working muscles from different angles?

welshace13 · 08-28-2006, 06:47 AM

hey, i saw a post on here the other day about working muscles from different angles and that basicly it was a load of crap and that all you need to do is overload muscle. surely working from different angles kind of changes the shape etc of muscles?

TheCore · 08-28-2006, 07:02 AM

You can't shape muscles, but you can make them grow...

Helis · 08-28-2006, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by welshace13

surely working from different angles kind of changes the shape etc of muscles?

Nope. Genetics determine the shape of your muscles. Now you may be able to "shape" certain bodyparts by preferentially working some of the constituent muscles. The "outer sweep" of your quad is sometimes cited as an example of this. However, as far as shaping an individual muscle by esoteric exercises... no, you can't.

James.Unit · 08-28-2006, 07:14 AM

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=833644

There's a related discussion and lots of good links in that thread...

cfh1973 · 08-28-2006, 07:51 AM

I've spoke to the conditioning coach here at Reliant Stadium on many occasions. Let me just add that this man is in his 50s and is in awesome shape. Anyway, I was asking him about incline bench press at one point and he shook his head and said that they were not necessary, they were just good for breaking up the monotony. He also said that wider grip bench presses are no good and will lead to injury of the shoulders. Your hands should be exactly shoulder width apart (or closer for tricep pushes). Your pec, being your left or right, is one muscle and changing angles is not going to make your upper or lower chest grow any faster. Genetics can be a pain in the butt but its what we are stuck with and have to live with.