heels secured beneath a bench, heavy chair, or other immovable object. Without bending at the waist and with your heels firmly dug in, slowly let your body lower toward the floor for a 5–8 second count. Gently land on the floor in push-up position, then push yourself back to start. Focus on form rather than volume and keep your rep count between 6–8 for this exercise.
]]>The good news is that pullups don't just target your lat muscles, but also engage dozens of smaller, contributing muscles, which can lead to rapid gains if done properly. Even if you can only do one or two pullups at a time, executing them with precision and intensity is vital. By working your way up and focusing on form, you'll find that 15-20 pullups at one stretch is well within your reach.
To get you started on the road to a massive, chiseled back, here are three of the most effective pullup variations to incorporate into your routine:
Although wide-grip pullups target every segment of the lats, they most strongly emphasize the top third. This makes them ideal as a width-builder. The range of motion on wide-grip pullups may be shorter than most other pullup varieties, but it's still important to get in as many reps as you can pulling as high as you're able. Get your upper chest as close to the bar as possible, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
Side note: The wide-grip pullup was one of Arnold's favorite exercises for constructing wide lats. His training technique was to pick a number of reps - say, 50 - and do as many sets as necessary to reach that figure. Obviously the fewer sets it takes you, the better. If you're able to reach your goal number of pullups in five sets or less, it's time to add some weight to make it a little more challenging!
By contrast, shoulder-width pullups emphasize the upper-middle lats, rhomboids, and rear delts. This is probably the toughest pullup variation because it engages so many different muscle groups to complete each rep. Since your hands are spaced together more closely, you're also able to get in a larger range of motion. To ensure the maximum benefit from the shoulder-width pullup, be sure to go all the way down and fully extend your arms on each rep.
Grip will become key on the shoulder-width pullup since it requires more involvement from your biceps. If you're someone who tends to get forearm fatigue, consider using straps to ensure you're able to make it through your working sets. Ideally you're shooting for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps, again adding weight to increase the challenge level once you can perform the standard pullups with ease. Whatever you, DO NOT cheat the reps by doing kipping pullups.
The last of the pullup varieties, chin-ups tend to target your lower lats, rhomboids, and biceps. By using an underhanded grip, you'll ratchet up the biceps activation far more than with any other pullup variation and get a far wider range of motion. Chin-ups are probably one of the best variations for overall back development since you're firing up your lats from top to bottom as you make your way through each rep. It's also one of the easier pullup options for beginners given the underhanded grip. To keep maximum focus on your lats rather than your biceps, try banging out your reps without your thumb wrapped around the bar.
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The good news? The more weight you deadlift, the more muscle you'll build (at least up to the point of homeostasis, at which time you'll have to switch up your training regimen in order to facilitate continued growth). The bad news? Deadlifts are highly technical moves, which means it's easy to perform them incorrectly and wind up injured.
Here are 3 of my top tips for acing (and maximizing!) your deadlifts:
It stands to reason that, if you want to get good at deadlifts, you should perform them more often. Weightlifting, like any other sport, is all about technique. If you were a tennis player and wanted to improve your serve, you would never just spend 15 minutes once a week working on your serve game - you'd be hitting the court to practice every day!
Similarly, by increasing the frequency of your deadlifts, you give yourself plenty of opportunity to make gains. If you're striving to get better at deadlifts, try incorporating them into your workouts 2-3 times per week for improved muscle recovery and technique.
For those of you with well-rounded training programs, this won't be as much of a concern. But for those of you who like winging it (you know who you are!), don't hyper-focus on your deadlifts at the expense of accessory movements. Accessory movements (e.g., pull-ups, barbell bent-over rows, calf raises, leg presses) are important because they complement your deadlifts by building up any weak areas. Make sure to incorporate at least 2-3 sets of accessory movements per workout.
Take a hard look at your form and determine where you have room to improve. Are you having a hard time getting the weight off the floor? Knocking out some deficit deadlifts may help. Deficit deadlifts involve standing on a weight plate or short platform, usually 1-4 inches high, to grip and lift the weight. Because these exercises increase ROM (range of motion), you'll be able to get stronger at the bottom of the movement.
Is the issue more that you're having trouble locking the weight out? Try some rack pulls (performed with the barbell in a racked starting position). These can really be done at any angle, depending on where you're getting stuck, and will improve the upper portion of your lift.
]]>Preacher curls are amazing for building up both the biceps and the brachialis, which helps create a bigger "peak." For a new twist on an old favorite exercise, try performing one set of preacher curls with your hand holding the middle of the dumbbell, another set with your hand gripping up by the inner plate, and a final set with your hand gripping up by the outer plate. This will target the biceps from different angles for maximum effect.
Whoever thought a back exercise could double as a hamstring-burner? Push your heels against the pad during your entire set of back extensions and you'll feel the hammies get a killer workout as they're kept under constant tension. The important thing here is to allow your lower back to relax and "pull with the hamstrings." Make sure not to hyperextend and only go high enough that you experience a tight squeeze in the back of your legs.
If you're one of those gym goers who avoids barbell curls because they seem to train your forearms more than your biceps . . . well, you're probably doing them wrong. Next time do this exercise with wrists cocked downward, which minimizes engagement of the forearm flexors and helps place the emphasis on the biceps.
Leg presses are by far one of the best moves for building massive wheels. If you're looking to up the challenge factor, try performing one-legged presses. You can also angle your torso and lean your leg inward about 45 degrees to recruit more of the outer thigh muscle and torch the side of your glutes.
For the guys out there having trouble thickening your upper pecs, it's time to switch up the motion. Start by lying on a flat bench and using an underhand, shoulder-width grip to grasp the barbell. Bring the bar down to your nipples, then concentrate on thrusting it up and back to trigger your upper pecs.
Most people perform one-arm dumbbell rows kneeling on a bench with one leg behind them. However, there's a variation on this move that's very powerful for isolating the lats. Place an incline bench at a 45-degree angle, then lay on it chest-down. With one arm, row the dumbbell powerfully backward while your other arm grips the underside of the bench to hold your torso in a fixed position.
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