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233. PLANT YOU FEET FIRMLY ON THE FLOOR
Even though the bench press is primarily targeting the upper body, the legs play a major role in stabilizing. If you don't believe this, try benching with your legs up in the air. Both your coordination and strength suffer considerably. When benching try to keep your feet pressed into the floor. Try not to let them move, slip, or rise.
234. LOCK YOUR BODY TIGHTLY TO THE BENCH
What the floor is for your feet, the bench is for your torso - a platform for stability. When you lie on the bench, try to become part of it. Try to lock your back, glutes, and shoulders as tightly tot he bench as possible.
235. USE A SECURE GRIP
Perhaps unnecessary to say, but you'd be surprised the number of bodybuilders who haphazardly grab the bar when benching. As soon as you grab the bar, lock both fingers and thumb tightly around it. Never use a false (thumbless) grip when bench pressing.
236. KEEP YOUR WRISTS LOCKED AND STRAIGHT
To reduce the amount of stress on your wrist ligaments, keep your hands and forearms lined up while benching. Don't make the mistake of allowing your hand to flip back towards the back of the forearm.
237. KEEP THE FOREARMS VERTICAL
Although there are exceptions, the correect grip width on the bench press is the one that keeps your forearms vertical throughtout the full range of motion. This will allow you to generate the most power as you push upward. Any wider or narrower is wasting energy, as your body will be trying to keep your forearms from sliding inwards or outwards.
238. PAUSE AT THE BOTTOM
If you plan on entering powerlifting competitions you will need to practice pausing the bar at the bottom of the exercise. The pause doesn't have to be a long one - about a second - but it will be required in competition to get a pass from the judges. Another reason for pausing is that it eliminates any bouncing. Bouncing the bar off the chest is a great way to break the sternum, a rib or tear a rotator - any of which can set yor training back months if not years.
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239. PAUSE AT THE BOTTOM
If you plan on entering powerlifting competitions you will need to practice pausing the bar at the bottom of the exercise. The pause doesn't have to be a long one - about a second - but it will be required in competition to get a pass from the judges. Another reason for pausing is that it eliminates any bouncing. Bouncing the bar off the chest is a great way to break the sternum, a rib or tear a rotator - any of which can set your training back months if not years.
240. MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE BAR
When benching you should be controlling the bar, not the other way around. Don't let the bar wander sideways or backwards towards the neck. This is not only dangerous but shifts more of the stress to the triceps. Find your groove and stay there.
241. FOCUS ON LIFTING WITH THE CHEST
Of the three primary muscles involved in bench pressing (chest, shoulders, triceps), the chest muscles are by far the most powerful. Many people place too much effort on pressing with the shoulders and arms when benching. Try to squeeze the chest on every single rep.
242. DRIVE THE BAR UP EXPLOSIVELY
When it comes to benching, speed is king (on the way up). For saftey and official regulations you have to lower the bar down slowly and pause at the bottom. But if you want to move some meaningful poundages on the bench press, you must force the weight back up as explosively as possible. Forget the slow and controlled approach. Give it everything you've got as you push upward.
243. HAVE A SPOTTER
Having a spotter behind you is like having an insurance agent - he or she is there if something goes wrong. You have enough on you mind without having to worry about what you'll do if you can't lift the weight. This worry will prevent you from testing you limits. Knowing that someone is there watching you will allow you to put all your focus on pressing the weight.
244. CHECK THE BAR FOR WARPS
They may be called straight bars but sometimes they're not. Like other metal objects, bars can bend with repeated usage. This is especially true if your gym has a number of powerlifters and strong bodybuilders regularly working out with 500+ pounds on the bars. Place the bar on a rack and revolve it in your hands while looking at the ends. If there appears to be any warp, replace it and grab another bar. If the warp is severe, notify management. A bent bar can flop during you lift, breaking your wrists or worse, your neck.
245. RETRACT YOUR SHOULDER BLADES
As soon as you lie back on the bench, pull your shoulder blades together. This not only provides a more stable surface from which to push the bar, but also expands your chest and shortens the distance you have to press the bar. The shorter the distance, the better your chances of lifting the weight.
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246. STARTING POSITION
The starting position for the deadlift is much the same as Olympic lifters use for the clean and jerk. Your shoulders, bars, and ankles should form a vetical, straight line. This set-up will generate the most power in the safest means possible, your back should be flat. throughout.
247. STANCE
The stance for deadlifts is similar to squats, that is, your feet are just slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
248. GLUED TO YOUR SKINS
When you start the deadlift try to keep the bar as tight to your shins as possible. As you start pulling up the bar can move out a wee bit, but it should be tight at the bottom of the lift.
249. LEGS FIRST
The first muscles to engage on the deadlift should be your legs. But don't straighten them out too early. This will limit the amount of weight you can lift and place undue stress on the lower back.
250. DON'T JERK LIKE A JERK
As coimmon sense should tell you, don't make a sudden yank at the begining of the excersie. This is how most poeple injure their back on this exercise. Start the lift slowly.
251. NEVER ROUNDED
Always keep a slight curve , or arch, in the lower back when lifting. As soon as the back rounds, the lower back muscles relax, placing tremendous stress on their ligaments.
252. NECK ALIGNMENT
When you deadlift, the neck has an important controlling functin. It should stay in line with the trunk throughout trhe movement. If your neck is held too far back excessive stress will be plsvrf on the nack extensors. Too far forward and that back will round out.
253. HIP THRUST
Once the bar reaches the mid-thigh position, concentrate on thrusting the hips forward and rolling your shoulders back while sticking your chest out as you lock the legs.
254. JUST HOOKS
Again, try to visualize your arms as nothing but hooks attached to the bar. They should remain straight at all times. Don't try lifting the weight with your biceps. The biceps' assistance will be minimal and you will run the risk of tearing a biceps tendon.
255. LOWER UNDER CONTROL
Once you lock out the bar, don't simply let it drop to the floor. Deadlifts are like every other exercise in that the lowering ois at least as important as the raising.
256. GET A GRIP
There are three grips you can use for deadlifting are: pronated (palms facing you), supinated (palms facing forward), and mixed (one hand pronated and the other supinated). Most competitive powerlifters use the mixed grip as they find it gives them better control. Keep in mind that a supinated hand position will place tremendous stress on the biceps and associated tendons. For long-term safety and progress we suggest you use the provated grip or the mixed girp.
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TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR SQUAT
257. EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR STANCE
In general terms, the wider your foot stance, the more glute and inner thigh stimulation. Conversely, narrower stances tend to hit more of the center and outer thigh. When you begin squatting, try both to feel where each stance hits.
258. RACK IT OR CAGE IT
Unless your will for survival is sadly lacking, always perform your squats in a squat rack or powercage. No matter how well executed your technique is, sooner or later you will run into problems while squatting. The last thing you want is to crash to the floor with a few hundred pounds on your shoulders. Squat racks and powercages are designed to catch the bar before it could drive you into the floor. Put the ego aside and always use a rack.
259. BREAK FROM THE HIPS FIRST
The two main joints being used in the squat are the hips and knees. Try to begin the movement by breaking (bending) at the hips first and not the knees. The joint that comes into play first will be subjected to the full weight of the bar for a split second. The hips being larger and stronger can tolerate this while the knees probably can't.
260. NOT TOO HIGH
Try to rest the bar across your shoulder and upper traps and not your neck. It won't be long before you'll be using hundreds of pounds in this exercise. You don't want that kind of pressure resting on your neck vertebrae. Resting the bar high also forces your torso forward, which places additional stress on your lower back.
261. HOLD YOUR BREATH
Unlike most exercises for which you try to inhale and exhale on each rep, you should hold your breath during your squat reps. Because of the weight invovled you want as much intrathoracic pressure as possible when doing squats. Exhaling relaxes the small muscles surrounding the ribcage, thus descreasing the strength of your upper body. You want the upper body to be a strong and stable supporting platform.
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262. HEAD UP
The body generally follows the position of the head. If you are walking along and turn your head to the right, you body will follow. The same is true for squats. Always keep your head up and in good alignment with the rest of your body. If you start looking down, your body will tend to lean forward. This will change your center of gravity and place excessive stress on the lower back.
263. INCREASE YOUR FLEXIBILITY
If you have been giving stretching exercises the short-shift lately, now is the time to change your habits. Safe and effective squatting requires good flexibility in the hip, knee, and ankle joints. For example if you find that you come up on your toes as you squat down, you need to increase the flexibility of you Achillies' tendon.
264. THE 2 X 4 - A TEMPORARY FIX
While you are working on imnproving your Achilles' flexibility, you can maintain your balance by placing your heels on a 2 X 4. Keep in mind that elevating your heels will shift more of the stress to the front of your thighs, and perhaps more important, to the knee region. The sooner you can squat flat-footed the better.
265. DON'T BOUNCE
If you want to keep squatting for years to come, don't use your knees as elastic bands. Bouncing out of the lower position may give you a few extra reps or enable you to lift more weight, but at what cost? The supporting tissues of the knee region (ligaments, tendons, and cartilage) were not designed to be suddenly subjected to hundreds of pounds of weight. Always perform the exercise in a slow and controlled manner.
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266. ELBOWS UNDER HANDS
Even though there are exceptions, most people will find holding the bar with a medium grip width will work best. This means your elbows are situated directly below your hands. If you hold too wide you'll rotate your shoulders inward and hunch forward. Too close together and you'll feel cramped.
267. STICK YOUR BUTT OUT!
As mentioned in tip 251 the human spine is not perfectly straight, but has a slight S-shaped to it. To reduce the stress on your lower back ligaments, try to keep the natural concave curve in your lower back. The easiest way to do this is to keep your butt stuck out as you descend into the full squat position. When you let the back round the lower back muscles relax, forcing the lower back ligaments to pick up the extra stress.
268. TO THE FLOOR - IF YOU CAN
Unless flexibility or injury issues dictate otherwise, squat down until your quads go below parallel with the floor. You don't need to touch your butt on the floor, but to exercise the quads through their full range of motion the angle between the upper and lower leg should be 90 degrees or less. Keep in midn that safety comes first. If you start losing your alignment before you reach the full squat position, stop the exercise at this point. Don't squat lower than your unique bone structure comfortably allows.
269. DON'T LOCK OUT
One of the biggest mistakes many bodybuilders make when squatting is to forcibly lock the legs out at the top of the exercise. This practice is not recommended. Not only are you giving the quads a rest after each knee joint. Terminate the rep just short of locking the legs out straight.
270. RACKING THE BAR
When placing the bar back on the rack, make sure it is secure on both sides of the rack before stepping out from under it. A good rule of thumb is to follow military procedure and "Visually acquire the target." Place the bar on one side of the rack and then look at the other side while you do the same. You now know that the bar is safely secure on both sides of the rack.
271. RECRUIT A SPOTTER
Even though a squat rack or powercage will enable you to perform squats in safety, for that extra security have a spotter standing behind you. A spotter can not only check your form, but also give you assistance if you have trouble completing a rep. Finally, you'll discover that simply knowing someone is watching you will result in a couple of extra reps! A good spotter can also verbally encourage you through a difficult set.
272. PROPER SPOTTING
Unlike most exercises where you or your spotter can provide assistance by lifting with your hands, the weight and positioning of the barbell on squats makes this all but impossible. The human body is not that strong when trying to push upwards from the waist to shoulder height. To safely spot on squats, you have to squat down with the person while keeping your arms loosely around the person's waist. If they get in trouble you can lock your entire arms around the torso and use your legs to help lift upwards. Don't worry about how "things" look. Safety takes precedence over appearance.
273. THE BELT ISSUE
Because of the weight you will be using, you may want to consider wearing a weightlifting belt while squatting. We say, "may," as it's a personal choice. There are ot hard rules. Squatting does place some stress on the lower back but not as much as the anti-squat people would have us believe. Many people squat for years and never use a weightlifting belt. Conversely others need a belt for the extra security. Our suggestion is to first try squatting without a belt. As you increase the amount of weight you are using pay close attention to any signals your lower back may be giving off. If there seems to be extra lower back stress, try wearing a belt. Tighten the belt before you set. Loosen or remove it immediately afterwards.
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Tips For Improving Your Barbell Curl
274. DIFFERENT GRIPS FOR DIFFERENT HEADS
If you go "by the book" the recommended width grip on barbell curls is shoulder-width. Don't, however, be afraid to experiment. Going slightly wider will target the inner head of the biceps while a narrower grip will stimulate more of the outer head. Trainers with elbow injuries often prefer a wider grip.
275. BEND THE KNEES
Always keep a slight bend at the knees when performing standing barbell cirls. Locking the legs out straight will only add extra stress tot he lower back.
276. DON'T SWING EXCESSIVELY
The biggest mistake bodybuilders make when curling is to rock back and forth with their upper body. Not only does this reduce the effectiveness of the exercise, it also stresses the lower-back ligaments.
277. LOWER SLOWLY
Fifthy percent of a barbell curl's effectiveness is the negative, or lowering, phase. Always lower the bar in a slow and controlled manner. This not only provides better stimulation for the biceps, it places less stress on the biceps tendons.
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278. TRY AN EZ-CURL BAR
If you find straight barbell curls stressful on the wrists, try switching to an EZ-curl bar. the bend on the EZ-curl bar will allow you to rotate the palms slightly inward, thus placing less stress on the small wrist ligaments.
279. TRY "CHEATING"
Cheat curls have probably built more biceps than any other exercise. We don't mean cheating from the first rep, however. Try to get 6 to 8 reps on your own, and then add just enough body momentum to keep the bar moving for a couple of extra reps. Arnold Schwarzenegger used cheat curls to make his arms grow from 13 to 20 inches.
280. TO 45 DEGREES ONLY
You'll notice as you curl the bar up that a point will be reached where the exercise starts feeling easier. For most this point is where that forearmis at abouta 45-degree angle with the torso. Try not to let the forearms go above this point (i.e. don't curl all the way to your shoulders).
281. ALL THE WAY DOWN
If swinging the body is the number one mistake bodybuilders make on barbell curls, lowering halfway down is number two. Unless you are performing 21s (described in the Advanced Training Technique section), always lower the bar to just short of your highs. If you lower only halfway, you'll be targeting only the upper part of your biceps. You must lower the bar to your quads to stimulate the lower sections.
282. DON'T DO A WRIST CURL
Many bodybuilders make the mistake of starting their barbell curls with a slight wrist curl - bending the wrist toward their forearm before engaging the biceps. All this does is take the stress away from the biceps. Try to keep yoru wrists neutral at all tiimes (i.e. in line with your forearms)
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283. WASH YOUR GYM CLOTHES - REGULARLY!
We've all heard the phrase. "It smells like a gym." The thing is it shouldn't. Nothing is as disgusting as working out next to someone wearing month-old gym clothes. While you may be able to get by washing your gym clothes every second day, we strongly recommend doing it daily. If this is impractical, buy a second or third set of gym clothes. Having three sets of workout clothes means having to wash them only ones or twice per week. Not only will your gym buddies thank you, you may even get a little bit of social life with the ladies.
284. SHOWER AFTER EVERY WORKOUT
It's not only your gym clothes that weat and stink after a workout - you will as well! It may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who do their last set and go straight to schoool or work. All that sweat is a great breeding ground for odor-causing bacteria. Give the person next to you a break and take a shower as soon as you finish working out. If not at the gym then do it at the earilest possible time.
285. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHARE YOUR RAZOR BLADE
This is another of those "you should know better" tips. In this day of AIDS and hepatitis, you 'd think sharing a razor blade would be unheard of, but that's not the case. All it takes is one drop of blood from someone else's disease-infected body and your life may be tragically cut short. With razors costing mere pennies, save yourself a heap of potential trouble and but your own.
286. DO NOT SHARE YOUR COMB OR WATER BOTTLE WITH ANYONE
As with sharing razors, you don't know the background of the person you are trying to help out. Head lice ae still common and any number of infections can be spread by sharing a water bottle. In short, buy your own and use your own. Wash your hands after you workout and after using the restroom.
287. DON'T USE THE SQUAT RACK FOR BARBELL CURLS
This is one of those unwritten rules that you should try and follow. Nothing is as frustrating as not being able to do squats because the squat racks are all taken up by guys doing barbell curls. Barbell curls can be performed just about anywhere. If laying the baron the floor is inconvenient, lay it on the end of a bench. Don't hinder someone's leg workout because you are too lazy to pick the bar up off the floor.
288. CHECK BEFORE YOU STRIP
Another of those unwritten rules. Don't start stripping down a bar assuming that just because there is no one close by, the bar is not being used. As most gyms enforce the "replace you weights" rule, odds are fairly good that person using the bar stepped away for a second. tis couldbe to use the washroom, give someone a spot, or visit th4 water fountain. Before taking the plates off the bar, check around to see if it is definitely free.
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289. DON'T STARE
Althought you are not going into a jungle, gyms do occasionally get frequented by animals! Even if some bodybuilder does have a great physique, try not to stare. As primates, most humans do not like to be stared at. Staring is a sign of aggression and provocation. It would be better to go over and compliment the person's physique and ask him how he built it, rather than staring continuously from across the gym. Another reason not to stare is that homophobia is rampant in bodybuilding gyms. That seemingly innocent stare on you part could be taken as a sign of sexual interest. you don't want some 250-pound bodybuilder getting the wrong idea!
In addition, most females go to the gyn to train, not to be stared at. Staring men is the reason for the proliferation of "women only" gyms. Gym clothes are often tight or provocative, but don't take that as a come-on. you don't want to be charged with stalking or harassment, and you don't want the gym to ask you not to come back.
290. BE WARY
Anthing emphasizing the human body will attract the unsavory element. Occasionally photographers or agents will bait the unsuspecting, with promises of stardom. If you develop a great physique it's possible one of these characters will approach you. Before signing any form or doing any photo shoot, check the individual's credentials. The better gyms won't allow these types through the door, but occasionally they'll find a way to slip in. Ask questions, check ID, and talk with other gym patrons. At the first sign of shadiness, drop the person. If they keep bothering you, tell the owner. If they start stalking you outside the gym, contact the police immediately. If an individual tells you they works for a magazine, call the magazine's head office and check. Ask for a physical description.
291. OFFERING ADVICE VS BEING A KNOW-IT-ALL
It won't be long before you'll be seen as one of the "regulars" at your gym. Remember how you sought out more experienced bodybuilders for advice? Now you're the one of those more experienced bodybuilders. With this new status comes responsibility. If someone asks for advice, then by all means offer it. Likewise if some new guy looks like he's about to hang himself from a cable machine, intervene. Don't, however, rush around the gym like some world-famous consultant after memorizing a passage from the latest issue of Muscular Development. The regulars will think you're an idiot; the owner may or may not ask you to leave; and you run the risk of a lawsuit if someone takes your advice to heart and injures him or herself. There is a fine line between being helpful and being a nuisance. The truth is, many people resent being told how to exercise.
292. DON'T HOG THE EQUIPMENT
Remember how intimidating it was for you the first time you went into a gym? There are new people feeling the exact same way watching you work out. Nobody likes an equipment hog. As you rest between sets, keep an eye out for people who seem like they want to jump in but are too timid to ask. Make the offer. You are not expected to go around the gym recruiting people tow ork in with you; but be conscious of other members wanting to use the equipment you are using.
