I'm a big believer in regularly changing your exercises to see continued progress. Using the same exercises for months in and out (even if you are changing other variables such as reps/weight/tempo etc.) will soon see you plateau. I know this because I was once that guy! Try these different arms exercises to inject some variety and results into your routine...
Seated low pulley cable concentration curl
A fantastic finisher to your biceps work, you'll get a massive burn! With the elbows in front of the body the short head of the biceps are recruited thoroughly. Make sure you make the most of every rep and squeeze the biceps hard at the top.
Lying ez bar skull crusher with pulley cable attached
The problem with the lying skull crusher on a flat bench is it mainly works the triceps through the bottom part of the strength curve. Attach a pulley cable to the bar and the triceps will be under constant tension through the whole of the strength curve. For even more fun, have your training partner remove the cable from the bar when you've finished your reps, so you're free to bust out some more (like a drop set).
Ez bar preacher curl holding onto straps
Like with the previous exercise, the ez bar preacher curl only works the biceps through the lower end of the strength curve. In other words as you curl the bar up towards your shoulders the tension tends to minimise in that top position. However if you place the weight outside the centre of gravity (like a kettlebell) and hold onto 2 straps, tension will be on the biceps through the whole range of the strength curve. This exercise tends to work best with a slower tempo like 3031.
Thick grip reverse barbell curl
Thick grips will recruit more motor units than a standard bar. You'll work the forearms harder and improve your grip strength. Flip your grip and your biceps no longer get an effective line of pull. Therefore the brachialis come into play (the golf ball shaped muscle on the side of
the arm between the bicep and tricep) a muscle of the arms that is often undertrained.
Ah the pull-up, the king of upper body exercises! Often performed incorrectly. With any exercise the smallest of tweaks can have a dramatic impact on your overall performance during the set. And remember if you can perform an exercise better (more reps, more weight etc.) it will have a greater training effect.
Wrong.....
Legs crossed and knees bent behind you. This causes an overextension fault of the lumbar spine. From this position it makes it impossible to engage the glutes, create a neutral spine and therefor create stability in the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint will rise up towards the ears to try and create a stable environment and in turn the lats switch off (the muscle group you're probably trying to hit with this one)
Right.....
Legs together, toes pointed just out in front of you. Glutes engaged and core pulled in tight. From this position the spine remains in neutral and there is greater stability within the shoulder joint. Don't be surprised if you can perform more reps from this position!
What you need to remember is with any compound exercise a small fault can cause you to dump torque and leak power, which will take away from the exercise. Think of it like this, your body is an electrical circuit. If the circuit is broken (in this example there is overextension of the lumbar spine) you'll lose power.
Long gone are the days where your trainer would have you believe you need to eat plain tuna and rice out of a tupperware box every day for every meal to see a result! Moderation and consistency are key! These two factors are extremely important and often overlooked if you're after long term progress.
You need to get your mindset into longterm thinking. You need to accept that you may be working towards a 3 month goal, however the journey will not end there. For long term success and ongoing results, consistency is your best friend. To me, the ultimate fitness professional sets an example - they practise what they preach. In my eyes that's moderation. I can live my life how I want and I look how I want....And besides no one envies the trainer that lives on plain tuna and rice out of a Tupperware box 6 times a day!
Post-exhaustion is a fantastic training protocol for stimulating new muscle growth whilst giving you a challenging workout. It involves starting with a compound exercise to fatigue the targeted muscle, followed by an isolation exercise that further taps into the same motor unit pool. This will increase the overall training effect for that muscle group. There are plenty of combinations you can try that will keep your workouts fresh and exciting, but how about this for a post-exhaustion triceps routine....
1A: Tricep dips
4 x 8-12
3011 tempo
1B: lying skull crusher
4 x 10-12 reps
3010 tempo
If your a regular reader of my blog you'll notice exactly what I've done here. This post is almost the same as my previous post on pre-exhausting past a plateau. I guess my point is that by simply tweaking your workout by changing 2 exercises around you create an entirely new training stimulus.
Pre-exhaustion is a fantastic training protocol for stimulating new muscle growth whilst giving you a challenging workout. It involves starting with a single joint exercise to fatigue the targeted muscle, followed by a multi joint exercise that hits the same muscle group, plus a few others. This will increase the overall training effect for that muscle group. There are plenty of combinations you can try that will keep your workouts fresh and exciting, but how about this for a pre-exhaustion triceps routine....
1A: Lying ez bar skull crushers
4 x 10-12 reps
3010 tempo
1B: tricep dips
4 x 8-12
3011 tempo
One thing I've come to learn when it comes to supplements, is to see the best results your supplements should intentionally work to support the particular training regime you're on. For example - doing a strength phase? Take creatine. Using a high volume protocol? Take beta alanine to help reduce fatigue...etc.
This time of year many gym goers are trying to "shred" "rip-up" "cut" "slice" or whatever the latest fancy word is for reducing body fat whilst gaining or at least maintaining lean body mass for the beach. Here's my favourite 3 Supps that I would include in a summer "shred" plan to see the best results from your training and diet regime.....
Caffiene
Why? Fires up the adrenal glands for fatloss, increased energy and focus (particularly important if you're about to smash a workout or are on a calorie deficit diet plan) and it can increase the metabolic rate.
How much? Try 5-10mg per KG of body weight before your workout.
Omega 3
Why? Joint health, faster recovery, fat loss, brain health, they're anabolic - sold!
How much? If you're really serious about your omega 3 intake you'll aim for as many grams per day as your body fat %. So if you're 14% body fat, aim for 14g per day! Sounds like a lot, but as your body fat drops off with this dose, drop your omega 3 intake to match.
L-arginine
Why? 2 main reasons. Firstly arginine changes into nitric oxide, which causes vasodilation aka blood vessel relaxation. This is great for improved blood flow and incredible muscle pumps - exactly what you want during the beach season! Secondly, some studies have shown arginine to be very effective at increasing human growth hormone levels. Higher GH means less body fat and more muscle!
How much? Try 2-3g twice a day.
I'm sure there are many others you could include! But hopefully from my explanations you can see why I've chose these 3 as my favourites.
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I've recently come across and tried one of the best protocols for strength and muscle mass in my 4 years + of training! I just had to share it with you. It's called the 1-6 principle and the theory behind why it works is actually quite simple. Take a squat. A very heavy squat. Load it up with 95-100% of your 1 rep max and perform 1 rep. Now strip the weight off and squat with just the bar. It feels light right? It feels as if you could explode through the ceiling! This concept is known as post-tetanic facilitation (PTF). And the 1-6 principle uses it to its full potential. The idea is you'd perform a heavy 1 rep for an exercise to ramp up the central nervous system (CNS), then strip the weight back and perform 6 reps. Because the CNS is switched on, you should be able to handle a heavier weight with your 6 reps than you normally could. Thus having a better training effect. It worked well for all muscle groups, however I particularly liked it for arms (workout shown below), the pump was pretty impressive!....
