Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Performance: Hold a relatively lightweight dumbbell at your side with your feet a little less than shoulder-width apart. Place the hand not holding the dumbbell on your hip (this is the side where you will feel the most “work” during this exercise). To perform a rep, slowly bend to the side holding the dumbbell, letting it slowly sink down your leg and feeling the stretch on the opposite side. Feel the stretch, then slowly return to an upright position and repeat. Repeat for reps on each side. You can also perform this exercise using a the low pulley (with D-handle attachment) of a cable apparatus although if you perform them using these machines you will be bending toward your non-weighted side.

Emphasis: Obliques and serratus muscles

The Cable Crunch is an extremely effective upper ab exercise that’s a bit tricky to master but well worth the extra effort. As with all cable exercises, the constant tension provided by the cables make these a great exercise for feeling “the burn”.

Performance: Attach a rope attachment to a high pulley on the cable apparatus. Grasp the two ends of the rope and kneel down about a foot back from the weight stack. Allow your body to extend toward the pulley. The “action” portion of the exercise is comprised of two simultaneous movements. You will, at the same time, bend over at the waist until your forehead touches and floor and do a small, pullover movement to bring your arms from an extended position to one in which they are bent at 90 degree angles and your hands are near the floor. Your hands should remain just in front of your head throughout the movement. As you perform the exercise, forcefully exhale all of your air. Hold the contraction for a second at the bottom of the movement and then return to the starting position. Repeat for the desired rep count.

The Hanging Leg Raise is a great way to blast your abdominals, particularly the lower sections of the rectus abdominus. It’s always a good idea to work your lower abs early on in your abdominal routine (then move on to upper and obliques) as many of the lower ab movements are quite difficult and you’ll want to be as fresh as possible when performing them. Hanging Leg Raises are a favorite of mine because they place a tremendous amount of stress on the abs and high stress = great results. The key when performing this one is to keep the motion slow and controlled and be sure to NOT allow yourself to start using momentum and swing your legs up (as I see many people do) in order to accomplish your reps. The focus here should be feeling the burn in your abs, not just rushing through an inordinate amount of reps. Note: If leg raises seem too difficult for you, you may want to start out with hanging knee raises until your abs are stronger.

Performance: Hang vertically from a pull-up bar (or hanging sleeves or a vertical bench) with your knees slightly bent. Slowly lift your legs until they come slightly past parallel to the floor. Pause for a moment and then slowly lower your legs back to the start. When your legs are just short of the starting position, begin your next rep. This will be continuous tension on your abs and minimize the tendency to swing.

Muscle Emphasis: the entire front abdominal wall, particularly the lower sections of the rectus abdominus (lower abs)