However, there’s another part of your abs that’s never trained and for that reason a real weakness among a lot of people interested in fitness. This muscle is called the ‘transverse abdominis’ and is actually located directly behind the rectus abdominis so isn’t able to be seen. Yet, just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean you should neglect it. In fact, a good transverse abdominis can help you develop not only a stronger core but a better-looking six-pack.

Firstly, what is the transverse abdominis? Well, the TVA is the deepest layer of muscle tissue that makes up the abdominal wall. It wraps around the entire front of your stomach, originating from the lower six ribs and the top part of your hip bone before connecting on to the base of your sternum, pubic tubercle, and linea alba. The linea alba is a bunch of fibers that run directly down the midline of the abdomen and separate each side of the six pack/rectus abdominis.

The TVA is responsible for compressing the abdomen and maintaining stability in the spine. If you were to completely relax your TVA then you’d look fat or as though you had a bloated, distended stomach. If you’ve done any research into old bodybuilders then you may be familiar with the act of ‘vacuuming’ the stomach so that you look thinner around the waist. This is all centered around the transverse abdominis by sucking your stomach in to appear more aesthetic.

Now, how does this help with getting a better six pack? Well, imagine trying to flex your abs if you’re bloated. You really aren’t going to be looking your best. If you’re lean then you’ll be able to see the outline but without the ability to fully suck your stomach in you’ll never look as good as you could. If you can strength your TVA for a better vacuuming effect whilst flexing your abs then you’ll look incredible. Training the TVA means that you’ll have better endurance to hold your stomach in for periods of time where it’s necessary, such as on the beach or going swimming. Anywhere where your top is off for an extended period of time relies on the TVA to be able to hold your stomach in so your six pack really pops.

Obviously, there are more benefits to training the TVA than just aesthetics. As mentioned before, the TVA aids with core and spinal stability and if you have a more stable core then you’ll be stronger across all of your big, compound movements. A strong core is the key to a stronger body and it all starts with the TVA. The muscle fibers that make up the TVA are mostly slow-twitch which means that it’s more suited to endurance styles of training opposed to the usual strength training for skeletal muscle.

Therefore, one of the best exercises is the plank. The plank causes gravity to drag your stomach to the floor and it’s down to your TVA to pull it back up. If you can hold a plank for a solid 45 seconds straight then add weight on to your lower back to make it harder.

The TVA will become naturally stronger through compound movements. That’s why it’s always important to make sure that these are a staple in your gym routines. It can be easy to just get your sets of bent over rows over and done with in the first part of your session before you eagerly rush to do bicep curls, bent over flyes, and other easier exercises. Yet, these single-joint exercises don’t develop your entire body in the same way compound movements do.

Compound movements require balance, synergy, and a lot of strength across your entire body to pull-off. That’s why they’re so good for you as they improve a lot of fitness aspects. As you go through these compound movements you need to focus on compressing and holding the abdomen in so that it’s secure. Really breathe in, breathe out and lock your torso into place so that your TVA is getting worked effectively.

There are some specific TVA exercises that you can do to target this muscle in particular:

The first of these is standing vacuums where you stand upright and try to suck your belly button towards your spine. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps.

The next exercise is a slight variation on the standing vacuum and involves doing it in a plank position. The directions are the exactly the same except it’s a little bit harder as gravity is working against you.

The third exercise is a swiss-ball roll-out. You start by placing your shins on an exercise ball and then roll the ball towards your chest whilst contracting your abs. Remember, focus on drawing your abdomen in to really boost the stimulus in the TVA.

If you follow these guidelines and implement these exercises into your gym routine then your core will kick up to the next level.

Jarrett

The post Do You Train This Hidden Ab Muscle? appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

What does a good back look like? Big, powerful, and wide lats, dense traps, a good v-shape from top to bottom, boulder-like shoulders, and a valley on the spine from the erector spinae. This shows someone who has worked extremely hard at building their posterior upper body and hasn’t spent all their time on the typical front muscles which are easier to build.

Now, some of these moves you may already be implementing into your training but there are certain techniques you can use to shake things up. Different ways of tackling exercises can make a big difference to the response from your body.

1 – The Deadlift

The deadlift utilizes basically every single muscle in your entire body from the moment you pick it up off the floor to the moment you put it back down again. This makes it a fantastic exercise for building a tough and powerful upper body; especially for the back.

One of the main areas that contributes to the deadlift is the lower back and nothing has the same effect on the spinal erectors like deadlifting. Whether you’re going for strength or reps, the lower back is forced to grow in order to cope with the strain of this big, compound movement.

However, the focus shifts as you go through the range of motion. As you’re more parallel to the ground, the lower back is being stimulated the most where as the more you lock out at the top position the more the focus shifts to your grip, lats, traps, and other upper back muscles. The lock-out places a lot of emphasis on your traps which work to ‘shrug’ the shoulders. As they’re being pulled down by the heavy weight on the bar, the traps work to hold the arms up and stop them ripping off your body.

There are two main types of deadlifting: sumo and conventional. With the sumo deadlift, your feet are placed very wide and close to the weight at either end. With the conventional deadlift, you put your feet just hip width apart. The conventional stance is much better for targeting the back as you go through a larger range of motion and the sumo deadlift places more emphasis on the glutes and posterior chain. This means that in the conventional deadlift your muscles are placed under greater tension for a larger amount of time. You may be able to lift more with a sumo but you’ll build more muscle using the conventional.

In terms of rep schemes for hypertrophy, you’ll want to do a mix of strength work and repetition work. The strength work will mean that you can lift more weight which contributes to a greater size whereas the repetition work will increase the volume and direct more fluid to the muscles. Both are important for making gains.

2 – Rows

Rows are probably the single best category of exercise for building the upper back. You can use dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, or even just your own bodyweight in order to do them and they’re a real powerhouse movement.

Here are some examples of rows:

• Barbell Row
• Single Arm Dumbbell Row
• Australian Row
• Landmine Row
• Cambered Bar Row
• Supported Row
• Rowing Machine
• Trap Bar Row
• Smith Machine row
• Seated Cable Row
• Meadows Row

All of these have their advantages and disadvantages. Also, changing the grip up can mean that you can shift the focus on to different parts of the body. If you want to target the biceps then you can choose an underhand grip whereas an overhand grip will mean that the back has to work harder.

Back exercises need to have certain aspects in order to be considered useful. The degree of contraction you can achieve when working the muscles and the size of the range of motion are both huge factors. If both of these are poor then it’s safe to say that you could be using a better exercise for your time.

The best exercises from that list that implement the best of these factors will be the barbell row, single arm dumbbell row, and meadows row. If you’re looking to build an impressive upper back then do 4 sets of 6-10 reps of each exercise per back session. Use one of them as a strength development exercise and only aim for 4-8 reps.

3 – Straight-Arm Pull-Downs

Nothing will make your back look bigger than good lats and straight-arm pull-downs are one of the best exercises for developing this muscle. They’re more of an assistance exercise that should supplement your compound movements as they only utilize one joint. Though, after a few sets of these, your lats will be on fire.

If you’ve ever seen a perfectly v-shaped back then that will be because of the lats. The lats originate from the vertebrae of the spine as well as the iliac crest on the pelvis and then insert onto the inside of the humerus. They work to draw the arms down, back, towards the body as well as internally rotating them like the pectoral muscles.

One of the main benefits of the straight-arm pull-down is that it cuts out any aid from your biceps. When normally completing back exercises your biceps will aid a lot in the movement so using a single joint exercise such as the pull-down places full stimulation on to the back.

The best way to handle them is to go for a certain amount of times, not reps, as a finisher to your workout. Simply focus on contracting the muscles and going for good form. If you do three sets lasting one minute with a minute’s rest in between then your lats will be killing when you leave the gym. The main aim of this exercise is stimulation and control. Remember to be strict to get the most out of it.

4 – Pull Ups

Finally, pull ups are possibly the best exercise for building the upper back. A lot of people neglect them as they can be hard to get a hold of. Most people who start going to the gym can barely do 3 pull ups let alone just one so they swap them out for easier exercises such as the row or lat pull down. Yet, developing your pull up ability is key for getting a massive back fast.

Now, there are a lot of variations on the pull-up that you can use. The most common being the chin up. The chin up uses an underhand grip which means the biceps can help out more and makes the movement slightly easier. This is a good gateway to the pull up which does not require the biceps aid as much. If you can’t do a standard chin up then a neutral grip chin up is even easier. This uses the biceps help the most. Using an assistance band is a great way to get yourself to doing bodyweight pull-ups if you can’t do them already.

Once you can do 8-12 standard pull ups then it’s time to add weight. Weighted pull ups are the obvious progression because as long as you have a strong weight belt then you can continue making the exercise harder and keep improving your back aesthetics.

In order to get the most out of this exercise, it’s important to go through the full range of motion. This means starting the pull up with your arms full extended and finishing with your chin above the bar. Remember to pull through your back and not the arms for a stronger and more effective movement.If you start getting really good at pull ups then you can start working on plyometric pull-ups and eventually a muscle up. A muscle up is an extremely impressive display of back strength that rarely anybody can complete.

If you want to increase the intensity of the exercise without adding weight then you can do slow concentric and eccentrics. Try to increase your work volume so you can complete more pull ups in the same amount of time. For example, if you can do 8 pull ups in a minute right now then try to get that up to 10, 11, or 12 and so on. You can also just try to improve the total amount of pull-ups you can do in one set, also.

The pull-up really is the king of building up the lats.

Final Thoughts

Building an impressive back is not as easy as building up the chest, shoulders, legs, or other areas. For this reason, many people don’t tend to go as hard on a back day. However, if someone has a big back then their whole physique suddenly looks greater. The lats can be seen from the front if they’re big and the traps stick out between the shoulders and neck for a very muscular look.

The post Step Up Your Back Training With These Moves appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

Close Grip

First off, we have the close grip bench press. In this movement, the hands are held just 10-12 inches apart to hit the triceps and inner pecs more. The forearms form an angle slightly less than 90 degrees with the hands just inside of the shoulders. This is the hardest of all the grips as it recruits much more of the arms (the weaker muscle group) and a lot less of the chest and shoulders (the stronger muscle groups).

Wide Grip

Next, there’s the wide grip bench press. This is where the hands are held much closer to the weight plates, and your forearms become perpendicular to the floor. This puts a lot more strain on your outer chest alongside your shoulders. Yet, you will receive much less stimulus in the triceps which makes it a poor choice if you’re looking to build up your arms.

However, you will also be able to lift the most weight in this position as your using the strongest muscle groups and also have a reduced range of motion. Some individuals may experience shoulder pain. If this is you, then avoid this movement completely.

Normal Grip

The most common and comfortable position for lifters is with the hands held in between the first two positions. Your forearms will be nearly perpendicular to the floor when the bar is against your chest and stimulates all areas equally. As this is the most comfortable position, then it means that you’ll be able to train it the most.

The best way to get stronger and bigger is through repetition and practice. So, if you can train this movement and grip the most often, then it will make it the best for muscular development.

Reverse Grip

Lastly, we have the most uncommon position which is the reverse grip bench press. This places the elbows much closer to the body and emphasises both the upper pecs and the triceps more than the standard bench press.

It can feel slightly awkward for some individuals, though.

Each version of the bench press can be used in your training. It’s simply finding when and where they fit in to use the best. Obviously, a lot of this depends on your goals and what areas of your physique are lagging.

It’s important to note that there is nothing wrong with the standard bench press grip. You can make a lot of progress with the standard grip. In fact, beginners should stick with this movement for at least nine months to get it ingrained in their mind before switching anything up. You don’t want to rush anything only to become injured or have poor form.

Also, you can switch up the bench press in many ways other than with the grip. Changing the angle of the bench is a great way to modify the difficulty of the movement and also target different areas of the pecs. The incline bench press will stimulate the upper pecs much more whereas the decline bench will hit the lower pecs. The incline bench press is responsible for creating that square and powerful look in the anterior upper body. A lot of bodybuilders and gym goers only use the incline bench press for this reason and avoid the decline bench press with the belief that it will give them that ‘man boob’ look.

You can even swap the barbell for a pair of dumbbells. This will hit the chest a lot harder as you can get much more of a stretch at the bottom. Your pecs and arms have to work harder to stabilise the individual weights which mean that they have more of a reason to grow. This switch up is also a great way to improve your strength. If you train with dumbbells for a few weeks then when you return to the barbell it will feel a lot easier to control and therefore a lot easier to lift.

To summarise, if you want to hit the triceps then choose either the close grip or reverse grip. If you’re looking to hit the upper chest, then use the reverse grip and also consider using an incline bench. For the inner chest, use the close grip bench press. To hit the outer chest then use the wide grip bench press. If you want to lift the most amount of weight, then use the flat bench with a wide grip and if you have shoulder pain then completely avoid the wide grip and use either the normal or wide grip. The bench angles should not make a difference.

Jarrett

The post How Wide Should Your Bench Press Grip Be? appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

However, there are lots of different training methodologies that can create this stimulus. There are three main types of contractions you can use to make progress:

1. Concentric: concentric contractions are where the muscle shortens under tension. In the case of the bicep curl, a concentric contraction is the curling part where you engage the bicep to bring the weight up towards your shoulders.

2. Eccentric: eccentric contractions are where the muscle lengthens under tension. If you were to do an eccentric bicep curl then you would start with the weight against your shoulders and then slowly lower it down. This is the type of contraction that tears the most muscle fibres. A lot of people believe this to be the key to building muscle but this is untrue. The best way to build muscle is through progressive overload i.e. increasing the amount of weight you can lift over time. You will get a lot of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) from eccentric training which gives the belief that you’ve worked harder but it’s simply because a lot of fibres have been torn.

3. Isometric: isometric training is where the muscle neither shortens or lengthens but remains under tension. This would be a bicep curl held in a static position about midway through the curl. All you do is hold the position for as long as possible. It’s long been thought to be a great addition to training alongside concentric contractions to build and increase strength.

When you’re incline pressing using isometric contractions, it’s suggested that you do a high-incline chest flex where you bring your hands together above your chest. Push them together to create maximum tension. When using a machine for the bench press, hold your arms directly out in front of you. This really targets the middle of the pecs. Then with decline presses, bring them your hands together close to your belly button. If you’re a competing bodybuilder then this is very similar to the ‘most-muscular’ pose.

When lifting, remember to really connect your mind and your muscles. Focus on the contraction and really squeeze to get the most out of the exercise. Arnold Schwarzenneger said that the reason for his success was that he built up a real connection between his mind and his muscles which allowed for him to make more gains.

Isometrics should be used supplementally to your normal concentric sets. You may want to use it as a staple for some exercises but think of it more as an assistance methodology opposed to your regular go to. Use them in the sets immediately after your working ones to place further stimulus on the muscles.

Now, after you’ve gone through a few concentric and isometric sets, it’s time to finish off your muscles with some tough love. This means drop sets, negatives and more static holds.

Let’s take a look at what would happen in the case of an incline dumbbell press. You would complete your first 3 sets aiming for 6-10 reps without going to failure and only until your form starts to break down. Then when these three sets are over you start to introduce the extras. This means that you will immediately drop the weight by about 50% for some drop sets and keep going until you can’t drop the weight anymore. Combining concentric, isometric and drop sets is a great way to really shock your muscles into growing. You’ll feel a pump like never before across your entire chest.

However, if you really want to challenge your muscles then you should add in some negative reps to finish off with. Negative or eccentric reps are a great way to train your mind into the movement of the muscle. You should take roughly four seconds to lower the bar and then use a slight swing or help from a partner to lift the bar up again. For any advanced lifters, this is a great way to stimulate growth. The further you get on in your training life the harder it is to give your body enough reason to grow. Yet, combining this variety of techniques will leave your muscles in agony and they’ll have to no choice but to adapt.

Obviously, progress isn’t just made in the gym. If you’re not thinking about what you’re eating around your workout then you won’t have enough energy to workout properly or to grow. Pre and post workout nutrition is absolutely vital if you want to make any type of progress. A pre-workout supplement will give you a good boost of energy and will keep fatigue away. Post workout supplement with BCAAs will help you recover faster.

Isometric Chest Workout

Here is an example workout for you to complete that combines all of the strategies we’ve spoken about so far:

Incline Dumbbell Press

The incline bench is a great way to focus on the upper chest which gives that powerful square aesthetic whilst the dumbbells mean that you have to work harder in order to stabilise the individual weights.

Warm up:

– 1 set of 10 at 50% of your working weight
– 1 set of 8 at 75% of your working weight
– 1 set of 6 at 85% of your working weight

Next, do 1 set of 6-10 reps stopping just before you fail or when your form breaks down. Immediately follow these with isometric holds on the upper pecs by bringing your hands together above your chest. Aim for 8 reps at 75% effort and a single rep for 10 full seconds.

Follow this up with another 6-10 reps before dropping the weight immediately by 50% for your drop sets.

Machine Bench Press

Warm up:

– 1 set of 10 at 50% of your working weight
– 1 set of 8 at 75% of your working weight
– 1 set of 6 at 85% of your working weight

Now, do 1 set of 6-10 reps stopping just before you fail or when your form breaks down. follow these straight away with isometric holds on the middle pecs by bringing your hands right in front of you. Aim for 8 reps at 75% effort and a single rep for 10 full seconds.

Follow this up with another 6-10 reps before dropping the weight immediately by 50% for your drop sets.

It’s ideal to use a machine bench press that has a neutral grip or a wide, overhand grip to target the chest best. You can also do this with dumbbells on a flat bench but just follow the same instructions.

Decline Bench Press

Warm up:

– 1 set of 10 at 50% of your working weight
– 1 set of 8 at 75% of your working weight
– 1 set of 6 at 85% of your working weight

Start with 1 set of 6-10 reps stopping just before you fail or when your form breaks down. Immediately follow these with isometric holds on the lower pecs by bringing your hands together close to your naval. Aim for 8 reps at 75% effort and a single rep for 10 full seconds.

Follow this up with another 6-10 reps and finish off with 3 negative reps using a spotter. Afterwards, finish the same as the others with a drop set.

Incline Bench Cable Fly

Warm up:

– 1 set of 10 at 50% of your working weight
– 1 set of 8 at 75% of your working weight
– 1 set of 6 at 85% of your working weight

Now, do 1 set of 6-10 reps to failure and then hold isometrically halfway through the last rep for as long as you can.

Follow this up with another 6-10 reps before dropping the weight immediately by 50% for your drop sets.

Dip And Push Up Superset

Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) on bodyweight dips making sure to lean forward in order to target the pecs best. Then follow this up with as many push ups as possible. Wait 30 seconds before holding a push up halfway through the rep for as long as possible.

Final Thoughts

Isometric training is a great tool that has been used for many years. The technique is most prevalent in calisthenic routines. Front levers, l-sits, and other gymnastic holds all require isometric contractions in order to complete. This is one of the main reasons why gymnasts are so proportionately strong. A lot of gymnasts join the gym and can already bench twice their bodyweight or more just from their bodyweight training alone. It takes a lot of strength to hold your body in various positions for extended periods of time.

Remember, isometric training should not be the focus of your workout regime. It’s a great tool to use in order to overload the muscles when you hit a plateau but increasing the volume of your concentric contractions is the way forward. If you use this as you would drop sets, negatives or forced reps then you’ll see a dramatic change in your strength and power.

Jarrett

The post How To Use Isometrics To Build A Bigger Chest appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

Of course, one of the main components of getting a six pack is revealing them. Once they’re on show is when you can really work on making them pop. Getting your abs out is all down to diet and having a low enough body fat percentage that there’s little fat on top to cover them.

Yet, if you’ve already got this down then it’s time to really start incorporating some useful exercises to bring your abs out of their shell. We know that nobody really has an ‘ab day’ per such but everyone needs to have an ab routine in order to take their torso to the next level.

1 – Don’t Think Of Your Abs As A Single Muscle

When most people think of a six pack they simply go to the superficial six abdominal muscles on the front of the stomach. Yes, these are a big part of your core but there’s much more to it than the beauty muscles.

Firstly, we have the rectus abdominis muscle which are the ones we refer to when we talk about abs. Six is the most common to be seen but individuals can have an 8 or even 10 pack depending on their genes. They originate from the pubis and then insert onto the lower ribs, stretching from the bottom of the stomach to about half way up the torso. These are what we use to flex the spine or bring the chest towards the pelvis.

Next, we have the obliques on the side of the body. There are two sets of obliques, internal and external, which help rotate your torso from side to side. As well as this they prevent the torso from rotating, one of the most useful actions when it comes to lifting. The external obliques are the muscles that outline that v-shape with muscle fibres that originate from the lower ribs to the front of the hips. They also aid in trunk flexion.

Lastly, we have the transverse abdominis which lies underneath the rectus abdominis. This muscle is mainly used for compressing and stabilising the torso. If you breathe in deeply and then lock your torso down, the transverse abdominis keeps you secure. Unfortunately, due to the fact that it’s impossible to be seen, many programs neglect the muscle despite the fact that it’s one of the most important areas of the torso.

Once you have a complete understanding of these muscles and their uses then you can start improving not only your physique but your lifts, too. You can address weaknesses and use your strengths to your advantage. Leg lifts will hit the rectus abdominis hard whilst Russian twists will target your obliques. Planks and other challenging stationary positions are amazing at improving your transverse abdominis. Spice up your training by using different exercises to work on these different areas.

2 – Don’t Fear Added Resistance

One of the main benefits of ab workouts is that they don’t always require lots of equipment. Bodyweight is a huge component of training your abs which means that you can get in a good session wherever you are.

However, the more advanced you are then the harder it gets to make the make the exercises challenging. You can’t increase the load with bodyweight movements.

This is where weighted ab movements come in. The stronger you get then you can add more weight in small increments. As you would with any other muscle, to make your abs grow you need to get stronger.

The abs are made up of almost equal amounts of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibres. This means that you need to use a combination of reps to effectively target them. You can use higher reps on the bodyweight movements and then hit them with strength-style rep schemes for the weighted movements like weighted crunches.

Focusing more on fast-twitch muscles fibres will promote more growth. Slow twitch fibres tend to respond by getting more aerobically efficient which is great for endurance but not so great for aesthetics. Aim for the 7-12 rep category for the most amount of gains. Once you hit the upper level then switch up the angle of the exercises to make it harder or increase the weight.

Cables are the best piece of equipment for weight ab exercises and can really be used to great advantage.

3 – Don’t Do Flat Back Training

Keeping a flat back is important for most exercises such as the bent over row, deadlift, squat and anything else that challenges your core.

However, if you’re directly training your abs then you need to let them do what they’re designed to do which is curve your back. Your abs are there to curl your spine and bring your ribs closer to your pelvis. If you aim to keep your back flat then you’re completely eliminating the aim of ab training. You can’t effectively contract these muscles with a neutral spine. With some core exercises, a flat back can be beneficial, such as is the case with the plank. Though with non-isometric exercises aim to curl your back as much as possible to get a full contraction and full stimulation.

4 – Don’t Rest Between Reps

If you’re squatting then you make sure that you’re fully standing between each rep. You don’t keep the burn on your legs by going almost to standing then stopping in a partial bend at the knees and hips.

With ab exercises, you need to maintain activation of the muscles between each rep. If you’re using the cables or a machine then you shouldn’t let the plates touch between reps which would take pressure off these muscles. Keeping tension on the muscle will stimulate more growth and is perfect for training your abs in particular.

5 – Don’t Rush Through Your Reps

We are often far too guilty with ab training to rush through the sets and just get it out of the way. It doesn’t feel as important as other muscle groups and the exercises can sometimes seem too easy. If you watch any beginner with their ab training then they’ll power through all of their sets and try to do as many reps as possible.

As stated earlier, a large emphasis needs to be placed on getting stronger. Also, if you’re flying through your reps then there’s a high chance that you’ll be using momentum to carry you opposed to using your abs effectively.

A neat little trick to make sure that you are really using your abs is to pause for one second at the end range of motion when you have a full contraction. After a few sets of implementing this technique, you’ll really start to feel the burn.

The moral of the story is to focus on quality opposed to quantity. You want to get the most out of each rep opposed to getting the most amount of reps.

Final Thoughts

Your abs are much more than for show. They’re incredibly important for stabilising your body, protecting your spine, and keeping you safe from injury.

The biggest mistake you can make is not working your abs at all. Though they are incorporated in big compound lifts such as the squat, deadlift, and pull up, direct ab training is needed if you really want to sculpt them towards a Greek adonis look.

Doing 3 exercises at the end of a workout or on a rest day is really all that you need to supplement the stimulus you get from other exercises. Movements such as the hanging leg raise, ab wheel roll out and kip ups are perfect for building that v-shape and building the abs up. Aim for 2-3 ab sessions per week for maximum effect.

If you’re stuck in a position where you can’t see your abs yet then there’s no real point in training them directly. Instead, focus on engaging them more in compound exercises to improve your stability and activation. Once you’re around 12% body fat is when you can start to focus on specific areas and exercises to make them look better.

In order to get down to this body fat level, you need to eat in a caloric deficit. Just 200 calories below your BMR should do it. If you’re losing a lot less than 2lbs per week then drop down to 300 calories below. Don’t go any further than this as you’ll start to risk your health.

When you first start to eat less food you’ll lose a lot of weight in the first week and a half due to retaining less water. This is especially true with carbohydrates. Carbs help store glycogen in your muscles so if you eat fewer carbs then you won’t be able to store as much. This is normally why a lot of people start their weight loss journey extremely excited only to grow impatient after two or three weeks when the scale stops dropping so dramatically.

The key to any goal is consistency. If you want better abs and a better body then keep at it and eventually it will be yours.

Jarrett

The post 5 Things You Should Never Do On Ab Day appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

You may think that you know a lot about training but these are some tips that you may not have heard of that can make all the difference to your gym time.

1 – Leave The Best Until Last

Everyone has exercises that they don’t enjoy as much as others. Whether it’s squats, pull ups, deadlifts, military presses or anything else that isn’t bicep curls or bench pressing. Normally, we’re so excited for the gym that we just want to get stuck straight into the movements we love the most. Then if the equipment we need to use is already taken then we become angry and frustrated. How else could you possibly start your training? Is this bad luck? How long are you going to have to wait now?

Beginners, in particular, are most guilty of doing this. When you first start hitting the gym leg day is the last thing on your mind. All you want to do is arms and chest all day every day. Unfortunately (and fortunately) as you get more clued into bodybuilding you realise that leg day is important and has to be done no matter how much you dislike it. The squat especially is great for targeting all areas of the kinetic chain as well as teaching you how to brace your core. Missing out on this exercises is a huge mistake.

The problem with this is that not only do we have the least amount of energy for the last few exercises but we also have the least amount of motivation as we don’t enjoy them. This makes the end of our routine boring and often skippable.

What’s the solution? It’s simple. You need to stick the exercises you like the most right at the end. The exercises people usually like the least are big, compound, multi-joint exercises because they are the most draining. By starting your workouts with squats, military presses, bent-over rows, bench presses, and other big exercises then you can enter into them with more energy and you might even find that you enjoy them more now.

2 – Shake Things Up (But Not Too Much)

We’ve all heard the mantra ‘keep your body guessing’ and it’s a training mentality that a lot of gym goers stand by. Each day, each week doing different exercises with different sets and different reps. Fundamentally, the idea is not wrong. If your body gets used to doing the same thing day in and day out then it has no reason to grow. It’s where it needs to be so it’s not going to adapt.

However, too much change can make the body confused, simply put. The real driver behind the muscular growth is volume and progressive overload. You want to get stronger so that you can lift heavier weights for more reps. The only way of doing this is consistency. Yes, you need to change your training up every once in a while not only so that your body can receive a new stimulus but also so that you don’t get bored in yourself.

When you do change your training don’t change it completely. Swapping a bicep curl for a hammer curl is a good idea. Little changes mean that your body receives a new stimulus but is still working to adapt the same part of the body.You can also swap up your rep and set targets. Instead of hitting three sets of 8 try doing 5 sets of 5. It’s still a similar volume but you’ll be able to lift more weight with each set.

Try incorporating different techniques such as forced reps, negatives, partial reps, drop sets as well.
If you stay in your comfort zone then your body has no reason to change. If you hit a plateau then boost up the intensity for a few weeks before returning back to normal.

3 – Remember When To Hold Back

A lot of us are guilty of going too hard in the attempt to make more gains. Unless you go to failure it can seem like you haven’t worked hard enough. This is especially present when you train with a partner. ‘One more rep!’ You scream at each other and make sure to help people on every single set when the other one can’t lift the weight anymore.

Luckily, this is a misconception. The whole idea of training is to create a stimulus for your muscles to grow; not break them down so that you’re sore for weeks and can’t even walk up the stairs. As long as after each workout you’ve challenged yourself with each exercise then your body will grow and adapt.

Taking a set to failure once each workout is not a bad idea it’s just when it becomes a staple in your training then issues can arise. You’ll become drained, exhausted, and frustrated that you lose steam halfway through a workout. Overtraining is a real and prominent issue seeing as a lot of individuals looking to grow train around 6 days a week, a lot more than what is needed for the average beginner or intermediate lifter.

When you overtrain you’ll become more stressed inside and outside of the gym. Overtraining has been linked to reduced levels of muscle building hormones such as testosterone which is the main reason as to why less growth is seen when people increase their gym time past the necessary point.

4 – Spice Up Your Training

The basic big exercises are all well and good but they’re not the be all and end all. There is a large exercise library which you have access to thanks to the internet. All of these movements can be used by different people for different outcomes and are just waiting to help you with your gains.

The best approach to training is to use compound movements as your bread and butter then assistance exercises to boost growth in areas that are lacking. For example, on a leg day you want to be using squats, deadlifts and lunges as the base and then leg extensions, leg curls, vertical jumps, glute bridges and other assistance exercises to increase the volume. If you have trouble growing your quads then you’re going to want to focus more on leg extensions. If you want to get more powerful then you may do more vertical jumps. Compound lifts are for everyone and then the finish assistance exercises you can make more individual.

A simple way to twist up an exercise for the upper body is to simply switch your grip around. Using an overhand grip for bent over rows will place more emphasis on your upper back whereas using an underhand grip will include your biceps more. This is similar to the difference in a pull-up and a chin-up.

Always try different positions, techniques and postures for your assistance exercise as you may find that they hit your muscles harder and are more enjoyable to perform.

5 – Strength First, Pump Second

Arnold Schwarzenegger first introduced us to the pump after professing his love for the feeling over and over. Ever since bodybuilders have been chasing this build up of blood and treating it as the magical elixir behind major gains and getting big. Sure, the pump will get you bigger but compared to other methodologies this idea really lacks.

Your main focus in training should be getting stronger. If you can increase the amount of weight that you’re lifting in big, compound movements then you’re going to grow. Always begin your training with the lower rep exercises.

Then at the end of your workout, you can start your higher rep pump training to strategically increase the volume in a lacking muscle. If you really want your arms to grow then you might use drop sets on bicep curls and cable extensions after your main exercises.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, there are a lot of components that make up good training and these are just some of them. It’s down to you to be wise with your training and determine what’s best for you at this moment in time.

If you’re bulking then focus on getting stronger and using strategic assistance exercises to increase your gains in important areas. Aim for 4-8 reps on your compound lifts and when you hit the upper limit move up a weight.

If you’re cutting then you may find it more useful to increase the volume and do higher reps so that you burn more calories. Somewhere in the 6-10 range is. The same with bulking, if you hit the upper range during a given exercises then move up a weight. It’s a myth that you can’t get stronger whilst cutting but because people believe this is true then they never push themselves.

This is equally down to the fact that they think they need to eat a lot less than necessary to lose weight. Just cutting 200-300 calories from your BMR will be enough to see progress and any more will just make you feel burned out, stressed and lethargic. Having less energy means that you’ll be able to put less effort into the gym and therefore not be able to burn as many calories. You want to preserve as much muscle and strength as possible whilst losing weight which means taking things slow.

Jarrett

The post The 5 Best Training Tips appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

Consistency is key when it comes to any goal. Whether you’re searching for muscle gain, fat loss or simply to get a little healthier then you have to be persistent and regular. If you miss out on one session just because you don’t feel like it then this can quickly snowball into more and more workouts until you’re really slacking. What really makes a difference is what you do in the times you’re not feeling great; when you’re not feeling up to it for whatever reason.

Here are some helpful hints and tips for different scenarios to help you break through any wall in your way between you and a better body.

1 – You’re Not In The Mood

Nobody loves the gym 24/7. Even those people you see with six packs and a toned physique on Instagram don’t always want to go and exercise.

Learning to be responsive to the signals your body is giving you can make all the difference. You know that if your head’s not in it then the quality of your workout is going to dramatically drop. A lot of the time the reason you’re in a mood is because your body isn’t feeling good enough to hit the gym. How do you get around this?

Volume. No, not on your iPod. Instead of blasting your workout with all you have like you usually do, decrease the number of sets. This means that you’re still exercising but the overall workload has decreased and as you’re using the same weight then you won’t lose any strength.

Make quality a priority, not quantity.

2 – Your Sets Feel Like A Grind

Having a plan is extremely valuable. Knowing what you’re going to do in the gym saves you from aimlessly wandering around from machine to machine doing whatever exercises you feel like. It’s also a great way to track progress and maintain that oh-so-important consistency we mentioned before. Yet, implementing this plan and carrying it out are a different story.

Sometimes sets that we thought were going to be easy turn out to be a little harder than expected. Have you ever lifted a weight one week comfortably only to struggle with it the next? It’s frustrating but it happens to the best of us.

Instead of grinding through those reps as you normally would, change up the exercise. Listen to the message your body is trying to tell you. You haven’t fully recovered yet and so these sets are going to be really tough and really draining on your nervous system leaving you feeling run down, beaten and tired.

In order to become stronger, you need to become smarter. Training is built on progression, not carrying out sets and reps because it’s in your plan. No matter what the paper says, if you’re really struggling with a weight then you may want to rethink what you put on the bar.

3 – The Warning Signs Start Early

In a similar fashion to tip number 2, one of the worst feelings is getting to the gym raring to go and the first exercise feels horrible. You’re sluggish, weak and simply aren’t performing as you normally would.

An example would be going through your warm up and feeling a little less powerful than you expected. You reach the squat bar and do your warm up sets, again feeling not as explosive or strong. When it comes down to the working sets you can only manage to hit 3 out of the 6 reps you could do before.

What would you normally do in this situation? Call it a day because your body clearly isn’t ready or soldier on through because you’re just not trying hard enough? Most would carry out the workout anyway because they’ve made it to the gym and ‘need’ to do a workout.

However, a smarter approach would actually be to go home. Your body simply isn’t ready and it’s letting you know right from the off. Don’t try out the next exercise as you’ll only be wasting your time. Learn that in order to progress you also need adequate rest. If you push through then you’ll only worsen the problem meaning that your subsequent workouts will be equally bad if not worse. Take some time off, eat good food and get plenty of sleep. By the next time you put your foot in the gym door you’ll be back in shape and back in the right frame of mind ready to destroy another workout.

Jarrett

The post The Right Way To Train On A Bad Day appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

You need your lower body to be strong, agile and powerful in order to complete a variety of tasks in everyday life as well as keeping you safe in old age. Regardless of the health benefits, a muscular lower body will keep your physique balanced and complete your look.

There’s a lot of things that you shouldn’t (and should) be doing on leg day so it’s important to get things right. That’s why we’ve compiled this helpful list of do not’s in order to make sure you’re getting the most out of your training.

1. Only Sticking To Squats

Squats are a great exercise but squatting isn’t the only thing you need to do. Sure, if you ask almost anyone what the most important lower body lift is then they’ll respond with squats but a training based solely on this one exercise won’t get you where you want to be.

2. Not Going Hard

Just because you don’t enjoy leg day is no reason not to push yourself. Squats and deadlifts may not be as fun as barbell curls and bench pressing but you still need to try equally as hard. If not then you won’t grow, you won’t get results and you’ll hate leg day even more. The trick is going as hard as you can without mentally tormenting yourself. If you put in the effort then you’ll reap the rewards. It’s as simple as that.

3. Only Having One Leg Day

As leg day isn’t quite as enjoyable as other days in a split then people often make the mistake of only including it once in the week. Yet, your lower body makes up 50% of your physique and so you need to treat it as such. Having, at least, two leg days is vital. You can’t expect to see results training with a low frequency.

4. Overdoing The Cardio

If you’re the type of person who likes to warm up on the treadmill, elliptical machine or stationary bike then you could be doing yourself more harm than good. A lot of people like to spend 20-30 minutes doing cardio before jumping into the weights section Yet, this will just tire you out and you won’t be able to give your all for lifting.

Instead, warm up by doing lighter sets. If you’re working sets are squatting 100kg for 5 reps then a warm up like this will be more useful than running.

• 20kg (just the bar) x 5 – rest 2 minutes
• 40kg x 5 – rest 2 minutes
• 60kg x 5 – rest 2 minutes
• 80kg x 3 – rest 2 minutes
• 90kg x 1 – rest 2 minutes

This way your body is prepared for the movement and the right muscles have been activated to make sure that you excel in the lift.

5. Not Making Use Of Compound Lifts

Assistance exercises like leg extensions, leg curls and the leg press are good but they shouldn’t be the bread and butter of your programme. Instead, place the most importance on exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, Romanian deadlifts and pistol squats.

6. Bringing The Heels Up

If you’re the type of person who raises their heels when squatting on deadlifting so that only the toes are resting on the surface then you could be missing out on some vital gains. By doing this you’re putting more strain though the calves than the quadriceps and glutes which means the latter muscles will not grow as much.

Keep your heels on the ground or surface you’re pushing against to get maximum activation in the thighs and posterior chain. Save the calf training for calf raises where they can be properly activated and you can stimulate growth effectively.

7. Letting The Knees Track Inwards

One of the most common mistakes in lower body exercises is letting the knees come inwards. This dramatically increases your risk of injury by placing a lot of strain on the ligaments of the knee.

The reason this problem arises is normally from weak abductors and glutes. You can train these muscles by doing banded squats with a lighter weight, doing barbell glute bridges and actively pushing out the knees when squatting.

8. Becoming Immobile

A lot of us carry most of our tightness in the lower body, especially in the hamstrings. This can carry over to our lifts and effect the amount of weight we put on the bar.

Never neglect mobility and always make sure to foam roll and stretch after each workout. You can also dedicate specific days for mobility work if you don’t have enough time after your workouts. After just 1-2 weeks you’ll notice a dramatic difference in not only how you feel when you lift but in everyday life as well.

9. Neglecting The Hamstrings

When we think of leg day our minds jump to squats, lunges, leg extensions and leg presses. However, the hamstrings need to be addressed to reduce injury and thicken the legs up. Missing out on hamstring exercises is a common factor in hip and knee injuries and the muscles on the front of the body can become too strong comparatively.

Make sure to include exercises such as deadlifts, cleans, snatches and leg curls in your workouts to target this important muscle group.

10. Rounding The Back

If you take a look at a new lifter when they do squats there’s a high chance that they’ll round their back at the bottom of the lift. This places a lot of stress on the lower back which creates disk injuries and pain. If it’s not corrected then the problem will only get worse as the weight increases.

Avoid this by doing exercises that strengthen this area such as deadlifts and back extensions.

Jarrett

The post 10 Things You Should Never Do On Leg Day appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

You may, however, be surprised to learn that there’s more to bicep training than just curls. Developing a range of dynamic exercises for this body part is a key move in developing size and achieving those gains.

Here’s a list of the top 10 muscle building bicep exercises to get those arms filling out your sleeves.

1.Standing Barbell Curl

When it comes to growing a muscle there are two main things that matter: muscle activation and the weight you’re lifting. If you’ve stimulated the muscle to a great degree but are only curling a 5lb dumbbell then your arms won’t grow. Similarly, if you’re lifting a house but your form is all over the place then your arms won’t grow either. It comes down to finding that sweet middle spot. The standing barbell curl does just that.

Holding the bar at shoulder-width means that both the short and long head of the biceps are activated to a great extent whilst the barbell allows for you to train both arms at the same time.

Completing the exercise standing opposed to seated means that you can get a slight sway to help you lift the weight up on those final few reps; therefore allowing you to lift more weight. Doing them seated doesn’t have that advantage.

Remember, the sway is only slight. You don’t want to be using solely your back and hips to move the weight but it can help get you past a sticking point when you start to fatigue.

2. Standing Cable Curl

Using a cable instead of a barbell means that there is tension throughout the whole movement. A study from the American Council on Exercise showed this exercise to be the second best exercise at activating the biceps muscle.

It’s advised to use this or the standing barbell curl in your training, not both. Switch to the other when you grow bored of the movement you’re currently using.

3. Alternate Dumbbell Curls

The advantage of a dumbbell curl is that you can take them all the way down to your sides. This ensures a full stretch in the bicep and a complete range of motion.

Doing the motion alternatively means that you can put 100% focus on one arm at a time to get the most out of the exercise. It will also highlight any discrepancies or imbalances between each arm.

4. Weighted Chin Ups

Chin-ups are one of the best upper body exercises you can get. Not only will they ensure you build big guns but they’re the best movement for targeting the lats as well. If you want a big, v-shaped upper body then you need to make these a staple in your training. Adding weight allows for you to hit the muscles to a greater degree and stimulate growth more.

5. Reverse Grip Barbell Row

This is another compound movement that’s fantastic for building size across the entire upper body. The benefits of compound movements are that you can really load up on weight whilst the reverse grip means that you heavily engage the biceps. Add this to your back days to give your arms a boost.

6. Hammer Curls

Hammer curls mean that the palms are facing towards each other as if you were doing a neutral grip chin up. The main advantage with hammer curls is that they also hit the brachialis muscle which also adds width to your upper arm. You can complete this movement with dumbbells or cables.

7. Incline Bench Curl

This version of the standard curl aims to hit the long head of the biceps muscle with little activation in the short head. The incline bench allows for you to really elongate the bicep at the bottom of the movement which in turn requires a greater degree of strength in order to complete the entire movement.

The incline bench curl is perfect for finishing off your workout and really fatiguing the biceps to create growth.

8. Concentration Curls

This exercise scored the highest activation in the biceps muscle according to the American Council on Exercise. They completely isolate the biceps and take out any help you could get from other muscles. As your full concentration is now focused entirely on your arms, the exercise also strengthens the mind-muscle connection that old school bodybuilders believed was the key to growth.

If you want one exercise that will leave your arms sore the next day, concentration curls are your best friend.

9. Preacher Curls

Preacher curls are the double armed version of the concentration curl. The difference is that because you’re using both arms then you can lift more weight. The exercise can be complete with a machine, barbell or cable and can also be done standing or seated. Pick whichever suits you for your workouts and give them a try.

10. Barbell Drag Curl

The difference in this exercise and the standard curl is that you push your elbows backwards opposed to pinning them by your side. It reduces the range of motion but is perfect for negatives, the portion of the exercise which tears the most muscle fibres. Use it as a heavy end to your workout to really finish off your muscles.

The post Top 10 Biceps Exercises You’re Not Doing appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.

The lats originate from the lower portion of the back and insert on the back of the humerus (the upper arm muscle). Their action is to bring the arm towards the shoulder, turn the arm inwards and extend the arm backwards at the shoulder joint.

As they span such a large area of the body it’s important to train them correctly. Here are 7 exercises to really make your back pop.

1 – Weighted Pull/Chin Ups

First off, pull ups and chin ups are the best exercise to target your lats. Being able to pull your own bodyweight off the ground and above a bar requires a lot of effort which means your body needs to be strong in order to complete the movement.

Once you can comfortably do this for eight reps then it’s time to take things further by adding weight. Grab a belt and attach 5kg. As soon as you can complete another 8 reps for 3 sets then add 2.5kg. If you keep doing this then soon enough your back will be massive and you’ll be stronger than ever before.

2 – Single Arm Rotational Pull Down

Pull downs are an isolation movement for the lats which means that they are the main muscle being targeted with very little stress put upon any other muscle. Completing this movement with one hand allows for you to add rotation to the movement and complete a higher range of motion. Both of these things mean that your lats will have to work harder and therefore you’ll receive more growth.

Remember, this is an assistance exercise. Pull ups should be the main bread and butter of your lat training and then pull downs are the cherry on the cake. The main focus of this exercise is completing a full range of motion so don’t worry about loading up the weight.

3 – Renegade Row Push Up

This movement not only works the back but the chest, triceps, rear delts and core as well. It’s a great way to warm up the whole body and can be used as an assistance exercise if needed. As it requires minimal equipment then it’s also perfect for when you’re on the move or in a place such as a hotel gym where they don’t have much to offer.

4 – Decline Cable Rope Pull Over

Not many people know about this exercise but it makes for a great addition to your back training. The exercise is a single joint movement than can really finish off your lats at the end of a workout. The decline bench means that your back is placed under a lot more tension than if you’re using a fat bench. You can also complete the movement with dumbbells though the cable means that there is constant tension through the whole movement which will stimulate more growth.

5 – Bent Over V-Grip Cable Row

This is a really unique way to train the upper portion of the lats. It’s very similar to a seated cable row except that you’re bent over and the weight is coming from above. The exercise means that you have to engage your core muscles to keep the proper form.

To shake things up a little try changing your grip from overhand to underhand and vice versa so that you can hit different areas of the back.

6 – Rack Pulls

Rack pulls are basically the top part of a deadlift and we all know how good that is. This means that this exercise will have a lot of carry over to your other lifts and requires strength across the whole body. You can use it as part of your warm up or as a way to finish off at the end of a workout.

As you’re only completing the top half of the deadlift it means that it’s not as strenuous on your mind or legs so you’ll have more energy and will be able to lift more weight. The focus is entirely on the back.

7 – Lying Cable Pull Over

Once again, this movement can be completed with a preacher curl bar or dumbbells but the cable creates constant tension throughout the movement. The wide bar attachment is perfect for this exercise as it means you can have a wide grip which targets the lats further. Really stretch and squeeze your lats at the beginning an end of the movement to make them work harder.

The post 7 Best Exercises To Explode Your Lats appeared first on Muscle & Cuts.