Whoever said declines were worthless, I have to take exception.
A trick Ipicked up from one of the coaches here (maybe Thibs, or Joel Marion) was if you are a VERY shoulder - dominant bencher, declines work wonders. Especially if you lighten up the load, and go wide grip, elbows flared, bar ‘to the neck’, these will actually fill out your UPPER chest better than anything else I’ve ever tried.
It’s actually my favorite upper chest movement, and has done a TON for me, as inclines, whether it be barbell, dumbbells, smith, high angle, low, medium…I get ALL of it in my front delts. Left me with a nice lower chest, decent middle and TOTALLY flat as a board upper. until I started using these regularly and it filled me in up top like a discount plastic surgeon out in Hollywood.
true for me, too
i shrugged many shrugs and got nowheres
one day i learned size and strength are not the same
ditched the silly bodybuilding exercises and starting doing strength-type lifts
deadlift and powerclean and BAM
total physique change.
strange how that works.
calf raise is another stupid useless exercise.
now that i squat 400+ calf raises make me laugh.
maybe shrugs and calf raises work for you,
but not me.
and about all this bickering;
ladies ladies
put up your own damn pic in your avatar so that thy bodybuilders may pass judgement upon thee
and too bad we dont get signatures here to keep our lift stats,
so that thy most honorable powerlifters may come and put us in our places, too.
I AM STONEOFFUCKINGFIRE
i lift 425/320/470
been lifting for about two years
my total is 1215
my picture is to the left
i am 235lbs
and if you have any other lifter but you in your avatar,
you are a fucking pathetic coward of a voyeur and deserve NO credibility.
thank you for your time
now get off the computer and go drink some milk.
true for me, too
i shrugged many shrugs and got nowheres
one day i learned size and strength are not the same
ditched the silly bodybuilding exercises and starting doing strength-type lifts
[/quote]
how heavy were you shrugging? I got 0 out of shrugs until I was shrugging over 450lbs for reps
As a boxer I would have to say that there are better ways to build endurance and conditioning in your shoulders.
Performing punching movements with bumbell just messes up the mechanics of the movement and can actually make you slower. A lot of gyms/trainers still do it because its tradition.
true for me, too
i shrugged many shrugs and got nowheres
one day i learned size and strength are not the same
ditched the silly bodybuilding exercises and starting doing strength-type lifts
how heavy were you shrugging? I got 0 out of shrugs until I was shrugging over 450lbs for reps[/quote]
x2. Personally my traps respond very very well to long and intense time under tension. For me that means balls to the wall sets of around 10-20 with anywhere from 405-495, or doing Farmer’s Walks for distance. I’m probably the least explosive person in the history of the planet, so cleans dont really cut the mustard, and Deadlifts dont really hit the upper traps too well for me (though they work very nicely for the mid back).
The shrugs and farmer’s walks were what took my traps from non-existent to having to buy dress shirts with a 2.5" larger neck measurement.
[quote]mombasa333 wrote:
Military press. Standing or seated. Every time I do it, it just plain hurts. I switch over to very wide grip pull ups and all is well.[/quote]
Clearly you don’t know anything about training. You replace a shoulder movement with a back movement? Honestly, do you think they are variations of the same exercise?
That’s like saying, “Gee these bench presses aren’t making my chest bigger, let’s switch to calf raises to see if that helps get my chest growing.”
[quote]Zackgsc wrote:
any kind of direct arm work is totally pointless. so are leg extensions, curls, or any other exercise like that. Leg Press is just dumb because we have squats, and anything but pull ups and deadlifts for your back is just retarded. Shoulder work is pointless with heavy benching your already taking care of that.
Moving my eyes back and forth to read this thread was the most useless exercise…[/quote]
The only exercise that seems popular with gym goers but I think is pretty pointless is the crunch with a twist. If anyone can tell me why it’s a good exercise I’ll gladly take it back.
maybe i should give shrugs another try with my new strength?
but thats IF i felt i needed it
which i dont
OH, OH… RACK PULL!!!
now thats some nice trap work.
just got bands
maybe i can replace rack pull with future dead?
i dont think i should try shrugging with 405-450 if my dead is barely 470?
am i wrong?
AND AND
will shrugging have any carryover to other lifts???
[/quote]
rack pull is a great tool for both size and strength, gives you some great upper back thickness - not just traps. It can help with your grip strength also in my opinion since I’ve started shrugging again my benchpress has increased as now I have traps I can push myself against into the bench providing and even more stable base etc.
My goals aren’t strength primarily, I’m just using strength too get bigger I rarely deadlift anymore instead I believe rack pulls in the risk/reward ratio are a superior movement, I can use a heavier weight for more reps and with less risk of screwing up my lower back too pack on more back mass.
[quote]mombasa333 wrote:
Military press. Standing or seated. Every time I do it, it just plain hurts. I switch over to very wide grip pull ups and all is well.[/quote]
I was the same way after hurting my self doing seated behind the neck presses (was up to 225 for reps of 7). I would tell anyone that would listen how bad they are. But 7yrs later after learning how to do standing military presses. AND I DO MEAN LEARNING had to start from scratch on the I’m a FAN OF THE STANDING MILITARY PRESS.
If youve seen someone doing this its probably because they are training as a boxer or want to kick the shit out of themselves.
Either way its a damned good exercise. Fighting is hard work and sometimes it takes everything you have just to keep your hands up so that your face doesnt get punched off. Dumbell shaddow boxing helps with this.
[/quote]
true. I train with a professional boxer and several amateur boxers that fought golden gloves.
they all use this exercise for shoulder strength and endurance.
[quote]Zackgsc wrote:
any kind of direct arm work is totally pointless. so are leg extensions, curls, or any other exercise like that. [/quote]
I thought this also, full body workouts only. Until X and the other really big guys convinced me to try an isolation/split routine and my arms grew a half an inch in 4 months.
[quote]danielbasic wrote:
I think decline bench, going heavy on the flat should be enough?[/quote]
I used to think this but I read an article by Dr> Clay Hyght and he states its one of the best exercises for chest because it isolates the chest w/o allowing shoulders and tris to help as much…I gotta say I love em now…only DB declines though.
[quote]GJA_BOSTON wrote:
Zackgsc wrote:
any kind of direct arm work is totally pointless. so are leg extensions, curls, or any other exercise like that.
I thought this also, full body workouts only. Until X and the other really big guys convinced me to try an isolation/split routine and my arms grew a half an inch in 4 months.
[/quote]
This.
EVERYTHING HAS IT’S PLACE, even the damn leg curls and extensions.
Except triceps kickbacks, that’s just plain stupid.