“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.”
-Arnold Schwarzenegger

As a man, what bodyparts do you really want to develop? If you’re like most fellas the chest is in your top three. Take a minute in your mind right now to picture a powerful, muscled physique.

Now picture that same physique – but minus a powerful chest. It’s like a lion without  teeth.

In this post, I will lay out an easy to follow plan for you to build a killer chest. Not just one that’s big, but also chiseled.

Before we get into that though, let me quickly touch on an important point.

The muscle group you work in conjunction with your chest will also have a major effect on your results and performance. If you are going to work your chest along with another muscle group, I suggest you avoid chest and triceps or chest and shoulders. These two combinations don’t allow you to move heavy weight.

I recommend supersets. Remember, the goal here is to build up your chest. Therefore, keep in mind that the biceps, back, and legs can be worked alongside the chest without compromising each other’s performance. In comparison, if you combine triceps or shoulders with chest, your ability to move heavier weight during chest exercises will suffer. This is because you need the tri’s and delts to assist in pressing exercises. If you have already fatigued them, obviously their strength will be reduced. Of course, if you intend to only work chest alone, this is not an issue.

The sequence of your chest routine is critical. This makes the difference between weak results and people asking you if you are benchpressing volkswagons.

Here’s the sequence:
1. Flat bench press (bar or dumbbell)

2. Decline bench press (bar or dumbbell)

3. Incline bench press (bar or dumbbell)

4. Standing cable flys aka cable crossovers (flat bench dbell flys as a substitute if needed)

Complete 3 – 4 sets of each exercise before moving on the the next. Use a weight that takes you to failure somewhere between 7-10 reps. Rest for 1-2 minutes between sets. Good form and control are critical. Make sure you let your chest rest for 3 minutes before attempting your next set.

Why it works:
1. The flat bench triggers the best overall engagement to the different regions of the chest. You want to do this first so that you maximize your strength prior to fatigue setting in.

2. The decline triggers the lower chest but also more of the shoulder than flat bench does. You need this shoulder engagement to get stronger at your pressing exercises.

Getting stronger = pushing more weight.

Pushing more weight = more muscle growth.

3. The incline triggers the smallest area of chest muscle compared to the other presses. However, it is still an important area. This is the upper chest or the region just below the collarbone. When this section of the chest is well developed it really gives your pecs a chiseled, powerful appearance.

4. Standing cable flys or crossovers are excellent for sculpting the chest. Besides mass, a great chest will also have a deep, well defined trench running straight down the middle between the two pecs. The outer edges of the chest should also be well defined. These are the things that cable crossovers develop.

Questions or comments? Shout ‘em out below! Until next time train hard and train smart.

I want to talk about pullups today. More specifically… is it all that important to get your chin above the bar? I’ve heard a lot of guys say if you can’t get your chin over the bar it doesn’t really count and it’s not all that effective. BULL!!!! Listen, here’s the real deal: Getting your chin over the bar is ideal, but not absolutely neccesary. As long as your shoulders are above your elbows at the peak of your pullup and you can at least get the top of your head even with the bar, they are acceptable.

Let me paint a scenario. Jimmy B. weighs 180 lbs and can do 10 pullups with his chin over the bar. Mike D. on the other hand weighs 230 lbs and can also do 10 pullups, but can only get the top of his head to the bar. Now seriously, do you really think that the extra 50 pounds Mike is pulling is trumped by a few extra inches of range that Jimmy gets? Of course it isn’t. Even if they weighed the same Mike’s pullups would still be effective (although Jimmy’s would be more effective in this case since they are equal in weight).

The bottom line is getting your chin over the bar doesn’t make or break the quality of a pullup. Really your ultimate goal when doing pullups should be to get a full stretch at the bottom of the pullup and to stick your chest out while squeezing your back muscles as you pull. You should also keep your elbows pointed out to the side in order to maximize the engagement of your lats. These are the things that will really help you get more proficient at pullups and help trigger muscle development.

Of course you should strive to perform every exercise at the highest level. So if you can’t get your chin over the bar use this to help you get there: After you’ve completed all of your pullup sets, head over to the lat pulldown machine. Pull the bar all the way down to your chin or lower. Hold it there for five seconds. As you release and allow the bar to raise, make sure you take an additional five seconds for the bar to move from your chin to your forehead. The rest of the exercise is business as usual. Just be sure to perform the pulldowns with strict form (no leaning or swaying), using the same form I mentioned in the third paragraph. Use a weight that you can move for 6-8 repetitions. As always write down your numbers and increase your intensity slightly with each workout. Until next time, train hard and train smart.

OK, so hopefully you’ve read my previous post on muscle confusion (if not you may want to check it out before you read this post). Today I’m going to get a little deeper into muscle confusion by talking about workout cycles.  Generally speaking, muscle groups interact in three ways:

• Working with each other (complementing)
• Working opposite of each other (competing)
• Little or no involvement with each other (independent)

Let’s take a closer look at each one.

COMPLEMENTING – Muscles push or pull together. Use this when you want to focus less on mass and more on muscle endurance and development. Take very little rest between sets.

• Chest, Tricep, and Shoulders
• Back and Bicep
• Glutes and Hamstrings

COMPETING – As one group contracts, the other releases or stretches. Use for a good balance of size, endurance, and development.

• Chest and Back
• Bicep and Tricep
• Abs and Lower back
• Quads and Hamstrings

Shoulders can be worked along with legs

INDEPENDENT – Good for building mass with less focus on development and endurance. Take long rest between sets.

• Chest and Bicep
• Tricep and Back
• Legs and Shoulders

In addition to the ideas I discussed in my previous post, you should also vary your workout cycle (unless you need to stay on a cycle for functional purposes). Each cycle should be maintained for 2-4 weeks, depending on your goals. There is definitely more to be discussed about this so if you have questions post them as comments and I’ll respond asap. Until next time….. 

The short and simple answer is…………YES! YES! YES!

Muscle confusion is a technique used to stimulate maximum muscle growth and/or development. The actual idea is to constantly vary your training exercises and techniques to keep your body from adapting to your regimen to the point that your gains come slowly or stop. I have heard many fitness professionals say they believe in changing your routine every four weeks. My approach is a bit more radical than that. I believe that your routine should vary each time you work a muscle, with the exception of what I call foundation exercises.

Foundation exercises are those that work a muscle so efficiently that they should be performed every time you train it. Here are my foundation exercises:

1) Chest – bench press or d.bell chest press or pushups

2) Back – pullups and seated cable rows

3) Biceps – barbell curl

4) Triceps – dips

5) Shoulders – d.bell shoulder press

6) Legs – squats 

7) Abs – rollouts

I include these exercises every time I work the corresponding muscle group. By tracking my routines in a journal (read the “best techniques to build muscle” blog for more on this), I can make sure I’m increasing intensity every time.

The rest of your routine should vary each week in some way. This doesn’t mean every exercise has to be completely different. Even a small change such as a different grip or sequence can be enough to give the muscles a new challenge. Make no mistake though, varying the exercises in your routine is one of the best ways to push your muscle fibers to the limit. Check out my online fitness videos, if you need some new exercises. You will probably pick up at least one new thing. Until next time…… 

Gaining lean muscle is something that many men want to achieve. However, with so much conflicting and confusing information, knowing the best techniques to build lean muscle mass can seem daunting. So here are key principles I have used to obtain success with clients.

1.      You have to keep a journal containing details of each workout. Here’s why; your body has an incredible ability to adapt to the demands of strength training. If you don’t increase the intensity every time you work a muscle, gains in strength and muscle growth will slow and eventually plateau. Intensity is increased by adding resistance, sets, reps, or tempo.  By tracking all of these things you will be able to take the guess work out of whether or not you are working harder than you did last time. If you are not already doing this you are shorting yourself in a major way. Start using a journal every time you train and reach levels!

2.      Vary your training application and exercises. This piggybacks off of the previous point. Stay one step ahead of your body’s adaptive capabilities by mixing it up. I’ve stated this before and I’ll state it again: I use free weights, body weight, plyometrics, rings, and stability balls.  I also constantly change the exercises I perform with these different methods. So there’s no confusion, you can get awesome results by using one type of training application. However, you have to train harder and longer to do it. I believe in hard work but I also believe in smart work.

3.      Allow for recovery time. This is a critical element missed by many. Muscle groups must be allowed to recover in order to grow and develop. Not allowing them to do so results in lesser gains or even loss of muscle mass. 3-4 days recovery is generally enough recovery time for a muscle to recover. Also, not training a muscle for more than 4 days results in a loss of previous gains.

If you start making these a part of your workout program you will definintely see increased muscle growth and development. Below you can find some supplements that can help with muscle growth, development and recovery. These principles have been proven over time to be some of the best techniques to build lean muscle mass. Until next time………..