Starting out

It can be intimidating and overwhelming to start working out if you haven’t before.  These days there is too much information that can be accessed but few answers.  Remember the following to keep your head clear.

  • There is no right way
  • Everyone progresses at different rates
  • Keep your program simple and basic
  • Don’t worry about supplements
  • Pay attention to how your body moves
  • Don’t try complicated exercises (cleans for example) before you can perform their components (front squat, clean deadlift, jump and land without knees wobbling)
  • The big guy in the gym doesn’t always know best
  • Lifting hard and heavy will not make female super muscular.  Man looking female bodybuilders take drugs.
  • Take your time.  It is a slow process.

Don’t wait until you have some perfect plan.  Take action now.  You might feel stupid at times in a gym where people seem to know what they are doing but trust me, most people only THINK they know what they are doing.

Bench press the correct way

One time I asked Dr. James Andrews who is one of the most renown surgeons in the world the following question…

What is the most common injury you see that is preventable for the most part?

We discussed a few different things but his first answer was torn pectoral muscles from bench press.  There are many factors that surround this but one of the most obvious I see is not performing the exercises correctly.  Here is a quick and dirty run down.

If your elbows are flared out the entire time then you are using more pec but you are also putting your shoulders in danger.  Think about it.  Would you throw a punch like that?  Would you push someone like that?  Of course not.  It is an unnatural movement that puts the shoulder in an unstable situation.  You should be tight on the bench and the elbows allowed to come in perhaps rotate out at the top.  This means the bar will hit below the pecs for most people.

Tightness is key.  Tightness protects.  Joints should be stable when lifting.  Bench press isn’t a “pec isolation exercises”.  It is a push with the entire upper body.  Most of the stress being on the tris, pecs, and shoulders.  Pecs are only part of the picture.  There is an old powerlifting saying that if you want a bigger bench then gain weight and work your tri’s.  No one mentions pecs.

Of course if you are benching hard, work your upper back just as hard.  Keep the balance.

 

Common questions and answers.

Q: But benching that way doesn’t work my pecs as good.

A:  Find another exercises for your pecs if you want to feel them more.

 

Q: I am not as strong benching like that.

A: Because you have benched wrong for a long time and have weak tris and delts compared to your chest.  Start over, get strong, stay healthy.

 

Q: My chest feels funny when I do that like something is wrong.

A: You are probably a female with implants placed under the muscle.  Consult with your doctor about exercises you can and can’t do.  Also make sure you break up the scar tissue from your surgery.

 

Q:  My shoulders hurt when I bench.

A:  Rotator cuff exercises with correct form before every workout.  Make sure you have good shoulder range of motion.  You may have bicep tendonitis because you bench and curl too much.

Q: Can you lay out the steps on how to set up and bench correctly?

A: Not now.  I am bored.

Someone’s random back workout for the day

Warmup

Dynamic and assisted stretch 10 min focusing on hip rotators

Deadlifts 3×5

Rackpulls above knee 4×5

Single arm DB Row 3×12 with1.5 min rest

Pulldown drop sets 3×12-15

Straight arm Pulldown 3×12-15  with 45 seconds rest

Back extension with 2 second hold 3×15

Landmine 3×10

DB Sidebend 2×8

Stim low back for recovery 15 min