The "Iron
Guru" Vince Gironda is one of my training
heroes...he came up with training techniques,
programs, exercises and nutritional techniques
that were seriously 40 to 50 years ahead of
his time...and all without the benefit of
advanced formal education (or maybe that lack
of education is why he didn't fall into the
trap of dismissing radical ideas!).
These tips
are my homage to Vince Gironda and his training
methods...(click
here to check out a full book on him now).
#1 - Abdominals
- Lying Leg Raise and Thrust
Lie flat on
your back with your hands palms-down against
the floor, placed underneath your glutes.
Now, keeping your legs stiff and straight,
raise them up off the floor until thye're
vertical.
Next, thrust
your legs and hips UPWARD as though trying
to put footprints on the ceiling. Your upper
back, arms, and hands will be all that is
in contact with the floor.
To make it harder,
try to crunch your chest up as well, as you
thrust your feet up. Lower your legs until
your lower back is back on the floor then
lower your feet down almost to the floor (don't
touch the floor to maintain tension in the
abs).
Keep your legs
stiff and straight throughout the movement.
These are much more effective than simple
lying leg raises as the thrust up further
works the lower abs.
#2 - Back - Forehead-Banging
Pull-Ups
Use a moderately
wide, palms-forward grip. You will be pulling
up to the front. Pull yourself up but keep
your body about six inches away from the bar.
When your forehead
is level with the bar, stop, squeeze, then
move your body in horizontally and touch the
bar with your forehead then push back out
six inches without dropping down at all. Lower
from there. It is executed like an upsidown
"L" pattern.
This will hit
the teres major HARD. As you come forward,
try to force your elbows as far back behind
you as you can by trying to push your forehead
into the bar. This will maximize the effects.
This is a tough
exercise and you need to be pretty strong
with pull-ups to begin with. To make these
even harder, when your forehead touches the
bar, try to force your body forward but resist
with your neck muscles. Force your elbows
back and puff out your chest.
#3 - Biceps - Scoop Curls
These look like
an uppercut done in a curl movement. As you
curl up, pretend as though you are scooping
up an armload of something, like you're scraping
the bottom of a bit bowl.
This movement
looks like a front raise and a curl executed
simultaneously. Finish with the bar up by
your forehead and your elbows pointed directly
forward. Concentrate on squeezing the biceps
the entire way up. This will put more of a
peak contraction on your biceps at the top
of the movement.
#4 - Standing Calf Raise Trick
- Round Dumbell
When doing one-legged
calf raises, stand on a dumbell handle (one
with round plates so it rolls). This will
make you work to stabilize. It will also allow
you to roll over the top of the handle (because
of the shape) giving you full extension of
the calf at the top.
As you come
up, roll the dumbell backward a bit. Roll
it forward as you come down. This movement
of the dumbell allows you to dynamically adjust
the angle of tension on the calves and work
WITH the anatomy and biomechanics of the ankle
to maximize calf contraction at the top and
stretch at the bottom.
It is also
possible to do these on the actual dumbell
plates (make sure your are hanging on with
both hands if you do this version as it is
extremely unstable). Use a larger dumbell,
e.g. 85 pounder, if you can, though a smaller
one will work.
#5 - Chest - Partner-Aggravated
Bench Press for Explosiveness
If you wish
to develop explosiveness in your bench, try
partner-aggravated bench (a term I came up
with - I like it better than partner-resisted).
Instead of spotting you, your partner should
lean on the bar in order to add weight to
it (enough so you can't move it). Use a light
weight - 50 to 60% of your 1 RM and do sets
of 6 reps.
Lower the bar
normally with no partner resistance. Then
at the bottom, your partner should lean heavily
on the bar so that you are unable to press
it. Your partner then removes their weight
very suddenly at the point where you have
a lot of tension built up so you explode the
bar up off your chest (they should step back
from the bar so they don't get knocked in
the face with it).
This type of
training will engage a lot of motor units
in order to try and move the resistance, then
force them to explode all at once at the release.
It's like revving an engine with the brakes
on then releasing them and peeling out.
#6 - Shoulders - Feet-Up Seated
Dumbell Shoulder Press
I find this
trick gives me tighter form and a better feel
on the delts in the dumbell shoulder press.
Try doing it with your feet elevated about
one foot over hip height (when you're seated).
This locks your upper body into place, making
it a more stable platform for the lift.
Use another
bench or a dumbell rack or even a Smith machine
bar set at the appropriate height. Use dumbells
that you can swing up yourself or get someone
to hand them to you. Hold the dumbells down
beside you, put your feet up, then swing the
dumbells up. Push back with your feet to keep
your hips from moving forward. Ensure your
back is arched. Now press from there. Your
body is basically wedged into the setup and
you can use leg power to stabilize yourself.
#7 - Forearms - Cross-Bench
Wrist Curls
Squat down beside
a bench so that only your forearms across
the width of the bench and peform the wrist
curls from there, instead of sitting with
your forearms on your thighs as is the normal
method.
This version
allow you to keep your body mass below the
bar, which in turn allows you to use body
momentum to move heavier weight. Simply drop
down as you curl up the bar, transferring
your downward momentum into the bar's upward
momentum like a lever. For maximum forearm
strength, use this technique and only do a
partial range of motion (middle 3/5 or so
- don't go all the way down or up) and use
a lot more weight.
#8
- Thighs - Making the Leg Press Easier
on the Back
One
of the biggest mistakes I see in the leg
press is at the bottom, in an attempt
to get a "full" of motion, the
trainer allows the glutes to come up,
rounding the lower back while knees come
into the chest.
This
puts tremendous pressure on the lower
back and should be avoided. In order to
maintain the arch in your lower back,
try putting a rolled up towel under it
when doing leg presses.
If your butt comes off the seat, you will
immediately feel it in your lower back
and you will be able to correct yourself
sooner.
Another
way to maintain the arch is to raise your
arms overhead and grip the top of the
backrest (if possible on your machine).
This pushes the lower ribcage up which
in turn arches the back and keeps the
hips down. If you are using very heavy
weight for low reps this may not be advisable,
as you need to hold the handgrips for
those, but it's a great way to teach your
body what the proper position actually
IS during the leg press.
#9 - Traps - Do Your Shrugs
Kneeling
Most
shrug variations can be done from a kneeling
position. This will remove any help you
might get from your legs and forces your
traps to do the majority of the work,
making it a much stricter movement.
It also allows you to do very heavy barbell
shrugs without having to use a rack to
set the bar on and without having to deadlift
the bar to the standing position. You
can use a folded towel for padding for
kneeling on.
#10
- Triceps - Preacher Bench Pushdowns
Set
the preacher bench under a high pulley.
Rest your upper arms on the bench like
your would for a preacher curl but grab
the high pulley bar and do a pushdown
instead of curling, keeping your upper
arms glued to the bench. Any variety of
pushdown can be done with this and it
eliminates any cheating you may unknowingly
(or knowingly) be doing.
Be sure to add your comments below,
especially after you give it a try!
