Grow That Muscle: Build A Quality Body

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Basketball-sized Shoulders: Here’s how to get ’em

So, you want boulder shoulders huh? You press, you flail, you lateral raise and still nothing. “Where’s my shoulders??” you scream. You want bigger, boulder shoulders? This is your guide to bigger and wider shoulders with the best shoulder workouts. Keep reading.

Let’s take it back to basics.

Your shoulder is comprised of 3 “heads”. Just like your triceps have three, and biceps two, you shoulder has three different heads. There’s the front delt (used in many pressing movements), side or lateral delt (used in lateral raises) and the rear delt (used in many back exercises).

Shoulder muscle anatomy

Best Shoulder Exercises

Barbell Shoulder Press

Oh baby. Nothing else makes you feel like a monster than lifting some heavy-ass weight over your head.

The barbell shoulder press is a mass-building exercise that you need in your program if you want big shoulders. Nothing says “that guy lifts” than huge basketball-sized shoulders.

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Effective Workouts for Seniors and Older Adults

Age is just a number, isn’t it? As you age, your joints and muscles become more brittle and more prone to injury. What’s the best course of action? Exercise of course! Exercise (and movement in general) will help lubricate your joints and help with joint-related pain.

As you age, cartilage naturally deteriorates. Bone mass also decreases, increasing the risk of breakage. It’s a natural process of life that happens to all adults as they age. Muscle mass decreases which also results in reduced strength.

In this article I’ll go over the common issues you’ll have as you age and the best workouts to help improve mobility and overall strength. Just because you’re aging doesn’t mean you have to feel like it either!

What is cartilage and why do I care?

Cartilage is the connection tissue used for joints. Without cartilage, your joints would be bone to bone and be very painful. Cartilage is made up of synovial fluid and water.

As you add load to a joint (let’s say your knees during a back squat), the fluid stored within cartilage is redistributed as to cushion the weight (as you lower and raise the barbell). This helps “soften the blow” and allows more fluid (hehe) movement.

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Best Tricep Stretches For The Gym To Avoid Injury

We’ve all been there: you get so pumped up going to the gym you don’t properly stretch and you end up injuring yourself. You say “next time I’ll stretch more!”. But you don’t.

Chances are if you’re working your triceps, you’re moving some heavy ass weight. And when you injure yourself moving heavy ass weight, the results aren’t good. Stretching your muscles prior to warm-up is crucial in preventing injury, increasing range of motion and mental focus. Start your workout with these easy and effective tricep stretches.

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Your Guide To Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises: Grow Without Equipment

You’re at home with no equipment and you want to work out; what do you do? No matter where you are, bodyweight workouts are your best friend. Today  I’ll go over the best upper body bodyweight exercises so you can still get a pump in when you’re away from the gym.

 

Bodyweight exercises also can be classified as callisthenics, are exercises that use your own bodyweight. Meaning no external equipment, just you and your limbs. While you’re not going to look like Arnold after doing a few sets of dips, it’s still going to stimulate your muscles.

 

Bodyweight exercises can be performed anywhere, whether you’re travelling or just sitting at home. Since these exercises require no tools or equipment, you can increase the difficulty easily depending on your skill level.

 

Chest

 

Gold standard: Push ups

 

Push ups are the go-to exercise to working your chest with no equipment. Like the bench press, push ups work your shoulders, triceps and chest muscles.

 

Tips: Keep your legs straight and brace your core. Your body should be tight and rigid, don’t lose form as you complete a push up!

 

Variation: Stretch Push Ups

 

Stretch push ups are a modified push up with an increased range of motion. Start by getting yourself in a normal push up position. Now put your hands away from your body, approximately one foot from where your hands would normally be. Another way to perform a stretch push up is by having your hands elevated.

You can see that from the start the stretch push up puts tension on your chest. From the stretched position, you stretch out your chest, even more, recruiting more muscle fibers.

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What are Rack Pulls and How Effective Are They? Gain Back Mass

Lower back exercises are constantly neglected, so you end up with a weak back because you don’t do any. How do you fix it? Rack pulls are the answer.

What The Hell Are Rack Pulls?

You’ve probably seen guys do rack pulls at the gym but you may have thought they were doing barbells rows funny. I don’t find it’s a very popular exercise in of itself, but it’s definitely effective.

In short, rack pulls are a modified deadlift with a limited range of motion.

Rack pulls are performed in a rack (duh). The bar is set on the safety guides at about knee height, depending on how deep you want the range of motion.

Rack pulls are effective at really working your lower back since you’re not limited by leg strength like deadlifts. This way you can target your lower optimally, without relying on your quads or hamstrings.

How Are Rack Pulls Different Than Deadlifts?

When you deadlift, whatever grip it may be, the bar is set on the ground. In some instances, you can step on a platform or plate to increase the range of motion of the deadlift.

As you straighten up with a deadlift you metaphorically push your feet through the floor, using the strength of your legs and back to raise the weight.

Now for rack pulls, the barbell is resting on the safety guides of the rack. For most, the safety is set to around knee height. If it’s too low, you’re just doing a deadlift and if it’s too high, the range of motion will be too short.

Just like a deadlift, you want to hinge your hips as you complete the exercise. Since your legs will be left out of the equation, your lower back will be constantly worked during the exercise.

Since the range of motion is shortened, you can overload the weight on rack pulls. Having said that, if you have a sensitive or weak lower back, this will be the last thing you want to do. Warm-up with a lighter exercise such as hyperextensions, with or without additional weight, before you jump into rack pulls. This will reduce the chance of injury by literally warming up the muscle.

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