ABDOMINAL MUSCLE TRAINING

Top Workout Tips

• Don't overtrain your midsection. If you want your abdominal muscles to grow, train them only once a week, the same as any other body part. If you train them more than once a week, you will be conditioning them, but they won't increase in muscle mass as quickly as if they are allowed to grow.

Consider the logic: Biceps, triceps and shoulders are trained indirectly with many other body parts, such as chest and shoulders, so if you do a triceps routine three times a week by themselves, it's the equivalent of training them nine times a week. Admittedly, their involvement with chest and shoulders is ancillary, so you're probably safe with twice-a-week workouts for them; my experience, though, is that once is best.

• Use a split routine for abs. I train my rectus abdominis on Wednesday, and my serratus and intercostals on Saturday, both so hard that I need lots of recovery before hitting the remainder.

• Abdominals, exercise 1: Lie flat on the floor, place your hands behind your neck, and raise your head, shoulders and back off the floor, crunching your abs. I use alternating techniques: inhaling on the crunch one day and exhaling on the crunch the next; each produces a different type of contraction. Do two sets, each to failure.

• Abdominals, exercise 2: Lie flat on the floor, extend your arms along the sides of your body; then, pressing them against the floor, raise your entire lower body, including hips, to a 45-degree angle, crunching your lower abs as you inhale. Do two sets to failure.

• Abdominals, exercise 3: Machine crunches, three sets to failure.

• Serratus and intercostals, exercise 1: Lie on the floor, with your knees bent all the way, heels against your butt and your feet slightly off the floor. Rotate your knees until they touch the floor, first on one side, then on the other, three sets to failure.

• Serratus and intercostals, exercise 2: Hang from a horizontal bar, knees bent, heels against butt. Crunch your knees into your ribs, first on one side, then the other, three sets to failure.

That's all you need, if you train as hard as you should; otherwise, you'll have to do this routine twice a week, but expect slower results.

SHOULDER WORKOUT

THE NO-CHEAT SHOULDER WORKOUT

Try Gunter Schlierkamp's BRACING DELTS

3/21/2008

Written by Gunter Schlierkamp

FLEXONLINE.COM

In his prime, Gunter Schlierkamp was known for his flashing smile, almost 300-pound contest physique and full round muscles. He is one of a handful of pros to place ahead of Ronnie Coleman since Coleman began his chain of dominance in 1998. Although the big German last competed at the 2006 Olympia, he was a fan favorite for his entire IFBB career.

Here are some of Gunter's shoulder-training tips and a delt routine that combines isolation techniques with power training.

TIP ONE:
Heavy compound movements spread muscle involvement over the shoulder girdle, while high-rep isolation exercises pinpoint the indiTIP TWO:
This workout should be followed once a week, as the first bodypart trained in the session.

TIP THREE:
Do two warm-up sets before the first two exercises and an additional warm-up before the hammer raises.

TIP FOUR:
All the sets are pyramided with increasing weight and decreasing reps.

TIP FIVE:
Using a bench to brace yourself will allow more concentrated power to be applied.This can be accomplished by bracing the body against the seatback of an upright bench for lateral raises, upright rows and hammer raises.

TIP SIX:
To maintain focus on the medial delts while doing the raises, keep palms facing downward. Use a slight break in the elbows and bias them slightly forward.

TIP SEVEN:
Doing the seated military presses in a Smith machine will allow more power without arching the back or using the front delts too much. Use a grip just outside shoulder width and lower the bar until it almost touches the pecs, just in front of your chin.

TIP EIGHT:
By facing the seatback for upright rows (like for the lateral raises), you can lift heavier and focus on the medial and rear delts without using your back. Use a wide grip.

TIP NINE:
Since front raises can pitch the body forward, bracing the body forward against a seatback for the front hammer raises is effective. It allows both dumbbells to be raised simultaneously with greater control and stability. Using a hammer grip with palms facing each other places stress on the front delt heads.

TIP TEN:
Laterals can be braced facedown on an incline bench, but they are also effective for isolating the rear delts while standing and bent over at the hips. The bent-over position serves to keep the center of gravity low and will minimize the body from moving back and forth during the laterals.

TIP ELEVEN:
Unless you are a very experienced bodybuilder, deltoid size should be your priority before deltoid shape.

TIP TWELVE:
Don't jerk the weight. The best way to avoid this is to use heavy enough weight that you can "command" your delt muscles to involve themselves in the movement.

CHEST CHANGING

CHEST CHANGING

Eight pec-shocking tactics Eight pec-shocking tactics The old standards — such as the music of Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley and Ray Charles — never really go out of style. They’re timeless and, thus, they keep getting rediscovered by new generations. Likewise, when it comes to chest training, most of today’s bodybuilders rely on the same old standards as their iron forefathers: flat and incline presses, dips, flat and incline flyes, three or four exercises per workout, typically eight to 10 reps per set. The classics still hold up, but your chest can grow accustomed to variations on the same routine. When it grows accustomed, it stops growing. The following eight approaches are riffs off the standards, but come up with completely new mixes designed to break you out of routine routines and pump up your pecs.

When utilizing the Weider Pre-Exhaustion Training Principle, an isolation exercise (which directly stresses one muscle) is performed before a compound exercise (which directly stresses more than one muscle), so that the muscle targeted with the isolation lift gives out first during the compound exercise. That means the muscle giving out has been trained to exhaustion, which in turn triggers optimum growth. Front deltoids and triceps usually do much of the work in a chest press, but if you do flyes before presses, your pecs will give out before your delts or triceps. “Re-exhausting” is most effective if you superset the exercises, immediately following each set of flyes with a set of presses.

Supersetting bench presses and dumbbell pullovers was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite techniques. The combination of a constricting movement (bench presses) and a stretching

movement (pullovers) creates a tremendous upper-body pump. In addition, it’s a very convenient superset, because after finishing a set of bench presses, you can quickly rotate 90 degrees and begin pullovers on the same be

BODY-SPECIFIC TRAINING

Regardless of genetics, everyone can make dramatic physical changes by bodybuilding. Understand your genetic strengths and weaknesses, and then use that knowledge to help you achieve the muscularly proportionate physique you desire. Although few people fit entirely into one category, it is best to think of your shape when you were a teenager to see which category fits you best. Here are the three most widely accepted somatotypes, or physique classifications, and some training suggestions.

BODY TYPE NO. 1: ENDOMORPH
CHARACTERISTICS: Large bones, wide hips and waists, short muscles. Slower metabolism means easier ain fat easily.
TIPS: Focus on restricting and burning calories, Regular cardio is a must. Stick to moderate reps (8-15) to gain muscle mass, which will utilize more calories than fat. Don't restrict carbs too much, because endomorphs frequently exhibit less energy than the other somatotypes. Don't let your small clavicles, coupled with a larger pelvic girdle, dissuade you from trying to improve your V taper. Accentuate side-delt and upper-lat development, and do minimal work for hip and oblique muscles.
RECOMMENDED EXERCISES: Side laterals and upright rows with a shoulder-width grip. Pullups and pulldowns to the front will help add to your visual width. These recommended exercises should probably be done early in your workouts, when you are at your freshest.

BODY TYPE NO. 2: ECTOMORPH
CHARACTERISTICS: Thinner bones and longer limbs. Naturally thin. Narrow shoulders, hips and waists. High energy levels and a high metabolism.
TIPS: Consume more calories and protein, while conserving energy. For the most part, avoid cardio. Keep workouts short, heavy and intense, with low reps (6-10) for the basic compound lifts. Don't train large bodyparts more frequently than once every four days. Get plenty of sleep for recuperation and strive to take in easily digested protein within two hours of bedtime. If you are too thin and want to fill out your limbs, fully stretch each bodypart before and after training it to help your muscles reach their maximum length.
RECOMMENED EXERCISES: Focus on movements that emphasize the lower area or lowest muscle of a bodypart, such as cable rows and one-arm dumbbell rows for lats, and hack squats and leg extensions for quadriceps.

BODY TYPE NO. 3: MESOMORPH
CHARACTERISTICS: Naturally muscular with larger-than-average bones and rib cages. Most pro bodybuilders can be classified as this somatotype. Tend to gain muscle easily, and yet they are the most prone to overtraining, because they tend to see gains quicker.
TIPS: Although a mesomorphic bodytype is the best for bodybuilding success, each bodypart should be worked only once a week, with routines that combine high intensity with moderate volume.
RECOMMENDED EXERCISES: As long as it's working, stick to a traditional program with the right combination of compound and isolation movements, with reps in the 8-12 range for most.

QUAD THRUST

This program is based on the use of three exercises (leg extensions, leg presses and hack squats) that directly target the quadriceps with little stress placed on the hamstrings
and calves. If your quads are a weakness, you should prioritize them by training them all-out after a rest day, when they are freshest.

You can substitute front squats for leg presses, but that may fatigue your hamstrings, glutes and lower back before your quads get enough work. Since any type of squat requires balancing the weight under control and consideration of protecting the back, leg presses can be more effective in keeping full attention on the quads.

EXERCISE NO. 1: Leg Extenions
Done twice in the workout, this will serve as both a warm-up, utilizing the Weider pre-exhaust principle, and as a finishing movement. At the beginning, perform three sets of 20 reps with a moderate weight to drive blood into the muscles. Raise and lower the weight at a moderate pace and under control, working the muscles through a full range of motion.

EXERCISE NO. 2: Leg Presses
Start with a moderate weight that you can handle for at least 15 reps. Varying your foot position will allow you to hit your quads from a variety of angles. Keep your back against the pad during the full movement; don't risk injury
to your lower back by rolling your tailbone under as you lower the weight. Lower the weight slowly, then push through your heels on the upward portion of the movement. The pace should be slow and controlled on the way down and explosive on the way up. Consider pyramiding up in weight for each set, but make sure to get at least 10 reps.

EXERCISE NO. 3: Hack Squats
Hack squats will give you the feeling of squats, but they keep the stress focused on your quads and not your back. Begin with a stance slightly closer than shoulder width. You can change foot placement here as well to utilize different angles. Rest your back against the pad with your shoulders underneath the shoulder pads
. Raise the weight, and then lower until your butt almost touches your calves. This allows a very deep stretch, but you should maintain contact between your lower back and the sliding pad at all times. This will use some glute strength, but it's great for your quads. Using your quads, explode up and drive the weight until your legs are almost completely

EXERCISE NO. 4: Leg Extensions
The workout ends with four more sets of leg extensions to burn detail into the quads. Perform these final sets like you did at the beginning, with a moderate pace and a squeeze at the top. Unlike the first group, they can be pyramided up in weight.

QUAD THRUST ROUTINE
Exercise Sets Reps
Leg extensions 3 20
Leg presses 4-5 10-20
Hack squats 4-5 10-20
Leg extensions 4 10-15