In the world of figure competition, not only do you have to in great shape come show day, you also have to have the right amount of muscular development in the right areas; in essence to create a certain 'illusion' or silhouette. Contrary to the thoughts of a lot of new competitors, competing isn't just a fat-loss contest. Some muscles are more important developmentally in figure as well. For example, the key upper body parts for a figure girl tend to be back (both lat width as well as some depth and thickness) and shoulders – without question. Of course, everything needs to be developed so as to look balanced, but these are really stand-out muscle groups. If you've got... read more 10 comments

We always talk about the big compound exercises being the cornerstone of a good training program. Obviously, when we're talking aesthetics, nice, full glutes are a requirement, especially if you're a female competitor, or just a female actually. Never mind, that, everyone wants good glutes.

So the oft mentioned glute recommendation is to squat and squat deep (don't you dare do it on the Smith machine - friends don't let friends squat in Smith machines), use single leg movements, throw in some deadlift variations, pull throughs, etc. And, this is great advice. BUT, what if your glutes don't fire properly? Will then they get the full benefit of these exercises?

But everyone's glutes fire right? Most people's? Check... read more 1 comments

Here is the follow up post to my post the other day on DeFranco's Simple Six Upper Body warm up.

The following comes from Defranco's Training.

Joe D’s “Agile Eight”

#1 – Foam Roll IT Band – Start just below your hip and roll up & down to your mid-(outer) thigh 10-15X, focusing on any tight spots. Then perform 10-15 “rolls” starting at your mid-(outer) thigh and rolling all the way down to the outside of your knee. Again, focus on the tight areas.



#2 – Foam Roll Adductors – Start just below the crease of your hip and roll up & down to your mid (inner) thigh 10-15X, focusing on any... read more 0 comments

I typically have based my dynamic warm up/mobility programming from the Robertson/Cressey/Hartman products - Magnificant Mobility, Inside Out and the new Assess and Correct. These are all great resources.

I recently came across two simple warm ups created by Joe DeFranco. The first is called The Simple Six Upper Body Warm Up.

Check it out (and the accompanying youtube video):

The Simple Six Upper Body Warm Up

1. Foam Rolling of the Thoracic Spine

2. Foam Rolling of the teres minor, infraspinatus area (I've tried this with a tennis ball too)

3. Sleeper Stretch / Shoulder Capsule Stretch (he does this differently than Cressey, etc. seem to suggest)

4. Band Pec... read more 1 comments

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