Author: rxbodybuilders
Q: Okay, I’m confused about cardio workouts and how to use them to achieve fat loss, but to not do them to excess so that I lose a ton of muscle. So should I do cardio before or after workouts? And should I do them only a certain amount of time or a certain number of sessions per week? What’s right? A: Easy there on the questions…. One at a time, a lot of how you do cardio, what you do and how often, have to do with your body type. Since you didn’t mention what your body type is, I’ll just…
Q: I seem to have hit a strength plateau on my bench press? Any suggestions on how I can break through it? A: The first thing you need to do is to take a week off from training chest. This will allow you to be fully primed for an 8 week program that will not only get you past your sticking point but that is specifically designed to up your bench by a whopping 10% in that couple of months. The program you’re going to utilize is sometimes called Wave Training. Developed by the Canadian weightlifting team, it is based…
Q: What is the Arnold press and why should I use it to build my shoulders? A: This is an adaptation of the standard military press with dumbbells, devised by you know who, to hit the medial and anterior delts, with secondary emphasis on the traps. To perform this movement, get in position on a bench with a back support as if you were about to perform a standard set of dumbbell presses. Your elbows should be slightly in front of your body at neck height. Now turn your palms to face your body. This is the start position. Inhale…
Q: What is an appropriate age for kids to start lifting weights? A: For decades we were fed the line that kids under 15 were not yet ready for weight training – apparently their bones were too brittle. Meanwhile, the western world has stumbled into an obesity epidemic that is threatening to devour our children. Fortunately, most informed specialists now realize that properly supervised weight training is not an unsafe activity for children. According to Dr. Avery Faigenbaum of the University of Massachusetts in Boston, “the risk of injury while strength training is actually lower than many other children’s sports…
Q: I’ve noticed some guys at the gym doing their bench presses on the Smith Machine. My partner says that this is a waste of time and will never yield the same results as the barbell bench. What do you think about the Smith Machine bench press? A: The Smith Machine (named after 1970’s fitness legend Randy Smith) is one of those exercise innovations that you either love or hate. Hardcore old timers rubbish it as a wimpish cop-out for those who are afraid to get under the real iron. Yet Smith Machine advocates claim that it is the single…
Q: I know I’m not the first person to ever ask about rep ranges. It may sound like a boring question, but I am curious to know where my own personal workouts should head? I was a sprinter in high school and have good, somewhat dense limb muscle, but I am also lean and don’t really have a problem with body fat. It’s like I’m two people in one. I find that sometimes my workouts produce results, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason why. Then again, I am also not keeping logs. Can you recommend the sort…
Q: Is there any advantage to using the EZ curl bar? A: The short answer is no. The longer answer is still no, but if you’ve got wrist problems it will probably make for a more comfortable workout. The EZ curl bar is a shortened bar with ‘z’ shaped angles where you hold it. It allows the palms to be angled in slightly so that they face each other. Many trainers report that this significantly reduces the stress on the wrists that they experience when performing curls with a straight bar. The EZ curl bar also allows for more synergistic…
Q: A trainer at my gym came running over the other day and told me to stop doing the behind the neck shoulder press because it was ruining my shoulder joints? Yet all the guys in the mags are doing them. Does he know what he’s talking about? A: Maybe – it really depends how you were doing the exercise. If you were bouncing the bar up and down or using a weight that is obviously too heavy for you, then he may have had an argument. My guess, however, is that this guy was against the behind the neck…
Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to lift, scream, and strain your way to the biggest, and most ripped arms imaginable. We’ll warn you ahead of time, building a set of “weapon’s grade” arms is never easy, but you’ve been pre-selected as a reader of HCM to test your will and resolve. When your mission is complete, you’ll have “arms inspectors” everywhere either salivating with desire, or interrogating you for training info. Without any more time wasted, there are a few things you should know before you embark. One piece of information you should file away is…
Having full, pumped biceps with distinct peaks is the classic sign of a true bodybuilder. But what if you’re a serious guy who trains them every week, only to find them exactly the same size as last year? Or worse yet, the year before that? If this sounds like you, take a step back and look at the big picture. Whatever you’re doing right now is obviously not working. Instead, let’s turn a fresh page and approach the issue from a new angle. Here is a 10-week recipe for jump-starting even the most stubborn biceps. Week 1: Setting the Agenda…