Exercises

[JimmyC]

hi im sorry for the barrage of questions, but theres a bunch of things i want to get cleared up so i can make the most of my HST cycles. here it goes..

Shoulders:
i have used incline bench and dips in almost every hst cycle i have done, but i have never done an overhead press movement for shoulders in a cycle before. i want to add one to my next cycle. so my question is which would be better, DB shoulder press or BB shoulder press? also, for each one, should i have my arms in front of me or out on the sides of me at the bottom portion of the movement?

Forearms:
my forearms are a muscle that i really want to bring up. am i right to be doing wrist curls and reverse wrist curls for them? would i benefit from doing them a few times a day everyday? also, would it be too much strain on the CNS if i were to do one set of static BB holds with a towel wrapped around it to failure everyday?

Biceps:
what would be the best degree of an incline for incline db curls? any tips formwise or otherwise on how to get the most out of the stretch?

Triceps:
would skullcrushers be better flat or on a decline? again, any tips formwise or otherwise on how to get the most out of the stretch?

Legs:
in my cycle, since i train everyday, i alternate between squats and SLDLs, so i do each one every other day. now should i be doing leg exts on the days im not doing squats and leg curls on the days im not doing SLDLs? ..or should i be doing the leg exts and leg curls every day? ..or neither, bc the leg exts and leg curls wont really make a difference anyway?

Pullups/Chinups:
which one should i use (to make my lats grow the most)? i do bent over bb rows also, fyi. i have been doing pullups lately in my cycles, and they seem to be hitting my lats pretty good. but i can use more weight with chins, so should i do those instead, if the purpose of the exercise is for my lats ?

Traps:
shrugs. to do or not to do?

Chest:
flat bench or incline bench- is one better than the other?
also, if i do flyes as LS for the chest, i really only feel it in my shoulders and the very outside of the chest. is that okay or should i change something?

 

[vicious]

Quote[/b] ]so my question is which would be better, DB shoulder press or BB shoulder press? also, for each one, should i have my arms in front of me or out on the sides of me at the bottom portion of the movement?

DB press (with parallel grip) is a little safer on the shoulders. I like to drop them toward my sides, but I'm not sure how much difference it makes either way.

Quote[/b] ]Biceps:
what would be the best degree of an incline for incline db curls? any tips formwise or otherwise on how to get the most out of the stretch?

Bench as low as possible. As you lower it, cave your shoulder blades inwards and consciously move your elbows outwards. Palms up grip with weight oriented away away from body. Choose maxes that would suit a normal DB curl, and move up the elbow angle to make the raising portion easier.

Quote[/b] ]would skullcrushers be better flat or on a decline? again, any tips formwise or otherwise on how to get the most out of the stretch?

Not sure if flat or decline itself makes that much of a difference. Key is to orient the elbow joint as far back and outward as possible. As you lower the weight, you consciously push with the elbow joint backward and outward to accentuate the tension across the muscle. Similar advice applies to the lowering of the bicep curl. When raising the weight becomes difficult, just use a pressing motion to bring it up.

Quote[/b] ]which one should i use (to make my lats grow the most)? i do bent over bb rows also, fyi. i have been doing pullups lately in my cycles, and they seem to be hitting my lats pretty good. but i can use more weight with chins, so should i do those instead, if the purpose of the exercise is for my lats ?

Chins.

Quote[/b] ]shrugs. to do or not to do?

Do, but look at the ground while doing it, when you hit 10s. It accentuates stretch.

Quote[/b] ]Chest:
flat bench or incline bench- is one better than the other?
also, if i do flyes as LS for the chest, i really only feel it in my shoulders and the very outside of the chest. is that okay or should i change something?

Incline and flat work the upper pecs (a tiny muscle) about the same. Flat works the lower pecs better. While I think both upper and lower pecs should be developed, the upper pecs is a much smaller muscle; thus, overdeveloping the lower pecs gives you a droopy manboob look. Great for the stripper cleavage, I suppose.

As for the LS fly, assuming you have the incline bench set as low as possible, it's really then about the angle of the fly movement itself. If you lower the dumbbell more toward your waistline, then you'll feel more of a pull across your entire pecs. Whereas if you lower with your shoulders pinching inwards, the movement hits more of the delts. It's actually unsafe that way because it then involves your cuff. If you use this movement as your general stretch-point, then I recommend going into a pressing motion when raising the weight as you approach the max.

cheers,
Jules

 

[JimmyC]

Quote[/b] ]Bench as low as possible. As you lower it, cave your shoulder blades inwards and consciously move your elbows outwards. Palms up grip with weight oriented away away from body.

im not sure what you mean by "with weight oriented away from body"

also, should i use leg extentions and leg curls in my cycle or are squats and SLDLs every other day efficient enough?


btw, thank you so much for taking the time and effort to help me out

 

[vicious]

Quote[/b] ]im not sure what you mean by "with weight oriented away from body"

Basically with the hands at an angle where the pinkies are higher than the thumbs. You could hold the DBs in a slightly unbalanced fashion (pinkies closer to or touching the plate) to accomplish this. You would only emphasize this orientation while lowering the weight. You fan outwards. It's just a little thing to enhance the stretch further.

Oh . . .forgot about the skullcrushers. To emphasize that stretch even further, you also angle your elbow joints closer together while holding your shoulder position . . . so that it looks like a V. That is, you fan in. It's roughly the opposite of what you'd with the bicep curl.

Quote[/b] ]also, should i use leg extentions and leg curls in my cycle or are squats and SLDLs every other day efficient enough?

SLDL and squats are both superior to extensions and curls. Extensions and curls are peak-contraction exercises and are good for emphasizing the burn.

cheers,
Jules