Sometimes for back thickness

[lionel]

Two hand hammer curl

(I thought long and hard about whether I should post this because this is really an exercise i would have to show in person, but maybe the token few can get it down)

a)sit at the very end/edge of a flat bench with your legs apart

b)do you know that grip you usually use if you were doing a 2 handed single dumbell extension, you use a semblance of that same grip and instead curl the dumbell instead.....or another way to think of it is carrying a seriously heavy dumbell over to somewhere in the gym....that grip. One hand gripping the bar of the dumbell, and the other hand clasping your grip hand (with the backside of that hand up against the inside flat of the dumbell)

c) With your arms starting perfectly straight (and i mean straight! This is key), youll have to lean slightly forward to accomplish that....you curl the dumbell up somewhat close to your body until your thumbs or the top plates of the dumbell touch the top of your forehead. There is a reason for all this and youll see when you are doing it. And then back down (controlled) until your arms are PERFECTLY STRAIGHT again (which youll again have to lean slightly over to accomplish) That is one rep...and im going to say it again, this isnt a cheating dumbell high pull...your arms must go perfectly straight and the top part of the dumbell must touch the top part of your forehead or its not a rep.

d) Warm up well on these with 2 or 3 progressive sets...maybe a 20 rep set and then a 14 rep set and then a 8 rep and then do your work set which will be A MINIMUM OF 20-30 REPS REST PAUSED (absolute minimum)

e) I can see some guys getting stupid on this exercise and cheating these up with a high pull motion...DONT...do it exactly like I said

This is great..! I tried it today and was impressed by its isolation. Its real easy to cheat on normal hammer curls but you can't with this. Great addition to the pinwheel curl. THANKS DANTE!

[Salem]

I am wondering if there is any exercise for shoulder

http://www.intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=19856

[JT1]

not read everything on hear yet but the bicep tweak and the leg rotation tweak sound painfully nice. great info to share to us dante.

my question to throw to you would be for a nice back tweak (either width or thickness, maybe both for shits and giggles lol)

[HouseOfAtlas]

What machine is Dante talking about in his first post of this thread? The link doesn't show a machine anymore

[N8IA]

the hammer strength shrug machine

[HouseOfAtlas]

Gotcha. I kind of thought that's what it was, but wasn't positive.

Thanks

[Doggcrapp]

bumping this for one of my trainees

[Doggcrapp]

Maybe I should throw some more of my thoughts on here.

Calves: Its virtually impossible to do calves on a standing calf machine the regular way I have people do calves (youll just keep slipping off eventually) and in that case I usually have guys rest pause standing calf machines for 12-20 reps with about a 2-3 second pause down the bottom.

Hamstring stretch: Want a new twist on the hamstring stretch that I usually do to training partners and people in person? Lets see if i can describe it right. With your feet up on a deadlift platform or some kind of step (like they use in step classes), make sure your feet are at the edge of the platform or even the toes slight off. With an empty barbell or a very light weighted barbell go down into the deepest stretch you can with slightly bent knees, once you get there, hold it. Now staying there in that stretch the object is to try to straighten your knees. Trust me they will go maybe 1/2 inch to one inch and wont straighten it will be so painful, but what you do is try to straighten your knees and hold that "trying to straighten your knees" position. This will be excrutiatingly painful and you will start shaking at about 15 seconds (on your way all the way up to a 60-90 seconds hold)....Remember go down into deepest stretch with slightly bent knees (barbell will most likely travel past your toes, thats why i have you stand on edge of platform)--at that point hold...and then slowly and controlled TRY and thats the key word TRY to (slowly!) straighten your knees. If you can your not doing it right...if your shaking like a leaf and cursing my name, you are doing it right.

Quads: as said previously be me, sometimes with the larger guys its impossible to do 20 rep widowmaker sets on squats and such....they will die, or need a CPR technician to follow them around on leg days. Some guys I let them get away with a 15 rep widowmaker (controlled and deep) on the same exercise they just did their heavy sets with. Some other guys I let them do their 20 rep widowmaker on the leg press or on a comfortable standing V squat machine (key word there is comfortable....if its rough on your knees dont do it) ..... remember the above is for the big boys...if your not a big boy, suck it up and take the hard road

Back thickness: Ive hit on this before but if one of my guys has an advanced physique but really is lacking with lat and rhomboid thickness (and the varied deadlift stuff isnt getting it done...very rare) .....ive done this with them. And this is usually because some people just cannot get the feel of contracting their back when training it---i kind of teach them how to do that with these (all the while improving their back thickness).......... T-bar one and 1/2 rows---free bar in corner with closegrip pulley V handle as used in seated back pulley rows.... put handle underneath the bar and pull up into solar plexus....you can have someone step on the end of the bar or put a heavy dumbell over the end of the bar....I dont need to explain you guys know the deal with these and how they are performed. But what i make people sometimes do is pull up to into solar plexus, go 10 inches down roughly (or half way) then pull back into the solar plexus and then go down to the bottom (thats one rep) and its brutal. You are all sitting at your computers right now--do me this favor...arch your back and simultaneously pull your elbows backwards (near your body) as far back as you can----see how that feels (contraction) wise? Thats what you are trying to do with every rep you pull into your solar plexus. So its pull into solar plexus, half way down, back into solar plexus and then down to the bottom (one rep) and then (repeat)....try those for about 10-15 reps---youll be destroyed and please drop the ego and start light on your work set and work your way up over time. Do the warmups the regular rep way and only do the 1.5's on the work set for 10-15 reps

lat width: If some of you guys really realized lat width is all about the stretch and only secondarily pulling that weight down so you can call it a rep, you would be such the better bodybuilder for it. I guess thats all im going to really say on that subject....you want to overthink lat width here ill give you something to think about.....you know that last 12 inches or so on the return (eccentric) of a various form of chin or pulldown? Overthink that on how to work that hard (flaring/leaning back against the return/resisting against it/stretching against the return) instead of just "getting to the top so you can start your pull again "and youll end up a very happy man. Take that to the bank.

I was going to keep going but im getting tired (time for bed)--maybe ill keep going tommorow

[Wildcat TP]

lat width: If some of you guys really realized lat width is all about the stretch and only secondarily pulling that weight down so you can call it a rep, you would be such the better bodybuilder for it. I guess thats all im going to really say on that subject....you want to overthink lat width here ill give you something to think about.....you know that last 12 inches or so on the return (eccentric) of a various form of chin or pulldown? Overthink that on how to work that hard (flaring/leaning back against the return/resisting against it/stretching against the return) instead of just "getting to the top so you can start your pull again "and youll end up a very happy man. Take that to the bank.

I was going to keep going but im getting tired (time for bed)--maybe ill keep going tommorow

Thanks for the tips on improving the lat width.

And keep these posts coming please!

[PTAaron]

Glad to see the new info! Thanks for taking the time to post it Dante.

[betito]

The dip technique sounds more like a bottom position static, that is something that i love to do (with dumbells, dips and smith machine is also a great technique) but i was looking for a pure stretch without the static compound (if possible a weighted stretch)

[SuperD]

The dip technique sounds more like a bottom position static, that is something that i love to do (with dumbells, dips and smith machine is also a great technique) but i was looking for a pure stretch without the static compound (if possible a weighted stretch)

'Bottom position static'? Hmmm..... 'Static compound'?
Betito, what's the difference between a 'bottom position static' using Dips as in our example and an extreme stretch?

I'll hesitate to say you're making these terms up until you explain but I can say that in regards to Dips. If the bottom position isn't a stretch for the chest then I really don't know what is.

[JasonWojo]

Occassionally I'll do a machine press stretch. You can set the arms of the machine all the way back and get a pretty good stretch, depending on the machine.

[bulldog21]

sometimes..............at band camp..........I do stretches and stuff.......

[JasonWojo]

sometimes..............at band camp..........I do stretches and stuff.......

This kind of "stretch"?

:moon: