Q&A with Stuart, Batch #1
Copyright 2006 by Stuart McRobert

GREAT LATS 
Q: I want great lats, like Ronnie Coleman's. What do I do?

A: First, you'd need the phenomenal heredity for bodybuilding that RC has. Second, you'd need to apply yourself to bodybuilding with great dedication, for many years. You don't have the genetics for bodybuilding that RC has, but you CAN apply yourself to bodybuilding with great dedication, and achieve YOUR potential.

How you apply yourself to bodybuilding will determine whether or not you achieve your potential. If you don't train well, don't eat well, or don't sleep well, your bodybuilding results will be compromised, perhaps severely so.

For your lats, I recommend the combination of deadlifts, rows, and pulldowns (or chin-ups or pull-ups). Do a SINGLE form of each of those three exercises in each training cycle. Deadlift at just one workout each week, but do the row and pulldown (or chin-up or pull-up) either three times every two weeks, or two times a week, depending on your recovery ability. Gradually increase your strength in the three exercises while ALWAYS maintaining correct exercise technique.

For the deadlift, perform either the regular bent-legged deadlift from the floor, or the stiff-legged deadlift from knee height in a power rack. In both cases, your technique must be CORRECT. "Correct" includes keeping a slight hollow or arch in your lower back, and keeping the barbell brushing against your legs and thighs. NEVER round your back in a deadlift. And there are many other essential points of correct technique that you MUST adopt for safe, effective deadlifting. Either deadlift correctly, or don't deadlift.

For the row, use the one-arm dumbbell row with your disengaged hand braced against a bench, the seated cable row, the seated row machine, or a prone row. DON'T use the standard barbell row, or the T-bar row, both of which are fraught with danger. They don't have the body supported, the lower back is excessively involved, it's difficult to keep the lower back hollowed and secure once the weight becomes substantial, and the wrist positioning they impose isn't ideal.

Until you can perform at least six perfect chin-ups or pull-ups, unassisted, stick to the pulldown. Build up your pulldown poundage until it's over your bodyweight. THEN try the chin-up or pull-up.

Your ability to pull yourself overhead is influenced by your bodyfat percentage, and your bodyweight in general. The more bodyfat you have, and the heavier you are, the harder this exercise will be.

HAMSTRINGS 
Q: Do I have to do leg curls for my hamstrings if I squat and deadlift regularly? And why are the hamstrings called "hamstrings"?

A: The hamstring group of muscles, on the rear thigh, is so named because the tendons of those muscles are used by butchers as "strings" to attach curing hams to meat hooks.

The hamstrings consists of three muscles: biceps femoris (which has a short head, and a long head), semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. They originate on the ischial tuberosity (the bone you sit on) and insert on the leg just below the knee. Their tendons of insertion are easily felt behind the knee joint -- the biceps femoris tendon on the lateral side, and the other two are on the medial or inner side. The hamstrings extend the thigh. For example, when you stand on one foot and move the thigh on your other side to the rear, you recruit your hamstrings of the latter thigh, along with your glutes and lower back. The hamstrings also flex the knee -- for example, in the leg curl. So, to fully work the hamstrings, you need to include the leg curl in your training program.

Strong, well-developed hamstrings are important for developing healthy, balanced musculature around the knees and hips. There are also aesthetic benefits -- a curve to the rear thigh, which in turn helps offset the protrusion of the glutes.

Perform each rep of the leg curl with control. And fully contract the hamstrings at the top of each rep, and pause there for a second. Most bodybuilders use too much weight, fail to work their hamstrings correctly, and risk injury to their lower backs in particular.

Some manufacturers produce leg curl machines for seated or standing work, one leg at a time in some cases. Some provide work for both limbs simultaneously, but each thigh may have independent resistance so each would perform its full share of the work.

The standing leg curl is a unilateral movement that usually leads to technique flaws, including a torso twist, and uneven stresses on the spine and torso from the asymmetrical loading.

If there's more than one leg curl machine where you train, find the one that feels best for you. For bodybuilders with back problems, the prone and standing leg curls may irritate the back even when done with correct technique. Try the seated version instead. Generally, the seated leg curl is the pick of the machines -- for comfort, maintenance of correct technique, and isolation of the hamstrings. During the seated leg curl, however, never press down on your thighs -- there should be no exaggerated compression of your hamstrings.

INCLINE BARBELL PRESS 
Q: Is it imperative that I do incline bench work for my pecs? I prefer the regular bench press.

A: The incline press, or incline bench press as it's often called, works the clavicular head of the pecs more than does the regular, horizontal bench press. So, at least for some of your training cycles, include the incline version to try to ensure that your upper pecs aren't neglected. But keep the degree of the incline moderate -- about 30 degrees maximum. Benches set at a greater angle still yield work for the upper pecs, but shift more of it off the pecs.

Generally, I'd recommend the low-incline bench press (bench set at just under 30 degrees) as the best, single form of the bench press. It doesn't permit as much weight as the regular bench press, but produces a better overall distribution of stress on the pecs. Alternatively, if you want to do the regular bench press, cut a set or two off that, and do do the incline bench press as well.

You can use a barbell, or a pair of dumbbells. The former is simpler provided you have a good bench-and-bar-holders set-up. But it doesn't allow the freedom to find the best wrist positioning for you because the barbell fixes you into a rigid pronated grip. Some people find that the barbell irritates their shoulders, for example, but the dumbbells don't due to their potential for producing greater user-friendly wrist positioning.

UPRIGHT ROW 
Q: The upright row always bothers my shoulders. Why do some bodybuilders persist with it?

A: I used to use the upright row when I was young, because it was an exercise that some people recommended. But it always irritated my shoulder joints, so I never persisted with it. I was sensible with that exercise, although I wasn't sensible with some other exercises. Actually, the exercises that led me to many injuries -- squat and deadlift, for example -- weren't the problem. The problem was that I wasn't performing them CORRECTLY. Correct technique is IMPERATIVE. But some exercises, including the upright row, are inferior exercises in general, and for many people they are irritating or even harmful no matter how "correctly" they may be performed.

The upright row is usually done primarily to train the lateral head of the deltoid, and the traps. A much better way to train those muscles is to do an overhead press, a lateral raise, and a shrug. Of course, these three exercises can cause irritation or injury if they are done with incorrect technique. But if done correctly, they are safe and productive exercises.

SEATED CURLS 
Q: What do you think of seated curls, including ez-bar seated curls?

A: Seated curls with a barbell necessitate a partial range of motion because you can't lower the barbell all the way down due to your thighs getting in the way UNLESS you do the barbell curl seated while bent over, legs astride, with your elbows placed on your inner thighs. But I don't recommend that exercise -- there are better ones.

Generally, I prefer dumbbell curls because they permit you to find the right grip spacing, and degree of supination that's most comfortable for your wrists and elbows. A barbell doesn't permit all of that. Furthermore, even for seated dumbbell curls you can lower the dumbbells all the way without your thighs getting in the way, provided you have your thighs together. Seated dumbbell curls give you the option of doing them vertically, or against an incline.

The ez-bar curl is a compromise between a straight barbell, and dumbbells. Depending on where the cambers are placed on the longer bar, and depending on the individual trainee, the ez-bar curl may be more comfortable and safer than the straight-bar curl. But this assumes that correct technique is used. If you do cheating ez-bar curls you'll run the risk of injuring yourself just like you would in the cheating straight-bar curl, although you may reduce the risk of injury to your wrists and elbows.

ELBOW PROBLEMS 
Q: I regularly have a tennis-elbow-like problem in my right elbow that really inhibits my upper-body work. What should I do?

A: Don't train through it! This problem can become chronic if not dealt with.

I've had the same problem, several times. I treated it by laying off the exercises that irritated it, doing trigger point therapy on the musculature surrounding the elbow, and adding finger EXTENSION work to my program.

If you get your left thumb and dig it in to the muscles immediately above and below your right elbow, you'll find some exquisitely painful points. These are the trigger points. Remember where they are. Here's how to treat them: Dig in hard with your thumb on one of the trigger points. Hold it for about ten seconds. Then move to the next trigger point, and work that one hard for about ten seconds. Continue in the same manner until you've worked all the trigger points in the muscles around your elbow. Then do the circuit another two times. Do that two times each day. It may take a few weeks before you feel substantial improvement.

Add finger EXTENSION work. The finger extension is an important exercise although it doesn't build noticeable muscle. But it strengthens the muscles that extend the fingers, whereas exercises that involve the grip work the muscles that FLEX the fingers. A strength imbalance between these opposing muscles contribute to elbow problems.

If this combination of treatment doesn't improve things after a few weeks, visit a professional therapist with experience of treating tennis elbow, for additional help.

CAN'T PUT ON MUSCULAR SIZE 
Q: I'm eating a lot of potatoes, tuna, pasta, chicken, and bananas. I train hard five times a week. I really want to put muscle on, but don't seem to be. Can you help?

A: Provided your diet is reasonable, you're not short of calories and protein, you're sleeping well, and you're not running yourself ragged with demanding activities outside of the gym, the main reason for your slow progress will be your training. From what you've told me, there IS room for improvement in your diet, but the required changes are unlikely to make much difference to the muscle-building results you get.

Unless your training is in good order, nothing on the nutrition front will compensate. That you're training five times a week is an indication you're not training optimally. So, put your training right, and THEN you'll start packing on muscular size.

ASYMMETRICAL DEVELOPMENT 
Q: I've recently started incorporating some core muscle training into my routine. It's going well except I've noticed that my right side is more developed than my left. I realize that this may lead to problems in the future due to a strength imbalance. Do you have any tips on how I can ensure my left side is on a par with my right?

A: This may, at least in part, be a structural issue. I suggest you get checked out by a sports chiropractor.

Training wise, ensure that you give each side the same amount of work -- same effort, same range of motion, same poundage, same progression.

And video tape yourself to check out your exercise technique. There may be errors that would account for one side doing more of the work than the other. Once you've seen yourself on tape, viewed from the side and the front, you may learn a lot about your technique, and where you can improve it.

SQUATS 
Q: I love squats, but I keeping injuring my back and knees. How can I squat without injuring myself?

A: Properly done, by trainees without physical limitations or restrictions, the squat is safe and highly effective. But use poor technique, abuse low reps, overtrain, or try to lift a too-heavy weight, and you'll hurt yourself. Learn to squat correctly before you concern yourself with weight, then add weight slowly while maintaining correct technique.

Before you can squat with correct technique, you need to be flexible enough to ADOPT the necessary positioning, and have sufficient back strength to be able to MAINTAIN the correct back positioning. You especially need flexible calves, hamstrings, thigh adductors, and buttocks. You also need flexible shoulders and pectorals in order to hold the bar in the right position with ease.

If you've had a major back injury, get the clearance of a chiropractor before you barbell squat. If you've had any minor back injuries, still get a chiropractor's clearance.

No matter how effective an exercise may be for someone, if it doesn't suit YOU it will do you no good, and perhaps do you harm. When considering the preferences of a trainer, coach, or author, consider YOUR limitations and technical proficiency.

How well you squat is heavily affected by your leverages -- your relative torso, thigh, and leg lengths, and relative femur (thighbone) and tibia (shinbone) lengths. And there are other important structural factors, including muscle insertion points (which vary from person to person, to some degree), which influence squatting efficiency.

With correct technique (including NO ROUNDING OF THE BACK), controlled rep speed, and the right weight selection, the squat is safe and productive for many if not most trainees. For those who can't squat safely even when using correct technique and rep speed, they should use alternative exercises -- for example, the leg press. But even then, exercise technique and rep speed control need to be correct. All exercises will eventually produce injury if done incorrectly.

The spine is naturally curved when seen from the side, including an inward or concave curve in the lumbar area. This curvature is the natural, strong structure for absorbing and distributing stress efficiently. When the curves are lost, the strong, load-bearing capability is diminished. THAT is why you should never round your back when you squat (or deadlift).

And never squat hard unless you're in a power rack with safety bars set at the right height to catch the bar if you can't get up. Squat stands that have built-in safety bars to catch the weight if you get stuck, will work, too. But the height of the safety bars needs to be adjustable to fit your height and range of motion. If there are no self-spotting safety devices, you MUST have two strong spotters standing by, one at each end of the bar, when you squat. Getting stuck under a squat bar with no assistance to help you out, is terrifying, and has caused some dreadful injuries.

ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROW 
Q: I've seen some guys use huge dumbbells for the one-arm row, and yank the dumbbells up. Is this really helping to develop their backs?

A: Not much, if at all. But it greatly increases their risk of injury. All exercises provide some latitude for cheating, but some provide much more than others. If you securely support yourself with your disengaged arm in the one-arm row, you can cheat a great deal. Many bodybuilders have a poundage obsession, and if they can use more weight, regardless of their technique, they will. You should use as much weight as possible BUT WHILE MAINTAINING CORRECT EXERCISE TECHNIQUE.

When you do the one-arm dumbbell row, do it correctly, and load your back musculature properly. THEN you'll actually stimulate muscle growth PROVIDED you train with enough effort, and gradually increase the poundage used over time WITHOUT compromising on your exercise technique.

If you get injured it will seriously limit your training, and perhaps even prevent hard training for a while. A serious injury can devastate your training permanently.

Train hard, and train progressively, but ALWAYS train with correct exercise technique.

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