Dragon's Training Tips

QUESTION

I noticed in one of your pre-Olympia videos at FLEXonline that you stop your dumbbell side laterals halfway up. Why do you do that?

ANSWER

I do side laterals the conventional way, too, getting full reps. But the half reps are a favorite of my trainer, Neil Hill. There are only so many ways to work the medial delts, so the half reps are a method of doing something difFerent with side laterals and working just the bottom sections of reps. You can go a little heavier with these. Focus on bringing the dumbbells out as far as possible with your arms perfectly straight, stop at about the halfway point, and keep your delts tense the whole time. The key is to make sure your arms don’t relax at your sides at the beginning of reps. You want to keep constant tension on the medial delts.

QUESTION

When you first started getting press, all anyone talked about were your legs. How were you able to get your upper body in balance with your lower body?

ANSWER

I never wanted to be known for just my legs. Having a balanced physique has always been really important to me. As with anything else, you have to work at it. My legs, especially my calves, grow easily when compared with my chest or back. So there was a time when I barely trained legs at all, and I focused instead almost entirely on my upper body. Rarely training a body part over an extended period does two things. First, that area isn’t going to grow. Depending on how much you train it and with how much intensity, it may even shrink. Second, it allows you to mentally and physically focus more on the other areas. If you don’t have to go through a hard leg workout on Monday, you’re going to be able to give more to your chest workout on Tuesday.

Depending on your own strengths and weaknesses, you may want to train your strongest areas less and your weakest areas more. Maybe your legs are weak and your back is strong. So you might try hitting legs twice a week and back only once every other week. You need to be really honest about your strengths and weaknesses to keep everything in balance. Unfortunately, people tend to train their strongest areas the hardest and neglect their weaker areas, and that only makes things worse. So sometimes the best way to change this is to just not train your strengths for a while until things get back in balance. - FLEX

Read More

Strong Arm Tactics

It wasn’t always like this. When I first met 20-year-old Flex Lewis in the autumn of 2004, the Welsh Dragon was undefeated in physique contests in his native United Kingdom. But all the focus was on his pro-caliber legs (those calves!) and pleasing structure. His arms were his most glaring weakness. Cut to the autumn of 2012 when he won his first Olympia 212 Showdown title. His biceps

and triceps had completed their improbable journey from debilitating weakness to pose-winning strength. In fact, they were so large that he rarely trained them in 2013 on his way to his repeat Olympia 212 Showdown victory.

Flex Lewis turned 30 on Nov. 15. People still talk about his calves. But they’re no longer all people talk about. Because he so often flexes his arms in photos for fans, they now garner much of the attention. If observers remember him when he first burst onto the bodybuilding scene nine years ago in the March 2005 pages of FLEX, they surely wonder how the Welsh Dragon could’ve transformed his weakness into a strength and what he does to maintain arm superiority.

MIND TO MUSCLE

Over and over again when I hear bodybuilders speak of bringing up weak points, the most important factor is the mind-to-muscle connection. It’s as if at some point the proverbial light bulb went of and they forgot about the weight and started truly focusing on the muscle. Typically, they’d spent too much time hoisting ever-heavier metal, and they never truly connected with the body part. Then, when they reduced the resistance and learned how to feel their targeted flesh working from stretch to contraction on every rep, their gains increased substantially. “I’ve just recently learned how to really hit my chest so my front delts don’t take over,” Lewis states. “Arms were the first area where I really learned how to focus on them in a way I was missing before.

“Before, my forearms would always take over. And then I started doing certain exercises and really squeezing, and I became less concerned with the weights. And over time I taught myself to squeeze and get connected with the muscles, and the weights obviously came back up with time. That mind-to-muscle connection was the most important thing. Another thing I did was I trained biceps on their own days, and I trained triceps on their own days. So I gave a lot of time to my arms each week, and I hit biceps and triceps alone to really focus on each muscle.”

GIANT PUMP

Today, Lewis trains triceps and biceps together, beginning with the former. But he relies on a technique he adopted years ago to make certain his triceps are warmed up, isolated, and maximally pumped. By utilizing the Weider Giant Set Principle, he attacks his tri’s with five isolation exercises in rotation. Giant sets can be difficult to perform if you need to rush from one station to the next. However, Lewis can do all five of his exercises in the same spot with the same overhead cable. He starts with rope pushdowns, spreading the rope ends as wide as possible at contractions.

Then come rope extensions, keeping the ropes together throughout each rep. (Because this pushdown method is easier than the first, he can use the same weight for both exercises.) Then he replaces the rope with an EZ-bar handle. He does one set of pushdowns overhand and another set (with a lighter weight) underhand. Finally, he turns around and faces away from the weight stack, grabs either the EZ-bar or the rope, leans forward, and presses the bar out, parallel to the fl oor, cranking out cable triceps extensions.

Lewis tallies 20 reps of each exercise, only halting the toil long enough to shift his position or switch in a different handle. He pauses for two minutes between giants sets. “I always do a warmup giant set,” he states. “And then I do three or four working giant sets. So, all told, including warmups, I’m doing either 400 or 500 reps in short order. Afterward, my triceps are already fully pumped, and I’ve spent a lot of reps targeting strong contractions to really focus on my tri’s.”

COMPOUNDING THE PAIN

After doing five isolation exercises in 100-rep rotations, Lewis has pre-exhausted his triceps. So next up he thoroughly toasts his tri’s with two compound exercises: close-grip bench presses and dips. Both of these also hit the chest and front deltoids, but after his 400- or 500-rep cable barrage, his arms are going to give out long before he taxes anything else.

“With close-grip benches, I pyramid, using heavier weights and fewer reps. I go to no fewer than eight reps, and I may get forced reps on the last two. I tend to use the Smith machine. I flip an incline bench (set in the flat position) around. And I angle the seat part up, and that’s where I put my head. That way, I can more easily watch what’s happening. My grip is set by touching my thumbs. So I take a grip that is about two thumbs apart. Some people who are taller than me may have two inches between thumb-to-thumb, but anything more than that I think hits the chest more and the triceps less. And if I use the Smith machine, I come down to the lowest part of my pecs. I just feel that gives me the best stretch for my triceps.”

Of his other compound triceps exercise, Lewis avers: “I love dips. I do these with just my body weight. I try to get high reps, and I go to failure on every set. I try to eliminate my chest as much as I can. I use dips on chest day, but then I dramatically lean forward. For triceps, I keep my body as upright as possible. If I don’t do body-weight dips, I’ll do machine dips. Again, I keep my rep-range to 20-plus. But I tend to squeeze a lot more on these, especially on the final two or three reps of sets. I’ll hold and squeeze as hard as I can.”

BICEPS BASICS

“I love dumbbell curls,” the Welsh Dragon opines. He begins his biceps routine with standing alternate dumbbell curls. “A lot of people just throw the weight up. Myself, I try to get a full range of motion, and I turn my hand as much as I can, and hold for a second and squeeze.” The turning of the wrist from palms facing the body’s center plane to palms facing backward and then tilted slightly outward is known as supination. In addition to elbow flexion, this is the other key function of the biceps.

Doing a dumbbell curl without supination is like eating cake without the icing, because that wrist twist is the greatest advantage of dumbbell curls over two-arm curls. After three or four sets of alternate dumbbell curls, Lewis follows with two sets of curling the dumbbells simultaneously.

The world’s best 212-or-under bodybuilder performs two other free-weight basics for biceps: EZ-bar curls and hammer curls. When doing the EZ-bar curls, he is cognizant of always getting a slight squeeze at contractions. The hammer curls are done seated and alternating his left and right arms. Hammer curling, which works the brachioradialis of the lower arms in addition to the biceps and brachialis of the upper arms, is as close as the Welsh Dragon gets to training his forearms—which are among the best of all time. As with most arm exercises, he keeps the reps relatively high—in the 12–20 range—on both EZ-bar curls and hammer curls.

OVER 21

Between the EZ-bar and hammer curls, Lewis is likely to switch it up, doing a non-free-weight exercise with an unorthodox rep range. He likes two-arm cable curls with an EZ-bar handle. But there are two factors that make these unique. First, he makes them 21 curls: seven reps that go from full stretches to halfway up, followed by seven reps that go from halfway up to full contraction, topped off by seven full reps.

This intense rep scheme is enough for most bodybuilders. But the two-time Olympia 212 Showdown champ doesn’t stop there. He tops it off with several rest-pause reps. These are performed by pausing just long enough after each rep to regain the strength for another rep. “I may get three, may get five, may get more,” he states, “but every one of those reps is exploded up and then squeezed at the top, and I get a semi-negative on the way down. I lower as slow as I can, but after the 21s my arms are spent, so it’s hard to go real slow.”

DOWNPLAYING

As evidenced by the preceding routine, when Flex Lewis would hit arms over the past year, he put his everything into those workouts. And this was the style of training—higher reps, greater intensity, a focus on contractions and staying connected to the muscles—that brought his arms up so much he rarely needed to work them in 2013. “I didn’t really train triceps or biceps much going into the last Olympia,” Lewis states. “They were being hit with chest and back. They got a pretty good pump on those days. But I didn’t want them to get too big. They’ve come up so much that they’re now a strong point. So this was the first year that I focused a lot less on arms.

“In the past, there was a time when I was focusing extra on them, because they were considered a weak point. But now I’ve reversed that. I don’t really want to be walking around with ridiculously oversize arms. My thing is all about proportion. I could probably put another inch on my arms in a year if I trained them as much as my chest, but I would rather focus more on my chest and less on my arms and keep things in proportion. But I remember it wasn’t that long ago when I put extra effort into arms. And whenever I train them, I still train that same way. Arms were the body part that I busted my ass to build up—and it worked.” FLEX

Read More

Growth Surge : Prime your body for gains with this week-long supplement-loading program.

What’s your first reaction when training isn’t working anymore and you hit a plateau? Do more! If a bodypart isn’t responding, you hit it harder and longer, beating it into submission to force a response. Often, however, that is exactly the wrong approach. It’s what causes us at FLEX to

whip out the term overtraining — which is probably a damn good word for Scrabble (if we even knew how to play that game), but a downright lousy word for bodybuilders.

Sometimes, a falloff in workout intensity is to blame for the aforementioned plateau. Other times, nutritional slip-ups might be the cause. For the sake of argument, let’s assume you’ve been your usual tough-as-nails self in the weight room, and that you’re adhering to a diet that fully supports your efforts, with optimal amounts of calories and protein being consumed every day at the right times. 

With all of these things in mind, it would appear that there’s nothing left to do — just keep trudging through, dealing with low energy levels and lackluster strength, holding out hope that you’ll soon bust out of the rut. Actually, there may be something more proactive that you can do. 

Some supplements, when taken in large doses for a short period, might be just the thing for blasting through that plateau. Combining the following ingredients at the prescribed doses for one full week could give your muscles everything they are asking for and then some. Instead of the usual beat-down tactics, you’re taking an alternative route to the same end by jacking up your power and energy while igniting your growth triggers. It’s an opportunity to get back on the path to huge, which isn’t such a stellar word for Scrabble players, but it is a kick-ass word for bodybuilders.

PLATEAU BUSTER 1: LEUCINE

Of the three branched-chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine), leucine is the most critical because it has the unique ability to trigger protein synthesis. It enters muscle cells and turns on key biochemical processes that result in more muscle protein and, thus, more muscle size.

Supplemental leucine also decreases muscle breakdown. Leucine in muscle cells is broken down and used for energy during exercise. Low leucine levels lead to decreased muscle size and stunted growth processes. Taking extra leucine, especially before workouts, will spare the stores within muscles and provide additional quantities to get protein synthesis humming.

Therefore, this essential amino acid is not only a building block, but it is also needed to turn on the muscle-building process. Leucine also increases secretion of the anabolic hormone insulin, important for encouraging growth.

SURGE DOSE | Take five to 10 grams (g) of leucine five times per day — immediately when you wake up, between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and dinner, right before your workout and right after your workout.

MAINTENANCE DOSE | After one week, taper usage to maintenance doses of 5-10 g in the morning and before and after workouts.

PLATEAU BUSTER 2: GLUTAMINE

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in skeletal muscle. Dietary glutamine has demonstrated an effect that allows other dietary aminos to be used for protein synthesis and muscle growth, sparing amino acids. Glutamine also helps draw optimal amounts of water, glycogen and other nutrients from blood into muscle cells, where they can be utilized completely to help you grow bigger and stronger.

On top of all this, glutamine serves as a fuel source for the immune system and supports healthy gastrointestinal function. This might be as important as anything, because being sick for two weeks will destroy gains much faster than an “average” training plateau.

SURGE DOSE | To provide your muscles with a big surge of glutamine for one week, try taking 40 g per day — 10 when you wake up, 10 right before your workout, 10 immediately after your workout and 10 before bedtime.

MAINTENANCE DOSE | Take 5 g of glutamine at each of those four times of day.

PLATEAU BUSTER 3: ARGININE

The amino acid arginine is well established as an effective nitric oxide (NO) booster. For that reason, various forms of arginine (L-arginine, arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, arginine ethyl ester, etc.) are included in virtually every “pump” product on the market. Because arginine helps increase circulating levels of NO gas, it in turn promotes blood-vessel dilation and, therefore, the delivery of blood, oxygen, nutrients and anabolic hormones to working muscles. The effect is improved protein synthesis and more rapid recovery. Arginine also helps to draw more water into muscle cells (a contributing factor for better pumps) and boosts growth hormone release.

SURGE DOSE | During surge week, take 5 g of arginine four times per day — before breakfast, before lunch, before training and before bedtime.

MAINTENANCE DOSE | For maintenance, drop down to 3 g before breakfast, before training and before bedtime.

PLATEAU BUSTER 4: CREATINE

Creatine should be a cornerstone of almost every supplement program. It works by providing a source of “fast energy” within muscle cells, making it possible to complete more reps and in turn spurring muscle growth. Creatine also helps to pull water into muscle cells, making them look and feel fuller. New research shows that creatine may directly increase gains by influencing new muscle-cell growth and enhancing muscular levels of insulinlike growth factor-I.

SURGE DOSE | To load muscle cells quickly and efficiently with creatine, a seven-day surge is critical for those who are just starting to take the supplement. Follow this advice even if you have been taking the supplement for a while, to ensure that your muscles are loaded properly. Take 5 g with breakfast, lunch, preworkout, postworkout and with dinner.

MAINTENANCE DOSE | Take 3-5 g pre- and postworkout.

PLATEAU BUSTER 5: GREEN-TEA EXTRACT

Green tea contains a group of compounds called catechins, which are responsible for most of the antioxidant properties of green tea. Because green tea is such a strong antioxidant, it helps scavenge the large amount of muscle-damaging free radicals produced during intense exercise. The most powerful catechin, commonly referred to as EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), is up to 100 times more potent as an antioxidant than vitamin C.

EGCG also helps to enhance metabolism and increase the amount of fat utilized for fuel. Combine that with the caffeine in green tea — some brands may have 30-40 milligrams (mg) per eight-ounce cup — and you have a potent natural metabolism booster.

SURGE DOSE | Drink one cup of green tea at breakfast, lunch and dinner. At midday, before workouts and after workouts, take a supplement form that supplies 250-500 mg of green-tea extract standardized to 50% EGCG.

MAINTENANCE DOSE | Drink one cup of green tea with breakfast. At midday and before workouts, take a supplement form that supplies 250-500 mg of green-tea extract standardized to 50% EGCG.

PLATEAU BUSTER 6: WHEY PROTEIN

SURGE DOSE | Take 40 g before breakfast, an hour after lunch, before workouts, after workouts and an hour after dinner.

MAINTENANCE DOSE | For maintenance, it’s 20 g before workouts and 40 g after workouts, as well as other times of day when your protein intake from wholefood sources is not optimal.

By :Steve O'Reilly, RD

FLEX

Read More

Close-Grip vs. Wide-Grip Upright Row

OPENING ARGUMENTS

Upright rows have long been a staple exercise for shoulders. After all, shoulder presses and upright rows are the only multi-joint movements for the shoulders. While shoulder

presses are a pushing exercise that include mainly the three deltoid heads and the trapezius, upright rows are a pulling movement that target the same muscles.

• DEFENSE: The upright row is typically done with a close grip (about half of shoulder width) because it allows the elbows to raise higher than the shoulders for maximum range of motion (ROM).
• PROSECUTION: Going with a wider-than-shoulder-width grip on upright rows is beneficial for two main reasons, it prevents the elbows from going too high, which can promote rotator cuf injuries, and it involves more of the middle head of the deltoids, which provides the real mass with roundness and width.

EVIDENCE

Researchers from Memphis University measured muscle activity of the front, middle, and rear deltoids, as well as the upper and middle traps during upright rows performed with a close grip (half of shoulder width), a shoulder-width grip, and a two-times wider-than-shoulder-width grip. With the two-times shoulder-width grip, the muscle activity of both the middle deltoid and even the rear deltoid increased by more than 20% compared with the close grip. Also, the wider grip increased muscle activity of the upper traps.

VERDICT: Wide-grip Upright Rows

Doing the upright row with a wider-than-shoulder-width grip is the best option to target the deltoids and the traps.

SENTENCING

Add the upright row, using a twice-than shoulder-width grip into your workouts somewhere in between shoulder presses and raises. This will allow you to focus more on the middle delts and even hit the rear deltoids, as well as the traps. Also consider doing upright rows in this manner on the Smith machine, as well as with dumbbells.

FLEX

Read More

Hormone Control: Manipulate hormone levels to get ripped and stay full

A number of bodybuilders have e-mailed me requesting the same thing: “Can you check out my precontest diet?” Time and again, their approach to dieting is the same: no carbs. A no-carb or very-low-carb plan can be effective — it almost always means

fewer calories, so that’s a plus. It also means insulin, a potentially fat-storing hormone, is controlled. But it doesn’t guarantee a ripped fat-free physique. Getting ripped is about controlling calories while simultaneously keeping hormones in balance. That’s what this article is about — providing the guidelines for a hormonal profile that will keep your metabolic rate humming to burn bodyfat. Here’s the data on six main hormones you need to know about.

INSULIN

ACTION| Insulin encourages bodyfat storage, but it also helps create an anabolic environment for muscle growth.

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO| Keep your insulin levels as low as possible during rest periods (when you’re inactive) and elevated after training.

WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS| Low insulin levels at rest help burn fat as long as calories are controlled. Elevated levels around training time prevent muscle loss and support anabolism — muscle growth.

HOW YOU DO THIS| Keep carbs low most of the day — stress low-carb vegetables and lean protein sources, such as egg whites, fowl, fish, lean beef and protein powders. Before and after training, make sure you eat carbs along with proteins. A rule of thumb while dieting is to eat .2 grams (g) of carbs just prior to training and .3 g afterward per pound of bodyweight. For a 200-pound bodybuilder, that would be 40 g before and 60 g after training. This creates an anabolic state during times when the body is most open to shedding mass — during and after training.

TESTOSTERONE

ACTION| Testosterone builds strength and size.

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO| Keep testosterone levels elevated as much as possible. Dieting — in any form — tends to cause testosterone levels to fall.

WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS| Lower testosterone levels downgrade your metabolic rate. One reason for this has to do with growth hormone (GH). In general, when testosterone levels decline, GH also begins to slide, and GH is a noted fat burner.

HOW YOU DO THIS| Here are two ways to boost testosterone while dieting. First, increase your intake of dietary fat two days out of the week, stressing beef as a protein source, as well as egg yolks and a small handful of nuts. Keep carbs under control. I believe an extremely low-fat diet is conducive to cutting up, but eating almost no fat for too long seems to lower testosterone levels. Tricking the body by adding some fat every few days can prevent declines in testosterone.

Second, radically boost your carb intake once a week to 3 g (or a bit more) per pound of bodyweight. Carbs increase insulin, and higher insulin levels can decrease sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG clings to testosterone in the blood and moves it around. It’s a major influence on how much testosterone ultimately reaches tissues. Increasing insulin sheds SHBG from testosterone. This “frees” testosterone, allowing it to get to tissues — including muscles — rather than it being stuck to SHBG and unable to stimulate maximal muscle growth. Stimulating growth upticks your metabolism and contributes to a leaner physique.

GROWTH HORMONE

ACTION| GH supports fat burning. More important, it spares muscle loss.

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO| Increase GHlevels.

WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS| Saving muscle while dieting is key to maintaining your metabolic rate. Increasing GH can also speed fat loss.

HOW YOU DO THIS| You can boost GH through supplements. Training increases GH, as does sleep, and taking specific supplements before each can augment the natural spike of this hormone during these two times. Consuming 5-6 g of arginine before training not only raises GH, but it also increases blood flow to muscles. Taking 200-400 milligrams (mg) of Mucuna pruriens (MP) before training can help. MP is derived from velvet beans and contains L-dopa, an amino-acid derivative that has potent GH capabilities. You can repeat the process with 5-6 g of arginine and 200-400 mg of MP taken an hour before bed.

CORTISOL

ACTION| Cortisol is a tricky hormone. It helps liberate and burn fat, but with too much of it, muscle is burned, resulting in a drop in metabolism.

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO| Keep cortisol levels from spiraling out of control for prolonged periods of time.

WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS|Excess cortisol for too long burns muscle rather than bodyfat. Preventing it from staying high for lengthy periods will help save muscle. Don’t forget: muscle drives the fat-burning metabolism.

HOW YOU DO THIS| Post training insulin spikes help temper cortisol levels. To keep it from ratcheting up, choose any two dieting days each week when carbs are low and make sure your post training carbs are fast-burning carbs, such as russet potatoes and white rice. Gatorade, fat-free Pop-Tarts and cookies, sugarcoated rice cakes and cold cereals spike insulin higher than other carbs. This drives down cortisol, protects your muscle mass and keeps your metabolism elevated. If you want to add a supplement, take 800 mg of phosphatidylserine, which may help keep cortisol from rising.

ESTROGEN

ACTION| Estrogen, the “female” hormone, is also found in men. Elevated estrogen levels makes fat loss more difficult. 

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO| Keep testosterone levels elevated and estrogen minimized. 

WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS| The testosterone-to-estrogen ratio in the body affects the way you look. Decreasing estrogen, increasing testosterone or a combination of the two actions can lead to a harder body, less bodyfat and less water retention. How you do this| Crunchy vegetables, specifically the cruciferous kind (including broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage), yield compounds called indoles. Scientists speculate that indoles lower the total amount of estrogen in the body by decreasing the production of estrogen or by interfering with estrogen absorption and uptake by tissues. While keeping carbs low, build your diet on a foundation of cruciferous vegetables. You can also supplement with the product 6-OXO to keep estrogen low and testosterone levels high.

THYROID HORMONE

ACTION| Thyroid hormone supports calorie burning and protein synthesis. 

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO| Keep thyroid hormone levels from crashing. All diets result in a decline in thyroid hormones.

WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS|When thyroid levels fall, calorie burning falls as does protein synthesis — the rate at which the body takes amino acids from protein foods and deposits them into muscle tissue. 

HOW YOU DO THIS| Abandon your diet once every 10 or 12 days. Prolonged dieting results in lower thyroid hormone levels. Eating 3 g of carbs per pound of bodyweight a day just once every 10 days or so can trick the body into believing the calorie restriction is over, thereby preventing severe drops in thyroid levels.

CONCLUSION

When you know how to manipulate your hormones, your dieting will be more effective. Learn the perils and the actions to take, so you’ll see better results. Don’t forget that long-term continuous strict dieting (low calorie, low carb and low fat) eventually sends your body a message of starvation instead of bodyfat reduction. Occasionally, take a break from dieting using the approaches I’ve described. Those and the other strategies discussed here will help you reduce bodyfat levels while protecting your muscle mass. - FLEX

by : Chris Aceto

Read More

How to Lose Belly Fat Without Ab Exercises

Get Up, Stand Up

Try to avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time. Any movement—standing, walking, jogging—will produce a higher metabolic rate than sitting. So unless you’re seated in class or stuck inside a bus or car, get up out of that chair and move around. Try walking or jogging to nearby destinations, rather than driving to them. If you
do have to drive somewhere, park in the farthest possible space so you take more steps on your way in. Just being on your feet more can help keep your stomach trim.

Find Strength in Numbers

Ditch isolation exercises like Arm Curls in favor of multi-joint exercises, which not only build upper- and lower-body strength, but also burn off more stomach fat. Movements that require you to move many muscle groups or your whole body will burn more calories. By burning more fat throughout the body,  you’ll torch that belly bulge too. The key: perform full-body exercises at high intensity with minimum rest between sets.

Mix It Up

Lifting weights is great, but incorporating interval training workouts like sprints with your strength training will help you burn fat even faster.
Try this after your last set of weight-training exercises: perform five minutes of interval training while either running, biking or rowing. Work at a high intensity and high speed for 30 seconds, then slow down for 15 seconds. Alternate between the two until your five minutes are up.

Police Your Portions

Several fitness experts say abs start in the kitchen, and it’s true. You might have the biggest, most developed set of abs in the world, but if you keep 'em covered with post-donut stomach fat, no one will ever see them. Big meals mean big calories, which can mean big problems for your fat loss goals. Opt for smaller, more frequent nutrient-dense meals every two to three hours instead of piling food on your plate three times a day.

Be a Natural

Processed carbohydrates—like cookies, cakes, crackers, chips, soda, sugary cereals, pasta and breads—trigger an insulin response in your body, which, over time, leads to fat accumulation. So steer clear of anything white; opt instead for protein-packed meals with lean meat, fish, seeds or nuts; and get your carbs from fruits, whole-grains and leafy greens. When choosing a drink, stick with water.

Keep on the Sunny Side

When you train outdoors in the sunlight, you get a bonus of taking in vitamin D from the sun. Studies have indicated that vitamin D helps promote the natural release of testosterone, which can be useful in the battle of the (stomach) bulge.

Sleep Tight

If you skimp on sleep, your body releases higher levels of a hormone called ghrelin, which can increase your hunger throughout the day and lead to overeating. You’ll also produce more of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to the accumulation of fat around the waist. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep. A 2012 study at the University of Washington Sleep Center showed that sleeping nine  hours per night can even help someone overcome a genetic disposition to weight gain

Read More

How to Improve Weak Deltoids and Broaden Your Shoulders: : By Tom Venuto

 Q: Tom, I need some help. I am very narrow shouldered and I can't seem to get any muscle size in my deltoids as my triceps seem to take over. I have a large chest which makes me look even more out of proportion. Do you have any suggestions for exercises or workouts that would isolate and build size in my shoulders? I especially need width and my rear deltoids are non existent. Thanks

A: Your shoulder width is partly determined by genetics. The width of your shoulders will ultimately be determined by your bone structure. However, regardless of your genetics in the clavicle department, you can always develop much wider shoulders with proper training. Larry Scott was known for not being particularly genetically gifted in the width department, but he made the most of what he had and it didn't stop him from becoming the First Mr. Olympia.
The deltoids are a spectacular muscle and an extremely important one to develop, especially the side deltoid, which gives you more shoulder width. When your shoulders get wider, it creates an optical illusion of a smaller waist. By adding muscle on your side delts and also your reducing waist size, you can completely transform your body's appearance and symmetry.
To prove the point to yourself, try this little test at home: Put on a t-shirt and evenly stuff some tissue under your sleeves on both sides of your shoulders. Now look in the mirror. It is stunning how much even a half an inch of additional width on your shoulders can improve your aesthetics.
Unfortunately, for some people, the deltoids can be stubborn and they don't grow without extremely hard work. You can count me in that group - I have to really blast em' to get them to respond. Stubborn deltoids must be prioritized and they sometimes need to be "coaxed" into growing by using some advanced bodybuilding techniques.
The most basic size builder for shoulders (deltoids) is the over head press, in any one of its forms, preferably using free weights:
1) Military press (overhead barbell press)
2) Dumbbell press
The standing overhead press is the better total body strength exercise, as it demands activation of the core and involvement of the entire body. Bodybuilders usually prefer the seated version, as it stabilizes you and allows you to concentrate more on developing the deltoids by excluding some of the core involvement.
Machine presses are good for variety, but don't neglect the free weights. Work very, very hard on the barbell and dumbbell presses as your primary movements.
Presses alone can build a good foundation of muscle size and strength so that's usually where a beginner starts. In a full body or 2 day split routine, if you could pick only one exercise, it would be an overhead press. Once you're out of the beginner stage, it pays to add multiple exercises that work each aspect of the deltoid.
Physique athletes design programs by looking at the deltoid in three parts:
1. front deltoid
2. side deltoid
3. rear deltoid
Some people include the trapezius, (traps) with shoulder workouts (usually shrugs), others train traps on back day, but that's a separate discussion. Keep in mind that over-development of the traps can actually detract visually from the appearance of width in your shoulders. Don't overwork your traps unless you're especially weak in that area, or if you simply want that thick, dense look in the neck and traps (some guys like that look, most women don't).
Assuming that you're training on a split routine where you have time for multiple exercises, you would pick one exercise for each section of the deltoid. Here's an example of a traditional bodybuilding program for deltoids using all free weights to work all three heads of the deltoid muscle:
1. Seated barbell military press
2. Dumbbell side lateral raises
3. Bent over dummbbell lateral raises (rear deltoid)
3 sets of 8-12 reps each
These exercises do overlap. For example, Military presses strongly work both the front and side deltoid. In fact, you can't completely isolate any one section of the deltoid, but you can shift emphasis onto front, side or rear delt depending on your choice of exercise and exercise technique.
Overhead presses are a compound exercise, so other muscle groups, including the upper chest and triceps, are working as well. In a press however, the triceps are considered an assistance muscle or secondary mover. The deltoid is the prime mover that is receiving most of the load.
The dumbbell side lateral raises take the triceps out of the movement, so that's why laterals are considered a deltoid isolation exercise. This is the exercise that helps you develop shoulder width, specifically the much sought-after round "cap" on the side of your deltoids.

Well-developed side deltoids are an absolute must for figure or fitness competition and this "cap on the shoulders" look requires specialized physique training

A highly developed side deltoid has a roundness to it that looks like a half a coconut was slapped on each side of your shoulders. Well-developed side deltoids are an awesome sight to behold.

The side deltoid is a very desirable section of the muscle to develop, even for women. If you look closely at the top fitness and figure women today, you'll see extraordinary side deltoid "cap" development. They work very hard at that because well-developed side deltoids improve your symmetry and make your waist look smaller. Creating an optical illusion is what bodybuilding training is all about.
For rear deltoids, the most popular exercise is the bent over dumbbell lateral raise. It can be done standing or seated on the edge of a bench (which can relieve pressure from the lower back that may occur during the standing variation). The standing bent over version must be performed with strict form and proper body position to avoid back strain. An alternative is the rear delt machine, which is performed seated vertically.
Once you have this basic framework for a total multi-angular deltoid training program, there are many ways you can take it to the next level to emphasize width and specialize on rear deltoids. I could go on for pages with shoulder training techniques, but here are some of my favorites.
1. Prioritize your deltoids in a split routine.
To maximize your deltoid development in all three sections, front, side and rear, train your delts in a split routine with no other major body parts. For example, by having a shoulders and triceps day (shoulders and a small/minor body part), you can pour all your energy into training the deltoids first without having to worry about training your whole body or other major body parts.
2. Prioritize your rear deltoids by training them first.
3. Use drop sets.
Adding some intensity techniques can help stimulate muscle growth in stubborn body parts and drop sets (aka descending sets) are a particularly effective intensity technique to use with shoulder training. On the last set of each exercise - side laterals and bent laterals - do a drop set. If you're using 30 pound dumbbells on your laterals, you would simply do a regular set, then when you can't complete another rep, drop to the 25's, then repeat with the 20 pounders. Usually two weight drops does it, but some people do more than two drops or even run all the way down the rack.

Strict, straight-arm version of the lateral raise

4. Use mechanical advantage supersets (aka the "strict to loose" technique)
You can also extend a set by manipulating mechanical advantage, rep speed and technique. One way is to superset two forms of the same exercise, the strict version first, followed by the looser version second. The side lateral raise can be performed many different ways. The straight arm version is much more difficult because of the long lever arm and mechanical disadvantage. Do it slowly with a hold at the top and it becomes even stricter. lower only 3/4 of the way down and it becomes stricter still. When you reach failure on the strict version, you can continue by switching to the bent-arm side lateral raise and or by speeding up your reps.
5. Add some high rep pump work.
Getting a pump is considered by some people to be a side effect of bodybuilding training and not a goal to be sought in itself. Indeed, it's a mistake to drop all the heavy, low to medium rep work for high reps. However, that doesn't mean high reps don't have their uses. Muscle development can be enhanced by finishing an exercise or workout with a maximum pump set. This develops different muscle fibers and enhances capillarization which can eventually create a more polished look to the physique, when combined with low body fat.
6. Add some high tension work.
The deltoid muscles are unique in the way they seem to respond extremely well to high tension training methods. One such technique is the isometric hold. An isometric contraction is where a muscle contracts without shortening or lengthening, to hold your body in a fixed position. For example, if you hold the side lateral raise in the top "iron cross" position, you will find it extremely challenging, yet very rewarding, as it helps bring out additional muscle development you might not have seen if you only did conventional repetitions. Co-incidentally, have you ever noticed the exceptional side deltoid development on gymnasts?
Okay - with these techniques added in, your souped-up, turbo-charged shoulder width and rear delt specialization program might look like this:
(NOTE: This is an advanced-level program)
1. Bent over dumbbell lateral raises (rear deltoid)
2 sets 10-12 reps
1 set 10-12 rep max to failure with strict form (straight arms hold 1 second at top), then continue with as many reps as possible with loose form (faster with bent elbows)
2. Seated barbell military press
4 sets of 12, 8, 6, 4 reps (ascending weight, descending reps)
1 set of 20 reps
3. Dumbbell side lateral raises
set a: regular reps 8-12 reps to failure (12 rep maximum as heavy as you can go)
set b: straight arm laterals, 5-6 reps with 5 second isometric "iron cross" hold at top and slow negatives, followed by as many regular reps as possible, faster tempo
set c: regular reps, triple drop
Here's one final suggestion for rounding off your deltoid routine
Most beginning and intermediate trainees not only neglect the side and rear deltoids, they also overtrain their chest relative to their upper back. They do far more horizontal pushing like bench pressing than horizontal pulling like rowing.
It's important to balance out the volume of pushing and pulling to avoid muscle imbalances and injury. A nice side effect of doing more rowing is the additional stimulation you get for your rear delts. If you do horizontal pulling exercises on your back day, your rear deltoids will get worked again indirectly - especially if you choose rowing exercises with a wide grip and your elbows flared out wide and pulling high.
Also try the rope pull to the face, again with elbows flared out to the sides. Although this is an upper back exercise, it also hits the rear deltoids quite strongly.
Feel free to pick and choose from these techniques and apply them wherever you see fit. You may find some of these techniques helpful for other body parts as well.
Be sure to drop me a note in the training forums and let me know how these methods worked out for you.
-Tom venuto
Most people do presses first on their shoulder day. Generally that's an ideal approach if your goals include more strength as well as hypertrophy. However, if your rear deltoid development is lagging behind your front and side delt development (and this is very common, since most people blow off rear delts or just do a couple half-hearted sets at the end), then it pays to re-arrange the order of exercises. This is called the "priority training principle." Priority training simply means training your lagging body parts first, even if it goes against traditional training "rules."

Read More