+ 4 What is your lagging bodypart
Just so we can get some discussion going and hopefully others can see and learn what has worked for you to bring up lagging bodyparts, I would like to ask the following questions to get this started:
What is or was your lagging bodypart and what did you do to bring it back up to snuff or at least to the point where you saw some good progress?
I’ll start this off by saying I was always disappointed in my chest. I called it a pancake chest. Lift my arms up and the pecs disappear. It is getting better but still has a long ways to go. What really worked for me was to implement more dumbbell presses along with increasing frequency of training. I hit it at least every 5 days so I could utilize the overcompensation principle to get it to respond.
I really liked the dumbbell presses. What I would do is start out with the bench flat and every set I would raise the bench 1 pin until I was almost doing a shoulder press, then I would bring it back down the same. Great way to hit the chest at all those various angles. I would then do the same with DB flyes. This was a killer and coupled with correct frequency really made a change in my chest.
While we are on the subject, I would also like to throw out a few reasons why that bodypart of yours may be lagging. Time to self reflect and adjust if need be.
Double check your mechanics (form) of the exercise. Make sure you are at least doing it properly. Study some videos or whatever you need to make sure you are doing it properly. I see so many people doing shit wrong that it is not even funny. Study up on mechanics because it will make or break you.
Make sure you are fully contracting that muscles. Shitty contractions means shitty results.
Are you training frequently enough. To much time between workouts for that bodypart means slow results.
Do you have enough variety in your routine. There are lots of angles and movements a muscle goes through so be sure to hit it from all angles.
Are you doing enough volume for that muscle? You have to keep stress the muscle enough or it just gets used to the same ol same ol and won’t grow anymore.
Make sure you are using the proper training variables for your goal. Reps, sets, time under tension (TUT). Are you a bodybuilder doing a powerlifter routine (or vice versa) because that is the workout the guy at the gym gave you?
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Short arms and clavicles equal big arms and shoulders but hard to stress the chest i have chest issues also prexhaustion works best for me but not overtraining cause it seems like my shoulders and tris get blown out
Calves are a area I've really worked on for the last 5 years, even to the point of walking around on my damn toes everywhere I went
start wearing high heels. That should get them growing.
That's a bit harsh.....I was going to recommend ballet shoes.
Pretty much everything below my chin.....but my chest is the worst. I’ve changed my routine over and over. Now I going back to check my technique with a friend of mine this week. Hopefully tweeting my technique helps. Have a great day guys. Go Saints!
diet bro diet diet diet.
water only , no carbs after 7pm or 3-4 ours before you sleep, spread your meals out evenly through the day.
Consistency day in day out, hit the gym different muscle group every day, consistently move up in weight lifted every workout even if its 1.5lbs , just do it .
Get the proper amount of sleep , sleep is very important your body burns more fat and builds more muscle in your sleep than any other time.
Have the proper mind set believe in your self, Know what you want in your mind visualize your goal.
Upper and midddle chest. Started doing more dumbbell work and it’s helped a little, but genetics play a part. Never stop pushing.
https://youtu.be/slkh01aKxvE
I thought this was helpful. I’m sure you already know most of this but any knowledge is good.
Mate. I always started chest with inclines before flat bench. I believe that it works the upper pec with a little more isolation. I then followed with flat bench, and then declines to hit the Pectoralis Major and Minor. Dips also help with the Pectoralis Major where it is attached to the Humerus - also assisting in building the upper pec. I always finish with cable flyes - from the bottom of the cable machine, doing a cross-over movement, and then from the top of the cable machine, and pull overs. Try these and your chest will grow.
Some guys just have great chests and barrel sized rib cages to begin with, a lot have never even lifted.
Very true and I have always been envious of those guys.
You first spot them in secondary school at about 15 when the test is going mad, I knew a lad in my class who was as mesomorphic as they get. He only did a few hours of gymnastics a week and man he looked awesome - could have easily passed for a bodybuilder on gear even then! I was actually jealous lol
My biceps just dont grow, I have skinny long muscles. I have done the 5×5's but still they lack. I'm impressed by others with nice arms.
My chest has flown away. Never had a chest in the first place but I push it. Main problem is just getting the size and water retention.
Calves are long and sit high. I have worked them to death. Finally starting to see results but again I lose it quick
In the scheme of things biceps are a small muscle and worked every time you do any exercise above the waist. Golden rule - don't over train them, but when you do train them - they require heavy weights, low reps/sets and isolation exercises to grow, simply because they are used every single day.
Would the same principles apply to triceps?
Great nugget brother! +1. I hope men pay attention to how subtle your comments on training biceps are. It aint brain surgery, folks! Good stuff.
great topic,
Mine were my rear delts (most gymrats dont have em at all)
My back is ok in general but with reasonably decent traps and good rhoms, so I know the upper thoracic was getting worked well, but the rear delts just were not there. So I knew the heavy work was developing the traps/rhoms, and I needed to isolate the RD's. Did so and applied volume.
I learned the biomechanics from Ben Pak's Mi40x and followed up by watching vids from Joe Bennet / Kasem Hansen (former mi40 guys but biomechanical experts) to develop different approaches/programs.
The mix of strength work, followed up by 5x per week of isolation for volume gave me RD's in about a year.
RD always seem to be a problem for most, usually because people don't know how to isolate them. Every other body part seems to take over for them. Lowering weight and utilizing correct will help bring that mind muscle connection they need in order to stimulate them. I really don't think I have ever seen anyone properly isolate the RD's and it shows in their development. When I do see someone doing them right it is pretty much a gaurantee that they are a BPak follower.
This is kind of hard to admit but I think my lagging body part is my wiener. Everything else is huge and then there is my 10” wiener and it just can’t keep up. Sure, it gets bigger when I get an erection but shit, who wants to be walking around the beach with a full on boner to keep the wiener matching the body? I sure as hell don’t.
I don’t know bros...first world problems...
Lmfao!! I swear I was really close to posting this as well:) I only didn’t becuase it is Mak’s thread. Had it have been any other member I was gunna go for it!! Hand to god tho I talked myself out of it becuase I knew you couldn’t resist and you take it for the squad!! Hand to god bro! Hahaha CTFU!
Lmao. I skimmed the post, didn’t even read it or who it was posted by and had to post the wiener. I have no self control bro....
Pray for me.
I enjoyed that last post you did mate - any ideas for the next one?..
awesome post, you have a lot of really good forum topic started, ive enjoyed reading them
Probably quads for me. I used to be able to press 700lb on the incline squat machine, but my legs never got size - just strength. I put it down to being an old fart. Us old guys have been using our legs for more than half a century, so it's pretty hard to make them grow.
Quads are becoming a big disappointment for me now. I have been looking into some quad specialization programs that I will be implementing to see if that can bring them up.
Cool. Maybe take some before and after pics to post here if the program works. I would be very interested.
Yeah, I'll have to snap some photos. The thing with my legs is that is where I seem to carry most of my fat so even with lower bodyfat there really seems to be no separation, just one big blob until I get really low. I'll get some measurements in also.
I wouldn't be worried about some fat on your legs - much better than toothpick pins. As long as you have some definition, it's all good. Some pics and measurements would be good.
Calves for sure.. stubborn bastards hate to grow..+1 mak good post
No calves crew checking in also
Lol..
Great topic.
While I have always been fortunate to have a very symmetrical physique.
I would not go so far as to use the term lagging, however genetically my quads and hamstrings would without serious training shrink straight away. And shrink away quick
The important of prioritizing a bodypart that needs to be brought up is essential.
My myself, I moved leg training to Monday and cut my volume down dramatically. I also cut the sets and reps way down to the 6 max range. 45 mins after a full body warmup is all it takes. Heavy Duty Mentzer/Yates style does the trick everytime. Of course having a proper spotter throughout the workout is essential for max poundages. Heavy duty compound movements. Squats, squats, and more squats.
Once the workout is complete I literally would have trouble walking the entire week and forget about stairs or even the sitting on the toilet bowl without pain, aching, and stiffness.
Work in proper rest , calories, and protein and boom goes the dynamite.
Funny how your quads respond to the Mentzer style of training. Mine shrivel up to twigs training like that. I need to train them 2x/wk or they really dissapear. I need high volume and high reps to get them to respond. I am talking like busting out 20-40 reps on the leg press or implementing 6 sec negatives. Low volume heavy weight and my legs disappear. I had kind of gone back to that Mentzer style for legs and my upper body seemed to far outpace my leg development. Now I really need to go back and focus on my legs if I want to have any symmetry.
Totally agreed, except for me it’s arms. One or two days without isolating them for a workout and they feel incredibly flat. Very annoying
A good method is to change the exercises every two weeks, hitting the muscles from multiple angles. Although genetics is involved here, it plays an important role in muscle growth along with nutrition. Even in my case, the chest is the deficient part. The shape is there, but there is no volume, no thickness.
During training I like it, but then damn it, everything comes back as before lol
I feel I am unique because it’s my shoulders that I feel are lacking and have alwYs been lacking which isn’t the case for must people especially AAS partakers. What’s helped me the most was to keep my BF lower really concentrate on tightening up my biceps and hitting shoulders 2x a week. They’ve improved greatly over the past 2 years but they still don’t pack on size like the rest of my body everyone I start bulking they always fall behind. I welcome and appreciate all tips and advice
Try the cables brother. Front , side, and rear laterals. Focus on your posture, abdominals, breath, and form. You can really control the negative to the point of getting a nice stretch at the bottom. Then use explosive movement to lift up and hold at the top of the contraction for a count to really feel the squeeze. Forget about heavy weights with these and work on form, feeling, and burn until you have the movements mastered. You can also utilize upright rows for shoulders via cables in this exact same manner also.
Good luck to you
Key to shoulders is proper form with a bit of the heavy stuff thrown in here and there.
Thanks for the advice. This past year I’ve started adding a lot of cable exercises into my routine mainly chest and arms but I’ll start to work then into shoulders as well
Do lots of military presses, shrugs(tho they hit the traps they hit the shoulders also), lots of lateral raises from the front, side, and back!
Raises are probably my favorite shoulder excercise but how do you do them from the back?
"how do you do them from the back?" Pick a medium/light weight, bend forward at the waist, put the weights behind your legs and raise the weights as in a flye movement and at the same time move them backwards so that the weights are basically in line with your hips. this stresses your rear deltoid.
Good to know I’ll have to give them a try
No probs...the bill is in the mail ;-)
Good thread Mak. Legs. I have a tough time getting my quads to fire. I can get my hams sore but not grow. Today I did 28 sets in total, moderate to heavy. I feel it more in my back and knees. Being 6’ tall with a femur the length of a football field doesn’t help. Any suggestions?
When I do switch to a light week or superset week they get really pumped, but if I do this 2 weeks in a row, it doesn’t happen the 2nd week.
I have had to really lighten the load to get mine to fire. Controlled tempo seems to work best. 4 sec negatives with no rest at top or bottom. With those long femurs it may help to put a 5lb or 25lb plate under each heel to help with the mechanics and get the quads in a more favorable position.
Have you ever taken three or four months to really focus on old fashioned leg lifts and leg curls a couple of times a week? (No wrong answer here. Just inquiring.)
I'm a serious believer in squats and deadlifts for "over alll health & strength," so don't discount those very necessary exercises. (It sounds like you know hat you're doing, but one never knows!) Obviously, by isolating the quads and hammies, you may get good results if you double down on those machines instead of just squats or deads. Rooting for you!
my chest for sure, but in particular my lower pecks.
and I hate decline press, fucking hate it .
Just an idea. My gym has a silly decline press machine that I was super surprised to discover that it activates the ever loving crap out of my lower pecs. (I gotta keep my elbows in to really put all that pressure on the pecs, of course. Elbows out means using more shoulder, blah blah blah.)
I add this as two cents to see if it fits your own gym context. No worries of course.
Mate - if you want your chest to grow, my approach has always been: incline, flat, decline and flat close-grip bench, barbell pullovers and finish with cable flyes - low and high. You can get away without doing declines - but, I would recommend them. Just to alternate - do the same exercises using dumbbells.