Don't Get Caught Doing This in The Gym

Over the past 9 weeks I have talked about the basics of weight training, cardio training, eating right, and how to workout almost every muscle group on the human body. Now that we have established a base of knowledge I am in the process of planning new content for the weeks to come and I would like to start going more in depth about fitness topics. I have not yet finalized the content for the upcoming weeks so I decided to share some very funny and insightful videos from one of my favorite YouTube channels, Buff Dudes.

These three videos are all about gym crimes and things that nobody likes to see or experience in the gym.

Training Your Legs For Strength and Size

Now that you have a good understanding for proper form and technique for the major leg movements, here are some example exercise routines to get you started on your strength, size, and toning gains.

Strength

Barbell Squat                                                 5 sets x 5 reps

Deadlift                                                          5 sets x 5 reps

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)                             5 sets x 5 reps

Leg Extensions                                              5 sets x 6-8 reps

Leg Curls                                                        5 sets x 6-8 reps

Size

Barbell Front Squat                                      5 sets x 12-15 reps

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)                            5 sets x 12-15 reps

Leg Press                                                      3 sets x 12-15 reps

Leg Extensions                                             3 sets x 10 reps

Leg Curls                                                      3 sets x 10 reps

Exercises to Build Your Legs

With this week being all about building some bigger and stronger legs I want to put some emphasis on a few exercises that will really drive some impressive results. The main lifts that I am highlight are the barbell squat, leg extensions, barbell front squat, deadlift, and Romanian deadlift.

These lifts are known as compound lifts with the exception of the leg extensions, which are actually an isolation movement. Compound lifts use multiple joint movements in the body in order to move the weight that you are working with and provide great overall body results.

Larger compound movement lifts can be quite difficult to describe in writing, especially when considering a beginners level of weight lifting experience. That being said, I have linked several informational videos that demonstrate proper form and technique for the barbell squat, leg extension, front squat, deadlift, and Romanian deadlift.

Barbell Squats

Quad Size and Extensions

Barbell Front Squat

Deadlift

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

Training Routines For Building Your Arms

If you have not yet watched Alex Savva’s arm training video that I posted earlier this week, I highly recommend watching it before jumping into these exercise routines. It demonstrates a lot of well-known exercises with a few tweaks that will keep your arms growing and gaining more muscle definition.

It is also important to note that arms do not respond to strength training (5 sets of 5 reps) in the same way that other muscle groups do. So for this weeks strength routine I will be using the 6-8 rep ranges instead of 5 sets of 5 reps.

You can also superset these routines for added intensity

Strength

Close Grip Bench Press                                 5 sets x 6-8 reps

In / Out Barbell Curls                                    5 sets x 6-8 reps for each hand position

V-Dips                                                           5 sets x 6-8 reps

Cross Body Hammer Curls                           5 sets x 6-8 reps

Underhand Grip Triceps Extension               5 sets x 6-8 reps

Zottman Curls                                                5 sets x 6-8 reps

Size

Tricep dumbbell kick back                           3 sets x 10-12 reps

Preacher Curl – 21’s                                     3 sets x 10-12 reps

Skullcrusher – 21’s                                       3 sets x 10-12 reps

Overhead Kettlebell Triceps Extension        3 sets x 10-12 reps
Zottman Curls                                               3 sets x 10-12 reps

Exercises ForBuilding Your Arms

Here is a great video on arm training by gym owner, entrepreneur, and Bodybuilding.com writer, Alex Savva. Alex goes through many exercises that will really add an edge to your arm training and help you get that size, strength, or definition that you have been working so hard for.

As a guy I know that we are always looking for a great arm blaster, but ladies, please don’t be discouraged by Alex’s size or the exercises that he demonstrates. These movements can be done by anyone and will yield great results as long as proper form and weight are used.

Later this week I will layout some exercise routines for size and strength that incorporate the exercises that Alex talked about in his video.

Build Your Arms with Alex Savva

Building Your Shoulders

Below you will find a few simple but effective workout plans to build strength in size in your shoulders depending on what your fitness goals are.

I myself have had multiple shoulder injuries, so I am extra careful when it comes to working this muscle group.

Like I mentioned early this week, your shoulders are the most mobile joint in the body and therefore can be at a higher risk of injury than other joints. It is always important to use a comfortable weight that doesn’t put too much stress on the joint or require jumpy movements in the body to create momentum to move the weight.

Size Building

• Smith Machine Military Press                     3 sets x 12 reps
• Cable Front Raises                                       3 sets x 12 reps
• Cable Lateral Raises                                    3 sets x 12 reps
• Rear Delt Cable Extensions                         3 sets x 10 reps
• Face Pulls                                                     3 sets x 10 reps

Strength Building

• Standing Military Press                               5 sets x 5 reps
• Dumbbell Front Raises                                5 sets x 5 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises                             5 sets x 5 reps
• Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly’s                           5 sets x 5 reps
• Rear Delt Cable Extensions                        5 sets x 5 reps

Combination of Size & Strength

• Seated Dumbbell Military Press                 3 sets x 6-8 reps
•  Cable Front Raises                                     3 sets x 6-8 reps
• Dumbbell Up-right Rows                           3 sets x 6-8 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises                     3 sets x 6-8 reps
• Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly’s                   3 sets x 6-8 reps

The Basics to Building Your Shoulders

Yes, it has been a long week and a half since my last post, but hopefully the cardio training advice helped everyone as the spring weather really sets in. Now it’s time to get back into things and this week is all about building bigger, stronger, and toned shoulders.

Your shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body and also contain some complex groupings of muscles to create smooth and controlled movements. More specifically, the muscles you will be training in order to increase size, strength, and definition are the larger, rounded muscles on the shoulders known as the deltoids. There are five different deltoid heads, but they are commonly called front, medial, and rear deltoids in the gym. 

Common Shoulder Exercises:

• ·      Military Press – This is by far the most common and best exercise to perform for overall should size and strength. This exercise can be performed either seated or standing, and with a barbell, dumbbells, or on isolation machines.

• ·      Front Raises – This exercise can be performed with dumbbells or resistance cables and is as simple as raising your arm straight up in front of your body for at least one second before slowly lowing the weight. With this type of shoulder exercise it is very important to use a weight that you don’t have to use body momentum to lift and that is comfortable when performing a high amount of reps. Following this advice will help you build larger shoulders as well as prevent joint pain or injury.

• ·      Lateral Raises – The anatomical meaning of lateral means to move outward or away from the center of the body. In this exercise you will use dumbbells or resistance cables to pull the weight out to your side to make a 90-degree angle to your torso and hold for at least one second before slowly lowing the weight. Just like with front raises, it is very important to use a weight that you don’t have to use body momentum to lift and that is comfortable when performing a high amount of reps. Following this advice will help you build larger shoulders as well as prevent joint pain or injury.

• ·      Up-right Rows – This is a fairly simple variation for the medial deltoids that came be performed with a barbell or with dumbbells. Essentially you want to stand straight, hold the weight just outside your waist, and then bring the weight straight up to your chin while keeping your elbows raised. This will squeeze t he medial deltoids and then slowly lower the weight after at least a one second hold.

• ·      Rear Deltoids – The rear deltoids are a very small muscle group and can be very tricky to target. The most common exercises to hit this muscle group include rear deltoid fly’s with dumbbells or rear deltoid extensions with cables. In these exercises you want to extend your arms outward away from your body, but in a motion that is similar to a bird flapping its wings. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, whether you decide to use dumbbells or cables, be sure to use a weight that you don’t have to use body momentum to lift and that is comfortable when performing a high amount of reps. Following this advice will help you build larger shoulders as well as prevent joint pain or injury.