Triceps, calves and glute-hammy tie-in
Here you are a fitness competitor and there’s no doubting that the "Money-Muscles" on your body are looking quite excellent: IE your abdominal complex (waist, abs, obliques, serratus), shoulders, back, thighs and biceps. Now what, right? Well, let’s take a page from the historical requirements for men’s bodybuilding. Look at the overall X-frame and is it not only proportionate, but aesthetically pleasing? Is it in effect, balanced? Balance is a word that, in my opinion, has been lost when talking about today’s judging criteria, whether it be for men’s or women’s bodybuilding, fitness and / or figure. So, where the heck am I going with this right? I pretty much named off all of the heavy hitters when it comes to the physique…..
In the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend." What about balance??? And what the heck is that anyway? Balance is defined as the, "Equal distribution of weight or amount…an equal state of body" (American Century Dictionary). Many of today’s competitors have forgotten about the miscellaneous muscle groups that are less noticeable, but are very much an integral part of balance. Such as: Triceps, calves, glutes, hammy’s, forearms and yes, the trapezius. I could go on and mention many other tie-in points as well as break each muscle group down into their many different sections, but for the purposes here, let’s start with just the Tri’s, calves and glute-hammy tie-in.
Triceps
To build and shape effective and superior triceps, one must first understand that they are an extremely strong muscle group. With three heads working efficiently together, they can not only move a tremendous load of weight, they’re durable too. So, to get those back sides up to beefy, or at a minimum, detailed status, they must be worked hard, heavy and intensely. The following is an example of such a work out schedule:
4 X 15 rope pushdowns
2 X 15 overhead dumbell extensions
2 X 15 lying skull-crushers*
2 X 15 close-grip bench press*
*Close-grip bench presses and skull-crushers should be accomplished in "super-set" fashion.
Calves
Now, much like triceps, calves are strong! The only thing that needs to be said to demonstrate this, is to remember that calves are involved any time we want to move our bodies from point A to point B. That’s quite a load for some of us, yes? Now, calves are also a complex muscle group, meaning they consist of both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. So, in response they need to have a veritable plethora of exercise fluctuation induced upon them for any recognizable growth. The following is an excellent example of such an exercise schedule:
4 X 40 standing calf raises (alternate: donkey calf raises(legs must be locked out))
5 X 20 seated calf raises (alternate: calf pushes on the leg press(legs must be bent at knee))
2 X 100 steps for each foot with dumbells (start on ball of foot on up to tip of toe for each step)
Glute-hammy tie-in
Now for an extremely important tie-in point that has probably single handedly been responsible for more competitors losing competitions than any other body part, but is remarkably and many a times…….simply forgotten about. Enter…. the glute-hamstring tie-in!! You might have the most fantastic lat spread or just an absolutely unbelievable abdominal complex, but unfortunately, these beautiful accomplishments are completely forgotten about if you have a saggy butt!! IE, there is not a sharp edgy contrast between your glutes and hammy’s. Not sure how to get this? Well, alternately and in lieu of an actual workout, here are some movements, and / or techniques that will assist you with this oft forgotten about area of the body:
*DO NOT!! use heavy weight when focusing on this area…..it is much more about the feel than anything else! Rep ranges should be in the order of 15 - 20.
Deep Well Squats (all the way down……nope deeper than that….all the way, you slacker)
Stiff legged dead-lifts (works the lower back as well for added efficiency and benefit( KEEP YOUR LOWER BACK VERTICAL AND COMPLETELY STRAIGHT TO AVOID INJURY))
Lunges (Walking lunges are the best, and the longer the step, the more glute-hammy stress)
*One last note on any load bearing work you accomplish in hopes of building larger muscles - you must (MUST) feel the muscle being worked. You are spinning your wheels if you can’t feel the muscle working…..I can’t stress this enough. The burn tells you when it’s working!!
In conclusion, there you go! If you’ve been coming up just short in competitions, or maybe you’re just more interested in a nicer butt, beefier arms and / or a nicer set of calves, maybe applying a little more emphasis to one or all three of these areas will be the golden ticket to the Motherland!!
