A few things I do that usually get me questions and/or odd looks:
-GHR’s on a Lat Pulldown machine
-DB Deads and SLDs
-Front BB Raises laying prone on an incline bench
-Leaning away DB Single arm lateral raises
-Front DB Raises with hand Supinated
-Scapular Retractions with the cables
-Low incline DB presses (bench elevated with 3 plates under one end)
-Bent laterals on inc bench with thumbs pointed down
I don’t personally consider any of these ‘odd’, or ‘unique’, but I guess you don’t usually read about 'em in the musclerags.
I’ll second the towel pullups (same basic idea as with rope) for biceps, upper back and grip. I’ve reccomended them to all my Marine buddies having issues with pullups on their PFT, and it has a 100% success rate thus far for that. Personally I feel it pretty damn good in the biceps as well.
This ain’t super unique or nothing, but I think front squats are highly underrated by most people. Especially good for tall people who have issues getting good depth with regular back squats.
&& Thanks especially if you put instructions on how to do them
&& Stu, yes, it may not be unique or anything, but, like you said, you get odd looks… I guess to an ordinary noob 2010 poster like myself, I would see it as “unique”
BTW: I dont really know how you can do scapular retractions with cables… would it be like a shrug on the frontal plane or something?
After trying out rope pull pull ups, and, my biceps being extremely sore. I live by that for my biceps. Not only does it work your brachialis, but, it’s 3 times as effective as a pull-up (for me at least). Then there are others, that I really don’t feel like improve my strength and size, but, others claim are great.
I’d just like some insight on that exercise that really works for you, and, has changed your regiment just when you’ve been experimenting.
So, guys, tell me some great exercises!!![/quote]
You do pullups for biceps?
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Chin ups, sorry :P, thanks for pointing that out, I’ll fix that.[/quote]
With that said, you do chinups for biceps?
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Here we go again with the senseless discussion of isolation vs. compound exercises… You know, since you’re hanging on the chin-up bar with your ARMS it’s kinda hard not to get the biceps involved, especially when using a narrower grip and squeezing the shit out of the bar.
I sometimes do decline presses for chest. I elevate one end of the bench with 2 plates, and there I go.
Moreover, I love rack chins. I know, that they’re not unique in any way, but everyone thinks that I’m a noob when I’m doing them. Too bad that their back width-thichkness a way behind mine, despite I’m anorexic.
[quote]Dre the Hatchet wrote:
Here we go again with the senseless discussion of isolation vs. compound exercises… You know, since you’re hanging on the chin-up bar with your ARMS it’s kinda hard not to get the biceps involved, especially when using a narrower grip and squeezing the shit out of the bar.[/quote]
I don’t think it’s just a case of whether it stimulates them (that is taken as standard), but HOW MUCH it stimulates them. I used to do nothing but all the variations of pull-ups/chin-ups, and no direct arm movements…but when I added them in (direct work), they deffinately improved.
It is very hard to continue “hitting” the biceps when other muscle groups are failing/distracting you. The argument that your arms are doing much work (and therefore are getting enough stimulous) is a pretty bad one. It’s like saying that because the pecs are involved in the bench press, then the bench press is the best exercise for pecs.
Another quite important thing is the fact that for the sake of stimulating a SMALL muscle group - which doesn’t require that much recovery, in doing chin-ups, you are doing more work/fatigue for muscle groups (which you would have already “hit” before) and therefore would require more recovery. Just seems pointless to me…
A note about the isolation thing; it’s not like curls etc are completely isolation movements anyhow, you still need good grip etc.
[quote]Dre the Hatchet wrote:
Here we go again with the senseless discussion of isolation vs. compound exercises… You know, since you’re hanging on the chin-up bar with your ARMS it’s kinda hard not to get the biceps involved, especially when using a narrower grip and squeezing the shit out of the bar.[/quote]
I don’t think it’s just a case of whether it stimulates them (that is taken as standard), but HOW MUCH it stimulates them. I used to do nothing but all the variations of pull-ups/chin-ups, and no direct arm movements…but when I added them in (direct work), they deffinately improved.
It is very hard to continue “hitting” the biceps when other muscle groups are failing/distracting you. The argument that your arms are doing much work (and therefore are getting enough stimulous) is a pretty bad one. It’s like saying that because the pecs are involved in the bench press, then the bench press is the best exercise for pecs.
Another quite important thing is the fact that for the sake of stimulating a SMALL muscle group - which doesn’t require that much recovery, in doing chin-ups, you are doing more work/fatigue for muscle groups (which you would have already “hit” before) and therefore would require more recovery. Just seems pointless to me…
A note about the isolation thing; it’s not like curls etc are completely isolation movements anyhow, you still need good grip etc.[/quote]
X2
But, the thing is, he’s acting as if I don’t do supplemental work for my biceps.
It’s not as if I disregarded my original routines, I still do hammer curls and barbell curls.
The ultimate question is, why the fuck are you arguing that compound movements don’t work synergist muscle groups.
Why don’t you do both isolated and compound movements :S
One technique that I keep going back to which has worked wonders for me are “Strip Sets”. Most know this technique, for those who don’t it’s a matter of doing as many reps as you can with a given weight and then with no rest, or very little strip off a predetermined amount of weight and continue to perform repetitions. Do it again for a second set, if you have plenty of energy do it a third time. Since this is pretty stressful on the body I only use it once per week. But, when I use it during a 6-8 week period it seems to skyrocket my gains.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
One technique that I keep going back to which has worked wonders for me are “Strip Sets”. Most know this technique, for those who don’t it’s a matter of doing as many reps as you can with a given weight and then with no rest, or very little strip off a predetermined amount of weight and continue to perform repetitions. Do it again for a second set, if you have plenty of energy do it a third time. Since this is pretty stressful on the body I only use it once per week. But, when I use it during a 6-8 week period it seems to skyrocket my gains.[/quote]
It shocks the nervous system, and, yes, it’s great for plateaus, or fags who don’t like switching up their movements.
-Low incline DB presses (bench elevated with 3 plates under one end)
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Hey Stu
Are u using a decline or flat bench? I get super light headed without an adjustment to the decline, but this sounds like a great idea. Raising the end of the decline bench must give a serious angle on the chest!
I don’t adjust the decline bench, I just grab a flat bench and create my own angle with a few plates under one end. I find that this just feels better, more natural, and allows me a better (feelable) contraction, than when I would use the actual decline bench at the gym.
Lean away DB lateral raises work awesome for delts. Before I started 5/3/1 I was doing them before any overhead pressing as a pre-exhaust method, and it worked great.
That, and I only do squats standing on a bosu ball.
