While I've previously explained that stretching seldom helps improve your flexibility in the long term, there are some benefits that come from stretching. This exciting study from 2015 done by Miranda et. al. tested stretching as a means for increasing training volume (the number of repetitions performed in a set or session) in the wide-grip seated row exercise. There were two groups of participants, both of whom performed three sets to failure with two minutes of rest in between sets. The only difference between the groups was that the experimental group performed 40 seconds of a passive pectoralis major stretch at the end of their allotted rest periods. The idea here was to stretch the antagonist (opposing) muscles.
What the experimenters found was fascinating: there was a statistically significant difference in the antagonist stretching group. Those participants performed more repetitions in all three sets. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated greater contractions in the latissimus dorsi and the biceps brachii muscles.
While this particular study only tested one exercise, it is likely that we can utilize this concept with other movements to reap similar benefits. For instance, in doing a bench press, you could stretch the latissimus dorsi. Before your set of leg curls, stretch out your quadriceps. You get the idea. This hack can help you get more training volume, which will ultimately result in greater hypertrophy (muscle growth)!
The mechanisms behind these findings are still unclear. My guess would be that stretching the antagonist muscles would allow for greater range of motion throughout the exercise, and thus, a stronger contraction in the agonist muscles. For example, the pecs have to stretch during the top of the rowing exercise. A bigger stretch in the pecs could possibly allow for the lats to generate a stronger contraction.
Static stretching before a set may be disadvantageous for power production, and thus, I do not prescribe it before movements like the clean and jerk. However, in a bodybuilding routine, there may be some added bonuses to stretching during rest periods to accumulate more total training volume.
This concept has not yet been applied to strength-based movements, but it could be an interesting point for experimentation on your own before the big lifts. Give this trick a try and see how you like it!
It is common for a lifter to seek boulder shoulder status. While having protruding, rounded shoulders certainly looks nice, the shoulders are very vulnerable to injury. The demands of a sedentary, desk-ridden society already makes our shoulders unhappy, and if you translate this dysfunction into the gym, you're gonna have a bad time.
I have dealt with my own shoulder issues in the past, and I know just how aggravating it can be to have to modify workouts or avoid certain movements. Ultimately, I had to learn the hard way what exercises provoked my shoulder pain. Many common-place shoulder exercises can be effective for deltoid and pectoralis hypertrophy, but they also promote instability and compensation. For both myself and my clients, there are four main exercises that I avoid for the sake of sparing their shoulders:
Pec flies. Regardless of whether you're using cables, dumbbells, or even the pec-deck machine, you're most likely better off without them. With this movement, many lifters tend to go well beyond the necessary range of motion to isolate the pectoralis muscles in transverse shoulder flexion. You also run the risk of sufficiently irritating your biceps tendons. Instead, they end up stretching the hell out of their anterior deltoids and forcing their shoulders into a yucky internally rotated position that makes me cringe. For chest development, I prefer to have clients do reverse grip bench press, neutral grip dumbbell bench press (with a slow eccentric focus), and Spoon presses. If you're hell-bent on keeping pec flies in your workout routine, try to minimize the range of motion so that your arms only go slightly above parallel, and make sure you maintain a slight bend in your elbows.
Behind-the-neck lat pull-downs. I've addressed my feelings about behind-the-neck exercises previously, so to save you from a redundant rant, I'll give you the abridged version: these movements (especially in lat pull-downs) encourage you into flexed cervical spine and often reinforce poor shoulder movement. Very few people possess adequate shoulder and thoracic mobility to perform these. If you really want wings, stay away from these. Instead, try rowing variations, pull-ups (you add weight or go chest-to-bar if you want a greater challenge), straight arm pull-downs, and maybe the occasional Red Bull. (I couldn't resist...)
Yikes!
Box dips. In a recent Instagram video, I mentioned that I stray away from programming dips on a bench or a box. Effectively, this variation places unnecessary stress on the anterior capsule and tendons of the shoulder. To perform these, a client must flare the elbows out excessively, while the shoulder again shifts into a precarious position. You will see this as well on bar dips, but to a lesser degree, because the athlete's shoulder and elbows are closer to his center of mass. The ideal way to do dips, in my opinion, though, is on the rings. The rings force the athlete to properly adduct his shoulder, and his arms are closest to his center of mass (thus resulting in a more mechanically advantageous position. If you're currently unable to do ring dips, stick to push-ups on the rings, and then slowly progress to a full ring dip.
Upright rows. I'm sure you've heard trainers shun this exercise before. While I think it can be helpful for developing the shoulders for the right client, there are always other options. I've found that they cause more harm than good for most people, as usually the anterior deltoids are the strongest part of the shoulder. Instead, many people would benefit from training the posterior or rear deltoids with back flies to balance out the omnipresent imbalance from front to back.
In general, gym goers can benefit from fewer pushing exercises and more pulling exercises. I usually propose a 2:1 ratio for upper body pulling:pushing days. By this, I mean that you should only spend about one day per week doing bench press, push press, etc. (or at least with those movements as your primary focus), and two days with a pulling/rowing focus. The anterior deltoids and pectoralis tend to run the show (especially in men), and, thus, can cause a lot of pathologies and mobility restrictions. Your rhomboids, rear deltoids, lats, and lower trapezius can always benefit from some more love and attention.
There are plenty of safe and effective exercises that will still give you strong shoulders, such as those that I've listed in this article. You can be smart about your upper body training and avoid nagging injuries that will keep you sidelined for weeks at-a-time. Make these changes to your routine, and your shoulders will be happier in the long run!
If you seek out nearly any fitness-related website for information regarding rep schemes, you'll see something like this:
For size, do 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions
For strength, do multiple sets of 5 of fewer repetitions at a heavy weight
For muscular endurance, do sets of 20 or more repetitions
While this is, generally satisfactory advice, I want to delve a little bit more into this topic.
First of all, genetics play a big factor in hypertrophy (muscle growth). Everyone responds differently to certain types of training. Every person has a different distribution of type I (slow twitch) and type IIa/b (fast twitch) fibers. Renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin notes, for example:
"It should be noted that the triceps are more universally fast-twitch dominant, while there is more variation in fiber-type composition in the biceps. This example demonstrates why training programs should take each individual’s personal characteristics into consideration. This is true in terms of both exercise selection and especially the volume and intensity of the workload, since individuals and specific muscles that are either fast-twitch or slow-twitch dominant will respond differently to a given level of volume and intensity. Understanding what you are dealing with will make your training programs significantly more effective."
Put simply, if someone has more fast twitch fibers in a given muscle, then he may need to train a bit differently than an individual with a higher percentage of slow twitch fibers in that muscle. Muscles with a greater percentage of fast twitch fibers benefit from fewer repetitions per set, whereas muscles that are predominantly slow twitch will grow easier with the use of high volume. This also means that there's a great deal of variance in the ideal amount of repetition volume depending on what body part you're training.
While 8-12 repetitions will help build mass, it's certainly not the only method. In fact, it's ideal to change up your split if you've hit a plateau.
If you're gonna bench press to failure, just please, don't follow his example.
One method I like to use on certain movements is to go to failure. There is no prescribed number of repetitions, necessarily, but you want to keep repeating the exercise until your muscles give out and can no longer move the weight. This is a great way to induce strength gains. Nóbrega and Libardi note that "when it comes to trained individuals, evidence shows greater increases in muscle strength after [high intensity resistance training] performed to muscle failure compared to no failure." Some people avoid missing lifts, but the evidence shows that these repetitions recruit more muscle activation, and, thus, lead to greater adaptation. To apply this, you can put something like 85% of your best back squat on the bar and do one AMRAP set (as many reps as possible) to failure. Make sure you have a spotter nearby or you know how to properly miss a squat. It should also be noted that you do not need to do this frequently (perhaps only once or twice per mesocycle), as this type of training is quite stressful for the central nervous system.
You can also utilize this concept for muscular hypertrophy. "Recent studies have pointed muscular failure to be an important factor in order to maximize adaptations when RT is done at low intensities (LI-RT), " continued Nóbrega and Libardi. Try to use really light weights on your next set of biceps curls and go until you can no lift the dumbbells.
Additionally, while many "fitness gurus" have deemed high repetition sets as inefficient for muscle growth, research has shown that extremely high repetition training is, indeed effective for muscle growth. The conventional understanding is that sets of 20 repetitions or more are to be used for endurance of the muscle. Schoenfeld et. al. showed us, in his 2015 study, that 25-35 rep sets can work just as well as the traditional 8-12 rep sets we all know and love.
Schoenfeld drafted 24 experienced male trainees for his research. "Training was performed 3 times per week on nonconsecutive days, for a total of 8 weeks. Both [high load] and [low load] conditions produced significant increases in thickness of the elbow flexors (biceps), elbow extensors (triceps), and quadriceps femoris (9.3 vs. 9.5%, respectively), with no significant differences noted between groups." While this study defies the industry standard, it demonstrates that you can utilize many different intensities and volumes to elicit the same training effect.
Finally, I want to talk about sets. Most programs seem to cling to the magical 3-4 range. Every once in a while, you can try 5 or more sets. Why stop there? Sometimes I'll even do 10 sets of 10 (100 total reps) of a given movement. This is a great way to increase total workout volume and stimulate hypertrophy. You don't necessarily need to do 10 sets of every single accessory exercise, because you'd spend a full day in the gym, but it's a great way to finish off an intense session.
Rowing movements, like the dumbbell row or the kettlebell row, are a staple in any weight training or bodybuilding program. In fact, I would venture to say that a well-developed back is a fantastic indicator of overall strength and athleticism.
When you implement these movements into your routine, you want to make sure you're getting the most bang for your buck. If you execute a dumbbell row correctly, it is an excellent exercise for improving grip strength, shoulder stability, posture, and it can also advance your other big lifts like the bench press and the deadlift!
Two of the biggest blunders I notice most on this movement are the following:
Check out the position of her supporting arm. Don't do that.
Scapular retraction of the supporting arm. I mentioned this same concept on my post about perfecting the plank. Scapular retraction (when you pull the shoulder blades back), is a significantly less secure position than either scapular protraction (pushing the shoulders forward), or maintaining a neutral position somewhere in the middle. If you can see your entire shoulder blade, you're pulling from an unstable foundation.
Kipping as you pull. Kipping is great for those who want to lift the most weight (for their own ego boosters), or individuals who are mostly focused on achieving more reps per set, but if you want to utilize the powerful latissimus dorsi muscles to their capacity, you're better off without it. If your main goal is strength, use a lighter weight, or do as many repetitions as you can perform with strict technique.
While the dumbbell row might seem like a pretty simple exercise, there are a lot of little nuances involved to achieve maximal contraction of the prime movers. Make these two easy fixes, and your friends and family will look at you and say "baby got back!"
Biceps curls, lateral shoulder raises, and shrugs, oh my. These are just a few staple exercises of the bodybuilding community. Although individuals who belong to the more "functional" end of the spectrum can write these exercises off as being useless and purely vain, isolation exercises for the sheer purpose of hypertrophy (muscle growth) certainly have their place in a well-constructed strength training routine.
Bodybuilders aim to achieve symmetry and balance. They use open chain exercises (isolations) to attack specific muscle groups.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the strength athletes (in sports like weightlifting or powerlifting). While movements like squats, presses and pulls are excellent for building power and brute strength, the big lifts can sometimes fail to target certain groups of muscles.
Let's use a powerlifter, for example. A squat, bench press and deadlift will, yes, activate nearly every muscle in the body. In each of these lifts, however, big prime movers will be responsible for generating the majority of the force required to move the weight. The smaller muscles may not get the attention they require or deserve.
There are three major reasons why I believe bodybuilding exercises can help take your strength to the next level.
They target lagging muscles. Now, as I alluded to above, while movements like a deadlift do require nearly every muscle in the body to work in unison, the synergistic (assistant) muscles may not fire to a very high degree. It is quite common that powerlifters need to add some assistance work to focus on weaker areas. Barbell hip thrusters could help you improve glute activation and take some stress off of your lower back. Cable triceps extensions could be just the exercise you need to strengthen your triceps. Now, your triceps can work in conjunction with the latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major and minor muscles, and deltoids to create a stronger drive in your bench press. Depending on your technique, you may not be strengthening all of the necessary muscles from the big lifts alone.
They improve muscular balance. When there is a lack of balance between the right and left sides of the body, or even between the anterior chain and the posterior chain, problems can arise. If your left side is significantly stronger than your right (as you might find in a pitcher or a tennis player), it is extremely important to give your weaker side some extra love. Similarly, issues like knee pain can arise when a lifter is quadriceps dominant with comparatively weak hamstrings. Similarly, if I hear someone complain of shoulder pain, I look for a lack of balance in the upper body. I will have them strengthen the posterior deltoids, the middle and lower trapezius, and the external rotators. An ideal physique in bodybuilding is one in which all areas of the body are equally developed. "[A] symmetrical body is also less prone to injury. A particular muscle group will be less likely to compensate for a weaker muscle group, thus overburdening that muscle group while further weakening, and potentially injuring, the under-developed muscle group, if the weaker muscle group is balanced with the stronger grouping," says David Robinson, CPT. Some isolation work will go a long way to build a more symmetrical physique.
Bigger muscles are stronger muscles. Pretty straight forward. Greg Nuckols, a powerlifting coach, said it well, "Think of muscle mass as potential strength. If you gain mass, you may not necessarily be stronger right away (i.e. if you trained with lower weights and lost a bit of technical efficiency with max weights), but you have the potential to be stronger. If you stay the same size, you have a cap on how strong you can possibly get. When comparing two individuals, the one with more muscle may not necessarily be the stronger one (for all the factors listed above – muscle attachments, segment lengths, technique, etc.), though he probably will be. However, when comparing small you to jacked you, all other things being equal, jacked you will be stronger." Basically, the bigger your muscles are, the more force they can produce! Weightlifters fixate on training for strength, but sometimes they forget to include hypertrophy work into their accessory sessions. This small change can have a big influence on your performance.
Doing "curls for the girls" is fantastic, but isolation movements can also provide a multitude of other benefits. In fact, building bigger muscles overall can potentially improve your main lifts and simultaneously make your body more resilient to injury! Improve aesthetics and get stronger. Channel your inner Ahhhhnold and add some more bodybuilding exercises into your workout routine.
The process of muscle growth is called hypertrophy. However, based on your training, your muscles will adapt accordingly. There are two types of hypertrophy of skeletal muscle: sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and myofibrillar hypertrophy:
Bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is often coined as being "aesthetic muscle." Without getting too technical, this type of hypertrophy increases the size or the volume of the muscle. Bodybuilders are often known for having this type of muscle. Usually, the training protocol to achieve "size" gains consists of 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps of any given exercise. These sets are performed at a moderately heavy weight, and the athlete rests for less than 3 minutes of rest in between each set.
Powerlifter Scott Lade
Myofibrillar hypertrophy is sometimes called "functional muscle." Myofibrillar hypertrophy creates a more compact, dense muscle. Typically this type of hypertrophy indicates significant gains in strength. A training protocol for strength usually calls for lower repetitions (between 1 and 6) and, depending on the goal of the athlete, between 5-10 sets. These sets are performed at the heaviest weight that the athlete can use with good form. The rest time between sets is often longer than 3 minutes. When an athlete is trying to increase strength, he or she typically looks to find a 1 repetition maximum (1 RM). This means that he or she is trying to lift as much weight as is possible with good form for 1 repetition. When developing a strength training program, he or she would likely perform multiple sets of either 3 or 5 repetitions at a percentage of that 1 repetition maximum. The idea behind this is that, in order to experience real gains in strength, you need to put your body under a heavy stimulus. Without using the heaviest loads possible, you are never going to adapt and lift heavier weights.
As you can see, Powerlifter Scott Lade and Bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman weigh nearly the same, but have very different body types. It is important to note, however, that these two types of hypertrophy go hand-in-hand. With size, you will find increased levels of strength, and with strength, you will certainly see the size of your muscles increase. Obviously, this does no mean that bodybuilders are weak, or that strong athletes cannot have big, defined muscles. This is simply meant to guide you when you are developing your own exercise regimen. If you are training more for aesthetics, aim for higher repetitions. If your primary focus is strength, stick with lower repetitions and heavier weight. By sticking to these basic guidelines, you can program a more effective training program for yourself.
There are two different types of strength-based exercises: isolation exercises and compound movements. Isolation exercises focus on one specific muscle; this can be useful for a few different purposes.
Rehabilitation of a muscle can be facilitated with isolation exercises. If you have muscular imbalances or under-active muscles, isolation exercises are perfect for strengthening those areas. For example, if you have pain in your hip flexors after squatting, you may have under-active glutes. Isolations like glute bridges or clams can help you reactivate your gluteal muscles and prevent further pain or injury down the road.
Aesthetics athletes (e.g. bodybuilders or bikini competitors) may utilize isolation exercises to really hone in and focus on one specific area. A lot of these athletes include exercises like lateral shoulder raises and biceps curls in their routines to really define those areas most important to the judges.
Image courtesy of www.precisionnutrition.com
While there are certain advantages to using these exercises, isolation exercises place a lot of shear forces on your joints. Put simply, shear force occurs when a joint is being pulled or pushed in two different directions. To better understand this, imagine a leg extension machine: the seat is pushing your femur upwards, while the pad is pushing your tibia down. This shear force can cause ACL strains as you start to use a heavier weight and higher reps. If you have preexisting knee problems, exercises like leg extensions or leg presses may not be well suited for you.
Compound exercises utilize multiple different muscles. Because more muscles are recruited, compound movements are more efficient. Instead of spending hours in the gym doing multiple triceps and shoulder exercises separately, you can use exercises like dips, push-ups or bench presses to target all of these areas simultaneously. You only need a handful of exercises to adequately train every muscle in your body. Spending hours on isolations exercises is unnecessary when you can spend half of that time in the gym and get just as great of a workout.
Similarly, compound exercises are more efficient from a metabolic standpoint. The metabolic cost of doing squats far surpasses that of doing leg curls and leg extensions. Not only do you recruit more muscle groups, but you are also stimulating more muscle fibers. The more muscle fibers stimulated, the more anaerobic hormones (i.e. testosterone, Human Growth Hormone, etc.) that are released. If you're looking to have a greater caloric expenditure, compound exercises are the way to go.
Finally, compound exercises train multiple different aspects of athleticism. While isolations only focus on muscular hypertrophy, compound exercises function as a great neuromuscular exercise as well: they teach proper bodily positioning, improve range of motion, enhance core stability and balance, in addition to strengthening the muscles.
Depending on your goals, you may find it necessary to incorporate both types of exercise into your fitness regimen. Find exercises that work best for you and stick with them! Ultimately, any type of exercise is great for your body, and as long as you're working hard, your body will thank you.
