Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Named after The Oak himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold Presses are a great delt exercise. They’re very similar to typical overhead dumbbell presses but with a slight twist (literally).

First, grab two dumbbells and sit down on a low chair or flat bench. Start out with the weights at shoulder level and your palms facing in toward your body. The position is very similar to the top position when doing dumbbell curls. From there, using a smooth motion, press the weights upward in an arc over your head, rotating your wrists outward as you do so. By the time you are halfway through the movement your elbows should be pointing away from your body. The top position should find your arms overhead, weights close together or slightly touching, and your palms facing out away from your body. Next, reverse the motion, lowering the weigths back down to shoulder level and rotating your wrists in so you are once again at the starting position for the exercise. I’d recommend that you start out using slightly lighter weights than normal overhead dumbbell presses to give yourself a chance to get used the motion of the exercise. You can also perform these from a standing position if you like. This is a fantastic exercise for isolating the delts and with Arnold as your guide you can’t go wrong =)

I was very partial to this exercise when I first started training. I felt that my chest was slow to develop and this exercise allowed me to give my chest a little extra boost on Arm day. Make no mistake though, these are a great way to pump up your triceps as well. Close-grip bench presses can be performed with either a barbell or on the Smith machine. You may want to try them both ways and see which is more comfortable for you or perhaps alternate between the barbell and the Smith for different workouts. Be sure to use less weight than you normally would for standard barbell bench presses…at least until you have a feel for the exercise.

Start by lying faceup on a flat bench with a barbell rack (or under the Smith Machine). Grasp the barbell with your hands 6-12 inches apart. Unrack the bar and lower it slowly, keeping your elbows as close to your sides as possible throughout the movement. At the bottom of the movement, your elbows should be slightly lower than your shoulders. Next, press the bar smoothly upward, keeping it directly over your chest as you would for a normal barbell press. Repeat for reps. This exercise only takes a short while to get the hang of (I think it requires a bit more balance than the traditional barbell press), but it’s a great way to pump up your tri’s. I have used it both at the front of my workout with heavy weight and lower reps and as a finisher (usually on the Smith machine) with lighter weight and high reps to really burn out the muscle. Enjoy the pump!

Performance: Sit on a low-backed chair or bench and lift a dumbbell over your head, holding it with both hands, palms cupped against the upper inside plates. Keep your upper arms in place next to your head and, in a slow continuous motion, lower the dumbbell behind your head. Feel the stretch in your triceps and then, using an equally slow and controlled motion, press the weight back up to full extension. Repeat for reps.

It’s possible to injure your neck when performing this move so be sure to stretch out a bit before hand with some neck rolls or similar neck/trap loosening moves and be sure (as always) to maintain proper form when performing the exercise. This exercise targets the long head of the triceps and can also be performed with a cambered bar (although I find the dumbbell to be easier). You should always try to include some sort of overhead move in your tricep training as overhead movements are the only way to effectively train the long head.

Drag curls are one of my favorite bicep exercises but one that I see very few people at the gym performing. These were popularized by trainer, Vince Gironda (aka The Iron Guru) and are great for blasting your outer biceps and building huge guns. Start out by holding a barbell much as you would for standard standing barbell curls. Next, pull your elbows straight back behind your body. This should result in your arms being bent at roughly a 90 degree angle and the barbell being around the level of your belly button. Now, slowly curl the bar upwards to lower pec level, hold for a sec and squeeze your biceps, then return to the starting position. Repeat for reps. The barbell should be lightly touching (or nearly so) your abdomen during the exercise, hence where the name comes from (you’re “dragging” the bar up your torso). The range of motion is much smaller than normal barbell curls as you are only really moving the weight from your belly button to the bottom of your pecs, but the strain in your biceps and the results these produce are extra large. I like to perform these at the end of my bicep workout and go for high reps (15-25) for the ultimate final burn in my bi’s.

Most gyms have a T-bar machine you can use to perform this exercise. If yours does not, or if you’re working out at home, load up one end of a barbell with weight and brace the other end so it’s stable (placing another weight plate on top of it or bracing it in the corner usually works for me). Place a close grip handle around the barbell and perform the exercise this way (the T-bar machine is much better, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got). I will be describing the wide-grip T-bar machine version.

Performance: Stand on the T-bar apparatus with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Take a wide, overhand grip on the handles. Be sure to keep your chest up and back arched throughout the movement. Slowly pull the weight upward to your chest, feeling the contraction in your back. Squeeze your shoulderblades together at the top of the movement for an intense contraction. Slowly reverse the motion and lower to a full stretch at the bottom. Repeat for reps.

Muscle Emphasis: latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, biceps, brachialis, forearm flexors, secondary stress is on the posterior deltoids and trapezius

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

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

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

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