Ask an Exercise Science major anything

[y0lked]

Hey man! Are you still answering this thread? Can I ask you a question? Thanks.

sure broski fire away!

[DLinez]

Hi guys and girls.
Would be honoured to get your advice.
It's a question on the role that the abdominals play in breathing and posture.
I have a problem with my vocal cords, they're so tight that I can barely speak. Its called Muscle Tension Dysphonia. This is probably down to poor breathing.
I stopped training under the advice of my speech therapist, but I read today that some voice coaches recommend developing your abdominals as they aid in breathing.
So my questions are:
Firstly, how can I train my abdominals to aid my breathing and posture and not just for cosmetic reasons? Would crunches and reverse crunches be enough?
And secondly, how can I do so safely without making myself worse?
If I don't get any replies then I won't do any exercises as I don't want to risk making it worse, but I'm hoping someone can help me understand it a bit better.
Many thanks and kind wishes.
Dan

[y0lked]

Hi guys and girls.
Would be honoured to get your advice.
It's a question on the role that the abdominals play in breathing and posture.
I have a problem with my vocal cords, they're so tight that I can barely speak. Its called Muscle Tension Dysphonia. This is probably down to poor breathing.
I stopped training under the advice of my speech therapist, but I read today that some voice coaches recommend developing your abdominals as they aid in breathing.
So my questions are:
Firstly, how can I train my abdominals to aid my breathing and posture and not just for cosmetic reasons? Would crunches and reverse crunches be enough?
And secondly, how can I do so safely without making myself worse?
If I don't get any replies then I won't do any exercises as I don't want to risk making it worse, but I'm hoping someone can help me understand it a bit better.
Many thanks and kind wishes.
Dan

Hi Dan, unfortunately I do not have any experience with your condition. Therefore, I cannot advise you on an exercise plan for your condition.

I can, however, give you some exercises that will train the muscles you wish you target. I can only tell you that there are a multititude of muscles involved in breathing because it involves the expansion of the ribcage, elevation of the thorax and a depression of the diaphragm in combination of the reverse of those actions.

You can target the rectus abdominus with crunches and "ab" exercises however that is only a few players in breathing. If i were training a healthy athlete's breathing muscles this is how I would do it. Exercise above the vo2max and lactate threshold so that those insportory and expritory muscles are taxed. Once that level of exercise is achieved I would stop exercise and suggest long and deep breaths so that the respiratory muscles are working at a very inneficient level. The body favors short quick breaths in order to compensate during exercise therefore I would prescribe long and hard breaths all the way in and all the way out for as long and as hard as possible. Blowing out as much air as possible and then taking the biggest breaths as possible so long as the athlete can tolerate that training without getting light headed.

Once again, this is not advice I would recommend you do, this is only a hypothetical plan for a healthy athlete who would like to train respiratory muscles. If an athlete were unconditioned I would start with this kind of training at a resting heart rate and work on long and deep breaths and working up to previously said working rates.

[brenthopkins]

2 questions.

1) If I don't rest between sets, does it hinder muscle growth/strength increases long term?
2) I squat 115 for 5 reps 3 sets. Not a lot of weight. It's been 5 days since last workout (on vacation) and my quads are still sore when flexed. It's not really important, but just wondering if that's something bad.

Thanks in advance

[y0lked]

2 questions.

1) If I don't rest between sets, does it hinder muscle growth/strength increases long term?
2) I squat 115 for 5 reps 3 sets. Not a lot of weight. It's been 5 days since last workout (on vacation) and my quads are still sore when flexed. It's not really important, but just wondering if that's something bad.

Thanks in advance

1) Yes, you want to replenish energy stores so that you can do as much weight and reps as possible in order to inflict the most amount of trauma upon the muscle to elicit growth.
2) poor recovery can prolong muscle soreness. poor protein quality and alcohol intake could have a play here. However, muscle soreness is nothing to worry about unless it is ongoing weeks after activity (which would indicate a strain or sprain of some sort)

[TheFray13]

Been wanting to do Rack Pulls for my upper back, when doing fullbody workouts and changing my RDL to Snatch Grip RDL's my upper back blew up. Problem is, I never got to Rack Pull correctly without lower back pain. Mid-shin, below the knee, at the knee, above the knee, everything. Found one where I pulled from about 2 inches above the knee and that felt good, to put into contrast, I could pull 160kg easily with a snatch grip from this position, but 60kg from a lower pin hurts my back instantly. I found out this was due to not being able to load my hamstrings on the movement. With the above the knee one, I could bend my knees more, letting me pull painless.

I'm doing this for mid-upper back hypertrophy and strength by the way, not powerlifting or anything like that. Now, I can pull 130kg RDL's with my back horizontal to the floor and even pausing at my last rep without any discomfort, pain or soreness. No pump, nothing. Yet pulling from the rack always hurts, I can't nail form down and the above the knee version is too tedious to load up and too little ROM for me. Gym doesn't have a lot of plates anways.

When I switched to Snatch Grip RDL's, my best with good form was about 80-90kg's before I hit failure. Given I can pull 130kg with a normal RDL and my upper back soreness back then, I know my hamstrings are way stronger and my upper back still gets the overload. Would it be a good thing to just pull Snatch Grip RDL's for upper back developement? (Lats, Teres Major, Rhomboids, Whole Traps and Spinal Erectors). As I cannot pull from a deadstop on a rack? (Semi Sumo I can because I can load my hamstrings).

Thanks in advance, probably know the answer to my question, just wanted to hear your opinion!

EDIT: I was thinking about accomodating resistance, if I were to perform my Snatch Grip RDL like I would now, I could make it even more upper back focused by adding reverse bands, making the lower portion easier and thus lessening the stress on my low back/hamstrings and putting it on my upper back when locking out. Seems like a great way, FOR ME, to be able to do this lift for MY purpose and goal. Putting some words in caps to accentuate what I want to say, this wouldn't be optimal for the majority of lifters, but in my case, it seems to make the most sense to go about it this way. What do you think?

I've found rack pulls to be a great way to build up your back in a big way.

[MBoux2000]

sure broski fire away!

Thanks and sorry for the late reply.
I'm 17 in three weeks. 5'9 and 168lbs. I've been working out casually for over a year and a half but I've honestly noticed almost no sort of gains whatsoever. I may have gained a bit of strength but I've also gained fat. I was only doing weight machines though and never free weights or compound exercises and I was inconsistent ( taking long breaks sometimes ) do you think this is the reason for my lack of progress?

So I started lifting seriously a month ago. I am not overweight but I have a bit of belly fat. I'd love to lose the bit of belly fat I have and also build a lot of muscle mass. I have a bit of muscle but not a lot. My lifts are really weak as I have some coordination issues but they are getting better. How can I build muscle mass as well as eliminate some of this fat at the same time? There's a pic of me in my profile gallery.

Also I really need help with my deadlift, I can barely lift 145lbs on it and my form is sloppy and I keep trying to correct it and I just can't get it.

I wanted to start doing ICF 5x5 in an effort to get my good lifts up. I really want to build strength and visible muscle and I want to look like I lift. Is this a good program to start out on?

I'm sorry for all the questions but I need someone with your expertise. Thank you.

[MBoux2000]

2 questions.

1) If I don't rest between sets, does it hinder muscle growth/strength increases long term?
2) I squat 115 for 5 reps 3 sets. Not a lot of weight. It's been 5 days since last workout (on vacation) and my quads are still sore when flexed. It's not really important, but just wondering if that's something bad.

Thanks in advance

Don't worry man my quads are still sore after my Monday and Wednesday squat sessions. They get better though!

[Ginaathletic]

This is a very helpful thread! I need to keep coming back to it.

[y0lked]

Thanks and sorry for the late reply.
I'm 17 in three weeks. 5'9 and 168lbs. I've been working out casually for over a year and a half but I've honestly noticed almost no sort of gains whatsoever. I may have gained a bit of strength but I've also gained fat. I was only doing weight machines though and never free weights or compound exercises and I was inconsistent ( taking long breaks sometimes ) do you think this is the reason for my lack of progress?

So I started lifting seriously a month ago. I am not overweight but I have a bit of belly fat. I'd love to lose the bit of belly fat I have and also build a lot of muscle mass. I have a bit of muscle but not a lot. My lifts are really weak as I have some coordination issues but they are getting better. How can I build muscle mass as well as eliminate some of this fat at the same time? There's a pic of me in my profile gallery.

Also I really need help with my deadlift, I can barely lift 145lbs on it and my form is sloppy and I keep trying to correct it and I just can't get it.

I wanted to start doing ICF 5x5 in an effort to get my good lifts up. I really want to build strength and visible muscle and I want to look like I lift. Is this a good program to start out on?

I'm sorry for all the questions but I need someone with your expertise. Thank you.

You want to build mass and loose body fat at the same time? For most people this is nearly impossible....

However, at your age (and the fact that you just started training) you are set up PERFECTLY to build mass quickly and loose belly fat. There are TONS of research studies done showing durastic increases in muscle with loss in body fat with people who just start working out. I will give you the tools you need BUT unless you follow them to a T you will fall short of your goals. The main driving force in anything is dedication, persistance and consistency.

SL 5x5 is great for the intermediate lifter but not great for a beginner. This is one of the biggest misconceptions on this forum and the internet world wide. You need to learn how to lift properly, and to do that you need to do more reps, 10 reps to be exact.

Alternate between workout A and B (2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on 2 days off)
mon- A
Tue- B
Wed- off
Thurs- A
Fri-B
Sat/Sun- off

Workout A:
Squat 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg Extensions 4 sets of 10 reps
Barbell Bench Press 4 sets of 10 reps
DB Shoulder Press 4 sets of 10 reps
Bodyweight dips 3 sets of as many reps as possible
Calf Raises 4 sets of 10 reps

Workout B:
Barbell Rows 4 sets of 10 reps
Lat Pulldown 4 sets of 10 reps
Deadlifts 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg Curls 4 sets of 10 reps
Chin ups 3 sets as many reps as possible
preacher curl machine 4 sets of 10 reps

As for diet, do you think you can be dedicated enough to count calories? Can you be dependent enough not to rely on Mom for every meal and cook your own food? Or are you just going to eat whatever is lying around? This is what it takes to build muscle

3000 calories
100g fat
175g protein
350g carbs

[MBoux2000]

You want to build mass and loose body fat at the same time? For most people this is nearly impossible....

However, at your age (and the fact that you just started training) you are set up PERFECTLY to build mass quickly and loose belly fat. There are TONS of research studies done showing durastic increases in muscle with loss in body fat with people who just start working out. I will give you the tools you need BUT unless you follow them to a T you will fall short of your goals. The main driving force in anything is dedication, persistance and consistency.

SL 5x5 is great for the intermediate lifter but not great for a beginner. This is one of the biggest misconceptions on this forum and the internet world wide. You need to learn how to lift properly, and to do that you need to do more reps, 10 reps to be exact.

Alternate between workout A and B (2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on 2 days off)
mon- A
Tue- B
Wed- off
Thurs- A
Fri-B
Sat/Sun- off

Workout A:
Squat 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg Extensions 4 sets of 10 reps
Barbell Bench Press 4 sets of 10 reps
DB Shoulder Press 4 sets of 10 reps
Bodyweight dips 3 sets of as many reps as possible
Calf Raises 4 sets of 10 reps

Workout B:
Barbell Rows 4 sets of 10 reps
Lat Pulldown 4 sets of 10 reps
Deadlifts 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg Curls 4 sets of 10 reps
Chin ups 3 sets as many reps as possible
preacher curl machine 4 sets of 10 reps

As for diet, do you think you can be dedicated enough to count calories? Can you be dependent enough not to rely on Mom for every meal and cook your own food? Or are you just going to eat whatever is lying around? This is what it takes to build muscle

3000 calories
100g fat
175g protein
350g carbs

Hi. Wow this is quite a bit of info to take in.

I'm not completely sure how many calories I'm getting but I think I must be getting enough because my weight is slowly increasing since I started lifting. Should I be looking for my weight to increase or decrease while lifting though if I'm looking for both muscle gain and fat loss?

Deadlifts 4x10 would be brutal... I am struggling with going past 6-8 reps on them right now. Any tips for mastering deadlift form?

I'm curious, is ICF program not acceptable for building muscle and losing fat? I'm getting my form down good for most of my workouts now. Since I started doing compound lifts a few weeks ago I have certainly noticed a strength increase already, although not any visible mass yet. Is this program you listed specifically going to make me lose fat or how does that work? It sound similar to what I was doing before I chose ICF and I had zero results with things like leg curls and stuff like that.
I am enjoying ICF a lot but if you feel there may be something better than I could consider that, I just want to know if ICF isn't gonna be as effective for me? I do have experience doing sets of 10 reps as I've been doing various exercises for a long time but just haven't been on a plan and rarely did compound lifts until a month ago.

How does the sets of 10 differ from 5x5 other than that there's a few more reps? Will ICF not allow me to build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

I'm sorry for all the questions I'm just trying to find answers. I've never heard of a beginner program suggesting what you are and that's why I'm asking about it.

Hitting my food macros will be no problem whatsoever. I planned to start tracking them anyway to see where I'm at.

[cosm0]

I sent you a private message MBoux2000, hope it helps, its just my opinion.

Hi y0lked,

I was looking to get advice in regards to a long term shoulder injury I have had. The injury persists even when I dont lift for long periods, of even up to a year and ive had this problem for 6-7 years now. I have a pain in my rotator cuff where I find overhead pressing and sometimes squatting leaves a slight dull pain. However, this is something I can train through but it always leaves the same pain. This does not effect my progression, however if I have a heavy pressing session I find that if I move my rotator cuff through its full range of movement it hurts but not badly enough that I can't do the movement.

I am completely unsure of what to do as clearly its permenantly damaged. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[y0lked]

Hi. Wow this is quite a bit of info to take in.

I'm not completely sure how many calories I'm getting but I think I must be getting enough because my weight is slowly increasing since I started lifting. Should I be looking for my weight to increase or decrease while lifting though if I'm looking for both muscle gain and fat loss?

Deadlifts 4x10 would be brutal... I am struggling with going past 6-8 reps on them right now. Any tips for mastering deadlift form?

I'm curious, is ICF program not acceptable for building muscle and losing fat? I'm getting my form down good for most of my workouts now. Since I started doing compound lifts a few weeks ago I have certainly noticed a strength increase already, although not any visible mass yet. Is this program you listed specifically going to make me lose fat or how does that work? It sound similar to what I was doing before I chose ICF and I had zero results with things like leg curls and stuff like that.
I am enjoying ICF a lot but if you feel there may be something better than I could consider that, I just want to know if ICF isn't gonna be as effective for me? I do have experience doing sets of 10 reps as I've been doing various exercises for a long time but just haven't been on a plan and rarely did compound lifts until a month ago.

How does the sets of 10 differ from 5x5 other than that there's a few more reps? Will ICF not allow me to build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

I'm sorry for all the questions I'm just trying to find answers. I've never heard of a beginner program suggesting what you are and that's why I'm asking about it.

Hitting my food macros will be no problem whatsoever. I planned to start tracking them anyway to see where I'm at.

Bro I can totally get into the nitty gritty of the physiology of training if you want to but trust me thats a LONG road lol. Ive trained many individuals from a beginning state just like you, 10 reps is the sweet spot because motor recruitment development is the most vital piece in the equation and 10 reps offers the quickest method for increasing it.

the 5x5 programs are considered "beginner" by powerlifting associations and coaches who consider a 185 bench, 335 deadlift and 275 squat weak an implement the 5x5 program to get them to be stronger. Over time the wrong people started giving advice to true weightlifting novices and the notion of 5x5 for a novice has steered a TON of people wrong. Thats why you are hearing differntly.

Trust me on this man i dedicated 8 years of my life to studying this subject at the university level and implementing the knowledge to adolescent athletes. Im soo glad to hear you can eat the diet and keep the macros, that is one of the biggest parts and most overlooked. You will do great.

Now, go start a training log and post the link back here so i can follow your training and help you get where you want to go. Ill train you personally.

[vizakenjack]

Do you know of any charts/data that would breakdown which muscles are being activated per specific exercises? Like back exercises?

[y0lked]

Do you know of any charts/data that would breakdown which muscles are being activated per specific exercises? Like back exercises?

I am not aware of any, but I will definitely take a look and see what I can find. Every muscle has an action, so if an exercise utilizes that action, that muscle will fire. We have primary movers and secondary movers that are associated with each exercise so getting a list of all 2ndary movers in an exercise would be quite tedious....

Are you just trying to learn more of which muscles are being worked in each exercise? Mind I ask why you are asking lol maybe I can help in some other fashion if I cant find anything.

edit: couldnt find much but maybe this will help you
https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=kraftsport

[MBoux2000]

Bro I can totally get into the nitty gritty of the physiology of training if you want to but trust me thats a LONG road lol. Ive trained many individuals from a beginning state just like you, 10 reps is the sweet spot because motor recruitment development is the most vital piece in the equation and 10 reps offers the quickest method for increasing it.

the 5x5 programs are considered "beginner" by powerlifting associations and coaches who consider a 185 bench, 335 deadlift and 275 squat weak an implement the 5x5 program to get them to be stronger. Over time the wrong people started giving advice to true weightlifting novices and the notion of 5x5 for a novice has steered a TON of people wrong. Thats why you are hearing differntly.

Trust me on this man i dedicated 8 years of my life to studying this subject at the university level and implementing the knowledge to adolescent athletes. Im soo glad to hear you can eat the diet and keep the macros, that is one of the biggest parts and most overlooked. You will do great.

Now, go start a training log and post the link back here so i can follow your training and help you get where you want to go. Ill train you personally.

hey. Thanks for the response. I'm just wary of changing things again specifically because of the fact that I've changed my plans so many times and gotten no results no matter what I've done. The issue with the workout you gave me is it will be really difficult to manage with my work schedule with the 2 days on/ 1 off type thing. I can't workout Tuesday or Thursday cause of my work. All other days I can workout.

So I was wondering if you could suggest a modification here. I really like the exercises in the 5x5 program, and I was wondering if I went for the 4 set 10 rep range on those exercises instead if I'd still do well? I've just gotten so much information from so many different people I'm really confused now. I don't quite understand why the 5x5 programs aren't good? I've talked to people who said it brought them great results.. but if you think your idea can work better than I'm totally up for trying it. I just hope I can see results as I'm sick of working at it like crazy and seeing nothing.

My plan had squats and bench each workout ( 3x a week ) and I really liked that. But again I'm not the expert here and I want your help so I'm willing to listen. I want so badly to build muscle and get stronger. I want to look like I lift.

[kenziiieee]

I have s****osis and my back muscles haven't grown properly, joined the forum to get some help on how to grow my back. If you look in the picture you can clearly see that on the left side of my back the muscles haven't been growing properly. How do i target that area of muscles?

I preferably would like to build with any exercises that use dung bells or are body weight but am open to anything.

Thanks in advance.

[MehSeeee]

In your opinion, would it make sense to hit a muscle group once, with appropriate volume, every session. Opposed to doing 2-3 workouts for the same muscle every workout session (assuming proper nutrition and recovery)?

[y0lked]

hey. Thanks for the response. I'm just wary of changing things again specifically because of the fact that I've changed my plans so many times and gotten no results no matter what I've done. The issue with the workout you gave me is it will be really difficult to manage with my work schedule with the 2 days on/ 1 off type thing. I can't workout Tuesday or Thursday cause of my work. All other days I can workout.

So I was wondering if you could suggest a modification here. I really like the exercises in the 5x5 program, and I was wondering if I went for the 4 set 10 rep range on those exercises instead if I'd still do well? I've just gotten so much information from so many different people I'm really confused now. I don't quite understand why the 5x5 programs aren't good? I've talked to people who said it brought them great results.. but if you think your idea can work better than I'm totally up for trying it. I just hope I can see results as I'm sick of working at it like crazy and seeing nothing.

My plan had squats and bench each workout ( 3x a week ) and I really liked that. But again I'm not the expert here and I want your help so I'm willing to listen. I want so badly to build muscle and get stronger. I want to look like I lift.

Hey man im willing to help you but you really need to put the blinders on here and trust me. Just do the program and eat the diet and when results come you will be happy. I am a professional offering to coach you and help you be the best you can be. Lets get to work

Ok so if you cant workout tuesday and thursday just do it like this
mon- A
Tues- off
Wed- B
Thurs- off
Fri- A
Sat- B
Sun- off

no big deal where the rest days are as long as we dont have you doing two of the same workouts in 3 consecutive days.

[y0lked]

I have s****osis and my back muscles haven't grown properly, joined the forum to get some help on how to grow my back. If you look in the picture you can clearly see that on the left side of my back the muscles haven't been growing properly. How do i target that area of muscles?

I preferably would like to build with any exercises that use dung bells or are body weight but am open to anything.

Thanks in advance.

Dude your left lat is HUGE! I think your perception is off buddy, i cant see an xray but it looks like your spine curves to the right? The thickness you see there is simply the erector spinae stacked on top of each other and bulging out from the spine pressing it up. Your back development looks phenomenal for having s****osis.

I would stay away from anything that loads the spine in a vertical fashion (im assuming you dont squat or deadlift or OHP). Have you considered having surgery to correct it? I have seen loads of people on instagram who have had the corrective surgery and recovered tremendously.

Pullups are probably the #1 exercise I would recommend. Any pulling exercises from above your head down will work every back muscle except the erectors. So any and all variations of the lat pulldown (supinated, pronated and neutral grip)
chest supported rows
also if you get on all 4s and put a single hand cable attached to a pully all the way down and simulate a one handed lat pull down, with your face nearly on the ground, thats a great exercise.
incline db rows

lets communicate more on this subject!

[y0lked]

In your opinion, would it make sense to hit a muscle group once, with appropriate volume, every session. Opposed to doing 2-3 workouts for the same muscle every workout session (assuming proper nutrition and recovery)?

Im not really sure what you mean by your question, maybe you can phrase it a little differently? Are you asking if hitting a muscle more than once a week is better? Or are you asking if doing different kinds of workouts for the same muscle in a week is better?

Until I hear your question ill leave you with this, hopefully it will answer your question. A muscle will respond to a workout for about 72 hours and then protein synthesis for that muscle returns to baseline. If you want to build muscle you should hit each muscle every 72 hours in order to maximize protein synthesis and growth over a weekly basis.

Heres the bad thing about that, people go all out to failure and the end result is increased muscle damage that can take 2 weeks to recover from and CNS fatigue due to failed motor recruitment. And then they start going backwards and get weaker and smaller. In order to take advantage of this 72 hour rule, the workout has to stimulate growth but not annihilate. Straight sets with small doses of overload work best for this. As a result we see upper/lower splits and PPL routines becoming the most popular and effective for mass and strength gains.

[MehSeeee]

Im not really sure what you mean by your question, maybe you can phrase it a little differently? Are you asking if hitting a muscle more than once a week is better? Or are you asking if doing different kinds of workouts for the same muscle in a week is better?

Until I hear your question ill leave you with this, hopefully it will answer your question. A muscle will respond to a workout for about 72 hours and then protein synthesis for that muscle returns to baseline. If you want to build muscle you should hit each muscle every 72 hours in order to maximize protein synthesis and growth over a weekly basis.

Heres the bad thing about that, people go all out to failure and the end result is increased muscle damage that can take 2 weeks to recover from and CNS fatigue due to failed motor recruitment. And then they start going backwards and get weaker and smaller. In order to take advantage of this 72 hour rule, the workout has to stimulate growth but not annihilate. Straight sets with small doses of overload work best for this. As a result we see upper/lower splits and PPL routines becoming the most popular and effective for mass and strength gains.

That's my bad for not phrasing it correctly. I'll try again. So what I'm asking doesn't involve the frequency of my workouts throughout the week. What I'm wondering is when I go to the gym to hit a certain muscle, do I need to do more than one exercise for that muscle? Let's say that I did a triceps exercise that hit all three heads of my triceps. Assuming I did the appropriate volume for that exercise, would I need to go do other triceps exercises during that gym session or would that one exercise be enough?

I ask this because in the gym I will see people hitting the same muscles multiple times using different exercises during one session. I'll see a guy do barbell curls, then dumbbell curls, and then easy bar curls. Or I'll see a guy go from overhead press then to shoulder press. So when I see these people hitting the same muscles with different exercises during their session I have to wonder if what they are doing has some kind of merit to it or if they're just being inefficient? If you can hit a muscle with one exercise, why would you do a different exercise hitting that same muscle immediately after you're done with the first exercise?

[y0lked]

That's my bad for not phrasing it correctly. I'll try again. So what I'm asking doesn't involve the frequency of my workouts throughout the week. What I'm wondering is when I go to the gym to hit a certain muscle, do I need to do more than one exercise for that muscle? Let's say that I did a triceps exercise that hit all three heads of my triceps. Assuming I did the appropriate volume for that exercise, would I need to go do other triceps exercises during that gym session or would that one exercise be enough?

I ask this because in the gym I will see people hitting the same muscles multiple times using different exercises during one session. I'll see a guy do barbell curls, then dumbbell curls, and then easy bar curls. Or I'll see a guy go from overhead press then to shoulder press. So when I see these people hitting the same muscles with different exercises during their session I have to wonder if what they are doing has some kind of merit to it or if they're just being inefficient? If you can hit a muscle with one exercise, why would you do a different exercise hitting that same muscle immediately after you're done with the first exercise?

You're fine bro, just wanted to make sure I knew what you were asking.

Im assuming we are just talking bodybuilding here, if we were talking sport specific training or power lifting this answer would change. The reason why people do a variation of exercises is for a couple reasons:
1) simply for enjoyment- OHP and DB press or BB/DB bench are both the exact same exercise targeting the exact same muscle groups but someone might do both simply because they like the way the movement feels and might go do a DB version for stabiliy purposes or simply for Mind-muscle-connection (motor control) development.
2) to make a certain muscle work harder over another- take preacher curls for example, the bicep is in a position that makes it less efficient therefore it has to work harder to overcome the same amount of resistance. More fatigue=more growth.
3) Joint loading- squats are an exercise where the quads are a primary mover, but so is the exercise leg extensions. By being seated we can remove the muscles associated with hip extension and simply create tension throughout the quads for their entire ROM. This is unachievable because at the top of the squat the quads have the most mechanical advantage and the load is drastically reduced from the quads to the hip extenders.

Now that Ive explained that ill try to directly answer your question:


it depends lol

If you are doing a simple isolation exercise (single joint movement) you wont need to do any other exercise in order to promote growth.
If you only do a compound exercise you may not be placing enough tension on the muscle to promote growth.
Say you want to make the delts grow, and you decide dumbbell press is the only exercise you want to do. Well, you may hit the anterior delt great, but the lateral head of the deltoid is a 2ndary mover and the rear head is actually an antagonist to OHP so you would actually NEED to do more work for those heads of the delt. Likewise if you only do isolations you wont be able to put enough mechanical stress on the muscle. There is a balance, but compounds always first and then isolations second.

rule of thumb: you want to make sure to do at least 1 exercise where the muscle is a primary mover. And that goes for ALL muscles. If you can do it with a compound exercise then great! If not, hit it with an isolation.

if you have any other questions about this just ask, but you seem intelligent so next time you watch someone lift or see a routine online, see if you can spot any weaknesses or overabundance in the training plan.

[MehSeeee]

Thanks! This was really helpful information!

[MBoux2000]

Hey man im willing to help you but you really need to put the blinders on here and trust me. Just do the program and eat the diet and when results come you will be happy. I am a professional offering to coach you and help you be the best you can be. Lets get to work

Ok so if you cant workout tuesday and thursday just do it like this
mon- A
Tues- off
Wed- B
Thurs- off
Fri- A
Sat- B
Sun- off

no big deal where the rest days are as long as we dont have you doing two of the same workouts in 3 consecutive days.

Hi. I'm sorry I missed this post and didn't see it earlier.

The reason I'm wary of making so many changes is because I've tried a million things before and never managed to get any sort of results.... It's honestly like my body is immune to getting results, that's what it feels like.

The plan you suggested to me looks fairly good but how would I progress using it? How and when would I increase weights? Will the ICF program not get me any results? The only reason I'm a bit skeptical is cause I've never seen something similar to your plan posted anywhere else before.

The thing I like about your plan is it would allow me to workout 4 days a week instead of 3. But I did a whole bunch of 10 rep 4 set movements for the longest time and I honestly noticed 0 results. And I don't know what I was doing wrong.

How do I know this is going to make a difference when literally everything I've done before with 10 reps did nothing for me.... I want both hypertrophy and strength gains. But I did realize that using your plan overall I'll be doing more reps of squats and bench press overall than I'd be doing on the ICF plan.

I've always been told that the preacher curl machine does not build muscle at all because it's using a set range of motion, and I also found it very uncomfortable too. Can I do a barbell bicep curl?

I'm sorry for all the doubts, I just want to make sure what I'm doing is actually gonna work. I have personal trainers suggest bad things and programs all the time to me.... I want to do what your suggesting but if you could clear up some of these doubts for my peace of mind I would really appreciate it. How is the more reps thing gonna help me as opposed to 5x5? Will this program build strength and muscle? I almost never hear of body builders and strength trainers going to 10 reps, and that's the exact thing that did nothing for me before.

And no matter how many bicep and triceps workouts I do my arms never get bigger either.

I also have a bit of belly fat and I don't know if I'll ever see my abs unless I can get rid of it, which is pretty much impossible while bulking to build muscle. I feel so frustrated and discouraged.

[y0lked]

Hi. I'm sorry I missed this post and didn't see it earlier.

The reason I'm wary of making so many changes is because I've tried a million things before and never managed to get any sort of results.... It's honestly like my body is immune to getting results, that's what it feels like.

The plan you suggested to me looks fairly good but how would I progress using it? How and when would I increase weights? Will the ICF program not get me any results? The only reason I'm a bit skeptical is cause I've never seen something similar to your plan posted anywhere else before.

The thing I like about your plan is it would allow me to workout 4 days a week instead of 3. But I did a whole bunch of 10 rep 4 set movements for the longest time and I honestly noticed 0 results. And I don't know what I was doing wrong.

How do I know this is going to make a difference when literally everything I've done before with 10 reps did nothing for me.... I want both hypertrophy and strength gains. But I did realize that using your plan overall I'll be doing more reps of squats and bench press overall than I'd be doing on the ICF plan.

I've always been told that the preacher curl machine does not build muscle at all because it's using a set range of motion, and I also found it very uncomfortable too. Can I do a barbell bicep curl?

I'm sorry for all the doubts, I just want to make sure what I'm doing is actually gonna work. I have personal trainers suggest bad things and programs all the time to me.... I want to do what your suggesting but if you could clear up some of these doubts for my peace of mind I would really appreciate it. How is the more reps thing gonna help me as opposed to 5x5? Will this program build strength and muscle? I almost never hear of body builders and strength trainers going to 10 reps, and that's the exact thing that did nothing for me before.

And no matter how many bicep and triceps workouts I do my arms never get bigger either.

I also have a bit of belly fat and I don't know if I'll ever see my abs unless I can get rid of it, which is pretty much impossible while bulking to build muscle. I feel so frustrated and discouraged.

Get a little spiral notebook, something small enough to fit in a bag and not obnoxious lol and keep track of your weights. Keeping a log will help you remember what you did the week before and how much to increase when the weight starts to feel light. Your number one goal right now is to develop some confidence. So get on this routine and start doing sets you can accomplish. Write them down and then next workout see if you can beat the previous workout by one increment (5lbs per side on DB abd BBs). Increase weight when you feel the confidence to do so by not going to failure and by actually getting some work done. Dont be afraid to get a spotter. Better yet, bring a friend!

Beginners cannot recruit all their muscle fibers in 10 reps none the less 5 reps. 10 reps will deliver the most adaptations to type 1 muscle fibers (growth) and will build reputable motor control to build a base. 5 reps is too heavy and not enough volume to stimulate growth. Most beginners usually just tire out their CNS and cannot tax the muscle with a 5 rep scheme.

You WILL grow but remember this is a marathon not a race. I was your size when I first started out with similar stats. I didnt get to where im at overnight. Unless youre willing to put in the work weightlifting just isnt for you. There are no shortcuts, so if youre looking for the fastest way to grow you better stop questioning everything and start listening to advice and getting to work.

Do you think that this thread would be stickies if I was spewing bull chit? Do you see any MODS around here making sure im not pointing people in the wrong direction?

If you dont trust my advice then go spin your wheels somewhere else. There are thousands of misleading articles elsewhere on the internet you can be dabbling in.

[MBoux2000]

Get a little spiral notebook, something small enough to fit in a bag and not obnoxious lol and keep track of your weights. Keeping a log will help you remember what you did the week before and how much to increase when the weight starts to feel light. Your number one goal right now is to develop some confidence. So get on this routine and start doing sets you can accomplish. Write them down and then next workout see if you can beat the previous workout by one increment (5lbs per side on DB abd BBs). Increase weight when you feel the confidence to do so by not going to failure and by actually getting some work done. Dont be afraid to get a spotter. Better yet, bring a friend!

Beginners cannot recruit all their muscle fibers in 10 reps none the less 5 reps. 10 reps will deliver the most adaptations to type 1 muscle fibers (growth) and will build reputable motor control to build a base. 5 reps is too heavy and not enough volume to stimulate growth. Most beginners usually just tire out their CNS and cannot tax the muscle with a 5 rep scheme.

You WILL grow but remember this is a marathon not a race. I was your size when I first started out with similar stats. I didnt get to where im at overnight. Unless youre willing to put in the work weightlifting just isnt for you. There are no shortcuts, so if youre looking for the fastest way to grow you better stop questioning everything and start listening to advice and getting to work.

Do you think that this thread would be stickies if I was spewing bull chit? Do you see any MODS around here making sure im not pointing people in the wrong direction?

If you dont trust my advice then go spin your wheels somewhere else. There are thousands of misleading articles elsewhere on the internet you can be dabbling in.

ok but then I don't understand why I got to absolutely nowhere before when I was doing 4x10 sets. Is there a reason that none of the beginner programs recommend doing 4x10 sets? I've been trying for almost 2 years and I honestly look like I don't even lift at all... because I've always been told that more weight and less reps is a good thing to do to build strength. Is there a reason I didn't see any results at all when doing a similar thing before? I read your post about upper/lower splits and PPL routines being a good thing. I know nothing about PPL but I tried to do an upper/lower split for a while back and that's where I noticed nothing happening.

Can I do Curls using a barbell rather than the preacher curl machine? I find that machine very uncomfortable.

It's not that I don't have patience, I've been trying for almost 2 years and literally look like I've never lifted a weight in my life. That's incredibly discouraging. Especially since there are people just starting out that are miles stronger than me. I don't know what the problem is.

Are the 5x5's not good? Because I see everybody in the forum recommending full body routines for beginners. But if this is better I'll do it. Whatever it takes to build some muscle and strength.

[kenziiieee]

Dude your left lat is HUGE! I think your perception is off buddy, i cant see an xray but it looks like your spine curves to the right? The thickness you see there is simply the erector spinae stacked on top of each other and bulging out from the spine pressing it up. Your back development looks phenomenal for having s****osis.

I would stay away from anything that loads the spine in a vertical fashion (im assuming you dont squat or deadlift or OHP). Have you considered having surgery to correct it? I have seen loads of people on instagram who have had the corrective surgery and recovered tremendously.

Pullups are probably the #1 exercise I would recommend. Any pulling exercises from above your head down will work every back muscle except the erectors. So any and all variations of the lat pulldown (supinated, pronated and neutral grip)
chest supported rows
also if you get on all 4s and put a single hand cable attached to a pully all the way down and simulate a one handed lat pull down, with your face nearly on the ground, thats a great exercise.
incline db rows

lets communicate more on this subject!

Hahaha well thats good to hear! Back is a funny subject for me since mine has been developing this whole time without me knowing really ive not been paying attention. So ill now cover a couple things about my back its physical condition and abilities and then my goal a bit more to help you understand a bit more.

Firstly yes my spine does curve to the right slightly, compared to how bad the condition could be mine is fairly minimal. It causes me to naturally stand slightly leaning to the left, doctors told me my spine will never be straight which is fine but they also said to keep on top of training either my back but more my abs to help support my back as well. I can do A LOT more than most people expect physically, in fact i can do just about every activity you normies could do . My weaknesses are long periods of standing and manual work they get my spine and back going. I cant do surgery doctors have told me that they wont do it unless it affects my breathing normally, the only time it affects my breathing is when im stood in Orthodox stance when boxing, only slightly though. And i also think i have asthma (going to clarify this in a few weeks been needing to go to doctors for a while).

Secondly I can squat, had to loads when training and do a few squats with 30 pound weights (dung bells). My weakness in actual training however is sit-ups, i can do loads but they are slow and take a lot of effort to do.

Lastly OMG :O, my left side is normal and my right side is not? I've never even noticed that i thought it was the complete opposite and both sides should look like the right side, thats why i thought that the left side was under developed. I dont even know what to say haha

[y0lked]

Hahaha well thats good to hear! Back is a funny subject for me since mine has been developing this whole time without me knowing really ive not been paying attention. So ill now cover a couple things about my back its physical condition and abilities and then my goal a bit more to help you understand a bit more.

Firstly yes my spine does curve to the right slightly, compared to how bad the condition could be mine is fairly minimal. It causes me to naturally stand slightly leaning to the left, doctors told me my spine will never be straight which is fine but they also said to keep on top of training either my back but more my abs to help support my back as well. I can do A LOT more than most people expect physically, in fact i can do just about every activity you normies could do . My weaknesses are long periods of standing and manual work they get my spine and back going. I cant do surgery doctors have told me that they wont do it unless it affects my breathing normally, the only time it affects my breathing is when im stood in Orthodox stance when boxing, only slightly though. And i also think i have asthma (going to clarify this in a few weeks been needing to go to doctors for a while).

Secondly I can squat, had to loads when training and do a few squats with 30 pound weights (dung bells). My weakness in actual training however is sit-ups, i can do loads but they are slow and take a lot of effort to do.

Lastly OMG :O, my left side is normal and my right side is not? I've never even noticed that i thought it was the complete opposite and both sides should look like the right side, thats why i thought that the left side was under developed. I dont even know what to say haha

Game changer!!!! Color me impressed big dog! Im actually not surprised you have great back development now since you saying its sudden onset haha!!! Keep doing what youre doing then , I see no reason to back off anything that you dont feel like you can't handle. Is your age correct? 47? lol

[sandmaz]

Hey man , i wanna ask about what arnold says about his sleep , he sleep only for six hours , and he say it was enough for him when he was still active as bodybuilder , he train 6 hours a day , is six hours sleep really enough time for body to recover ? Not 8 hours sleep