Train them rear delts…directly
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Train them rear delts…directly[/quote]
What direct work do you do?
Face Pulls tons, Chest Supported DB Rear Flys, Band Pullaparts, Rear Delt partial DB Swings.
Hit em often, they recover quickly
[quote]Facepalm_Death wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
[quote]dt79 wrote:
Going back to the gym, after several years, I realised that mental intensity - explosive contractions while maintaining muscle tension on every rep - is the hardest part of weightlifting I’m relearning. Sometimes I don’t fully “switch on” before a set and this can make a difference of several reps. I have a new appreciation for how much multiple years of experience matters in this sport as this kind of intensity takes a damn long time to acquire.
This is also why I feel new lifters should train with or at least spend time observing the older, bigger guys at the gym.[/quote]
Can you go more in depth about this? I feel like I’m starting to get this, but not quite there yet. [/quote]
There’s a lot of aspects to this idea. Like maintaining tension when lowering the weight: seems like some guys just go dead and bounce the bar against their bodies to segue into the next rep.
Or maintaining stability: doing any standing lift, you have to “pack” any joint that doesn’t move. Like in squats you pack your neck, shoulder, back and abs, standing overhead presses you brace your abs and back and squeeze your glutes and quads to lock your legs etc. Basically lock into good posture under a load
[/quote]
Yeah basically this plus the mental focus to go all out on every rep. CT has written extensively and very concisely about the importance of max acceleration to fully activate the muscle fibres. This is something i don’t see many newer guys doing in the gym. I noticed my old training partner, who has been training for more than 10 years, can’t grind out reps anymore when lifting explosively from the first rep onwards. He reaches failure once the bar speed slows down, whereas newer guys can do 6 sec grinds for 2-3 reps.
Just to add to the issue of muscle tension, i was told the other day when doing pulldowns that i was doing a good job of pulling with my lats, but i was LOWERING the weight with my arms. I don’t know if this makes sense but once i got my MMC sorted out i was feeling a great stretch on my lats even when lowering a relatively light weight.
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Face Pulls tons, Chest Supported DB Rear Flys, Band Pullaparts, Rear Delt partial DB Swings.
Hit em often, they recover quickly [/quote]
I did band pullaparts last night, it was a suprise how quickly the “burning” started. I liked it.
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Follow a complete program at least once for the goals of strength, hypertrophy, fat loss, and performance. Sticking to a schedule and guidelines for meals taught me consistency brings results, and that my behavior in the duration can either propel me to a fitness goal or compromise it. This also taught me to appreciate other people’s training.
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Place the criticisms from those around me in the proper context. People who have never eaten consciously will often call a healthy meal plan extreme. People who fail to meet the minimum daily requirements for physical activity are the first to say 5-10 hours per week exercising is overdoing it. (When in fact, nearly every program found on T-Nation falls into the “additional health benefits” activity range recommended by the U.S. Dept. of Health of Human Services.)
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Label containers when cooking and prepping food for the week. Thought I’d throw this out there because it is important everybody knows that even if you live alone, someone will visit for the sole purpose of going into your fridge and jacking up your food rotation. But seriously, knowing what I am going to eat for the week (or at least 75% of my meals) takes the pressure off of whether or not I am eating right. The simple tips in “Diet Planning for the Long Haul” by Lonnie Lowery helped me establish good habits in this area.
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Powerlifters will fix your squat. Well, anyone who does and/or teaches heavy compound movements competitively, so this includes Olympic lifters or managers at an athletic facility. They tend to have a mindset of moving efficiently, but also safely so you can continue squatting, benching, deadlifting, etc. for years to come. I work out at home and found it is more beneficial to go to these types of facilities for periodic assessments.