http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/bodybuilding-advanced-training-techniques.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/bodybuilding-advanced-training-techniques.html Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Drop Sets

Drop sets is a technique in which immediately following your last rep of your last set, you quickly decrease the weight so that you can pump out two or three more reps. Here is an example using seated dumbbell curls: You are performing your last set of dumbbell curls with 35 pound dumbbells. You have just performed nine reps and no matter how hard you try, you can not get that 10th rep. As quickly as possible, drop the 35 pound dumbbells and pick up 25 pound dumbbells and continue until you reach muscular failure again. Now drop the 25 pound dumbbells and quickly grab 10 or 15 pound dumbbells and continue once more. Your biceps muscles will be much more exhausted now than they would have been if you've had stopped the set on the ninth rep of your last set.

Drop sets can be done with virtually any exercise. For some exercises you may have to stop, get up and remove plates from each side of a barbell in order to reduce the weight for your extended set. If you're using a weight stack on a cable machine, you simply need to stop, pull the pin and select a lighter weight. If you train with a partner or several partners on an exercise such as the bench press, you can have the partners remove the weight plates on each side and you could immediately continue your set with the lighter weight.

Negative Reps

Every exercise has a positive and negative aspect to the movement. When you are doing bicep curls, you start with your arms extended and you curl the weight up. That is the positive side of the rep. When you lower the weight back down, that is the negative part of the rep. Your muscles can handle more weight on the way down, that on the way up. Therefore, when you get to muscular failure during your set of curls, what that really means is your muscles are no longer able to raise the weight. However the muscle is still capable of lowering the weight slowly under control. Negative reps is simply a technique in which to continue your set after you reach positive muscular failure by only performing at negative portion of the repetition. This technique is easily done with a training partner. If you are doing barbell curls for example, when you reach the point where you can no longer
raise the weight, your training partner steps in and assists you in raising the weight. This allows you to lower the weight without assistance, one or two additional times. This technique can be very difficult to use in certain exercises such as squats, where the weight would be far too much for one training partner to assist you in raising it so you could lower it again. It is easily used in exercises such as concentration curls or single arm dumbbell curls. When you fail, you can use your other arm to assist you in raising the weight, and then continue lowering the weight with only the muscle being worked. It is also possible to use momentum or body motion to assist you in raising the weight if you don't have a training partner to help you. Use this technique to extend your final set by oneor two repetitions.

Forced Reps

Forced reps is similar technique to negative reps in that your training partner will be helping you to do one or two additional positive repetitions, after muscular failure. Using this technique, your partner will be watching you perform your last set. When you can no longer raise the weight he will give you just barely enough help to keep the weight moving in a positive direction, but he will not lift it for you, as he did in the negative rep technique. Perform one or two forced reps at the end of your last set.

Rest-Pause

This is a technique that you can do without a training partner. To perform this technique, simply perform your last set as usual and until you reach muscular failure and simply pause for 30-45 seconds, and do one more rep. Repeat this process for 2-3 reps and you will surely feel the burn!

Partial Reps

This technique can be used in a couple of different ways. One way in which this is used is to take a weight that is heavier than your normal weight for a particular exercise but only perform one third or one half of a regular repetition. For example, on a bench press, load the weight up a little heavier than you normally use, and when you take it off the rack, only lower the weight one third of the way down before pressing it back up. You'll find that since you're only doing a small portion of the repetition, you can use a much heavier weight. This is a method of increasing your strength in one portion of all full repetition at a time. You'll have to experiment with the amount of weight to use in the various exercises. You can do the top third of the movement, the middle third of the movement or the bottom third of the movement usually working the portion of the movement where you tend to fail at the end of the set. For example, when you're bench pressing and you reach muscular failure, if it is
usually right in the middle of the movement, that's where you want focus your partial reps to improve your strength in that area. If muscular failure for you is when the weight is touching your chest, then you want to work on the bottom third of the movement to increase your strength at that point.

Super Set

A superset is another technique to add intensity to your workouts. This is simply a technique in which you perform two or three different exercises for the same muscle group with little or no rest in between. For example, do a set of bench presses and then when you reach failure, immediately start performing flyes until failure. You can superset squats and leg extensions, barbell curls and concentration curls, military presses and lateral raises, triceps press downs, French presses, and the list goes on. You can also add a third movement once you get accustomed to the technique.

Another way to use supersets is to superset opposing muscles. For example, do a set of a triceps exercise until failure and immediately go to a biceps exercise until failure. Do a set of bench presses and immediately follow that with a set of low pulley rows for the lats. This is a good way to engorge an entire area with blood, enhancing your pump and triggering greater muscle growth.

Super Slow Reps

Super slow reps are and other excellent way to increase intensity and push your muscles past muscular failure. This one is pretty self explanatory, in that basically you do your regular routine except that each rep is performed at an extremely slow pace. Extremely slow can mean anywhere from 4-10 seconds going up, and 4-10 seconds going down. You can experiment with this one as to when in the set to apply this technique, and how long you want each rep to last.

For example, you can perform your set as usual except when you get to appoint where you know you can complete at least one more rep, perform that last rep super slow. The very first time you try this technique, you will feel muscle fibers working that you didn't even know you had!

Static Holds

This is a technique I have recently implemented in my own training. As with most of the other techniques, there are various ways to utilize static holds. That method I use is to apply it only on the negative portion of the last rep of my last set. When I get to the point (in the bench press for example) where I had pressed the barbell all the way up and I know I can not complete another rep, I lower the barbell about half way down and attempt to hold it in that position as long as possible. I will probably only be able to hold it there for a second or two and then fight it all the weight
down until it rests on the power rack pins.

This technique is very similar to super slow reps. The difference is that using super slow reps, you are concentrating on lowering the weight under control for a predetermined period of time (i.e. 10 seconds). Using static holds you are actually attempting to hold the weight in one position which actually requires you to push against the weight as if you are attempting another positive repetition.

Once you begin to experiment with these techniques, you will see and feel the differences between them. You will want to learn to use each technique so that you will have many different methods to increase the intensity of your workouts, which also has the added benefit of making your workouts more interesting! Since the human body has the amazing ability to adapt to repeated stresses, you will
need to change the techniques you use from time to time to keep your muscles growing.

Once you begin to increase the intensity of your workouts, it is more important than ever to be sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs to continue growing. You must consume 1 to 1.5 g of high quality protein per pound of body weight each and every day.

If you are not getting enough protein, you will not get the results you are looking for! The workout only triggers muscle growth, but the actual process of increasing muscle size and strength occurs between workouts. It is during this recovery phase that your muscles rebuild using the amino acids (protein) that are available in the bloodstream. It is up to you to provide your muscles with a continuing supply of protein. It is also a good idea to feed your muscles the proper amount of creatine and glutamine before and after each workout.

For more information on Protein Supplements, visit:

http://www.RockSolidBodybuilding.com/Protein




--
David Monyer has been involved in bodybuilding for the last 20 years, making most of his muscle gains in his basement gym, as well as different clubs and gyms over the years. For more information and well researched sites to purchase equipment and supplements, visit http://www.RockSolidBodybuilding.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/bodybuilding-forearm-training--new-mass-from-an-old-twist.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/bodybuilding-forearm-training--new-mass-from-an-old-twist.html Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500 Forearm Training

I personally have always struggled with developing my forearms to match my upper arms. I have recently started to use one of the oldest forearm development tools, called the wrist roller. This is a simple device that can be made with things that most people can find around the house, and yet in my opinion is one of most effective forearm developers ever devised. As you'll soon see, the reason a lot of people don't use this exercise is because it is quite painful to perform as it develops a deep burn in the forearm muscles very quickly!

This simple device can be made with a broom handle and a 5 foot length of rope. (you can see pictures by clicking the link at the bottom of this article) You can also go to Home Depot or your nearest home center and buy and 18 inch long wooden dowel that is between one and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Drill a hole through the center of the dowel about 1/4" in diameter. Now take one end of a 5 foot piece of rope and feed it through the hole in the dowel and tie in a nice big knot on the other and so it can't be pulled back through. The next thing you're going to do is to tie either a small dumbbell or a 5 - 10 pound barbell plate to the other end of the rope. Adjust the length of the rope so that when you hold the dowel in your hands and extend your hands straight out in front of your body, the dumbbell or barbell plate is just barely touching the floor.

Now you have made yourself your very own wrist roller exercise device! To perform the exercise, hold the dowel straight out in front of you with both hands and start to roll it either way, moving only at the wrist until the rope is wrapped completely around the dowel and the weight has been lifted all the way up until it stops. Now slowly roll the dowel the opposite way to lower the weight. It is very important that you keep the weight under control, and do it relatively slowly. Do not move your arms, only your wrist for maximum effect. When the weight is lowered all the way down to the bottom, keep turning the dowel in the same direction, and it will start to roll back up. Keep rolling it in that direction until the weight comes up to the top once again. Now reverse the direction and lower it to the bottom. This completes one rep.

There are several variations in the way you can perform this exercise. The method outlined above is my preferred technique. It can also be performed while resting your elbows on something to support your arms so that you can focus more on your forearms and leave your deltoids out of it. Another method is to stand on a chair or bench, and instead of extending your arms out in front of you just allow your arms to hang down in front of you and roll the weight up and down in that manner. If you follow the rolling technique I have outlined above, you'll get a thorough workout of both the back and front of your forearms. If you do it correctly, you will quickly start to feel the pump and the burn that is so effective in building forearm strength using this device.

Unless you already have incredible forearm strength and endurance, you will notice that it doesn't take much weight to fry your forearm muscles! I would recommend performing three or four complete reps of this exercise at least three times a week at the end of your workouts. Always do this workout last because you will greatly diminish your ability to lift weights for any other exercise! Or if you don't have a workout that day, just do it before you go to bed. Just make sure you don't do it right before you're going to need your hands for something like typing!

I also recommend that you do not use this exercise as your entire forearm workout. I only suggest that this is an excellent additional movement that will really add mass and strength to your forearms if that is a problem area for you or if you really need to increase your forearm strength for some kind of sports activity.

A good complete forearm workout should include standard wrist curls and reverse wrist curls for three sets of 12-15 reps for each of the two exercises. Finish the workout with wrist rollers and you will experience a most incredible pump that will trigger new muscle growth!

I personally have noticed greater endurance, strength and size in my forearms in just a few short weeks of performing this exercise. Try it for a month and see if you experience similar results. you won't be disappointed!

Please keep in mind that successful bodybuilding training requires proper nutrition. You must provide your growing muscles with the proper vitamins, minerals and protein.

Protein is by far the most important nutrient to a bodybuilder. You must consume 1 to 1.5 grams of high quality protein per pound of bodyweight every day to make quality muscle gains. This could mean 200-300 grams per day for most bodybuilders. This protein should come from chicken, beef, turkey, eggs, milk, and other animal sources. To determine how much protein these foods contain, here is a useful chart that will help you plan your diet.

Rocksolidbodybuilding.com/Protein content

You can find pictures and a video of the wrist roller device at:

Rocksolidbodybuilding.com/Forearmtraining



--
David Monyer has been involved in bodybuilding for the last 20 years, making most of his muscle gains in his basement gym, as well as different clubs and gyms over the years. For more information and well researched sites to purchase equipment and supplements, visit http://www.RockSolidBodybuilding.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/beginning-bodybuilding.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/fitness/beginning-bodybuilding.html Wed, 16 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Increasing resistance is possible due to the body's ability to adapt to stress by becoming stronger in response to the stimulus of exercise.Simply put, when you work a muscle hard, the fibers are actually damaged or broken down and the body responds by repairing the muscle and making it slightly bigger and stronger to prepare for the work to be repeated. If the work (exercise) is repeated frequently (with enough rest in between for the repair process to take place) with increased resistance each time, theoretically, the muscle will get progressively larger and stronger.That is the basis of bodybuilding weight training.

It is a simple process, but there are many, many variables that can affect how fast and how much the muscle will grow. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Nutrition
Rest
Intensity of workouts
Frequency of workouts

Nutrition is a huge part of successful bodybuilding. I would highly recommend reading everything you can get your hands on dealing with bodybuilding nutrition and supplementation. One way to keep informed in this area is to subscribe to a good Bodybuilding magazine such as Flex or Muscle & Fitness. Both of these fine bodybuilding magazines have many great articles each month dealing with diet, nutrition and supplements.

Rest is another important area to consider. In this day and age, it is not unusual to get less than 6 hours of sleep a night for a lot of people. I recommend trying to get at least 8 hours if at all possible, even if you need to take a nap! Your body does most of it's growing as you sleep, so get all you can!

Workout intensity is something that entire books have been written on. I recommend reading up on this topic as well. Flex and Muscle & Fitness deal with this topic in depth as well. Basically you need to find the right amount of intensity to trigger muscle growth. When a bodybuilder is just starting out, it does not take much to trigger new muscle growth. However, the body can quickly adapt to repeated stress and this can cause muscle growth to slow or stop all together. When this occurs, bodybuilders refer to it as a "plateau". This is when changes to workout intensity must occur. The muscle must be subjected to a new kind of stress that it is not used to in order to stimulate new growth. Fortunately, there are many methods of changing the workout intensity, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Frequency of workouts is something that will vary from bodybuilder to bodybuilder. Some bodybuilders workout every day and some only 3 days per week. You will have to experiment with this to determine what works best for you. You must give your muscles enough of a break between workouts to repair themselves, but you don't want to wait too long between workouts or you will not get maximum results.

Beginner Level

First and foremost, check with your physician to make sure you are in good physical condition to start a weight lifting or bodybuilding program! I recommend that beginners to bodybuilding start with a simple workout plan. This plan should consist of one exercise per bodypart, working the entire body 3 times per week.

Bodyparts are divided as follows:

Chest (pecs)
Back (lats)
Shoulders (delts)
Triceps (back of upper arm)
Biceps (front of upper arm)
Forearms
Abdominals (abs)
Quadriceps (front of thigh)
Hamstrings (back of thigh)
Calves (back of lower leg)

Here is an example of a workout:

Bench press
Lat pulldowns
Military Press
Tricep pushdowns
Barbell curls
Crunches
Leg extensions
Leg curls
Standing Calf raises

You can start out each exercise with a warm up set. For this set, choose a weight that will allow you to do 25 reps without killing yourself. This will get your muscles ready for heavier weights.Then do 3 sets of each exercise of 8-10 repetitions.

For your first set, choose a weight that will allow you to 10 reps without struggling too much. Rest for 30-60 seconds, then increase the weight for your second set that makes 10 reps considerably harder. For your third set, choose a weight that is heavy enough that you cannot do any more than 8-10 reps no matter how hard you try.This is called muscular failure. You must take your muscles to the point of failure or they will not grow. The last few reps of the last set are the ones that will trigger your body to respond by making the muscle bigger and stronger.

Write the weights down for each exercise so you know where you are for the next workout.

It will take a bit of trial and error until you find the correct weight in each exercise. Be sure to take care when you first start out not to load the bar up with some ridiculous weight that may cause injury to your muscles, tendons, or your foot when you drop it!

As time goes on and you are diligently following your training program, you will notice that when you get to rep number 10 on your last set, you feel like you can do one or two more. This is good! Go ahead and do one or two more for a total of 11 or 12. When you are able to do this for 2 or 3 workouts in a row, it is time to increase the weight in that particular exercise.

If you are training a relatively large muscle group, such as chest or quads, you may try increasing the weight by 10 or 15 pounds. If you are doing biceps or delts, then maybe increase only 5 pounds or even 2.5 pounds. The new weight should limit you to 7 or 8 reps on the last set. Soon you will be back up to 12 with the new weight, and then you will bump the weight up even more.These increases are what you are working so hard for. Increased weight means increased strength, which means increased muscle mass!

Be sure to write everything down as you train. This is very important for several reasons. First, you may not remember what weight you used in a particular exercise the next time you workout, and you will waste time and effort having to figure it out again! Second, you need be able to gauge your progress as time goes on. When you see that you are using 10 or 15 more pounds than you did a month ago, you know your strength is increasing and this is great feedback!I recommend getting a good training journal, but you can use any pad of paper. Create a space for the following data for each workout:
Date
Muscle Group worked
Exercise name
Number of sets
Number of reps in each set
Weight used each set
Personal Notes

Write things down that may have a positive or negative affect on your workout, such as energy level, whether you were tired or still sore from your last workout, or maybe your left shoulder has been bothering you, etc. If you are detailed here, you may be able to learn some important clues as to what makes you have a good workout verses an "ok" workout. Maybe you'll find that when you workout right after work you have more energy than when you wait until 8 o'clock. Or maybe certain foods you eat before a workout help you with your energy and focus. Write down if you have a cold, or if you are recovering from an injury, or if any particular exercise hurts you when you do it. These notes will come in handy sooner or later in the course of your bodybuilding program.

Use this program for 4-6 months and you should see some real progress. At that time, you may want to start to include some advanced techniques to increase your workout intensity in order to continue making good gains.

--
David Monyer has been involved in bodybuilding for the last 20 years, making most of his muscle gains in his basement gym, as well as different clubs and gyms over the years. For more information and well researched sites to purchase equipment and supplements, visit RockSolidBodybuilding.com.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>