So some time ago I posted a Note that included a little adjustment to how you perform any leg curl variation that would increase the tension/stress on the hamstrings. Most people dorsiflex their ankles when doing leg curls; that is, the toes are pulled towards the shins. Yes, you can use more weight here, BUT that's because your calves are assisting in the movement. The calves are a biarticular muscle, meaning they cross two joints, the ankle AND the knee, and therefore have functions at both. The function at the ankle is obvious given how we train calves, BUT they also assist in knee flexion. However, when they're functioning at the ankle – flexing your calves, plantar flexion, etc. -... read more 0 comments

A lot of people get caught up in weight, PRs, etc., etc. But you have to keep in mind that physique development is about maximal TENSION on the target muscle. This isn't weightlifting or powerlifting. It's ALL about tension. Yes, more weight is one way to add tension, but too many people get trapped with too much emphasis on just getting stronger, setting another PR, and often I see, with some compromising of their rep execution.

Don't just lift your weights. CONTRACT your muscles through a full range of motion. Stretch and squeeze on everything. Keep the set moving, don't let the muscles relax - tension, tension, tension. Don't let them... read more 0 comments

A few months back I posted the before-and-after pictures of a client of mine who went through a back and shoulders specialization program. You can take a look at those results here. Suffice it to say, the results were obviously impressive ... to the point that on one forum, another competitor called them dishonest, suggesting trick photography, or photoshop, etc. I guess we should take that as a compliment since it suggests the results were just that good.

Here's another example of a client of mine who underwent a similar programming set up – that is, a dedicated period of time where we specifically specialized on back and shoulders, while putting the rest of the body... read more 6 comments

Time for another random one today ...

1. I first saw this dynamic warm up exercise on a blog post by Tony Gentilcore and it's probably my favourite upper body warm up movement. It's called the Side Lying Windmill and here's a few points Tony makes about this movement. I do it as below but with my knee resting on a foam roller.





 

What Does it Do: We actually get a lot of “bang for our training buck” with this particular exercise in that we’re working on glenohumeral external rotation/mobility, thoracic extension, as well as eliciting a great pec stretch.  All in all, this is a superb exercise for... read more 0 comments

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