DC Training Thread (Part 2)

Training Bodybuilding
521

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Haha, yes, I’d agree that if ab strength is an issue adding some rectus abdominus (6 pack muscle) and transverse abdominus (the ones that keep your stomach flat) exercises (maybe 1 rectus, and 2 transverse, or vice versa) into your rotation would be a good idea.

I had a stint earlier in my training career when I got really into gymnastics training, and developed some pretty damn impressive abdominal strength. So, it hasn’t been an issue for me. For someone who’s ab strength isn’t all that well developed though, probably not a bad idea.
[/quote]

Could you list some different exercises for the target area of either rectus abdominus or transverse abdominus?

522

Also, to the DC vets (CC, SentoGuy, ScottM, et al), would you mind listing some of your favorite calf exercises? From what I recall, not much has been said of calves in this thread. Which ones do you use to balance between the soleus and gastro?

In fact, if each of you were to go as far as listing out ALL your favorite exercise for ALL the muscle groups with rep range included, that would be great (just as a reference point in a single post, as I know all of you have recommended specific exercises throughout the thread), and I’m sure a lot of us would really appreciate it. Certainly it’s an individual matter and everyone needs to find what works best for them, but it’s still helpful to gather ideas.

Side note: Lonnie, you brought up a good point when mentioning “Continuous Muscle Tension, Controlled Negative, and a Deep Stretch at some point in the ROM”. I need to ensure I keep that in mind, as well.

523

CHEST
Dips 11-15 (by far the best chest exercise for me- when I hit these at a heavy weight around 11rp my chest get fried)
Incline Smith
Incline DB
Flat DB
HS Press

Shoulders
HS Shoulder15+
DB Shoulder
Reverse DB Press
80° Cable Press

Triceps
CGBP
Machine Dips
Dead Skulls

Back Width
Rack Chins
Pulldowns
HS Pulldown
Rope Rows

Back Thickness
Deadlifts
HS Rows
T-Bar Rows
Bent Over Rows

Biceps
Drag
Seated
Incline (offset grip)

Forearms
Pinwheel
Reverse Curls

Calves
haven’t found anything yet! starting calf cardio soon tho

Hamstring
Seated
Sumo LP
SLDL

Quads
Squat
Leg Press
Front Squat

524

Hi everyone,
I would to get some feedback on my DC rutine:

A1
(Chest) Machine (nordic gym) chest press 11-20 rp
(shoulders) seated smith machine presses 20-30 rp
(Triceps) rope pulldowns 20-30 rp
(back width) rev. grip lat pulldown 11-20 rp
(back thickness) Krok rows 12-20 SS

B1
(biceps) seated dumbell curls 15-20 rp
(forearms) pinwheels 15-20 ss
(hamstrings) romanian deadlifts 10-15 ss
(calves) straight leg calf raises (in leg press) 12-14 reps (5 secs down and going for 12 sec stretch)
(quads) leg press 5-10 ss + 20+ reps widowmaker

A2
(Chest) Incline dumbell press 20-30 rp
(shoulders) machine shoulder press (Hammer strenght, standing) 20-30 rp
(triceps) PJR 20-30 rp
(back width) rack chins 10-20 rp
(back thickness) t-bar row 5-8 ss + 9-14 ss

B2
(biceps) seated (machine) preacher curl 15-20 rp
(forearms) (standing) dumbell hammercurls 15-20 ss
(hamstring) (seated) leg curl 15-30 rp
(calves) seated calf-raises 12-14 reps (5 secs down and going for 12 sec stretch)
(quads) (machine, HS) hack squats 5-10 ss + 20+ reps widowmaker

A3
(Chest) Machine (hammer strength decline) chest press 11-14 rp
(shoulders) standing barbell press 20-30 rp
(triceps) closegrip bp (smith) 11-15 rp
(back width) Machine latpulldown (HS) 11-14 rp
(back thick) Barbell row 5-8 ss + 9-14 ss

B3
(biceps) ez-bar curl 15-20 rp
(forearms) rev grip barbell curl 15-20 ss
(hamstring) sumo leg press 5-8 + 9-14
(calves) standing calf raise (in smith) 10-12 reps (5 secs down and going for 12 sec stretch)
(quads) V-squat (HS machine) 5-10 ss + 20+ reps widowmaker

I would love some feedback. I dont know if putting hams before calves is accepteble otherwise I will change it. I have been doing something like this for a few months with decent results. But that was without the rest pause just going for a heavy top set.

525

[quote]kylec72 wrote:
Also, to the DC vets (CC, SentoGuy, ScottM, et al), would you mind listing some of your favorite calf exercises?

From what I recall, not much has been said of calves in this thread. Which ones do you use to balance between the soleus and gastro?

In fact, if each of you were to go as far as listing out ALL your favorite exercise for ALL the muscle groups with rep range included, that would be great (just as a reference point in a single post, as I know all of you have recommended specific exercises throughout the thread), and I’m sure a lot of us would really appreciate it. Certainly it’s an individual matter and everyone needs to find what works best for them, but it’s still helpful to gather ideas.
[/quote] Well, my exercise choices over here have always been very limited, and since most of the machines over here won’t be around in the U.S. (and suck balls anyway), I’ll just leave them out.

(note: Always start high in the rep-range or even above the range)

Chest (extremely limited here)
-Low-Inc. BB (12-20RP)
-low-inc DB (15-30RP)

Delts
-SHIPs
-V-squat push presses
-Modified upright rows, you don’t bring the bar all the way up and you lean over some… More like a yates row with elbows at least semi-flared or something like that, does that make sense? Bar hits you high on the abs or so, depends… Wide-ish grip. Shrug during the rep… Basically the more your elbows are tucked, the more emphasis shifts to the rear-delts (also the more you lean forward) and the more they are flared, the more emphasis is on the side-delts). This isn’t easy to get down, if you do it right, it won’t give you any shoulder discomfort like regular upright rows.
I was doing yates rows one day in front of the mirror and figured "you know, looks like this really involves the rear delts… So if I flare the elbows out some… Modify position… Use pronated grip… Etc… Why would you bring the bar up to shoulder level on upright rows anyway? With a different setup, you can take it up to the middle of your torso or so and even shrug up and your side-delts will be flexed to the max…

It does however remove the external rotation component that you get with regular upright rows… Then again, that’s probably part of the reason for why regular upright rows often fuck up people’s shoulders.

Also, the modified version should not bother your wrists like regular UR’s may do. Do use straps though.

Tris
-Elbows tucked CGP, but not in a DC rotation usually. Need to be fresh for those, particularly the shoulders. (recently changed technique some and am now tucking on the way down, but on the way up I turn the elbows outwards and press the bar over my shoulders… Like many do on a PL bench)
-Smith Wide-RGB, index finger and thumb grip. (12-20RP or 15-30RP with the heavier weights)
-In-Human Press (12-20RP)
-Bent-Over Overhead Rope Extensions/Pullovers (check Troponin vid on youtube doing these as extensions. I like to use more of a pullover motion in combiantion with the extension). (20-30RP)
-PJR’s (15-30RP)
-Dead Extensions (hate to use the term skulls here, as you’re not lowering the bar to the nose or forehead, but behind the head) (15-30RP, possibly 20-30RP)
-Board CGP (12-20RP)

Backwidth
-Rack Chins (15-30RP)

Backthickness involving low back
-Rack Pulls in the smith (because you don’t have to correct your setup… Bar won’t bounce forward or backward)… But only if you’re my height.
-Rack Pulls, free-weight.
(both involve a sort of shrugging to the back -motion after each lockout. You retract your scapulae and bring the shoulders back, chest out, tense upper/midback.)
-Yates Rows (as if you wanted to get into rev-grip bench (free-weight) -position. retract scapulae on the way up etcetc, just don’t overarch :slight_smile:

Backthickness without low-back
-Kroc rows (!)
Don’t forget about the retracting scapulae etc part. Don’t turn this into a brachialis+lat exercise.

Biceps
-Alt. Offset curls. Suck at high rep ranges though, like any alternating movement. Or maybe my bis are fast-twitch dominant :slight_smile:
(12-20RP)
-Incline-Offset Curls (15-30RP)
-One-Arm DB Curls, also off-set grip.
(I start with with hands in neutral position at the bottom on all of the above and supinate as I go up)

Forearms/brachialis
-Pinwheel Curls (!), you don’t get to choose the rep-range anyway, so I won’t mention it on forearm stuff
-Alt. Hammers.

Calves
-Playing Pc Games.
-Sitting down a lot.
-Sleeping.
(Yes, I have the right parents in the case of this muscle-group.)

Hams
-Pray to the gods of muscle that they’ll grant me bigger hams?(11-15RP)

-Sumo DL’s with a very wide stance (any range, just not RP’ed… 6-8 +9-12 as backthickness exercise, but I wouldn’t do them there. 6-10 or so as a ham move, but might want to go higher to stay on the safe side)

Quads
-no real favorites. It’s all about the widowmakers anyway…

526

for calves the options are pretty limited. i personally use a calf extension machine (gotta have the right one to get the stretch component down well, i use one where the seat slides up and down instead of the toe part moving around), seated calf raises, leg press calves.

there are also hack squat calf presses and i have seen some standing on a wooden block and doing calves on the smith machine (not doing the full 5 second downs and the 15 second holds, shorter time period for both to prevent slipping and falling off the wooden block).

527

bumpity-bump

528

CC what is an inhuman press?

529

[quote]olinerules87 wrote:
CC what is an inhuman press?[/quote]

this was from another thread:
First time doing the inhuman press. Hope I am doing them right. Low back against the edge of the bench, forcing addition leg drive. Smythe. Closed grip.

i think this sounds about right

530

[quote]dropshot001 wrote:
olinerules87 wrote:
CC what is an inhuman press?

this was from another thread:
First time doing the inhuman press. Hope I am doing them right. Low back against the edge of the bench, forcing addition leg drive. Smythe. Closed grip.

i think this sounds about right[/quote]

To supplement your response, here’s an in depth and recent response from CC in his How do you train thread…

In-Human press:
-Place bench so that you can slide your butt over the end of the bench and that only your low-back and upper back/delts are on the bench with the help of a little arching. (though if the bench can’t be moved, then don’t bother and just set up with your butt on the bench).
-retract scapulae etc, basically a pl setup with a closer grip (about armpit width if you’re flaring your elbows, otherwise a little wider so you can keep your elbows tucked.)
-Press towards feet as well as up (even in a regular smith you’d “try” to do this). Shoulders always stay on the bench, they don’t rise at the top of the movement.

531

[quote]kylec72 wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
Haha, yes, I’d agree that if ab strength is an issue adding some rectus abdominus (6 pack muscle) and transverse abdominus (the ones that keep your stomach flat) exercises (maybe 1 rectus, and 2 transverse, or vice versa) into your rotation would be a good idea.

I had a stint earlier in my training career when I got really into gymnastics training, and developed some pretty damn impressive abdominal strength. So, it hasn’t been an issue for me. For someone who’s ab strength isn’t all that well developed though, probably not a bad idea.

Could you list some different exercises for the target area of either rectus abdominus or transverse abdominus?[/quote]

Sure,

First simply understanding the function of each will help you to understand what exercises work each muscle group.

Rectus Abdominus- cause forward spinal flexion (basically it brings your hips and rib cage closer together) as well as acting as a spinal stabilizer.

Good exercises for the Rectus include:
-High pulley crunches
-Low pulley crunches on a ball
-Hanging leg raises (done correctly)
-Really any exercise where you forwardly flex your spine against resistance

Transverse Abdominus- is primarily a spinal stabilizer. It forms sort of a natural lifting belt, or corsett, around the torso/spine.

Good exercises for the Transverse include:
-Barbell Roll-outs
-Dragon Flags
-Ab wheel
-Vacuum holds
-Really any exercise where you are forced to stabilize your spine against resistance

External oblique- performs lateral spinal flexion as well as spinal rotation

Good exercises for the obliques include:
-Side bends (numerous variations)
-any variation of crunches with a twist
-roll-outs to the sides
-Woodchoppers
-Really any exercise where you perform lateral spinal flexion or spinal rotation against resistance

If I were to pick 3 that I think would cover the most bases I’d pick:

  1. “Around the worlds”- basically it’s a hanging leg raise (legs kept straight the entire time) performed in a circular fasion. Meaning that you’d start from a full hang, legs straight and together, then bring the legs out to the side, up until your insteps touch the bar you are hanging from, then down the other side (forming a circular pattern). Repeat going the other direction. Unfortunately I can’t find a good video of these, so hope my description makes sense.

  2. BB roll-outs

  3. vacuum holds (for aesthetic purposes mostly) or Low pulley crunches on a ball (if strength was the primary concern)

532

Wow, thanks a lot, Sentoguy. That’s a lot more info than I was expecting. Would you say the motion in the “Around the worlds” is that of a pendulum going back and forth? Like this … http://www.mathworks.com/products/demos/shipping/ident/_Figures_pendulum.png … with your legs held together throughout the motion?

533

For the rest-pause sets on rack chins, do I stay hanging on the bar while I am rest pausing?

Or do I get off the bar, take my deep breaths and set up again?

534

get off and take your breaths

535

[quote]kylec72 wrote:
Wow, thanks a lot, Sentoguy. That’s a lot more info than I was expecting. Would you say the motion in the “Around the worlds” is that of a pendulum going back and forth? Like this … with your legs held together throughout the motion?[/quote]

It’s not really a pendulum action (which would be a half circle at best), but more of a circular action. You begin in a full dead hang, bring your feet out to one side, draw a big circle with them (touching the bar with your insteps at the top of the circle), go back down to the other side, and wind up again in a full dead hang. Then repeat in the other direction.

This was pretty much the only vid I could find of a hanging leg lift done in good form (you don’t have to pull to an inverted hang or lower in a frong lever position, just the part where he brings his feet from a full hang to touching the bar). Now just imagine bringing the feet up to the side, touching them to the bar like this guy is doing, then back down to the other side. Repeat going the other direction.

Actually, this one is pretty close to what I’m talking about. Personally I like to hang with straight arms as it somewhat lessens the amount of assistance that the lats can give (he’s leaning back and supporting himself on his lats to an extent).

Keep in mind though that the way I am talking about doing this exercise is an advanced ab exercise. To do it right, in control, and really use the abs/obliques primarily you have to have some very strong abs, as well as good hamstring flexibility.

For someone who’s ab strength isn’t at that level, I’d start with regular leg lifts (you can start with bent knees) trying to keep your arms straight, shoulders flexed (meaning trying not to lean back to recruit the lats and make the exercise easier on the abs) as much as possible, and curling your abs up to bring the legs (either feet or knees) up as high as possible. Once you can bring your knees up to about face/upper chest level fairly easily, then start working with straight legs and trying to touch your insteps to the bar (still trying not to lean back). Once you can do a fair number of those, then you can start doing the rotational version.

536

[quote]Ripped Fury wrote:
For the rest-pause sets on rack chins, do I stay hanging on the bar while I am rest pausing?

Or do I get off the bar, take my deep breaths and set up again?[/quote]

You can stay strapped to the bar if you like, but don’t hang while you are resting, that’ll only cause your recovery to suffer along with your reps in following RP sets.

537

Get off the bar, you can choose to stay strapped in if you want and have a partner to load the bar/dumbbell on your lap(I leave one hand on).

538

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
kylec72 wrote:
Wow, thanks a lot, Sentoguy. That’s a lot more info than I was expecting. Would you say the motion in the “Around the worlds” is that of a pendulum going back and forth? Like this … with your legs held together throughout the motion?

It’s not really a pendulum action (which would be a half circle at best), but more of a circular action. You begin in a full dead hang, bring your feet out to one side, draw a big circle with them (touching the bar with your insteps at the top of the circle), go back down to the other side, and wind up again in a full dead hang. Then repeat in the other direction.

This was pretty much the only vid I could find of a hanging leg lift done in good form (you don’t have to pull to an inverted hang or lower in a frong lever position, just the part where he brings his feet from a full hang to touching the bar). Now just imagine bringing the feet up to the side, touching them to the bar like this guy is doing, then back down to the other side. Repeat going the other direction.

Actually, this one is pretty close to what I’m talking about. Personally I like to hang with straight arms as it somewhat lessens the amount of assistance that the lats can give (he’s leaning back and supporting himself on his lats to an extent).

Keep in mind though that the way I am talking about doing this exercise is an advanced ab exercise. To do it right, in control, and really use the abs/obliques primarily you have to have some very strong abs, as well as good hamstring flexibility.

For someone who’s ab strength isn’t at that level, I’d start with regular leg lifts (you can start with bent knees) trying to keep your arms straight, shoulders flexed (meaning trying not to lean back to recruit the lats and make the exercise easier on the abs) as much as possible, and curling your abs up to bring the legs (either feet or knees) up as high as possible. Once you can bring your knees up to about face/upper chest level fairly easily, then start working with straight legs and trying to touch your insteps to the bar (still trying not to lean back). Once you can do a fair number of those, then you can start doing the rotational version.

[/quote]

Interesting. Cool thank you.

539

Thanks for some of the ab info Sento.

I might actually have do add more transverse work…

540

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Thanks for some of the ab info Sento.

I might actually have do add more transverse work… [/quote]

Anytime C_C.

Barbell roll-outs are a fantastic ab exercise for anyone. They’re basically like an ab wheel, but you can be progressive with them (by adding weight to the bar, thus making it harder to roll back in). I’d probably suggest that one to anyone wanting to strengthen the transverse along with the rectus.

Word of caution though, you’ve got to keep your spine at least partially flexed (think of flattening out your lower back) when you do BB roll-outs (or any similar exercises). If at any time you start to feel tightness/pressure in your lower back, it means that your abs are not engaging properly and you either need to contract them more, or if it’s towards the end of the set and due to them being fried, you need to terminate the set.