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Favourite lifts for building muscle


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23 hours ago, ratz99 said:


Just quick question, would you say the slow controlled DB curls helped heaps compared to say standing dumbell curls / barbell curls? I have awful weak biceps and I managed to make them grow a little bit by hammering them and getting a good burn with some standing curls etc but it plateaued pretty quick, so looking to try something different

Hey bro. You may do this already but if you don't.. Next time you train biceps, turn your wrist inwards as you are contracting (I try and get my pinky finger around as far as possible). Does this make sense?? Try it now at home, tense your bicep normally with hands straight then flex it hard and twist your wrist inwards. Notice a difference? I personally found this very simple method extremely helpful

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23 hours ago, maccaz said:

for me (building muscle, not building strength)

 

Quads - high rep leg press

Hams - stiff leg deadlfit

Abs - wheel rollouts, 15 rep sets

Chest - high rep bench press with barbell (prob better with dumbell but i never do them)

Back - my back is growing heaps atm from doing heaps of cable rows, maybe because i have just introduced them though.

Delts - lateral raise

Biceps - slow af controlled db curl on preacher bench

Triceps - high rep pressdowns

 

Agree on the high rep leg press. For back- do you reckon that could possibly be due to focussing on feeling the muscle rather than focussing on moving weight? I find cables great for creating tension. Took me ages to get the same amount of tension on say a barbell row

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16 hours ago, hamdanz said:

By contracting I meant the hold at the top the shrug.  Maybe this is the incorrect term for this movement, because you're right, retracting the scapula is also contracting the lower traps.

 

Explained really well in this video.  And just look at the size of Alex's traps, for a natty, pretty damn impressive.

 

 

 

Contracting the muscle is wasting ones time... hmmmmmm not sure if I would agree with that lol

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3 minutes ago, trainlikeafreak said:

Hey bro. You may do this already but if you don't.. Next time you train biceps, turn your wrist inwards as you are contracting (I try and get my pinky finger around as far as possible). Does this make sense?? Try it now at home, tense your bicep normally with hands straight then flex it hard and twist your wrist inwards. Notice a difference? I personally found this very simple method extremely helpful


Yeah bro that actually does make quite a difference! I've noticed it before now I think about but never put much thought into it. Thanks bro ima start doing that from now on too.

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Just now, ratz99 said:


Yeah bro that actually does make quite a difference! I've noticed it before now I think about but never put much thought into it. Thanks bro ima start doing that from now on too.

Well it just contracts the muscle harder right?? And a harder contraction results in more stimulation and more stimulation results in more growth. I've got decent biceps genetically so anything works but some of my mates and clients don't and that technique has really helped them. Single arm db preachers are a good way to get stimulation and really focus on feeling the muscle work. You get an exaggerated ROM and can really think and focus on what you're doing. Go hard bro!

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1 minute ago, trainlikeafreak said:

Agree on the high rep leg press. For back- do you reckon that could possibly be due to focussing on feeling the muscle rather than focussing on moving weight? I find cables great for creating tension. Took me ages to get the same amount of tension on say a barbell row

 

yep agree, i find it hard to feel bar rows the same as i do with cable ones.

 

i like bar ones as well for sure and they'd prob be better for what i am trying to do, but im enjoying doing cable rows with various diff grips atm and they are def making my back grow so ill keep doing them for a while.

 

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45 minutes ago, trainlikeafreak said:

Contracting the muscle is wasting ones time... hmmmmmm not sure if I would agree with that lol

 

That's not what i said at all.  Slow shrugs holding the shrug at the top is a waste of time.  Obviously pretty hard to do this with a heavy weight.

 

If you didn't watch the video, watch it.

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Way to ignore my comment about your stretch comment...

 

Also traps can be pretty genetic most tall guys or skinnier guys with big necks end up looking just like this dude after a bit of lifting. Nothing special about his traps what so ever.

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2 hours ago, donz said:

If you're saying here that the stretch is what helps the growth and mention stretch with a rack pull but then consider a dead lift is a fuller range of motion there for engaging the stretch for a longer period of time it's curious to me as to why you were suprised people said dead lift for back. If you add that logic to a deficit dead lift then which we do a lot of then even more so.

 

I agree with Hugh on the contraction part as you're lifting the weight and get to the top/lock out you're definitely making contractions in a lot of muscles - unless you're weak and can't lock out the weight you're lifting haha

 

My back went from flat and shit to looking pretty good when I started powerlifting / deads - I do however now do a lot of rows based on programming from coach but yeah. Deads for me - as I said personally, same with traps~ I even won a 100 dollar voucher on here for my back progress, yay deads!

 

 

3 minutes ago, donz said:

Way to ignore my comment about your stretch comment...

 

Also traps can be pretty genetic most tall guys or skinnier guys with big necks end up looking just like this dude after a bit of lifting. Nothing special about his traps what so ever.

 

Didn't see the comment before.

 

The before and after is pretty special.

 

The logic for the rack pull is that you can handle probably twice the weight.  The traps apparently responds very well to low rep overload.  So more weight = more stress.

 

The surprise about the deadlift for  back thing is more that it was barely mentioned for hamstring growth, when it's awesome to for that.  Also awesome for glutes with the lockout.  Over the last few years I've started considering it more of a leg exercise.  Used to do on back day, but since going to p/p/l, I have been doing it on legs day, and rack pulls on pull day.  I guess it's just a personal thing - alot of the stuff I follow on youtube etc is strength based, and they seem to do deads on legs day.  

 

The lack of any mention of rack pulls just surprised me, that's all.

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On 2/17/2017 at 0:39 PM, hamdanz said:

 

 

Didn't see the comment before.

 

The before and after is pretty special.

 

The logic for the rack pull is that you can handle probably twice the weight.  The traps apparently responds very well to low rep overload.  So more weight = more stress.

 

The surprise about the deadlift for  back thing is more that it was barely mentioned for hamstring growth, when it's awesome to for that.  Also awesome for glutes with the lockout.  Over the last few years I've started considering it more of a leg exercise.  Used to do on back day, but since going to p/p/l, I have been doing it on legs day, and rack pulls on pull day.  I guess it's just a personal thing - alot of the stuff I follow on youtube etc is strength based, and they seem to do deads on legs day.  

 

The lack of any mention of rack pulls just surprised me, that's all.

Most people dead lifting here dead-stop that could be why. When you stop the movement dead this mimics a comp lift obviously vs touch and go bounce reps - which completely fry my hammies, these are the preferred style of reps I see bodybuilders doing, well generally.

 

Note sure I could rack pull over 600kg... speaking of double the weight lol

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  • 2 weeks later...

For building muscle (have never really been to concerned about strength)

 

Quads - Leg Press (high reps) & leg extensions 

 

Hams - dead lift

 

Chest - Chest flys supersetted high rep incline bench 

 

Back - rack pull below the knee (low volume, high weight)

 

Delts - lateral raise and bradford press (just the bar go to failure, if youve never done this before youre missing out.)

and dumbbell lateral to front raise (another insanely good exercise, we are seriously spoilt for choice when training delts.)

 

Biceps - 21s ( EZ bar moderate weight, 7 reps from bottom of curl to midway point, 7 from mid way point to the top of the curl and then 7 full curls, burns the f*ck outta your bi's)

 

Triceps - V bar push downs

 

Traps- heavy BB shrugs 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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