Some guys possess really cool structural genetics for
bodybuilding. They seem to have these shoulder clavicles
that jut outward a foot on each side and a waistline that
can shrink down to 28 inches on a simple diet. All they
have to do are some military presses, some sloppy lat
pull-downs, and get their body fat below ten percent and
they've got a killer V-shape. Huh – must be nice.
As you might have guessed, I'm not one of those guys. My
shoulders started out with average width and my waist-level
internal organs seem to be of the extra-large variety. I
know – that's a little more information than you needed.
"Why is he talking about his internal organs?" you might be
asking. What I'm trying to say is that even when my body
fat is well below ten percent, I still don't possess a
super-small waistline. It's a genetic thing.
This means I've had a particularly challenging time
creating a V-shape on my body. With a genetically large
waistline even while holding a body fat level low enough to
show abdominals, I have to work extra hard at widening my
shoulders and lats to create a 'V' illusion. But I'm
getting more V-like all the time. And I attribute this
progress to some simple techniques that you can add to your
shoulder and lat routines for the same effect. If you
happen to be blessed with a waistline that would make a
female supermodel green with envy and shoulder clavicles as
wide as a door, then following these tips will enhance the
gifts your genes have provided you.
I've actually been complimented many times for my lats.
They're well developed, even if they don't appear so at
first glance because of my strangely "un-shrinkable" waist
area. I attribute much of my nice lat development to advice
from an article I read way back in 1988 by the legendary
bodybuilder, Rich Gaspari. I perused that article several
times, really taking to heart the seemingly unorthodox tips
that he dispensed.
What were the tips? Here's the gist of it since I have to
paraphrase in the absence of that old Muscle and Fitness
magazine article. Mr. Gaspari said that when you perform
lat exercises, imagine your arms are only an extension of
the bar you're holding. In other words, quit using momentum
and stop using your biceps to pull the weight down or
toward you. A real lat workout requires slow and
concentrated movement. If you think of your arms only as
pieces of equipment that are attaching your lats to the
weight stack, you will pull slowly from your back. If you
then squeeze your shoulder blades together at the peak of
the movement, you just might feel your lat muscles really
working for the first time.
Using the technique described above, it's imperative that
you perform just enough exercise to stimulate upper back
growth and don't over train. Personally, I only do four
exercises for my lats. Let me tell you; they've been
growing like crazy from those four movements. I've found
that if the lats are worked with intense concentration from
each major angle, exercise redundancy usually results in
over training and lack of progress. So here are the four
lat exercises:
1. Close-Grip Pull-downs
2. Seated Pulley Rows
3. Wide-Grip Pull-downs (top half)
4. Wide-Grip Pull-downs (bottom half)
I'm sure you've noticed the "top half/bottom half"
designations on lat pull-downs and are wondering what I
mean by that. I've found that splitting this particular
exercise in half provides better results. On the top half
exercise, I pull the bar until my upper arms are only about
parallel with the floor. In other words; I just do the
first half of a lat pull-down. Obviously, on exercise
number four, I pull from the midway point to having the bar
all the way to the top of my chest. If you split the
movement into two exercises like this, you might find (as I
do) that you can use a lot more weight for the "top half"
pull downs that the "bottom half" ones.
Close-grip pull-downs are also performed in a very specific
manner. Contrary to how most people perform these, with
their body upright through the entire motion, you should
move your torso to a forty-five degree angle from the
vertical position as you slowly bring the weight to your
chest. Begin pulling the close-grip bar downward with a
yanking motion that comes very deliberately from those huge
muscles below your shoulder blades. As you bring the bar
toward your sternum, keep thinking of your arms as merely
extensions of the bar and pull strictly from your back.
Imagine you could touch your shoulder blades together
behind you as you lean back to a forty-five degree angle
while bringing the bar to your chest. Moving the upper body
backward to forty-five degrees during the movement like
this will make the exercise into both a lat widening and
thickening movement.
Seated pulley rows should likewise be done very slowly and
strictly. They should be done without using momentum and by
squeezing the shoulder blades together after focusing on
pulling slowly from the back – leaving the arms only as
"attaching devices".
Here's all I've been doing to turn my shoulders into
cannonballs:
1. Shoulder Presses
2. Cable Front Raises
3. Side Lateral Raises (machine)
4. Rear Lateral Raises (machine)
I've actually been doing every one of these exercises on
machines and getting terrific results. Sometimes I switch
to free weights, but I've found that I can really plow
forward with the heaviest weights possible for six reps
using the safety element of Cybex machines. This has been
especially so with the shoulder presses.
Doing front raises with a cable and single-hand bar puts
continuous tension on the front deltoids – as opposed to
dumbells which decrease the tension as the weight is
brought to shoulder level. Remember – never go above
shoulder level on front or side lateral movements.
On side laterals, I've been getting the best results from
reducing my range of motion to about half of what it used
to be. I raise the weight until the handles are shoulder
level, then I lower my arms until they're still about
twelve inches from being at my sides. This turns the
movement into "partial repetitions", but it puts incredible
continuous tension on those middle delts where there's a
lot of potential for building width.
My suggestion is to perform no more than six reps per set
and do four to six sets per exercise. Push for higher
volumes during each workout and don't work a body part more
than once a week.
Following this basic routine and advice, you can get that
coveted "V-shape", even if, like me, you aren't working
with the most ideal foundation for creating it.
----------------------------------------------------
Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28
Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind
for Incredible Success. He is a certified fitness trainer
and a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. To see his
personal transformation, visit http://
http://www.hardbodysuccess.com
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