Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Skull Crushers (or lying French presses) are probably my favorite triceps exercise (definitely the one with the coolest name, at least) and one of the best ways to pump up your tri’s. You can do these with a straight barbell or the E-Z curl (cambered) bar, but the E-Z curl is definitely easier on your wrists. For me, I seem to “feel” French presses better when I use the E-Z curl bar, but try them both out and see what you think. Try to lift as heavy as you can when performing skull crushers, but (as usual) not so heavy that you go out of form. Perform the movement slowly and smoothly, focusing on feeling the contraction in your triceps. I like to pause a bit at the top and bottom of each rep (at the bottom to feel the stretch in my tri’s, at the top to give the little buggers a firm squeeze). Triceps are great because you can definitely “feel the burn” when they’re worked correctly. Do this one right and fry those babies.

Performance: Lie faceup on a weight bench, holding a barbell or an E-Z Curl bar at arms’ length above you. Keeping your upper arms stable and hinging just at your elbows, slowly bring the bar down in an arc towards your forehead, then return to the starting position. If possible, use a spotter for safety so this exercise doesn’t live up to its skull-crushing nickname.

Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis is on the inner and medial heads of the tricep

Tricep pressdowns are another fundamental movement in your triceps routine. They can be done with a straight bar attachment, a V-bar attachment, or a rope attachment. I find the rope attachment to be more difficult as it requires you to add a bit more stabilization when performing the exercise, so pop on the rope if you want an extra challenge. Once again, form and focus is crucial here. I see many people (usually because they are trying to move too much weight) flare their elbows out to the side and turn the tricep pressdown into some sort of inverted bench pressing movement (it looks like they’re pressing down on the plunger of one of those cartoon dynamite detonators lol). To prevent this error in form (which will work your shoulders and chest more than your triceps), be sure to keep your elbows tight at your side and press your hands down in an arc, not straight up and down to the floor. Focus on contracting your triceps and feel the burn.

Muscle Emphasis: outer head of the triceps brachii, secondary emphasis is placed on the medial and innder heads.

Rows of any sort are great for adding thickness to your lats. They also target other muscles such as the trapezius and upper back. The bent-over barbell row is a particularly good mass-builder and should definitely be included in your back routine. Varying your grip on the barbell targets different areas of your back. An overhand grip (palms facing you) stresses the middle and upper lats as well as the trapezius and upper back. A reverse grip (palms facing away from you) targets the lower lats. If your back is weak, you may want to start out doing bent-over barbell rows on a Smith machine to make things easier. Make sure the machine allows you to lower the bar to full extension so you get a nice stretch in your lats at the bottom of each rep. If you aren’t getting a good enough stretch, try standing on an aerobic step (or something similar) to raise yourself off the ground. Eventually, work your way up to performing bent-over barbell rows without a Smith machine; you’ll get a much better workout if you do.

Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis is on the latissimus dorsi, secondary stress is placed on the arms, traps, erectors, delts.

In effect, pullups are another form of lat pulldown. Instead of pulling the bar down, you’re pulling your body up. Once again, form is paramount here. Try to keep your hands and your body in the same vertical plane (the tendency is to arch your back outward when the going gets tough). Vary your grip (from narrow to wide and everything in between) to hit your lats from a variety of directions. The closer your grip, the lower the emphasis on the lats; a wider grip focuses more on the upper lats. Reverse grip tends to put more stress on the biceps. Be sure to focus on contracting your back muscles for each rep, and let yourself get a good lat stretch at the bottom of each rep (yes this makes it harder, that’s the point!). This will give you a better and stronger contraction when you pull yourself up.

Lat Pulldowns are the quintessential exercise for adding width to your lats. These will help you create the flared “winged” appearance bodybuilders possess when viewed from behind. This, along with well-developed delts (shoulders), also has the added benefit of making your waist seem smaller than it actually is. Lat pulldowns (as with most back exercises) also target your biceps to some degree and upper back muscles are incorporated as well. Despite the fact that nearly everyone knows that lat pulldowns are a good exercise for developing your back, this movement seems to be one of the most poorly executed form-wise (at least among gym-goers I’ve observed). The key to the lat pulldown (described fully below) is keeping your back straight throughout the movement. Many people lean back (often because they’re trying to pull down much too heavy of a weight) and this turns the movement into more of a row, a different exercise all together. So, be cognizant of keeping your back erect through every rep. When you pull the bar down, it also helps to focus on contracting your back muscles, as opposed to just letting your arms do all the work. Varying your grip on the bar (from close to wide and reverse to overhand) will hit your lats from different directions for full back development. The closer your grip, the lower the emphasis on the lats; a wider grip focuses more on the upper lats. Reverse grip tends to put more stress on the biceps in addition to the lats.

Muscle Emphasis: latissimus dorsi, posterior delts, biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors

Hammer (the name comes from the grip you use when performing them) curls are a great way to strengthen your wrists and build up your forearms, in addition to targeting the brachialis part of your bicep, so they’re a great addition to any biceps routine. If you’d like to strengthen your wrists and forearms, but don’t have the time or the inclination to set aside time specifically for wrist/forearm training, hammer curls are a good exercise to drop into your biceps routine. You can perform hammer curls seated or standing, one arm at a time, alternating, or both arms together. Another variation are To-The-Front Hammer Curls in which you curl the weight across the front of your body as opposed to the normal upwards arc of a typical curl.

Performance: Stand (or sit) with your back erect, holding two dumbbells in a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Keeping your elbow and upper arm stationary, slowly curl one (or both) of the dumbbells towards your shoulder without turning your wrists. Pause and squeeze at the top of the rep, then slowly lower to the starting position and repeat. To perform To-The-Front Hammer Curls, assume the same start position,then curl one of the dumbbells (you’ll have to do this version one arm at a time for obvious reasons) in front of your chest without twisting or bending your wrists. As you reach the top of the rep, lean slightly into the dumbbell to ensure that your arm and the weight clear your body. Squeeze the muscle hard, then lower the weight slowly and repeat with the other arm.

Muscle Emphasis: brachialis, forearm flexors

Concentration curls are *the* exercise for adding peaks to your biceps. I recommend putting them at the end of your workout to put that final pump into your guns. There are a couple of variations to concentration curls; you can do them either seated or standing. You can also use a cable stack with a D-handle and pulley as opposed to a dumbbell. I prefer the standing version (described fully below) because 1) I saw Arnold doing them in Pumping Iron and 2) I really feel the burn in my bi’s when I do concentration curls this way. I also prefer *not* to twist my wrist from a neutral to supinated grip, but you should experiment with both ways to see what you like best.

Performance:

Standing Version: Grasp a dumbbell in one hand and place the other on either a dumbbell rack, high bench, or your own thigh for support. Bend over and brace your torso at roughly a 45 degree angle to the floor. Hang your weighted arm straight down to the floor. The key here is to keep your elbow and upper arm immobile during this exercise so that all of the work is being done by your bicep muscle. Keeping that in mind, slowly curl the dumbbell upward, squeeze your bicep tightly at the top, and then return the weight to a position slightly higher than the starting position to keep your biceps under continuous pressure. Repeat for reps.

Seated Version: Grab a dumbbell, sit at the end of a workout bench with legs slightly spread, and place your elbow against your inner thigh. Let your arm hang straight down. Slowly curl the weight upward as you exhale, squeeze your bicep hard at the top of the rep and then lower the weight in a slow controlled movement to a little short of the strarting position (this will help to keep your biceps under constant tension). You can use a palms up grip throughout or turn your wrist from a neutral to a palms up grip as you complete each rep.

(As mentioned, low cables may also be utilized to perform concentration curls).

Muscle Emphasis: entire bicep, especially the center peak

Incline dumbbell curls are similar to seated dumbbell curls only this time, you will be using a incline bench to perform the exercise. This causes a nice “stretch” of the biceps at the bottom of each repetition and leads to a stronger contraction in the lifting part of each rep. Try putting the bench at various angles (30, 45, and 60 degrees, etc.) to hit your biceps from multiple angles and really fry them. You can change the angle of the bench from set to set or from workout to workout to keep things fresh. Add incline dumbbell curls to your routine for more complete bicep development.

Performance: Set an incline bench to your angle of choice. Lie back on the bench while grasping a dumbbell in each hand using a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders. Keep your elbow and upper arm still, slowly curl the weight upward, turning your hand as you lift so your palm faces your shoulder by the end of the rep. This helps to hit the bicep from multiple angles throughout the course of each rep. Pause and squeeze the bicep at the top of the motion, then slowly lower the weight to the starting position. You should feel a nice stretch in your biceps at the bottom of the rep. Repeat with your other hand if performing alternating curls; you can also perform this same movement with both arms at the same time.

Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis on the bicep, secondary stress on the brachialis and forearm flexors

Seated dumbbell curls are identical to standing dumbbell curls except you are seated while performing them. The seated position allows you to further isolate the biceps muscles and helps remove the tendency to use your back to lift the weight up. To make things harder and put even more focus on your biceps, keep your legs/knees close together while performing the exercise. Then, if you try to incorporate your back to help your biceps, you’ll have the tendency to tip over. I like to do these in alternating fashion (one rep/one arm back and forth), but you can also perform seated dumbbell curls using both arms at the same time or even unilaterally (finish all of your reps for one arm and then move on to the other one to finish your set).

Performance: Sit at the end of a flat or upright bench with your arms fully extended and a dumbbell in each hand (neutral grip). Slowly curl one (or both) of the weights upward toward your shoulder, supinating your wrist as you do so (your palm should be facing your shoulder at the top of each rep). After you fully contract the biceps, squeeze at the top, then slowly return the weight to the starting position, keeping tension on the biceps throughout. Focus on keeping your elbows and upper arms stationary throughout the exercise which will eliminate any unwanted help from other muscle groups (shoulders, etc.).

Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis on the bicep, secondary stress on the brachialis and forearm flexors

Dumbbell movements allow you to more effectively isolate the muscle being worked. Conversely, most dumbbell movements also require the incorporation of various stabilizer muscles which typically makes exercises with dumbbells more difficult to perform. Standing dumbbell curls are a particular favorite of mine because not only do they allow you to really focus on the bicep of each arm and squeeze it to death, twisting the wrist through the movement also allows you to go from a neutral grip (palm facing your hip/thigh, bottom of the rep) to a supinated grip (palm facing front of your body, top of the rep). This fuller range of motion more effectively stresses every fiber of the bicep muscle.

Performance: Stand erect while holding two dumbbells at your side, palms facing inward. Keeping your wrists aligned with your forearms and your upper arm stationary, curl one (or both) weights toward your shoulder. Pause and squeeze your bicep at the top, then slowly return to the starting position, and repeat for reps.

Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis on the bicep, secondary stress on the brachialis and forearm flexors