Spring 2010 Contest Run Up

Training
61

[quote]Mr300 wrote:
Hey stu looking great i have a question about your front lat spread. My hands seem to be a little higher up above the belly button then yours does, do you think this will hurt my look because it seems pretty high compared to most guys but i get a much better spread. Also are their things i can do to make my spread look better stretch wise?[/quote]

Well, I’m certainly no posing expert, but I played around a lot as far as where to put my hands so that I would look wide, AND thick. I’ve seen a few competitors place their hands higher in an attempt to look wider, but they end up (in my opinion) looking lanky because of the gap that is seen under their arms from the front, combined with how far the elbows will actually be from the body. I also was able to discern that it’s not just how far you place your arms, but to actually tilt your elbows FORWARD a little bit while will make your chest and front delts appear a bit thicker as well. The best thing I can suggest is to get some ‘mirror time’ in. Look at pics of competitors who have a similar structure as you, and try it several different ways. Several of my ‘bad’ posing issues are most likely because I used to look at pics of Yates, and he would always tilt his torso a little bit backwards, probably to make his lats appear to droop more, however, for me, it made my midsection look thicker.

As far as stretching to improve your lat spread,… well, I’ve never set aside specific time for stretching, but on back day, I do my share of grabbing onto equipment with one arm and leaning away between sets.

S

62

[quote]Papa Nick wrote:
Thanx for sharing so much info like your meal plan and ur low day nutrition count.
I would be interested to see the different in your measurement difference between before/after cut.
Unless thats info you would rather not give out.

Keep it up Stu were all in your corner.[/quote]

It’s not like I would have a problem giving out any information, it’s that I don’t know, and will intentionally keep it so that I do not know my measurements. I’m absolutely positive I answered a question like this in my last prep thread, but when I first started corresponding with Cordova, I tried to find out his measurements because I wasn’t sure if I was big enough to cut down and still have enough muscle for an actual competition. Well, nice guy as Jim is, I never got my answer. Today though, I fully understand why. THe last thing anyone who spends years in the gym and eating in an attempt to build as much muscle as possible wants is to see that they’re getting smaller. Thibs even mentioned in his old ‘Beast’ article how he would start to diet many times, and then abandon the idea as he saw himself shrinking.

The way I figure it, a competition bodybuilder’s best friend is the mirror, while his enemies are the scale and tape measure. If anyone ever takes the plunge for a contest, it will freak you out something awful the first time. I remember stripping down backstage for the weigh in at last May’s show, and eying all the other competitors who looked like they had just stepped out of magazines. All I could think about myself was that I had shrunk so much that I must look like crap. Your brain will mess with you every chance you give it, so your best bet is to avoid giving it any more fuel to add to your self doubts.

S

63

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]Mr300 wrote:
Hey stu looking great i have a question about your front lat spread. My hands seem to be a little higher up above the belly button then yours does, do you think this will hurt my look because it seems pretty high compared to most guys but i get a much better spread. Also are their things i can do to make my spread look better stretch wise?[/quote]

Well, I’m certainly no posing expert, but I played around a lot as far as where to put my hands so that I would look wide, AND thick. I’ve seen a few competitors place their hands higher in an attempt to look wider, but they end up (in my opinion) looking lanky because of the gap that is seen under their arms from the front, combined with how far the elbows will actually be from the body. I also was able to discern that it’s not just how far you place your arms, but to actually tilt your elbows FORWARD a little bit while will make your chest and front delts appear a bit thicker as well. The best thing I can suggest is to get some ‘mirror time’ in. Look at pics of competitors who have a similar structure as you, and try it several different ways. Several of my ‘bad’ posing issues are most likely because I used to look at pics of Yates, and he would always tilt his torso a little bit backwards, probably to make his lats appear to droop more, however, for me, it made my midsection look thicker.

As far as stretching to improve your lat spread,… well, I’ve never set aside specific time for stretching, but on back day, I do my share of grabbing onto equipment with one arm and leaning away between sets.

S[/quote]

Thanks for your advice, I was thinking abotu the lanky look you spoke of but I dont have anyone really to help me out in person because the closest bodybuilding gym is a half hour away so try and get as much info as i can from the web.
Thanks again and hope you tear the competitions up

64

[quote]MiJuggernaut wrote:
Stu-
Thanks for the info. This thread reads like a contest prep “how to,” something I am very interested in. One clarification-6 day split with cardio separate from weights? Does that mean a four day body part split with two cardio days? low cal/carb days on cardio days? Sorry to be nit picky. Thanks again and good luck with your prep, it sounds like you might not need too much (luck).[/quote]

Okay, to clarify a bit about my current split:

1- Chest / Gastroc - Maint Cals + High Carbs
2- Back / Bis - Baseline Cals + Moderate Carbs
3- CARDIO - LOW CAL AND CARB DAY
4- Delts / Traps / Tris - Baseline Cals + Moderate Carbs
5- Legs / Soleus - Baseline Cals + Moderate Carbs
6- CARDIO - LOW CAL AND CARB DAY

(…and Repeat)

S

65

Stu did you use the same 6 day rotation for your last prep? I’m curious as you have zero “days off” and am wondering how you handled that. I would be worried about getting sick more than anything.

66

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

It’s not like I would have a problem giving out any information, it’s that I don’t know, and will intentionally keep it so that I do not know my measurements. I’m absolutely positive I answered a question like this in my last prep thread, but when I first started corresponding with Cordova, I tried to find out his measurements because I wasn’t sure if I was big enough to cut down and still have enough muscle for an actual competition. Well, nice guy as Jim is, I never got my answer. Today though, I fully understand why. THe last thing anyone who spends years in the gym and eating in an attempt to build as much muscle as possible wants is to see that they’re getting smaller. Thibs even mentioned in his old ‘Beast’ article how he would start to diet many times, and then abandon the idea as he saw himself shrinking.

The way I figure it, a competition bodybuilder’s best friend is the mirror, while his enemies are the scale and tape measure. If anyone ever takes the plunge for a contest, it will freak you out something awful the first time. I remember stripping down backstage for the weigh in at last May’s show, and eying all the other competitors who looked like they had just stepped out of magazines. All I could think about myself was that I had shrunk so much that I must look like crap. Your brain will mess with you every chance you give it, so your best bet is to avoid giving it any more fuel to add to your self doubts.

S
[/quote]

But don’t you think it might be helpful in making adjustments? For instance if you notice most measurements are staying about the same but for whatever reason your legs are going way down you would be able to individually assess what’s different with your leg training and try to fix it. Or if overall mass was going down maybe a change in diet would be more appropriate, etc. but you wouldn’t know unless you were to take measurements.

I guess personally I would go even crazier not knowing lol

By the way I know you mentioned your current carb intake, what about protein and fat?

67

[quote]phatkins187 wrote:
Stu did you use the same 6 day rotation for your last prep? I’m curious as you have zero “days off” and am wondering how you handled that. I would be worried about getting sick more than anything.[/quote]

Yes, this is the same rotation I eventually settled on for the majority of my last prep (my first few weeks were sort of flip flopping different ideas I had). I didn’t really schedule any specific ‘off’ days, but there were one of two days I felt a bit run down (actually really sick on one day), where I skipped training altogther. Obviously you have to be smart enough to step back and realize when you would be doing yourself more harm than good. I do remember one particular evening when I was just really really tired (not actually sick), so I just did some easy steady state cardio instead of my planned intervals.

When I started last time, I wasn’t really doing any real cardio work, so the ‘off’ days were just days I’d do some ab work. I had begun implementing my cardio sessions originally after arms, or shoulders, or one of my shorter workouts, but I was always just so drained, that trying to keep up any degree of intensity for intervals lasting more than 15 minutes was just killing me. When I switched to doing the cardio on compeltely different days than the weights, I really felt better overall, and really think I got a lot more out of the sessions.

You’re going to be putting your body through some serious stress during a prep, so your nutrition and sleep has to be adequate to support what you’re attenpting to accomplish. If your body says to rest, listen to it. Schedules and splits are outlines, not concrete laws.

S

68

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
But don’t you think it might be helpful in making adjustments? For instance if you notice most measurements are staying about the same but for whatever reason your legs are going way down you would be able to individually assess what’s different with your leg training and try to fix it. Or if overall mass was going down maybe a change in diet would be more appropriate, etc. but you wouldn’t know unless you were to take measurements.

I guess personally I would go even crazier not knowing lol

By the way I know you mentioned your current carb intake, what about protein and fat?[/quote]

I do think it can be helpful, but thinking about how I THOUGHT I looked dieted down (compared to how I feel offseason), and how I actually APPEARED TO LOOK onstage, I realize that if I had listened to the voice in my head telling me how much smaller I looked, how long I had trained to be the size I was before dieting, how I was going to regret deciding to compete… well, I wouldn’t have accomplished what I did, and I’m sure my outlook would agree with taking measurements.

The real quetsion for a competitor is how do you look compared to YOURSELF?, (the judges don’t actually measure your biceps and then the guy on your right’s biceps), whether you are in proportion with your other bodyparts, whether you appear symmetical, conditioned, etc…

It’s been said a zillion times on here, but Bodybuilding is all about the ‘Illusion’, and while I may never know how much size I actually lost dieting down, I do know that when I look at the contest pics, I’m damn proud, and really glad I stuck it out.

As far as my diet, with regard to the fat and protein content… The real numbers I watch, as you noted, are the overall cals, and carbs. My protein always comes out to be 300+g a day simply by the food choices I make. I don’t really worry about protein numbers until the last week when I carb deplete and I don’t want my body making glucose out of excess protein (I’m sure I’ll talk more about that when the time rolls around).

For fat intake, every day I pop 2-3 flameouts with each meal, and in addition usually ingest salmon, peanut butter, cashews, and (on low carb days) whole eggs. I don’t really worry so much about fat as I seem to be functioning fine, and unless you’re on a keto diet or really need to be concerned for health reasons, I think you can get away worrying about carbs and cals as the real pivotal numbers to play around with (assuming adequate protein intake of course!).

S

69

Stu,

This has got to be one of the all time bests posts on T-Nation. Thanks for putting so much effert into keeping it updated. I really like the diet info. I believe that is the part most don’t understand but is the most critical. So again thank you. I’m not an “expert” but I’ve always liked to look at posing to see what minor things can be done to help the muscle pop more.

Maybe you are doing this it is hard to tell in the photos. With your double back biceps pose I think if you rotate your arms back to the point that they are uncomfortable it would help make your shoulders appear to be larger. The front delt would really pop up. Just my 2cents. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!!!

70

Great thread, thanks for sharing. Contest prep has always been intriguing/interesting to me. Your willingness to share has been enlightening.

I know its early in the prep, but do you rotate/cycle your diet or cardio time? Or are you going to keep your Calories as posted previous and increase cardio?

Also, I’m a fellow educator. Does your training or prep ever come up and do you discuss it with them?

71

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

It’s been said a zillion times on here, but Bodybuilding is all about the ‘Illusion’, and while I may never know how much size I actually lost dieting down, I do know that when I look at the contest pics, I’m damn proud, and really glad I stuck it out.

S[/quote]
Speaking of which did you take measurements before starting the cut? I can see the psychological issues of taking them as you diet down but it would probably be interesting to compare to peak size of this off season to last off season.

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
You’re going to be putting your body through some serious stress during a prep, so your nutrition and sleep has to be adequate to support what you’re attenpting to accomplish. If your body says to rest, listen to it. Schedules and splits are outlines, not concrete laws.

S
[/quote]

How much sleep do you get on average?

72

[quote]3hitter wrote:
Stu,

This has got to be one of the all time bests posts on T-Nation. Thanks for putting so much effert into keeping it updated. I really like the diet info. I believe that is the part most don’t understand but is the most critical. So again thank you. I’m not an “expert” but I’ve always liked to look at posing to see what minor things can be done to help the muscle pop more.

Maybe you are doing this it is hard to tell in the photos. With your double back biceps pose I think if you rotate your arms back to the point that they are uncomfortable it would help make your shoulders appear to be larger. The front delt would really pop up. Just my 2cents. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!!![/quote]

You may be right, obviously I’m a bit out of practice with my posing, but what I always try to focus on in that shot in flexing my lats. I think that’s one of the biggest mistake newer competitors (or even guys in the RMP forum!) make, when you actually retract your shoulder blades thinking you’re showing off all your detail, but in actuality you’re making yourself look narrower.

I believe in my shots from last year I was actually leaning back more (arching my back) which gave the front delt ‘pop’ you’re refering to. Definitely something to keep in mind as I get back into feeling out my own body these next 14 weeks. Thanks for the thoughts :slight_smile: (I have no ego when it comes to this! -lol)

S

73

[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
Great thread, thanks for sharing. Contest prep has always been intriguing/interesting to me. Your willingness to share has been enlightening.

I know its early in the prep, but do you rotate/cycle your diet or cardio time? Or are you going to keep your Calories as posted previous and increase cardio?

Also, I’m a fellow educator. Does your training or prep ever come up and do you discuss it with them?[/quote]

As of now, I cycle 3 different days (low, basline and high), with the low and baseline each entailing a different degree of caloric deficit. The carbs cycle up and down accordingly as well (based on what I will be training on that given day). Obviously I expect to have to drop my overall numbers a bit as the weeks go on, but I don’t want to rush into dropping excessively as there is no surer way to lose muscle. Even last prep, I think except for the last couple of weeks, my baseline never went below 2400 cals, and yet I hear about people on here who are routinely eating 4000 cals a day, suddenly dropping to 2200 and wondering why they don’t look good afterward.

Cardio - You always want to do just what you need, as too much will undoubtedly lead to LBM loss as well. I started at 20 mins the first week (feeling very unconditioned), and will up to 25 mins this week. I doubt I will ever go about 30 mins a session, as I believe dietary manipulation is a much better way for the majority of fat loss to occur than through over excessive caloric expenditure. As I prefer to do interval work, the prevailing reational (I have read through many many sources) is that while you do in fact burn less calories during a session, you will ultimately be losing more fat due to the partitioning effect on your body (will rely on burning fat throughout the day). Considering that I choose to do my cardio work on days where I am intentionally ingesting lower overall cals and carbs, obviously you walk the line of hammering your body too hard (ie. 60 min of intervals while eating only 2000 cals and zero carbs -lol).

My students get a real kick out of my little hobby. There are always the questions because some kids are used to seeing me at 210 lbs, while others think my cheeks always look sunken in. I also have a history of eating in class, mixing up my met drive shakes, and lately, lugging around my jug o’ MAG-10 (everyone has their theories about what I’m actually drinking -lol). I answer questions when I can, but try not to let it derail actual classroom lessons. The few times I’ve had to grab a workout in the school weight room have always been interesting (when was the last time you saw your high school art teacher shoulder pressing 2 plates and change per side?). I just constantly try to remind the kids that just because you can lift a lot, or even get some muscles, it doesn’t make you a better person, and it definitely doesn’t make you better than anyone else. All it means is that you can be proud of yur accomplishment.

S

74

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]3hitter wrote:
Stu,

This has got to be one of the all time bests posts on T-Nation. Thanks for putting so much effert into keeping it updated. I really like the diet info. I believe that is the part most don’t understand but is the most critical. So again thank you. I’m not an “expert” but I’ve always liked to look at posing to see what minor things can be done to help the muscle pop more.

Maybe you are doing this it is hard to tell in the photos. With your double back biceps pose I think if you rotate your arms back to the point that they are uncomfortable it would help make your shoulders appear to be larger. The front delt would really pop up. Just my 2cents. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!!![/quote]

You may be right, obviously I’m a bit out of practice with my posing, but what I always try to focus on in that shot in flexing my lats. I think that’s one of the biggest mistake newer competitors (or even guys in the RMP forum!) make, when you actually retract your shoulder blades thinking you’re showing off all your detail, but in actuality you’re making yourself look narrower.

I believe in my shots from last year I was actually leaning back more (arching my back) which gave the front delt ‘pop’ you’re refering to. Definitely something to keep in mind as I get back into feeling out my own body these next 14 weeks. Thanks for the thoughts :slight_smile: (I have no ego when it comes to this! -lol)

S[/quote]

It’s nice to know your ego doesn’t get in your way. I think that’s why I enjoy this thread so much. I may have not explained that quite right. I wasn’t suggesting you retract your shoulder blades just roll your arms back. I found this link. www.gasparinutrition.com/GaspariChannel/tabid/57/Default.aspx there is a video on there of Rich showing the basics of poses. I believe he judges competitions plus he was one of the greats.

?: Do you find yourself getting a little cranky toward the end of your cut? I seem to get bitchy when I drop carbs to much!!

75

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
Great thread, thanks for sharing. Contest prep has always been intriguing/interesting to me. Your willingness to share has been enlightening.

I know its early in the prep, but do you rotate/cycle your diet or cardio time? Or are you going to keep your Calories as posted previous and increase cardio?

Also, I’m a fellow educator. Does your training or prep ever come up and do you discuss it with them?[/quote]

As of now, I cycle 3 different days (low, basline and high), with the low and baseline each entailing a different degree of caloric deficit. The carbs cycle up and down accordingly as well (based on what I will be training on that given day). Obviously I expect to have to drop my overall numbers a bit as the weeks go on, but I don’t want to rush into dropping excessively as there is no surer way to lose muscle. Even last prep, I think except for the last couple of weeks, my baseline never went below 2400 cals, and yet I hear about people on here who are routinely eating 4000 cals a day, suddenly dropping to 2200 and wondering why they don’t look good afterward.

Cardio - You always want to do just what you need, as too much will undoubtedly lead to LBM loss as well. I started at 20 mins the first week (feeling very unconditioned), and will up to 25 mins this week. I doubt I will ever go about 30 mins a session, as I believe dietary manipulation is a much better way for the majority of fat loss to occur than through over excessive caloric expenditure. As I prefer to do interval work, the prevailing reational (I have read through many many sources) is that while you do in fact burn less calories during a session, you will ultimately be losing more fat due to the partitioning effect on your body (will rely on burning fat throughout the day). Considering that I choose to do my cardio work on days where I am intentionally ingesting lower overall cals and carbs, obviously you walk the line of hammering your body too hard (ie. 60 min of intervals while eating only 2000 cals and zero carbs -lol).

My students get a real kick out of my little hobby. There are always the questions because some kids are used to seeing me at 210 lbs, while others think my cheeks always look sunken in. I also have a history of eating in class, mixing up my met drive shakes, and lately, lugging around my jug o’ MAG-10 (everyone has their theories about what I’m actually drinking -lol). I answer questions when I can, but try not to let it derail actual classroom lessons. The few times I’ve had to grab a workout in the school weight room have always been interesting (when was the last time you saw your high school art teacher shoulder pressing 2 plates and change per side?). I just constantly try to remind the kids that just because you can lift a lot, or even get some muscles, it doesn’t make you a better person, and it definitely doesn’t make you better than anyone else. All it means is that you can be proud of yur accomplishment.

S
[/quote]
I would so do you (no homo).

But seriously, you seem like a real cool guy who deserves all the good that comes his way.
Good luck, and as everyone else said, thanks for this thread.

76

[quote]pumped340 wrote:

Speaking of which did you take measurements before starting the cut? I can see the psychological issues of taking them as you diet down but it would probably be interesting to compare to peak size of this off season to last off season.

How much sleep do you get on average?[/quote]

I didn’t take any measurements before starting. I’ve basically been hitting shots every couple of weeks for my training partners and assessing whether I was getting ‘too heavy’ in relation to keeping some degree of definition. Obviously I decided it would be worth it to just let my body go where it wanted to when the body weight just kept creeping up as I trained hard and played around with my periworkout nutrition (I had originally planned to stay under 190, but as I seemed to be putting on mostly muscle, just went with it).

Sleep is something I definitely could use more of. I try to get to bed by 10 each night, and am up by 5:30 each morning. When I start to throw in small sessions of treadmill walking before breakfast, I’ll be getting up at 5am. I’ve also never really been a very sound sleeper, and while it may sound like I get a good 7 hours each night, I toss and turn a hell of a lot, and usually get up to piss at least once (or sometimes my pup whines at my bedside until I wake up and pick her up -lol). When the contest is drawing closer, I may start using Alpha GPC at night to hopefully get a better night’s sleep (I emailed Thibs about this and he thinks as it does get more difficult to get a good night’s sleep at the end, it may help somewhat).

Even on weekends though, I set an alarm so I don’t miss my day. I’m always up by 8am at the latest, and at the gym by 10. On the rare occasion I can grab a nap in the afternoon on weekends, which I hope assists recovery a bit (luckily my girl is amazingly understanding).

S

77

[quote]3hitter wrote:
It’s nice to know your ego doesn’t get in your way. I think that’s why I enjoy this thread so much. I may have not explained that quite right. I wasn’t suggesting you retract your shoulder blades just roll your arms back. I found this link. www.gasparinutrition.com/GaspariChannel/tabid/57/Default.aspx there is a video on there of Rich showing the basics of poses. I believe he judges competitions plus he was one of the greats.

?: Do you find yourself getting a little cranky toward the end of your cut? I seem to get bitchy when I drop carbs to much!!
[/quote]

Rich was a great poser. I actually got to meet him at a seminar last year very early into my prep and he and Jason Arntz used me to demo a little how to pose lesson for the attendees (I think I posted a few pics in my last contest thread actually). It was really the first time anyone made subtle little shifts here and there and I understood the difference. Usually you think you’re hitting the same pose as a pic you may be referencing, but you’re actually pretty far off. Again, I think as I get back into the swing of actually practicing my shots in front of a mirror, and holding them for prolonged periods, I’ll get a better sense of where I am (I’d like to think my posing was pretty good compared to a lot of other competitors at my last show).

I’m not usually a cranky person, although I do get frustrated with people pretty often and in the last year have ‘cut off’ a few people at my gym who just bombard me with the same questions and never actually listen (and basically waste my time when I’m trying to get my own training done). There was one woman who commented to my buddy last year, maybe a week or two out, that I seemed cranky, and he just made her feel stupid for pestering me so much when I was actually busting my ass trying to achieve something and she just wastes hours every day coming to the gym so she can have someone to complain about her day to. (This was a woman who seems to think she knows it all, and was telling anyone - but me - who would listen that I was gonna peak too early, or I needed to bring up this body part, or that one, or something was being doing incorrectly… -lol). In hind sight, I feel a bit bad, because I do try to be patient with most people, but sometimes I think everyone can have a reason to be a bit selfish (if it can even be viewed as such)

S

78

Okay, so apparently I need to keep a better eye on my supplement stash, because my next order of FINiBARs won’t arrive until mid next week, and as of this morning I only had 6 left. SO even if I only use 2 instead of 3, I’ll have a couple of days without. It’s funny, that just a couple of months ago I had to push myself to get down two of 'em, and now, having been unable to get my usual 3 each afternoon left me actually hungry on my way to the gym -lol.

I do still have an older container of SWF from the original protocol, so while it won’t make up the exact amount of carbs, I know that it does contain the Rice Oligodextrin that is also the main carb source in the FINiBARs, so I’m thinking of downing 2 scoops of the SWF before my peri Anaconda/Mag10 cocktail.

On a training note, they finally fixed the seated hamstring machine at my gym which had been broken for the last month and a half. This was truly one of my favorite machines as it doesn’t stress my back at all, and according to everything I’ve read on hams, doing seated leg curls actually hits the inner hams (semitendinosus and semimembranosus), while laying leg curls stresses the biceps femoris more. Of course what I really care about is that I really bombed my hams with this machine leading up to my last show, and despite the caloric deficit, I received a lot of positive comments on my hams, so the last thing I want is to have one of my better body parts actually lose ground. A great series of exercises I used last year, and repeated earlier tonight is to first do stiff leg deads (I prefer DBs) for a slightly higher rep range (8-12), then seated leg curls for a lower rep range (6-8 - I usually have to pin an extra plate on the machine), and then finish 'em off with GHRs on a lat pulldown machine (however many reps I’ve got in me). Left the gym with a great, glowing, cramping-in-pain feeling and a big smile on my face :smiley:

S

79

Stu,

Re hamstring training, have you tried varying your foot position to hit a different area, i.e. Feet inward(dorsiflexed), feet outward(plantaflexed). Keeping reps lower, due to been fast twitch muscle group of coarse. I found that strength varies a bit, depending on foot position…may be worth a try.

I am currently training twice a day…morning leg workout includes clusters using lying leg curl, feet dorsi flexed and PM workout(which is currently lactic acid training), I use the seated hamstring machine, feet plantaflexed.

GJ

80

The strength varies based on foot position because when you point your toes doing hamstring curls, it disengaging the calf muscles which would normally be called in to assist (Steve Downs explained this to me in much more complicated terms at a biomechanics seminar -lol).

While I’m not sure if that actually has any effect on what portion of the hamstring is being primarily stressed, I’m sure that angling your feet, to some degree may have create some degree of shift. I usually keep all my ham reps pretty low, but have allowed my SLD rep to go up simply due to the back work I’ve been doing. The last thing I need to happen is to be in the middle of my prep and have to deal with a tweeky lower back.

S