Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Many people (myself included) find working out to be an awesome, stress-relieving experience. Not only does exercising get those euphoria-inducing endorphins flowing, it can also clear and focus your mind. Problems that seemed huge and unweildy before you entered the gym may seem insignificant and easily solved post-workout. Even if the problem’s still a doozy once you’re through working up a sweat, at least you were able to take your mind off of it for a short time.

Despite these stress-relieving effects, some people find the gym to be downright stress-inducing. Going into a gym, especially as a beginner, can be very intimidating. Maybe you’re not totally happy with the way you look or you feel out of place. Maybe you’re unsure of what you should be doing or how to use the equipment and you’re afraid you’re going to make a fool of yourself. Or maybe you’ve got your whole workout planned out when you go into the gym, but it’s usually crowded and someone seems to always be on the piece of equipment you want to use and it’s driving you nuts! If you can relate to any of these examples, I’d like to offer you some techniques to make yourself and your workout better.

First, if you’re nervous, try to focus on your goals. In other words, the reason you joined the gym and decided to start working out. Remember, most things that are worth having in life take a lot of hard work to achieve and a great body is no different. Don’t let a case of the nerves screw up your long-term goals for a better you. Stay focused. On a more practical, less cerebral level, get educated. The more you know about working out and the equipment around you, the more comfortable and confident you’ll be. Read books and magazines and check out websites (like this one and many others) to become as knowledgable as you can. Think about any test you’ve ever taken…when do you feel more comfortable and confident? When you know the material like the back of your hand or when you haven’t studied at all and have no idea what you’re doing? In my proper form article I talk more about educating yourself on any exercises you’d like to work into your routine, but the bottom line is: the more you know, the better you’ll feel.

If you’re a person who’s very organized and likes to plan out their workouts ahead of time, congratulations. This is definitely an important part of bodybuilding. However, if, as I mentioned earlier, you get very stressed out when another person is on the machine you had planned to use, let me offer you this advice. If someone’s on “your” machine, don’t stress about it. Just look at it as something that will add variety to your workout. You should be mixing things up as much as you can anyway, and this will provide you the perfect opportunity to do just that. The best way to go about it, and what I personally do, is to have a sort of Rolodex of alternate exercises for each bodypart (or parts of bodyparts) in the ol’ noggin (once again becoming knowledgable comes into play bigtime!). Let me give you an example using a chest routine. I’ll list the “preferred” exercise order with just some of the alternative exercises that could be swapped in and out if need be.

Incline Barbell Press
Alternatives: Smith Machine Incline Press, Hammer Strength Machine Incline Press, Incline Press with Dumbbells, Circuit Incline Press, Push-ups with feet raised

Flat-Bench Barbell Press
Alternatives: Smith Machine Flat-Bench Press, Dumbbell Flat-Bench Press, Hammer Strength Seated Press, Circuit Chest Press, Push-ups

Smith Machine Decline Press
Alternatives: Dumbbell Decline Press, Push-ups with hands raised

Dumbbell Pectoral Flyes
Alternatives: Cable Flyes, Pec-Deck Flyes

As you can see, if you encounter any problems with a member of the gym clientele beating you to your intended destination, you can quickly and easily substitute another exercise into the routine in it’s place without effecting the efficacy of your workout in the slightest. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Hope these strategies help and here’s to bigger, badder, and more stress-free workouts!

Most gyms I’ve been in have a Smith Machine available for members and the Smith can certainly be a very valuable tool in your bodybuilding routine. Basically, the Smith Machine is a large rack-like apparatus with a barbell attached to the front of it. The barbell is in a slot, on a track, and as such it can only move in the vertical plane (i.e. up and down). There are small knobs or cylinders protruding on either side of the Smith right by the barbell track and hooks on the barbell itself allow you to use the knobs to rack the weight at various points as the bar moves up and down.

The Smith Machine has several advantages and uses. Because of the way the machine is designed, it eliminates the need for many of the stabilizer muscles you normally would have to recruit when performing certain exercises using free weights. What this means is two things: 1) you’ll be able to more effectively *isolate* a particular muscle group and really work it over well and 2) you’ll be able to lift quite a bit heavier using the Smith than when using normal free weights. In addition, an added benefit is that, for all practical purposes, the Smith Machine eliminates the need for a spotter since you can rack the weight easily on your own at anytime during the performance of the exercise.

I find the Smith Machine is excellent for:

- breaking out of plateaus
- lifting heavier weight than you normally would be able to (this is often an integral part of pushing through the aforementioned plateaus)
- isolating a particular muscle group
- getting the “feel” and form down for a particular exercise before attempting it without the Smith
- increasing safety during exercise performance and eliminating the need for a spotter

Some exercises I like to perform using a Smith Machine are:
- Shoulder Presses
- Bent Over Barbell Rows
- Incline, Decline, and Flat Bench Presses
- Squats
- Barbell Shrugs

You can experiment with other exercises on your own as well.

Maybe you’ve been intimidated by the large Smith Machine in the past, but now that you’re armed with some knowledge and some recommended exercises, try working the Smith Machine into your routine. I think you’ll be happy with the results.

Pyramiding is a useful technique commonly employed to organize and maximize your workouts. Basically, pyramiding refers to gradually increasing or decreasing the number of reps being performed and/or the amount of weight being used from set to set. There are many methods and techniques that make use of pyramiding. Let’s take a look at a few examples to give you an idea of how to work pyramiding into your routine.

One commonly used pyramiding method is involves decreasing the amount of reps being performed while simultaneously increasing the weight being used from set to set. For instance, let’s say you’re doing standing dumbbell curls. Your 4 set routine might look something like this:

-Warmup set-
Set 1
25lbs. - 15 reps
Set 2
30lbs. - 12 reps
Set 3
35lbs. - 10 reps
Set 4
40lbs. - 8 reps

You could also theoretically reverse this technique and up the reps while steadily decreasing the weight each set. Additionally, if you’re an advanced lifter and you like performing a lot of sets of one exercise (like 8-10 or so), you can go really wild with it and apply the theory forward and reverse like so:

Set 1
25lbs. - 15 reps
Set 2
30lbs. - 12 reps
Set 3
35lbs. - 10 reps
Set 4
40lbs. - 8 reps
Set 5
35lbs. - 10 reps
Set 6
30lbs. - 12 reps
Set 7
25lbs. - 15 reps
Set 8
20lbs. - to failure

Another pyramiding method involves keeping the repetitions constant while gradually decreasing the weight used. For each set, you will lower the amount of weight *just* enough so that you can perform the target number of reps. It’s also possible to start light and pyramid the weight up, again keeping the reps constant (Set 1 would 50% of your 10 rep max, Set 2 75%, and Set 3 100% of your 10 rep maximum). Research has shown that pyramiding the weight up results in a slightly greater increase in strength than pyramiding the weight down, but you should incorporate both methods into your workouts, cycling them every 6-8 weeks.

That’s also a good note to end on: keep things fresh. All of these pyramiding techniques have theories behind them (for instance, starting with your heaviest weight first has you lifting the most weight when you’re freshest while decreasing the reps while simultaneously increasing the weight has you working both the slow-twitch [low weight, high rep] and fast-twitch [heavy weight, low rep] muscle fibers throughout the course of your sets), but the main goal is the same: to keep your muscles guessing and prevent your workouts from becoming stale. It’s the only way to avoid stagnancy and plateaus.

Most gyms have some sort of cable apparatus available to its members and cables can be a great way of isolating large muscle groups (such as the chest, back, and shoulders) and really burning them out. Most mass-building free weight maneuvers require the recruitment of other secondary muscles to assist you in the movement, which takes some of the emphasis off of the targeted area. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as these free weight exercises will help you build strength and size, but to really etch in the detail, you’ll want to more accurately isolate the muscle group you’re working. Cables are a very effective way of doing this.

I use cables quite a bit in my workouts so I’m a big proponent of them. I typically put cable exercises at the end of my workout (although you can work them in anywhere you want) when I want to totally fry the target muscle or do a “burnout” set. The continuous tension, lighter weight, and higher reps that cable training typically employs will help you hit every last muscle fiber and really rip up your physique. Some of my favorite cable exercises are cable curls (biceps), tricep pressdowns (triceps), cable crossovers and pectoral flyes (chest), and lateral raises (delts). A couple of do’s and don’ts: Do use cables to isolate larger muscle groups and add detail and definition. Do use a relatively light weight that will allow you to perform a higher number of reps (around 12-20). Don’t use cables as a beginner to build up mass and strength. Stick to the compound movements like bench press, squats, rows, deadlifts, etc. Don’t lift too heavy when doing cable work. Typically, this will cause you to miss the point of cable training. A notable exception are exercises like lat pulldowns or cable rows, which are great mass-building back exercies and respond well to heavy weight training.

21’s are a great technique for breaking out of a plateau and totally incinerating a particular muscle. This advanced technique involves challenging the working muscle group in three different ranges of motion. The 21 in the name refers to the total number of reps done in each set (7 for each range of motion). You can perform 21’s in the following manner: First, let’s use a standard dumbbell or cable curl as an example exercise. Start out with your arm in your normal start postion, hand and weight (or D-handle) at your thigh, arm joint completely open. Now, curl the weight up as you normally would, but stop halfway up (around the point your elbow is bent at 90 degrees). Lower your arm again, keeping tension on the bicep the whole time, and repeat. Do this for your first 7 reps. Without resting, bring your arm back up to the 90 degree halfway point and curl the weight up to full flexion (joint closed; the ending point of a normal curl). Lower to the halfway point, and repeat for the next 7 reps. To finish the set, do seven full range reps from the bottom to the top as you normally would when performing standard curls. By this point, your biceps (or whatever muscle group you’re working) should be begging for mercy.

21’s can be done with any exercise, but they work best with single joint isolation moves such as the bicep curl or tricep pressdown (among others). I also prefer to do 21’s on a cable machine (as opposed to free weights) because cables maintain a continuous tension on the working muscle group. Also, when performing 21’s, you’ll want to pick a lighter weight than you’d normally use for straight sets. This seems like a no-brainer; if you lift heavy you’ll never be able to complete this super tough set.

Because 21’s totally blitz the muscle group you apply them to, I recommend throwing this technique into your workout only intermittently. I liked 21’s so much that when I first discovered them, I did them every (in my case, biceps) workout and I definitely felt like I was overtraining my bi’s. Now I only use them when I really want to blast my guns into submission. Another tip to avoid overtraining: if using 21’s, try to do one less exercise for that bodypart than you’d normally do in that workout. If you normally do 4 exercises for let’s say, triceps, you should only do 3 if you’re planning on using 21’s. If it’s been awhile since your muscles were sore, try 21’s on for size.

Supersets (I’ve also heard them called flush sets by some people) are a relatively advanced technique that can be useful in breaking out of a plateau or simply shaking your workout up a bit. Supersets involve doing one set of multiple exercises (any number I guess, but typically 2-4) immediately following one another. Completion of each set for all of the exercise constitues one superset. For example doing one set of barbell curls, immediately followed by one set of tricep pressdowns, immediately followed by dumbbell curls, immediately followed by tricep extensions would be one 4-exercise arm-blasting superset. You would rest, then repeat the process until all of your supersets are complete. (Actually, I believe technically a superset is two exercises in a row, a triset is three, and a “giant” or quad set is four, but that’s only if you’re being picky about it hehe).

Really, any exercises can be combined to form a superset, although I typically put together related bodyparts such as abs (lower, upper, and obliques) or arms (biceps, triceps), etc. (see also Staggered Sets). I enjoy supersets from a bodybuilding perspective, but they’re not the best technique if you’re looking to build pure strength. Doing two exercises in a row, with no rest in between, will fatique your muscles to a greater degree and reduce the amount of weight you can handle, particularly on the second movement. As a result, you won’t be able to use as heavy a weight as you might normally use.

Training regularly is an extremely important part of achieving your goals. Building muscle and obtaining superior cardiovascular fitness is a result of the body’s progressive adaptation to stress and does not happen overnight. Without going into all of the physiological mumbo jumbo, let’s use an analogy from the animal kingdom. We’ve all heard about animals adapting to certain stimuli in their environment to increase their chances of survival. This of course is not a process that occurs after a few days, weeks, or months. Instead, it occurs over long, long periods of time and only after the creatures have experienced repeated or continuous stimuli or stresses from their surroundings.

So what does this have to do with bodybuilding? Well, in order to build muscle, strength, endurance, cardiovascular fitness, whatever, you need to convince your body that it needs to adapt to an increased level of stress and stimuli. The only way to do this is by applying regular stress (i.e. regular workouts). Hitting the gym for a few days here and there may leave you sore, but it will only make your body think “ah, this isn’t a regular occurrence…no need to adapt”). However, if you stick to a regular program (and don’t crap out after two weeks), your body will realize that this added stress you’re putting it through isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and it will be forced to adapt with larger, stronger muscles and better cardiovascular health.

The exact amount of time you should be working out (per exercise session or per week) varies to some extent based on each individual’s fitness goals and experience, but in general, you should try to make it to the gym at least 3-4 times a week for at least 30-60 minutes a session. Newer trainees can expect to see some results in about month, but I think a 3 month period (of regularly sticking to your program) is a better amount of time to wait before you start assessing your progress whether you’re a total novice or an experienced lifter who’s recently overhauled your training regimen.

If I had to name the top three most important things in weight training, form would definitely be one of them. Keeping proper form 1) prevents injuries 2) ensures that the proper
muscle(s) are being worked in each exercise and 3) allows you to more effectively track your progress (if your form changes from workout to workout, how can you be sure when you’re actually growing stronger and when you’re just cheating a little more?). Using improper form will cause injuries and, most importantly, result in your routine failing to develop the muscles you want it to develop.

To insure you stay in proper form, here are some tips and techniques:

1) When you decide to add an exercise to your routine, be sure you research the movement thoroughly. Read multiple descriptions of it from a variety of sources, check out some pictures (or videos, if available) of how the exercise is performed, and determine exactly what muscle or muscles are being worked by the move.

2) When you try the exercise out in the gym (or wherever you work out), choose a very light weight at first (see my entry on choosing the proper weight for more info) so you can focus on getting the form and “feel” of the movement down instead of having to worry about moving the weight. Be sure you are comfortable with the movement and that even with this light weight you feel the exercise in the intended muscle group(s).

3) When you begin performing the exercise in “working” (i.e. heavier, muscle-building) sets, be sure you let your muscles (not your ego) be your guide with regard to weight choice. The weight should be manageable enough for you to perform the repetitions in relatively the same form as your “practice” sets. And, of course, you should feel the “burn” and the stress in the appropriate muscle groups. If you don’t, look over the information on the exercise again and modify your technique until you do.