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Training Tip #998 - Lying Rolling Floor Laterals...Simply
This extraordinary rear delt exercise not only utilizes
Can this innovative piece of forearm training equipment
Article #1 - Choosing The WRONG Exercises - Part 1 of a
Just because the foods you want to eat are loaded with fat,
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This extraordinary rear delt exercise not only utilizes
The rear delts play an extremely important role not only in physique development but in strength and stabilization of the shoulder joint, which is CRITICAL for exercises like the bench press, as well for maintaining proper posture throughout the day. The rear delts help keep those shoulders back! Strong rear delts that are in balance with the rest of the shoulder muscle heads (front and side) are VERY important. Well-developed rear delts will also really set you apart in terms of physique development. The gold standard rear delt lateral raise (and variations of it) is commonly accepted as the best way to isolate and develop the rear delts. But, as good as it is, the rear delt lateral raise has several problems...
[Please note when I make these points, I'm not saying
If you've got lower back pain, this eliminates the exercise for you right away. If you don't have lower back pain, doing the exercise with a short bounce to get the weight started can actually lead to lower back pain. The back is simply not in a good position to be bouncing. This problem with the bent-over position can be removed by laying face down on an incline or flat bench, but this leads us to the second problem with the exercise.
If you use a lot of weight with this exercise to try and get more out of it, the muscles of the upper back will take over. If you use a very light weight to go for feel, you may not be stimulating the rear delts with enough resistance to actually get results. It's a Catch-22 situation and neither option is ideal.
First, I'm going to explain exactly how to do the exercise, then I'll tell you exactly why it's so effective and why it eliminates the problems found in the standard rear delt lateral.
For this exercise, you will need one dumbell. Start with a light to moderate weight (similar to what you'd use for a rear lateral raise) until you get the hang of the movement. Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs perfectly stiff and completely straight. The soles of your feet should NOT be touching the floor. Hold the dumbell directly above your chest in your left hand (arm straight and stiff) and lay your right arm flat on the floor directly to the side with your palm facing up. Now, keeping your left arm stiff and straight, lower the dumbell down towards your right hand, rolling your entire body onto your right side as you do so. To start the roll onto your side, all you need to do is start bringing the dumbell over and around a little. The weight of the dumbell will start your body rolling over. DO NOT LET IT DROP! This should be a very controlled movement all the way down. If you had to, you should be able to stop at any given point along the way. Push your entire right arm hard against the floor to help control the descent of the left arm. At the bottom of the movement, you should be laying completely on your side (legs still stiff and straight) with the dumbell laying on top of your bottom hand as though clapping. Now you're going to go the other way. Do a rear delt lateral raise with the left hand (that's holding the dumbell), raising your arm back to vertical. CRITICAL POINT - As you do this lateral raise with the left arm, push down hard against the floor with your entire right arm. It should feel as though you are trying to open both of your arms out wide as you raise the dumbell and roll your body towards your back. This means you'll be not only working the rear delt of the left side with a dumbell lateral raise, you'll be working the rear delt of the right side while you push against the floor and rotate your body. This push and roll makes the exercise into a bodyweight exercise for the rear delts...exercises that move your body through space activate more muscle fibers than exercises that simply move the resistance. This exercise accomplishes both types of movements at the same time! When your left arm is vertical, you should be laying flat on your back again. Carefully switch the dumbell over to your right hand then lay your left arm flat on the ground, palm facing up. As before, lower the dumbell down and around and roll onto your left side, pushing down against the ground with your entire left arm, using the left arm to control the descent. Be absolutely sure to keep your legs stiff and perfectly straight through the entire exercise. If your knees are bent or your feet are on the floor, you will be more likely to push against the ground with your feet, removing tension from the arm that's pushing against the floor. ALL the pushing should be done at the shoulder. Keep repeating this maneuver for a full set of 6 to 8 reps. It will take a few sets through to get an idea of how much weight you can use so don't be afraid to experiment. If you use too much weight, you won't be able to control the descent of the dumbell and it will drop down into your other hand. If you use too light a weight, you won't feel the exercise as strongly, so be sure to add weight if and when you can.
This exercise is extremely effective for a number of reasons: 1. No lower back stress. Since you're lying flat on your back with your legs straight, it puts zero pressure on the lower back. There is some cross-tension in the back due to the opposing movements of the arms, however. The body position of this exercise also eliminates much of the blood pressure problem that occurs with the standard bent-over exercise (this exercise does require some abdominal stabilization, which will have an effect on blood pressure - no more so than any other exercise, however). 2. It's a body-moving exercise. As I explained above, exercises that move your body through space will activate more muscle fibers. 3. You get tension through a greater range of motion of the rear delt. Rather than just getting tension in the contracted position of the exercise, you get it almost all the way from start to finish. Granted, you lose tension at the top, but supersetting or following this exercise with a variation of the standard rear delt lateral raises will address this. 4. You get an extremely effective and controllable negative on the rear delts. The negative or lowering portion of the movement of a standard bent-over lateral raise is extremely difficult to control and properly target to the rear delts due to the position of your body and the tendency for the larger muscles of the upper back to take over. This exercise eliminates that problem and forces ALL the tension of the negative onto both rear delts at the same time (the arm with the dumbell fighting the lowering and the arm on the floor, pushing against the ground). These two opposing forces allow for an extremely intense and effective negative (you'll feel this one for days the first time you do it).
If you've never felt your rear delts after a shoulder workout, this exercise will help you feel EXACTLY where those are! Regular use of this exercise will help you develop your rear delts to their maximum potential far more quickly and effectively than any other single exercise you can do for them.
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue35-reardelts.htm
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Can this innovative piece of forearm training equipment
"The Formulator" is a unique piece of training equipment that is designed to take you beyond the anatomical limitations of the standard barbell wrist curl, allowing you to maximize the tension placed on the muscles of the forearms themselves. The thoery behind "The Formulator" is simple: when you do the standard wrist curl, your forearm muscle workload is limited by the amount of weight that your wrists and hands can handle (as well as their endurance). With its unique design, "The Formulator" eliminates those weak points from the exercise, allowing you to use maximum resistance for the forearms, helping you to target them far more effectively. Does "The Formulator" live up to this promise? You'll find out now.
"The Formulator" is a simple but very elegant piece of equipment. It basically consists of a steel grip that you place your fingers around, a high-density foam pad that you can adjust into position on top of your hands (your hands are basically sandwiched inbetween), and a post to put the weight plates on in the front. "The Formulator" wrist curl is exactly the same in execution as the standard wrist curl with one very important difference: rather than holding the bar in your hands, the steel grip and foam pad work together to change how the resistance is applied in the exercise. Instead of relying on the fingers and hands to grip the bar, the position of the foam pad (sandwiching your hand in) basically attaches the weight to your hands so that the machine itself becomes like a part of your hand. It's a much more natural movement and EXTREMELY effective for both regular wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. The next plus is the position of the weight post. By placing the resistance out in front and at an angle instead of holding it with your hand, you will be better able to keep tension on the forearms through the entire range of the movement, from bottom to top. Even at the top of the wrist curl, the resistance is still at an angle, keeping tension on the muscles. This is different than the barbell wrist curl. Because you're holding the weight in your hands, when you get to the top of the movement, the resistance actually decreases and, if you go far enough, practically disappears. NOT what we're looking for in an effective forearm movement.
I've been incorporating work with "The Formulator" into the end of my workouts (and sometimes in between sets of lower body work) with great success. I've found it gives me a much better forearm workout then regular barbell wrist curls due to the unique mechanism of resistance. The way the hand is "sandwiched" into the machine allows me to not only pull with the forearm muscles, it also allows me to push against the pad/steel (depending on which variation of wrist curl I'm doing) while I'm doing it. I've found it to be a more "complete" contraction. For example, when doing reverse wrist curls with "The Formulator," I am able to push against the top foam pad with my knuckles (in addition to actually pulling the resistance up) as I curl up. This seems to add an extra element of muscle contraction to the exercise. When doing barbell reverse curls, I've ALWAYS found my grip on the bar to give out before my forearms have been fully worked with the movement. "The Formulator" very effectively removed my grip from the equation and allowed me to push the forearms to full failure WITHOUT being held back by grip or hand strength. When using "The Formulator" for regular wrist curls, I found the tension of the movement went straight to the meaty belly of the forearm muscles, right where I wanted it. When doing barbell wrist curls, I've often found the tension to end up in and around the wrist area, not the belly of the muscle. "The Formulator" hits the forearms EXACTLY where you want to hit them for greatest effect. In addition, "The Formulator" can also be used to work the forearms in supination and pronation (the act of rotating the forearm around to the left or the right) and radial and ulnar abduction and deviation (to demonstrate these movements, hold your arm straight down at your side with your palm facing your body - now tilt your hand so that your thumb comes up, then tilt the hand so that the pinky comes up). This provides a very complete, total-forearm workout, targeting every aspect of forearm action. "The Formulator" is available in a number of different styles and can accomodate either Standard or Olympic weight plates, depending on the particular unit that you get. The version I used was the Olympic plate version, but any version will give you the same effect and resistance. "The Formulator" is VERY solidly put together and able to take any form of abuse you'd care to put it through. Solid-steel construction and high-density commercial-grade foam padding mean this piece is going to last pretty much forever. From the moment you pick it up, you'll know this is a serious piece of equipment.
In terms of the function and effectiveness of the machine itself, there are no major flaws to be found. It's a very well-designed piece of equipment that performs exactly the function it was designed to perform and succeeds quite well at it! It works the forearms strongly while minimizing and almost eliminating the potential weak points of the wrist curl movements. The padding is completely and easily adjustable to ANY size of hand, making it effective for everyone. That being said, while being a very portable piece of equipment, it's probably not the kind of equipment you'll easily be able to stuff in a small gym bag and bring along with you to the gym. If you've got a home gym, it's a perfect fit. If you've got a locker or place to store "The Formulator" at the gym you go to, you're all set. If you're a gym owner and you want to purchase one or more for your gym, even better - this piece is commercial quality and your gym members will love it. If you don't fit into any of the above categories, however, I would recommend simply going to a sporting goods store and picking up a few weight plates to use with "The Formulator" and the problem is solved. You don't need many plates to get an extremely effective forearm workout (in fact, you need a LOT less weight than with regular barbell curls due to the position of the resistance). Cost will also be a factor when you're making your decision about "The Formulator." While being an extremely effective piece of equipment, the makers definitely DIDN'T cut any corners when it came to putting this piece together. Though "The Formulator" is not inexpensive, it is not overpriced for the quality and effectiveness of work you'll get with it.
If you want to build larger, stronger forearms, I would highly recommend giving "The Formulator" a try. It provides an extremely effective forearm workout, minimizing weak points and allowing you to focus specifically on building the forearms. For pictures of "The Formulator" in action, to learn more about "The Formulator" from the manufacturer or to get one for yourself, please click the following link: http://www.fitstep.com/goto/formulator.htm
Article #1 - Choosing The WRONG Exercises - Part 1 of a
The reason we say this is because, if you are going to spend so much time, money, and energy trying to build the "perfect body", you have to make sure that you not only look good, but also feel good... We've identified what we call "Bodybuilding Sins" that lead to back pain, sciatic pain, and other injuries... read 'em and take action now if you are serious about bodybuilding and are fed up with your back pain. Because there is so much information to share with you, we've broken it down into a series of 5 articles, each covering a different component of how back pain affects bodybuilders. Here's a breakdown of the articles to look for: Article
#1 - Choosing The WRONG Exercises (below)
Get ready, this is gonna hurt! The exercises most bodybuilders focus on the most, are the ones that cause the most problems...hopefully, you're different. But before we share with you what those exercise are, let's talk real quickly about what bodybuilding is... The goal of bodybuilding isn't to get as big as you can, or at least to us it isn't and shouldn't be, but to build a balanced body that is as strong as possible in every way. For example, while being freakishly big may get people's attention, it serves you no purpose at all... While on the other hand, what if you were not only big, but also extremely strong and powerful, lightning fast, flexible, and agile enough to kick butt, if needed? So many bodybuilders build massive amounts of muscle yet are so unbelievably weak and inflexible...for example, we know a guy who can bench press over 350 lbs but can't do a measly 50 push-ups! The point is, the exercises you choose and how you perform them not only determine how big, strong, and flexible you are, but also affect how your body functions and whether or not you suffer from aches, pains, and injuries like back pain and sciatic pain. Ok, here they are...the exercises that create the most problems and are most likely to lead to back pain: 1.
Bench Press So, any of your favorites on this list? While there are others, these are the two that cause the most damage. There are several reasons why these exercises made our list of the "worst bodybuilding exercises." First, all of them target areas that already tend to get worked a lot in everyday life and often times are overdeveloped... And by focusing so much on these exercises you end up creating muscle imbalances, or worsening existing muscle imbalances, which pull your bones and joints out of their normal position... And this leads to uneven pressure and wear and tear on your muscle, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints and will sooner or later lead a break down or injury. For example, chronic overuse of the bench press, coupled with little or no exercises targeting the upper back, leads to an overdevelopment of the chest and a lack of strength and development in the upper back... This all too common combination leads to what we call "Turtle Back." You know what we're talking about, when the shoulders are pulled so far forward, lats are as wide as barn, and from behind, their back looks like a giant sea turtle shell! This "Turtle Back" posture can create neck, upper back, and shoulder pain and injuries faster than you can pop an Advil! Plus, how many times during your day are you forced to lie on your back and push up a bar loaded with weights? There are so many better exercises for chest development that not only stimulate more muscle, but also build more usable strength. Now let's talk about the fabulous thigh builder, the leg extension… Not only does it place an unbelievable amount of strain on the knee joint, but it also will quickly overdevelop the quads, which are already getting far more work than their counterpart, the hamstrings. An imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstrings, which is also extremely common in bodybuilders, is a key contributor to back pain. This imbalance is easily identifiable by what people often call "Bubble Butt." So hopefully you can see how important it is to choose your exercises wisely. We strongly recommend you cut out these exercises, or at least cut back on using them and add in targeted exercises for the opposing muscle groups and targeted stretches for those tight, overdeveloped muscles. The key to eliminating back pain, or any other ache, pain or injury for that matter, is to bring your body closer to balance... What good is muscle if you can't use it? How many more workouts are you going to miss because of back, neck, or shoulder pain? How much bigger and stronger could you be if back pain and other injuries weren't ruining your training? Just imagine how bad things will be 10, 20, or 30 years from now if you don't make changes to your training now... but don't take our word for it, ask some of the older bodybuilders who are paying the price now... you can spot them easily at the gym because they limp around trying to find something they CAN do. Look for the next article, "Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results" very soon and in the mean time, if you are suffering from back pain or sciatic pain, here's what you need to do... Head on over to our website http://www.fitstep.com/goto/backpain.htm now to find out exactly what's causing your back pain and the specific steps you need to take to get relief fast and get back to training at 100%.
[Note from the Editor] - This is the first article in a series of 5 articles dealing with back pain and bodybuilding. I've found these articles to be so useful that I've arranged with the authors to offer this entire series of articles as a complimentary email course, which you can sign up for at the following link: http://www.fitness-ebooks.com/general-training-ebook-reviews/lose-the-back-pain-review.htm In the next articles, you'll find out which back pain exercises actually work, which you need to be doing and which ones you must avoid like the plague. Learn stretches that can help with your pain and about proper rest and recovery. If you're suffering from back pain, you NEED this information. Jesse and Steve have put together an extremely comprehensive video package that can help you figure out why you're in pain and what you can do to put a stop to that pain permanently. To learn more about the "Lose the Back Pain" video/DVD, please click the following link: http://www.fitstep.com/goto/backpain.htm
Corn Dogs, Cheeseburgers, Custard and Other Diet Foods...
Just because the foods you want to eat are loaded with fat,
This is especially true since I've also found that a person can lose as much fat as they want eating foods that most "experts" (like doctors, physicians, cardiologists, podiatrists, dieticians and sometimes even nutritionists) would consider a heart attack on a plate. My theories will prove that these colon-stoppers can be instantly transformed into health foods! In a previous article entitled "Pizza, French Fries, Beer and Other Diet Foods," I eloquently dispatched many of the myths commonly associated with so-called "junk foods." You can read about these here: http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue9.htm In this installment, I delve even deeper into the theories that can take the greasiest pile of food and make it into fat-shredding diet fodder.
The simple act of picking your food up after it's slid out of your hands burns a tremendous amount of calories both in activity and in frustration. The greasier it is, the more often it'll slip and the more calories you'll burn. This espcially true of greasy hamburgers that have 3 or more patties stacked one on top of another (1 or 2 patties is not enough to get the greatest results so be sure to get the largest hamburger available - and no lettuce or tomato...they'll just slow the meat down). When each bite slides half the sandwich out the back end, you know you've got prime diet food. Stuff it back in and feel the burn (from the hot grease, that is!).
The humble corn dog is a prime example of a high fiber food because it's usually served on a wooden stick. In theory, the fiber found in the wood makes its way into the mush of the dog inside the corn, dramatically increasing the useful splinter, I mean, fiber content of the dog. Even a Fudgesicle, following this to its logical conclusion, is packed with fiber. Chewing on the stick when you're done is even MORE effective.
These "impulse buy" areas are the racks by the register and the end-caps at the end of each aisle. Large grocery store chains have nothing but our best health in mind. They would NEVER put anything unhealthy for us on prominent display where we would be most likely to buy it. They simply don't think that way. Profit is secondary to good health, therefore all foods that are on end-caps and set by the register are there to ensure that we have the best access to the healthiest foods possible. That's why the fruits and vegetables are always tucked away against the wall in the back corner of the store. All those things do is fill you up and provide essential nutrients that can be better gotten as additives to low-carb chocolate puff cookies.
The perfect diet food, the cheeseburger combines the slippage advantage that I mentioned above with the abundant calcium found in the cheese. Calcium has been shown to help increase fat loss, especially when served on white bread. The high fat content also helps keep you feeling full for long periods of time so you don't feel hungry (or "regular") for a long time after. When eaten at lunch, this saves precious calories that you might later in the day be tempted to throw away on fish or salad.
No child has ever gotten fat from eating 6 bowls of Sugar Crisp with sugar scooped on top? I have yet to have somebody give me the gist of a study that says that sugary cereals will do anything but reduce attention span and cause diabetes and chronic hyperactivity. Whole grain kids cereal is just a tease. Cap'n Crunch is crunchy. Vegetables are crunchy. I rest my case.
Custard rhymes with mustard. Mustard has no calories. When you eat custard, tell your body that you're eating mustard. The calories will simply evaporate.
I would be remiss if I overlooked the amazing anti-aging properties of a good nitrate-filled package of mystery lunchmeat. Preservatives have been proven in several studies that I forget the names of to prolong life and increase health and prevent some other stuff. Heck, I wipe my counter with a handful of baloney - the antibiotics in the meat kill everything on it better than Lysol!
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