A Few Tips

Hey guys,

I've been pretty active in the gym and I've acquired a couple new tips to help you maximize your workout gains.

Tip #1:

Bench Press

When bench pressing you should feel a tightness in your chest all throughout your workout until your last 1-2 exercises, because at that point your chest might be numb enough for you not to really feel to full squeeze. If you are not getting the squeeze while doing your presses try doing this:

When you are pressing, arch your back slightly so your middle to upper back is the only park of your back that is touching the bench. Be careful not to arch your back too much, that will detract from the press. Slightly arch your back so that when you bring the bar to your chest your muscles will already be engaged as you arch your back giving you a better squeeze. Another way to think of this is to stick your chest up in the air. You should be doing this on any press to get the full effect. If not, you're really not working your chest but rather your triceps and shoulders.

Tip #2:

Tricep Cable Pull Downs

When you are doing cable pulls for tricep try to switch up the grip/bar you use to perform the exercise. For instance, use a straight pull down bar rather than the typical rope. Using a straight bar will engage different parts of your tricep. Also, after you have extended your elbows to 180 degress on your pulls, do NOT come all the way back up. There is no need to come up more than 90 degress. You will lose tension in your tricep and you'll pretty much be depending on the momentum of the pulley to pull down the cable. Think of it as a negative exercise. Negative meaning you apply the opposite tension that you would normally feel. For instance. on your tricep pull downs, start at a heavier weight and regardless of your form pulling the cable down, release the cable slowly rather than letting it fly up. This will strengthen your overall tricep. You can use this negative technique on any exercise to improve your overall strength.

Tip #3:

Lat pulls

Most of you are probably familiar with the lat pull down machines at gyms. But most people that use this machine seem to be using it for the wrong purpose. People trying to use it to target the lats often fall in the trap of emphasizing everything about the upper body EXCEPT the lats, especially the shoulders. This is the case because when doing lat pulls most people just simply do a reverse shoulder press or a cabled pull up. You MUST MUST MUST lean back on your lat pulls. Dont be afraid to go heavy for lat pull downs because you CAN use momentum. The momentum will only help you pull the cable from the rest position but you must do the rest to pull it towards your chest, you being your lats. A 60 degree angle should be a comfortable angle to lean. If you're trying to cut your back, go light and screw the momentum and keep your back at a 60 degree angle the entire time.

I hope you guys benefit from these tips that I've encountered in the gym. Lift hard, Lift heavy, Lift4Life.