Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

The pre-exhaust technique involves working a muscle group using an isolation move before before moving on to a heavier compound joint exercise. This goes against a basic rule of beginning bodybuilding which tells us that a good rule of thumb is to perform heavy multi-joint exercises first, then move on to the lighter isolation moves. There is a method to the madness though. The pre-exhaust technique allows us to fatigue the targeted muscle group so that when we perform the heavier compound joint movement, the targeted muscle will be the first to fail as opposed to the secondary accessory that are used in the exercise.

Let’s look, for example, at using the pre-exhaust principle for chest. To isolate the chest muscle, we’ll start off with a move that eliminates the accessory muscles often used in chest moves like the triceps and shoulders. Pectoral flyes are a good choice (I like to do these on the pec-deck machine for pre-exhaust work, but dumbbells work fine too). Once you’ve finished your flye sets, move on to a heavy compound lift like incline or flat bench barbell presses. Because you’ve already pre-fatigued your chest with the flyes, your chest should give out before your triceps and shoulders, thus ensuring a complete workout of the pectoral region. Often, in chest and back work, you may find some of the accessory muscles involved in the movement (triceps and biceps respectively) giving out before the larger muscle you’re trying to target does. The pre-exhaust technique is a way around this problem and a great way of busting through plateaus to boot. Give it a try!

Here are some other examples of pre-exhaust movements for various other bodyparts:

Back: Pre-exhaust with Straight-arm Pulldowns or Machine Pullovers, then move to Lat Pulldowns or Barbell Rows

Legs: Pre-exhaust with Leg Extensions or Leg Curls, then move to Squats or Leg Presses

Biceps: Pre-exhaust with Concentratrion Curls, then move to Barbell Curls

Triceps: Pre-exhaust with Dumbbell Kickbacks, then move to Skull Crushers

Shoulders: Pre-exhaust with Lateral Raises or Front Raises, then move to Shoulder Presses

Note: I recommend beginners avoid using pre-exhaust in their routines as it could possibly lead to overtraining. Intermediate lifters can use the technique, but should be careful of how frequently they employ it in their routines. Using it every workout can lead to overtraining.

When I first started chest training, one of the things that eluded me was the defined line of muscle on the outer pecs that runs from the bottom of your sternum up to the armpit. Decline flyes, when performed either with dumbbells or using a cable apparatus, are the best exercise for bringing this part of your pectorals up to speed. It takes a bit of time to get the technique down, but once you do, the results are well worth it. Check it out.

Performance: Set a decline bench to a 30-45 degree angle. Choose a relatively light weight to get used to the movement, eventually you’ll want to work up to a weight that allows you to perform 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps. Grasp the dumbbells and lay back on the decline bench (you may find it easier to have a spotter hand you the dumbbells, but you can also place them on your thighs and roll down if a spotter is not available). Start out with your arms extended directly above you and the dumbbells in a neutral grip, hands about shoulder-width apart and elbows bent very slightly. Rotate your thumbs outward about 90 degrees so the heels of your hands angle toward each other. At this point, you should focus on feeling the squeeze in the outer portion of your pecs. To begin a rep, lower the weights slowly toward the floor, leading with your elbows. Concentrate on feeling a stretch in your chest. At the bottom of the movement, pause for a moment, then contract your outer pecs to drive the weights back up. Stop when your hands reach the starting position (the heels of your hands should still be angled toward each other, elbows still slightly bent) and squeeze your pecs hard, then go directly into the next rep.

Emphasis: outer portion of the pectorals

The leg press is an excellent mass builder for legs that is somewhat similar to the squat. One difference is that the leg press totally isolates the lower body while the squat also requires you to stabilize your torso throughout the squatting movement.

Performance: Start the exercise with your feet shoulder-width apart in the center of the footplate. Unrack the weight and slowly lower it, bringing your knees toward your chest. Stop just before your hips curl off the pad. Your lower back should be pressed firmly against the seat’s backpad throughout the entire movement. Pause a moment, then press through your heels to bring the weight back to the starting position. Repeat for reps.

Muscle Emphasis: quadriceps and glutes

Close-Grip Bench Press - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 10, 12
Tricep Pressdowns - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 12, 12, 15
Reverse-Grip Bench Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 8, 10, 12
Overhead Dumbbell Extension - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 8, 8, 10, 10

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Performance: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and take an overhand grip on a barbell. Your hands should also be a shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees slightly. Keeping the bar close to the body, lift the bar up until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Lower the bar under control to full elbow extension. Repeat for reps. This exercise can also be performed using a bar attached to a low pulley on a cable apparatus.

Muscle Emphasis: anterior, middle and posterior deltoids; secondary stress on upper trapezius

This workout targets the long (outer) head of the biceps muscle.

Incline Dumbbell Curls: - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 6, 12, 12
Close-Grip Barbell Curls: - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 10, 12
Standing Cable Curls: - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 6, 8, 12, 12
Hammer Curls: - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10, 8, 6

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

Performance: Adjust the chest press machine so that the handles line up with your mid to upper chest. Sit erect in the seat and grasp the handles with an overhand grip. Press the handles straight out in front of you. Extend your arms fully but in order to keep continuous pressure on the muscles, do not lock them out. Pause for a moment, feeling the contraction in your chest, then slowly bring your hands back toward your chest. Do not let the weights touch the stack. Since the handles of the machine can be lowered past the plane of your chest, you can get a nice stretch in your pecs from this exercise however, be careful not to allow the handles to overstretch your shoulders when returning to the starting position.

Muscle Emphasis: pectorals, anterior deltoids, tricpes; secondary stress is on the medial heads of the deltoids, the latissimus dorsi, and the upper back muscles

Barbell Front Raise - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 10, 8
Reverse-Grip Smith Machine Press - 4 sets; Rep Scheme: 12, 10, 8 , 6
Upright Cable Row - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10-12 reps per set
(compound set with)
Dumbbell Lateral Raise - 3 sets; Rep Scheme: 10-12 reps per set

Rest time between sets: 1-2 minutes
Be sure to do 1-2 warmup sets or 5-10 minutes of cardio (or both) before beginning the first exercise.

What you ingest before and immediately after workouts is extremely important. Here are some useful supplements I recommend taking pre- and post-workout.

Before workouts:
20 grams of whey protein
3-5 grams of creatine
5-10 grams of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs)
3-5 grams of arginine
3-5 grams of glutamine
40 grams of slow-burning carbs

Immediately after workouts:
20-40 grams of whey protein
3-5 grams of creatine
3-5 grams of glutamine
5-10 grams of branched chain amino aceds (BCAAs)
60-100 grams of fast-burning carbs

I like to perform dumbbell kickbacks late in my triceps workout, after my heavier moves like skull crushers or tricep pressdowns. They’re a great isolation move that can really fry the triceps.

Performance: Grasp a dumbbell and put one knee up on a weight bench. Bend over until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor and place the hand of your non-working arm on the bench for support. Pin your working arm to your side so that your upper arm is parallel to the floor. Bend your arm at a right angle. This is your starting position. From here, slowly straighten your arm, hold the contraction at the top of the movement for a moment, then lower back to the starting position and reapeat for reps.

Muscle Emphasis: outer and medial head of the triceps