Back development should not be thought of simply in terms of appearance. Several other muscle groups depend upon it for increases in size and strength. For instance, even if you never performed any specific exercises for the arms, they would grow bigger and stronger from heavy back work. Then too, if you ever hope for a 50-plus-inch chest, you’ll never get it unless your back is fully developed—the back makes up almost half of the chest measurement.
The back is a big important area of muscles and it should be trained really hard.
1. CHIN-UPS BEHIND THE NECK—The chin-up is strictly for the latissimus, which gives you width. The pressure pulls apart your shoulder blades and stretches the lats.
Hang on the bar with a wide grip, much wider than your shoulders. Lift your body up until the bar touches behind your neck. Let yourself down slowly. Keep your legs slightly bent, but don’t make any cheating movements with the waist or hips. Nothing should move except your arms.
By now you ought to be able to do 10 reps without stopping. Do six sets, for a total of 60.
2. ROWING WITH BAR—BENT-OVER POSITION—This is a basic exercise to widen and thicken the upper back and add density to the lower back. Stand on an exercise bench as I am doing in the photograph. Bend forward at the waist so your upper back is parallel to the floor, and grasp the barbell with a medium-wide grip. Keep your knees slightly bent. Pull the bar up until it touches your stomach, then lower slowly for a full stretch of the upper back muscles. Don’t allow the weight to touch the floor; keep your back in constant tension until you have completed all 12 repetitions. It is important too to make the back muscles do all the work. Don’t tense the biceps as you pull upward; think of the hands and arms as hooks.
Rowing with bar—bent over position
Always let the bar all the way down to your toes. That’s why I prefer to do this exercise standing on a bench; on the floor, the weights will not let the bar go to my toes, and the back is not stretched completely. When you lift the bar, pull it to the waist area. If you pull it to the chest, your elbows can’t move back far enough. Don’t swing too much with your upper body or come up too high.
Guys who do not row never win a contest. Without doing this exercise you will not get a wide, muscle-studded back, and without a great back you can’t hope to win a competition. Even if you don’t compete, you need rowing to develop the vital muscles around the spine. You can get really strong by lifting. That’s why I’ve combined chin-ups with rowing—to make the back wider and thicker.
When I met Roger Callard, Mr. Western America, he had been doing chin-ups all his life. He had a wide back, but never a winning back. He could hit a straight-on back pose in a contest and nothing happened. A year ago I encouraged him to start rowing; as a result of his efforts he now wins the Best Back in every contest. Bent-over rowing is hated by most bodybuilders because you’re in a bent-over position and your lungs and your heart are squeezed together and you can’t breathe well. But it’s important and should not be neglected.
Do five sets of 12 repetitions.
Arms—Biceps and Triceps
To some people the biceps are the symbol of strength. Everybody can relate to arms. Arms are one of the most impressive parts of the body, the part everybody wants to see. When somebody says, “Show me your muscles,” you don’t show your calves. You automatically lift up your arm and flex your bicep. A lot of attention should be put into arms so they look good.
The upper arm is made up of two muscle groups—the biceps and the triceps. As the prefix “bi” implies, the bicep has two parts. The short head arises from a tendon attached to the corocoid process of the scapula and inserts into the upper portion of the radius bone of the forearm. It aids in the flexion of the upper arm, shoulder and forearm. The long head of the biceps originates from the supra glenoid tuberosity of the upper arm bone and inserts in a common tendon sheath with the short head into the forearm. Its major function is the flexion of the forearm. The tricep is composed of three muscles with a common tendonous attachment—hence the name triceps. The long head arises from a tendon on the scapula; the lateral from the posterior surface of the upper arm (humerus) bone; and the medial head has its origin in an area just below that of the lateral head. All three insert into a single tendon attached to the forearm. The action of the triceps is to extend the forearm, with the long head also aiding in bringing the arm closer to the body from a lateral position.
Biceps
1. BARBELL CURL—STANDING—Grip the bar shoulder-width, letting it rest against your thighs. Curl the bar up with only your forearms. Your upper arm should remain in the same position throughout the exercise. It’s important that you don’t borrow from your other muscles. Flex your biceps firmly at the top of the curl. Lower the bar slowly and repeat.
Barbell curl
Use the add-weight rep system for five sets of 8, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps.
2. DUMBBELL CURL—SITTING—The dumbbell curl is similar to a barbell curl except you use two dumbbells. The reason for the dumbbells is that they allow you to turn your wrist while doing the curl and reach some neglected areas of the biceps. The result is more resistance from the dumbbell curl than the standing barbell curl.
I start my dumbbell curl with my knuckles facing the front, as shown in photo. As I lift the weights, I turn them gradually until my palms are up, and then I flex the biceps. This turning of the wrist gives the biceps an extra edge they wouldn’t otherwise get. Do the movements slowly and deliberately. Move only your forearms. Each time you lower the weights you should let them hang completely loose—not three-quarters of the way down.
Do five sets of 8 repetitions and do the turning each set.
3. RESTRICTED INCLINED DUMBBELL CURL—One of the world’s greatest bodybuilders was Steve Reeves. Aside from his classic proportions, he had incredible arms. One of Reeves’ favorite biceps exercises was the inclined curl with dumbbells. I used this exercise early in my career. But I realized I wasn’t getting the same results Reeves was. I experimented and discovered a simple trick that changed the whole exercise for me. I held my elbows slightly forward and thus kept the weights from merely swinging upward as I curled. Now instead of letting the front deltoid help, I restricted the work to my biceps. The difference was unbelievable. Almost immediately I noticed a new peak to my biceps.
Assume the position slowly in the first photograph and curl the dumbbells slowly up to the finished position. Remember, if you feel your deltoid doing the lifting you are doing it wrong. Isolate it for your biceps.
Do five sets of 10 repetitions.
Note: One thing about the biceps—you need to relax them completely between repetitions. Stand with your arms limp, and the outside of your hands turned toward the thighs. This gives the blood a chance to flow freely through the biceps.
1. STANDING FRENCH PRESS—WEIGHT BEHIND NECK—In review, the standing French press requires a very full movement. The bar should go from being totally extended, all the way down to the back of the neck. Keep your elbows parallel, straight up and down, and move only your forearms. This develops the triceps from the elbow area all the way down to your lats. A lot of people do this exercise with a curved bar, which is acceptable, but my own preference is a classic straight bar.
Do five sets of 12 repetitions.
Triceps
2. LYING TRICEPS EXTENSION WITH BAR—This is a direct exercise which traces the triceps all the way down from the elbow to the latissimus.
Lie down with your head hanging off the bench. Let the weight come down to the level of your forehead and press it up again. Do not press the weight above your chest. The weight should remain behind your head, as in photo. Hold your elbows slightly back and parallel. Again, let only your forearms move.
Do five sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.
Abdomen
For your abdominals workout you should alternate one set of leg raises with bent legs with one set of twists with the broomstick in a bent-over position. You combine them in order to save time. The
leg raises are for the abs, and bent-over twists are for the obliques, at the side of the waist. Spend no more than 7 minutes on the whole program. And don’t worry about resistance. Repetition is most important in waist training. The object is just to burn off the fat.
Alternate back and forth, back and forth, five sets and 20 repetitions of each exercise for a total of 100 of each.
Forearms
WRIST CURLS—Do five sets of 15 repetitions.
WEDNESDAY
Work on your weak points. After you have trained long enough to discover your weak points, write them down and analyze them. You should know by now if your leg biceps aren’t as fully developed as the front of your thighs, or your latissimus isn’t progressing as well as your chest. Every bodybuilder will find that certain parts of his body don’t respond as well as others. These areas require extra work and should be the focus of your Wednesday workout.
When I first started training, my left bicep stayed a half to three-quarters of an inch smaller than my right one. It was the result of something I was doing wrong. So I spent one day just training that one bicep with a dumbbell. A few weeks later I had evened it out with the right arm.
On these weak-point days, flex the muscles that are giving you trouble, flex them continuously. Flex, pose, and with your mind try to send a rush of blood into the muscle. With this additional attention it will slowly come up to standard.
Three-quarters of an hour ought to be sufficient for training your weak points. Do no more than six or seven sets of 10 repetitions for each body part.
A Word of Caution
By this time, a lot of people feel overconfident and want to get into a six-day-a-week routine. You should not push yourself. In fact, if you feel you have no weak points you should not put in a fifth day. Rest, let your body relax and grow. Work up gradually and don’t blow it. Sometimes you can do so much your mind gets sick of it. Remember what I said earlier: Keep your mind hungry. People have a tendency to overdo things at first and then sluff off. You should keep up this four-day routine for three months if you’re going to be a competitive bodybuilder. If you’re not planning to go into competition, stay with this program for six months.
Chapter Five: Accelerated Training
(Six Days a Week)
In recent years bodybuilding has made incredible advances. Bodybuilders are now bigger and better than ever. The average contest winner today is not only bigger than the competitors of the past but he has more muscularity. Modern training methods, new innovations in equipment, and improved knowledge of nutrition (including the use of modern food supplements) have enabled bodybuilders to reach the kind of perfection it takes to be a contest winner faster.
This evolution in bodybuilding is paralleled in other sports too, thanks to a new favorable assessment of weight training. Athletes today are stronger and faster than their predecessors. Weight-trained athletes consistently break world records in all sports. Many of the mythical “barriers”—such as the 70-foot shot put, the 28-foot broad jump, the 18-foot pole vault, the 500-pound standing press, the 650-pound bench press—have been exceeded through knowledge, training and confidence.
Bodybuilders today try to develop their bodies to the fullest, which means building up the muscles to their maximum possible size while retaining shape and definition. No champion bodybuilder is ever satisfied until he has reached his ultimate potential of muscle size and muscularity and then honed it down with perfect cuts. These are the things that you should be concerned with in Chapter Five.
MONDAY AND THURSDAY PROGRAM
Legs
Calves
Waist
Legs
No area in bodybuilding is more neglected than the legs. When people ask you to show your muscles, they expect you to take off your shirt and show the upper body. Of course, you want to develop what people want to see. The drive to develop the lower portion of the body isn’t usually as great. Another reason many bodybuilders steer away from extensive leg work is that it’s very difficult. The thighs are powerful and need great amounts of weight, and the calves are stubborn and need a lot of reps. If you’re not willing to work, then you can forget about getting championship legs.
If you want to enter physique competition, you’ll never win any big titles without having the balanced physique a good pair of legs gives you. In the process of getting those legs, the work will give you tremendous endurance and help add inches of muscle to almost every area of the body. Not to mention that your metabolism and the general functioning of your organs will be enhanced by the work you do for your legs.
1. SQUATS—You will hear countless arguments against the squat. Some people say it increases the size of the gluteus maximus to ridiculous proportions. Others say its only effect is to weaken the knees and lower back. These arguments are all without foundation. The squat is the best thigh-building exercise I know. At the same time, it conditions the whole cardiovascular system.
Choose a weight that makes you work for 10 repetitions. Do five sets.
2. LEG EXTENSIONS—With leg extensions, the combination of weight and strict form will work to stimulate all the muscles around the knee and separate the lower thigh. It is most important to make full repetitions, allowing the weight to drop to the bottom and then to lift it until your legs are totally straight.
Do five sets of 10 repetitions.
3. LEG CURLS—By this time you will have been doing leg curls for at least a year. Be sure you have not become negligent. Many bodybuilders let their buttocks come up and assist in the curl. This takes away from its effect on the leg biceps. Pull only with your legs, drawing your heels all the way to your buttocks. If you get tired in the final reps, have your training partner help you make the full movement.
Do five sets of 12 repetitions.
4. LUNGES—The lunge is an exercise most bodybuilders disregard, claiming it is archaic. However, for years I have included it with my basic exercises. I know no other exercise that is so effective in separating the entire thigh muscle.
In the beginning try a few practice lunges with a light barbell. Rest the bar behind your neck. Step forward in a lunging motion, allowing the forward foot to fall flat and the leg to bend almost 45 degrees, while the trailing leg remains straight, with the heel raised. Then, pushing with the forward leg, lift your body back to a standing position. Put power into each lunge. After a few repetitions you will feel the four heads of the quadriceps start to burn.
Form is even more important in doing lunges than it is in most exercises. To make sure you are moving ahead smoothly and keeping the bar balanced, I suggest you do this in front of a mirror.
Do five sets of 8 to 10 repetitions.
Calves
1. STANDING CALF RAISES ON A CALF MACHINE—If you have been working seriously on your calves, you will now be doing this exercise with considerably more weight than when you began. The results of your diligence should be starting to show. You may now want to hit different areas of the calf. By pointing your toes inward you can reach the outer head of the calf; by pointing your toes outward the stress goes to the inside of the calf.
Do five sets of 15 repetitions.
2. SITTING CALF RAISES ON A CALF MACHINE—When you sit to perform calf raises a greater amount of work is done by the lower part of the calf and the soleus muscle, which runs down the outside of the shin and connects into the heel. By placing the weight directly above your knees, you isolate the exercise specifically to your calves.
Rest your toes on the wooden block. Work the muscle through a full range of movement. When you reach the top, hold it and flex the calves hard; then slowly let the calf stretch all the way down to the bottom. Keep your torso perfectly still and do the lifting with only your calves. We’ve talked about how stubborn calves are. You have to bomb them in order to get growth. So after you can no longer do full reps, do partial reps until the calf literally refuses to move.
Do five sets of at least 15 repetitions.
Waist
1. SIT-UPS—KNEES BENT—At this point you can easily do five sets of 50 repetitions. Each time you finish a set, pull your upper body into a knot, cramping your abs, and hold it for 20 to 30 seconds.
2. LEG RAISES—In doing this exercise, don’t let your feet touch the floor. This will keep the abs under continuous tension.
Do five sets of at least 50 repetitions.
3. TWISTS—While holding an empty bar on the back of your shoulders, with your waist sucked in, exhale as you rapidly twist as far as possible, first to the right, then to the left. This really burns up any fat on the obliques.
Do five sets of 50 repetitions.
Wrist Curl
It should be automatic by now for you to go to the bench for wrist curls at the end of each day. Remember this exercise not only develops the forearm, it also increases gripping power and wrist strength.
Do five sets of 12 repetitions. If you are not having to strain out the last 3 reps you are not putting enough weight on the bar.
TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PROGRAM
Back
Chest
Shoulders
The Tuesday and Friday program is for the back, chest and shoulders. I explained in a previous chapter why you ought to follow this sequence. In my experience these three muscle groups fit together. Naturally, later on you can split them up for different reasons, but right now you should continue to work on them together.
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