This is an interesting article written by my friend Nick Nilsson. This is a good little article abou core strength and improving your weightlifting performance as well as your sports performance. Plus a good strong core can help eliminate back pain. Nick gives you 2 core exercises for a good strong midsection.
Ok, I know what you're thinking...
You're expecting me to say that the real "truth" to getting a lean, sexy 6-pack is to "burn off the fat", right?
You want to tell me that you "already HAVE a 6-pack" but it's just covered with a layer of blubber, eh?
Sure, that's what EVERYONE says, and it's TRUE...
...SORT OF!
You see, too many people have put in all the "hard work" to get to single digit body fat levels only to find that when the fat is
gone...
...their abs are still FLAT AS A PANCAKE!
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So here's the REAL "truth" about ABS...
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You actually have to HAVE "muscle" on your abs in order to achieve that lean, "ripped" look!
Plus, here's one more little "unknown" that will make getting a 6-pack EASIER...
You see, the amount of muscle you have on your abs will determine whether you start seeing your "pack" poke through at 10% body fat or 6% body fat.
And TRUST ME...there's a WORLD of difference in that 4% gap, as anyone who's ever tried to "diet down" to single digit body fat levels will tell you!
As far as I'm concerned, if I can look great at 10% body fat because my abs have more muscle and are more defined, then all the better...easier abs!
So you see, the key is to TRAIN your abs hard in the gym, just like ANY other muscle...with RESISTANCE!
Sure, there are a lot of machines you can find at your local gym that will target your midsection, but...
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Here's a "Quick Bodyweight Tip" For Training ABS...
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Most people are especially challenged with hitting their LOWER ABS.
This'll do the trick...
Find yourself a DECLINE BENCH and a bath-sized TOWEL.
Roll the towel up into about a cylinder, about 6 inches high.
Lay on the decline bench with your head toward the top and your legs straight with feet on the floor.
Place the towel from left to right under your lower back and grab the bench behind your head with both hands to gain leverage.
The towel increases the range of motion in your abs and ALSO gives you incredible lower ab activation.
Now, keeping your legs STRAIGHT, raise them in the air until you're in the shape of a "V" and breathe out forcefully at the peak contraction point.
Lower your legs SLOWLY but don't give them a break at the bottom.
Raise them back up in the air and continue back and forth until exhaustion.
When you're abs are toast, finish them off by bending your legs at the knees and doing "reverse crunches" in the same fashion, bringing your knees up toward your chest.
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Want even MORE "abs advice" + advanced training tips for EVERY MUSCLE?
Check this out:
==> http://www.musclenerdfitness.com
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Jason, CSCS
Functional training originated as a form of injury rehabilitation with exercises that are relevant to the movements of everyday life. Many traditional workout programs limit performance in specific hobbies, sports or daily movements, but functional fitness develops basic motor patterns to work at a higher capacity. Each functional exercise uses complete muscle activation and a purposeful movement pattern which allows for maximum strength gains.
Traditional weight training often only works one muscle at a time which is contradictory to the normal coordinated effort used to complete most activities. This type of training is more likely to lead to overuse injuries, muscular imbalances, and limit movement and strength gains.
It is hard to see the back muscles in action and this often makes it a hard body part to train. Training the back requires extra concentration and care to develop properly. Below are a few tips that may help your back workouts add the thickness and width you are looking for.
1 – Ensure you get full extension of the muscle, stretch at the bottom of the motion. Make sure you allow the elbows to fully extend of at the start, or top. A bent arm means you are cheating. If you have a tendency to cheat completely relax and rest for one second at the starting position, then precede with your next rep.
2 - Squeeze at the midpoint, or the fully contracted position. This ensure you are targeting the muscle and working the desired area.
3 - Pull with the elbows, not the hands. Doing this will help place more emphasis on the back and reduce the contribution of the arms.
4 – If you can not hold the weight in the fully contracted position for 2 seconds the weight is too heavy. This often happens with seated rows, people use their legs and low back jerking the weight into position and end up not working the targeted muscles.
Keep these points in mind and your back will grow wide and thick.
All the best in your weight training, powerlifting, and bodybuilding, programs.
Proper technique for the RDL
The handstand push-up is simply one of THE very best shoulder
exercises in existence. It's also one of the hardest! Learn
two variations of this exercise that allow you to reduce the
resistance but still harness the full power of this single-best
bodyweight shoulder exercise.
But the bottom line is, as effective as it is, the handstand push-up is also one of the hardest and most dangerous exercises to perform! If you don't have the strength to perform it correctly, it'll drop you right on your head, which is rarely a good thing.
So how do we harness the shoulder-blasting power of the handstand push-up while not only keeping it safe but also adjusting the resistance so you can perform it (or variations of it) no matter what your strength level?
Two ways. The first is the Pike Handstand Push-Up (for intermediate to advanced trainers). The second is the Horizontal Push-Up (for beginning trainers).
The Pike Handstand Push-Up
This exercise is performed almost exactly like a regular handstand push-up with one major difference...instead of going up into a full handstand, you set your feet on a bench and bend your body in half at a right angle (pike position). In that position, you perform the push-up.
To get into position, all you need is a bench, a chair or some steps. Set your hands on the ground a little beyond shoulder width apart and about 2 feet in front of the bench. When your hands are planted, step back and up and set your toes on the bench. Bend only at your hips so your body forms an upsidown "L" shape.
When doing this exercise, your fingers should be spread wide for best stability. Look directly back and underneath the bench in order to keep your torso vertical. If you try and look forward, you'll change the focus of the exercise and possibly plant your nose into the floor.
Lower yourself down just like you were doing the negative of a shoulder press. Touch your head lightly to the ground then press yourself back up.
Because your lower body is supported on the bench, this reduces the resistance that your shoulders must work against, allowing you to reap the benefits of the handstand push-up movement without being forced to use your whole body as resistance.
As you get stronger with the movement, you can set your hands on two push-up handles or on the handles of two dumbbells (use hex dumbbells so that they don't roll out on you). This will give you a somewhat greater range of motion and further develop the shoulders.
Even though this exercise is an easier variation of the handstand push-up, you still need to be careful about balance and about being upside down while exerting yourself. Do only a few reps the first time you try it and stand yourself back up slowly.
Horizontal Push-Ups
This exercise is ideal if you're not strong enough to perform the Pike Handstand Push-Up but are looking for a good bodyweight shoulder exercise. This one of only a very few bodyweight exercises available for the shoulders, especially if you are newer to training.
The Horizontal Push-Up utilizes a similar movement pattern to the handstand push-up but with a horizontal body position instead of a vertical body position. This means you're moving primarily forward and back, not up and down.
To perform this exercise, it's best to use two pieces of equipment (e.g. two benches) or furniture (e.g. two chairs). The reason for this is that ideally you want to have room for your head to go down the middle so you get a full range of motion. It is possible to do this exercise using the edge of a single bench by ducking your head under the bench as you do it.
Note: normally I don't recommend exercises that put resistance on the shoulders with this "behind-the-head" position but in this case, because it's a bodyweight exercise with small resistance, you can very easily adjust your shoulders to accommodate the movement without a problem. You can also simply touch the top of your head to the bench edge instead of going under it and do a shorter range of motion.
In the demonstration pictures and video, I'm going to be using the "Lebert Equalizer" that I reviewed in the previous article (see above).
Brace your equipment against a solid object or wall for support and you're ready to go!
Kneel down about a foot in front of the equipment. The two pieces should just a little outside shoulder width apart. Set your hands on the corners of the two pieces and set your torso horizontal. Now use your legs to push your body forward.
This mimics the lowering phase of a shoulder press. When you get to the fully stretched position, use shoulder power to press yourself back to the start while using pressure from your quadriceps to resist the movement.
To increase the resistance on this exercise, get on your feet! Instead of kneeling down, set your feet about a yard away from your apparatus then perform the exercise exactly as above.
This exercise is ideal if you're just starting out in your training and working out either at home or in a gym.
The full Handstand Push-Up still reigns supreme as the king of the bodyweight shoulder exercises. But these two variations will go a long way towards helping you develop the shoulders you want, whether it be giant barn-door shoulders or tight, toned shoulders with great definition.
For pictures and videos of these two exercises in action, click
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never. He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
And the standard way of setting up and performing the Incline Curl is just fine! There's nothing inherently wrong with lying back on an incline bench, letting your arms hang down beside you then curling the dumbbells up to the top position.
This "normal" way of doing the Incline Curl is very effective and time-tested. But you're NOT reading this article because you want to settle for "normal" results!
So here's the simple technique for maximizing the results you get with the Incline Curl...
You're NOT going to sit on the seat of the incline bench as you normally would. First, pick up your dumbbells and straddle the incline bench. In that standing position, move your butt all the way back onto the bench. Sit on the incline face of the bench then set your FEET on the seat of the bench (knees bent).
The top end of the bench should hit you just below the shoulder blades. Now arch your back over the top end of the bench as though you were trying to wrap your back over and around the bench end. Turn your palms forward and keep them facing forward throughout the exercise for best results. In this bottom position, you should feel an increased stretch on the biceps beyond what you normally get with the Incline Curl.
The reason this position results in an increased stretch on the biceps lies in the positioning of the chest and shoulders. The biceps attach in the shoulder joint. When you're in the standard position on the incline bench, your shoulders are braced on the bench and you can't fully open up your chest.
You do get a good stretch but it's not a MAXIMUM stretch, which is the key to massive results with this exercise!
When your shoulders are up and off the top end of the bench, the weight of the dumbells pulls your shoulders back and down, opening up the chest and increasing the stretch on the biceps at the bottom.
Perform the exercise as you normally would an Incline Dumbell Curl. Start the movement with a deliberate squeeze of the biceps, curl all the way up to the top, doing your best to keep the upper arms vertical (they may move up and forward a bit). Hold for a second at the top.
Now comes the payoff...on the way back down, DO NOT let your palms turn inwards. Keep them facing FORWARD all the way down to the bottom. This keeps full tension on the biceps all the way to the bottom, which is the most beneficial part of the exercise.
Lower the dumbells under complete control. For an extra shot of tension, try to "push" your elbows forward as you lower the dumbells. To do this, imagine as though you're trying to push a button with your bicep - it takes a bit of practice to get this feeling but it's definitely worth persuing.
As you lower the dumbells to the very bottom, let them pull and stretch your shoulders backwards and down, opening up the chest. This increased tension from the negative portion of the movement coupled with the greater stretch potential of your body position will give you an INCREDIBLE muscle-building stimulus. Take advantage of it and don't lose the stretch tension in your biceps!
Feel for that stretch then curl up again with a deliberate movement. When you go to choose weights for this exercise, start with weights that are lighter than you would normally use. When you apply stretch and tension to the biceps like this, it's a humbling experience in terms of the amout of weight you can use.
But it is definitely a GROWING experience!!
For pictures and video of this technique in action, click on the following link:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?jasoncscs/betteru&l=1114
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?jasoncscs/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
The Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift places extreme torque on the core and will help you develop an incredibly tight and powerful midsection. Basically, instead of using both arms and doing a barbell deadlift in front of your body as you normally would, you'll stand BESIDE the barbell and pick it up with one arm.
Imagine reaching down and picking up a suitcase sitting beside you. That's the Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift but, of course, using a heavy barbell!
There will be a link to pictures and a video of this exercise in action at the end of the article.
How To Do It:
First, if you're doing this exercise off the floor, load a barbell with a 45-lb plate on either end. To lift this amount of weight, you should be able to deadlift at least 250 to 275 lbs in a normal deadlift.
If you wish to use less weight for this exercise, set the safety rails in the power rack to just below knee height and load the bar with however much weight you want to use. The reason you'd want to use the rack is, because you're using smaller plates, the bar will start too low to the ground and you'll need to lean over too much to the side to pick it up.
Stand beside the barbell and reach down and grasp it with one hand. When you do the One-Arm Deadlift, you should grip the bar slightly off-center. Your thumb and index finger grip should be about a centimeter (about a half inch or so) from the edge of the center grip surface. This uneven grip will prevent the bar being lifted unevenly and tilting as you are lifting.
The reason for this is that when you grip the bar with one hand, your thumb and forefinger grip area become the main pivot point. If that main pivot point is not close to the real center of the bar, the bar will tilt when you pick it up. By sliding your hand down so that your thumb and forefinger grip area is closer to the real center, you will have a much easier time keeping the bar level.
Before you pick up the bar, make sure your shoulders are level and your entire core area is tightened up very strongly. Pick up the bar, focusing on keeping your shoulders level as much as possible. The weight of the bar on the one side will place an EXTREME stabilizing load on the other side of the body. You will be pushing HARD with the same side foot as you're pulling on the bar, e.g. if you're picking the bar up with your right arm, you'll be pushing hard with your right foot.
Keep your lower back tight and arched as you stand up. Come all the way up to the top position and hold for a few seconds then lower the bar back down slowly. Gripping the barbell with one arm in this fashion is also VERY challenging to the grip. You'll need to hold on tight in order to keep your grip on the bar.
Set the bar down on the floor between reps and relax the core. Re-tighten everything then start your next rep. This exercise should only be done for low reps, e.g. 3 to 5 reps per set. Any more than that and the stabilizing muscles of the abs will become fatigued and cause the torque to go into the lower back instead of the abs, where you want it.
The first time you do this exercise, start with a conservative weight. It's deceptively tough, especially if you've not done a lot of movements that are weighted on only one side. The torque on your core will be a very new thing! The incredible tightness you'll feel all along your side abs the next day will show you just how effective this exercise is.
If you're a strong deadlifter or find your grip strength limits the amount of weight or number of reps you can do, I would DEFINITELY recommend grip assistance in the form of either lifting straps or a product called "1 Ton Hooks." The grip assistance will allow you to use heavier weight and hold onto it longer. It will also prevent the bar from rolling out of your fingers as your grip fatigues.
I would recommend the hooks over the straps in all cases. "1 Ton Hooks" are cast iron lifting hooks that are designed to allow you to hold extremely heavy without worrying about your grip strength. These hooks, in my opinion, should be in the arsenal of EVERY serious lifter and I highly recommend them. To put it in perspective, I've used these hooks to do partial deadlifts with more than 900 lbs and the hooks held up fine!
You can read my full review of "1 Ton Hooks" here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?jasoncscs/betteru&l=1099
Give the Suitcase-Style One Arm Deadlift a try in your next back workout - I can promise you'll either be thanking me or cursing me for the next two days after you do it! Your entire core will be worked in a way it has NEVER been worked before.
For pictures and a video of this exercise in action, click the following link:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?jasoncscs/betteru&l=1098
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?jasoncscs/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
By Nick Nilsson
The standard barbell curl is NOT the most efficient way to
build massive biceps. With this Hybrid Training exercise,
you're going to learn how to add additional targeted resistance
to the barbell curl to hit the biceps MUCH harder and build
more muscle faster!
Want to build muscle faster? "Hybrid Training" is a powerful new concept in weight training that combines TWO separate forms of resistance into ONE single exercise to dramatically increase the muscle-building power of both!
After releasing the full "Hybrid Training" book in Novemeber, the response has been just tremendous! But for those who want to experience this extraordinary technique for themselves before unleashing the full power of ALL the exercises in the book, I've decided to go ahead and turn a sample exercise loose!
This exercise is the Cable-Barbell Curl and it's going to turn your biceps into mush and then into mountains!
So What is "Hybrid Training?"
"Hybrid Training" is a technique that allows you to use TWO distinct forms of resistance in ONE exercise. Why is that good? Because standard exercises have limitations due to your body's biomechanics.
When you do a barbell curl, you can only use as much weight as your biceps can handle IN THE WEAKEST PART of the exercise, which is when your elbows are bent 90 degrees.
So if you're only use as much resistance as you can handle when your muscles are at their weakest, don't you think you're shortchanging yourself when it comes to strength and muscle-building?
With this "Hybrid Training" exercise, you're going to dynamically alter the resistance AS YOU'RE DOING THE EXERCISE. When you start, you'll be curling the barbell as usual. But the moment you pass that "weak point" and your biceps are mechanically stronger, the resistance will INCREASE, dramatically ramping up the muscle-building power of the exercise.
This will happen because you will be attaching a cable (or elastic training band) directly to your barbell. I'll give you detailed instructions on how to do that after you learn how to perform the exercise.
This combined targeted resistance means you'll be matching the actual strength curve of the barbell curl MUCH closer (using more resistance when the biceps are in a stronger position). This means MORE muscle growth and more strength because you're pushing biceps to the limit through a MUCH greater range of motion.
How To Do It:
First, you will attach a low-pulley cable to the EZ bar or regular straight barbell (this is explained in detail below). Reach down and pick up the bar, taking a shoulder-width grip on the bar. Use a light to moderate weight on the bar and a light weight on the cable machine - you'll know why you need to start light after doing a few reps of this!
Now take a big step back. This big step changes the angle of resistance that the cable will provide. Rather than pulling it straight up and down, you'll be pulling it up and back.
This is more effective because the barbell curl is NOT a straight up and down movement but is actually an semi-circular arc type of movement. Pulling the cable up and back means you're pulling directly backwards towards your face. In the standard barbell curl, you get NO backwards-pulling tension at the top and have to focus on squeezing the biceps hard yourself. With this direct angled tension, you simply won't have a choice and the tension stays on HARD!
Now begin the curl movement. Keep your knees slightly bent, your core tight and your head looking straight forward. Because of the cable pulling you forward, you will need to lean back a little as you perform the exercise.
During the first 2/3 of the range of motion, the cable is not actually moving very much. But as you come towards the top 1/3 of the range of motion, you'll notice the cable curl portion kicking in MUCH more.
As you come to the top, as I mentioned above, you're actually pulling the cable directly towards your face, dramatically increasing the tension on the biceps at the top. This is very useful because you get increasing resistance only AFTER the sticking point (the weakest point) of the exercise.
The biceps are biomechanically stronger in this top range of motion and can handle (and will thrive on!) the increased resistance that you're providing them.
Hold for a 2 count at the top, squeezing the biceps hard, then lower slowly. Repeat for as many reps as you can do with good form then adjust the weight for your next sets, if you need to.
How To Do This Exercise With Bands:
This exercise can also be done using a band attached to a solid object in front of you and looped around the bar (explained below). Use a light-tension band the first time you do this exercise to get a feel for how it's done.
Here's a link to a site where you can get high-quality training bands for great prices. Bands are especially useful if you're training at home and don't have access to cable equipment. I HIGHLY recommended these bands as training tools. They're very versatile and incredibly effective.
http://www.fitstep.com/goto/ironwoody-bands.htm
Now, take a big step back to get some tension on the band at the start of the movement. Perform the curl exactly as described in the previous exercise, bringing the barbell towards your face and squeezing hard at the top. The increasing tension in the band puts a powerful contraction on the biceps at the top.
How to Attach the Cable To the Barbell
It's a very simple process to attach a cable to a barbell. All you need to do is loop the cable around the bar and clip it back onto itself. There will be pictures of this process at the link below.
- First, get the barbell set up and place it in front of the cable to be used.
- Next, pull the cable out and loop it once around the bar (in the very center)
- Clip the cable right back onto itself at a point right next to the bar (the weight on the cable stack will automatically tighten up the loop)
The only downside to this setup is that the cable may slide around on the surface of the bar if the bar tilts during the exercise as it has nothing to grip on. If you have a small towel, you can very easily place this on the bar first, then loop the cable on top of the towel. This will help keep the cable from moving or sliding around on the bar.
As a general point, you will almost ALWAYS use less weight on the cable than you will on the barbell. For example, when doing cable-barbell curls, you may use 70 lbs on the bar and 30 lbs on the cable.
How to Attach Bands
To use a band with this exercise, you just need something solid to anchor the band onto. This can be a weight machine or a railing or even a dresser leg at home! It just needs to basically be an immovable object.
It's a simple process to securely tie the bands onto a rail or post - you will use what is called a bale hitch. And you don't need to be in the Navy to figure out how to use it!
To do the bale hitch, loop the entire band around the solid object. You have the two ends in your hands. Now pull one end through the loop of the other end. When you pull that end all the way through so the loop tightens up, it creates a secure hitch.
Make this attachment low to the ground for the band-barbell curl. For the barbell, just loop the other end around the barbell and move it to the very center of the bar. There's no need to hitch it onto the barbell - the tension on the band during the exercise will keep it in place.
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Conclusion:
The first time you perform this exercise, get ready for an eye-opener! It may not look like you're using much weight on the bar or on the cable but the combined result is huge. The difference in the critical muscle-building tension on the biceps is astonishing!
Give this exercise a try in your next bicep workout. Then imagine the results you can get in your ENTIRE BODY when you put the full power of "Hybrid Training" into effect on every single bodypart!
To view pictures and video of this exercise in action and to see how to attach cables and bands to barbells, click on the following link:
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue48-hybrid.htm
And to learn more about "Hybrid Training" and grab your copy of the full book, click here now!
http://www.fitstep.com/hybrid-training/hybrid-training.htm
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://www.fitness-ebooks.com). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
This is the start, or bottom position. Make sure your hips are up.
This is the top or finish position, again keep the hips high.
