I was reminded of an oft overlooked yet important tenet to DC training yesterday as I trained calves for the first time at a new gym...
You need to have enough experience and humility to be able to pick the 3 movements per bodypart that work best for you. Not the 3 movements that others are doing or are the coolest or even the most enjoyable. The 3 BEST. The ones that put each particular bodypart in the most advantageous position to grow. I will expand on that to add you need the same experience and probably even more humility to know what rep ranges work best for that movement.
My examples...
My calves suck. I have hit them with standing raises, seated raises and on the leg press. I have done drop sets, heavy weight, partials, etc. Yesterday I used an incline calf raise machine for the first time. WOW. My calves were put in such a great position! I felt an amazing stretch that I was able to hold but also had a much better contraction all the way through the rep. I had a similar experience using a donkey calf raise machine the time before that. Instead of bashing my head against the wall for how long I should have gotten away from what WASN'T working and found something that WAS.
Secondly, I love barbell curls as much as the next guy. And I love doing them heavy. I am quite strong at them in the 12-15rp range. But since switching to movements that get me a better stretch like db spider curls, incline curls, etc and upping my reps to the 20-25rp range I have seen MUCH better bicep development. Again, a little humility and a little less tunnel vision and I could have reaped these rewards a long time ago.
Don't be afraid to try new things out. You may find you like them. (Tell that to your girlfriends and wives too.)
You need to have enough experience and humility to be able to pick the 3 movements per bodypart that work best for you. Not the 3 movements that others are doing or are the coolest or even the most enjoyable. The 3 BEST. The ones that put each particular bodypart in the most advantageous position to grow. I will expand on that to add you need the same experience and probably even more humility to know what rep ranges work best for that movement.
My examples...
My calves suck. I have hit them with standing raises, seated raises and on the leg press. I have done drop sets, heavy weight, partials, etc. Yesterday I used an incline calf raise machine for the first time. WOW. My calves were put in such a great position! I felt an amazing stretch that I was able to hold but also had a much better contraction all the way through the rep. I had a similar experience using a donkey calf raise machine the time before that. Instead of bashing my head against the wall for how long I should have gotten away from what WASN'T working and found something that WAS.
Secondly, I love barbell curls as much as the next guy. And I love doing them heavy. I am quite strong at them in the 12-15rp range. But since switching to movements that get me a better stretch like db spider curls, incline curls, etc and upping my reps to the 20-25rp range I have seen MUCH better bicep development. Again, a little humility and a little less tunnel vision and I could have reaped these rewards a long time ago.
Don't be afraid to try new things out. You may find you like them. (Tell that to your girlfriends and wives too.)
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