effort is definitely underrated. Walking is great. I encourage people to walk more every day.
I love training so much that it’s always been fun to me…even though I’ve put myself through some brutal workouts.
Regarding pre-workouts…I love caffiene…I usually have coffee or I will pop 2-3 100mg caffiene pills before my workouts and I absolutely love Biotest’s Surge Workout Fuel supplement…hands down the best workout fuel supplement I’ve used…and I’m not just pushing that product for no reason…I literally use it every day or even 2x/day
I actually made a thread a few months back that was basically this, but for top 5 (in response to an Eric Bach article) if you’re interested (don’t feel obligated to read this).
I think your selection would be a more balanced combination if you had more shoulder involvement, but that aligns more with my goals, which are likely a tad different from yours
Agree with Back Squat
Would keep Pull-Ups so long as they are done Poliquin sternum-to-bar style
Would swap Dips for OHP or Strict Clean & Press.
Reasons are athleticism and overall number of affected muscles in the movements.
I’ve never taken PEDs but I would agree with you. My deadlift coach is training Larry Wheels to hit a 1000lb deadlift right now…I’ve seen and stood next to Larry many times…He’s an absolute freak…he’s been very open about his PED use, but loads of guys take PEDs and don’t look anything like Larry. Genetics definitely play a HUGE ROLE
Maybe it is a form thing, but my elbows don’t like pull-ups, and my shoulders don’t like dips. I can and do lot’s of chin-ups (weighted and non-weighted) though.
I was really trying to get the dip to work for me. It seems I get a few weeks of it until I get shoulder issues.
If I had to choose one shoulder exercise to do forever it would be the OHP 100%
Push-ups are literally FOUNDATIONAL in upper body strength and people completely skip over them.
Love the trap bar…Mark Rippetoe hates the trap bar and he even made a youtube video about it…Which really pissed me off…the trap bar is great and has many useful applications.
I’m not a big isolation guy either…I do some…but most of the time I just prefer to hit more compound movements.
And it’s funny you say hitting the chest from different angles…I totally agree…if you want a bigger and more defined chest…just stronger and full range DB inclines or weighted dips. Upper/lower pec training is way overrated IMO…if you want more striated pecs…clean up you diet.
Damn that is an incredibly interesting question now that I think about it.
If I had to choose one or the other I would have to say its overrated for sure.
I rarely change exercise variations for body parts. Instead I just change the reps/weights but no matter what I’m always trying to get my clients stronger in the core lifts.
But thats my own training bias and prefer free weights over machine training. Machines and variations certainly have their place if the main goal is hypertrophy.
That’s a fascinating question…I might have to start a new forum topic related to that!
High angle Scott curls with chains for accommodating resistance. The top needs concentration to achieve the contraction. Relatively easy from the stretched (most injury prone) position, but weight comes on strong as bar is raised. And the negative has no friction resistance. You can vary the combination of plates and chains to vary the resistance curve. By far my favorite curl exercise.
I should add that at the top of the curl you don’t want the chains to come totally off the ground. They will swing if off the ground.
Underrated: Heavy RDLs. I like them right after squats (after I catch my breath) only 10-15lbs lighter than my top set. I’ve seen only 3 other dudes pull more that 2 plates on RDLs or SLDLs in our very large, busy gym.
Overrated: 45deg Back Extensions. - I actually think this is a user-end error rather than a movement shortcoming. Bodyweight is woefully inadequate for me, and loading with a plate in hand, no matter how I hold it, seems to put all the pressure on my upper thighs. I’ve played with the support pad position, shifted hip position, etc. I think I just have weird levers, and this is just another movement that exposes that.
