firmanator’s BodyBlog

I am very mechanically minded/inclined and being that I was a mechanical engineering major for 3 1/2 years, I have done a lot of math and physics as well…so pardon me for being a nerd in this blog haha, just some tips for you guys!!
The way I think and see things is different from most people. I see how forces are applied in situations in my head. I always visualize what certain motions or workouts will do to my muscles, and where the most emphasis lies….Since gravity is obvious and pulls in the same direction, most people do ok with that. But with cables, you can vary the direction of the pull on your muscles, so this is where i usually see people with the machines and their bodies set at the wrong angles…

This being said, I think people would get more out of their lifts if they put some thought into how they are pushing weight and the angles they use in different motions. Basically, one way to think about it is the hardest part of a lift is when the weight is pulling at a 90 degree angle to your arm, or whatever body part. Thats how torque works. If you push a wrench on a stubborn nut you want to push the wrench 90 degrees to it to exert the most torque. Also, the longer the lever arm, the more torque can be applied….T=(force)(lever arm length)
In a curl, the hardest point with a free bar is when your forearms are parallel to the floor (momentum aside…) Also, most people tend to get stuck on a bench press right about when their upper arms are parallel to the floor….all this is due to gravity being a vertical force.

So when I do concentration curls with a cable, i step to the side and back a bit from the pulley at the floor, (curling with my right arm, cable at the right, and i stay to the left of it) which puts more emphasis on the lower part of my bicep. Since the cable is pulling to the outside, away from the curl motion, and a little in front of me, instead of straight down, its harder on the outer and lower bicep, which is exactly where i want it…

If you are doing a lateral cable raise for your shoulder, dont have the cable set too high off the ground, or stand too far from the pulley. If you do that, as you raise your arm, your cable gets more and more inline with your arm, and reduces the force on your shoulder greatly. Think of it this way, will it be easier for you to hold a dumbel straight out to the side at 90 degrees or barely extended with your arm just off your hip? obviously it will be harder if youre standing because the force is at 90 degrees to your arm…

Another common problem i see is people doing cable flies on the the machines. People will set the arms too narrow or wide…If its too narrow, the cable will pull hard in the beginning, but then as it gets more inline with your arm, you will hardly feel anything as you get to where your hands are touching. If its too wide, then it will be way to easy in the beginning and hard in the middle. This is all fine if you actually realize that this is going on…cuz this can be used for weak point training.  Also, if your arms are bent way too much in a fly, the lever arm is shortened, reducing torque and difficulty through the motion. So keep your arms only slightly bent in a fly, and you will also be able to squeeze all the way in more effectively at the finish as well…

well thats my little thought for today! hope I was not too confusing and that you actually got something out of my blog! happy lifting…

Arnold’s philosophy was that you are walking on your calves every day. Every day they are doing raises, pushing your body all over the place. I see too many people putting 1 plate on the sit down calf raise machine, then they start bouncing the weight up and down really fast, while grimacing in the mirror with the "effort". This hardly does anything because the weight isnt even a challenge and all theyre doing is using momentum and gravity to throw the weight up and down quickly.

I have had people ask me how to get better calves or what I do for mine and so I help them out. Your calves recover fast, and since they are used to easy weight (your body) you have to hit them heavy!! I believe either Arnold or some guy he talked to in the gym did raises with 1000 lbs! Arnold had very weak calves in the beginning but through intense/heavy training, they became amazing and proportional to his arms. (Thats another thing, your calves should be somewhat close to the size of your arms).

I have found that Arnold’s way works very well, and I always throw on quite a bit of weight, then let my calves stretch all the way down, and squeeze all the way up. Smooth, consistent pace, and controlled. You can achieve this type of motion the easiest on the standing raise (with the weight on your shoulders). This allows you to really stretch out your calves at the bottom and really flex them at the top. This way of working them also adds length to your calves.

Another great thing that has worked for me (also Arnold approved haha) is supersetting on the machines. I will usually start with the seated raise, then hop to the seated extension (where your legs are out in front). I will hop back and forth for 3 or 4 sets (1 15-20 rep warmup each, then 2-3 heavy) Then I will finish with the standing raise for 3-4 sets really heavy sets. Sometimes I will hit all three in a row, then rest, then again, for 3 total sets each if I wanna burn them. For me, I always like doing them at the end of my leg workout, because I need all the energy I have for my thigh lifts, then finish with the "small" area, my calves.

One last tip….I always switch up my foot position. I start with standard shoulder width, feet straight. Then a little narrower with my toes inward (to emphasize the outer head). Then I use a wider stance, toes out (to emphasize, you guessed it, the inner head). This approach has definitely helped my overall calf development, filling them out completely from inner to outer, top to bottom.
So do not be afraid to pile on weight! as long as you are not sacrificing your form and/or ROM. Go out and command your calves to grow! haha, hope this has been of some help!

As with most people i see or know, my upper chest was smaller and weaker than my middle/lower chest. I never really realized it much or put effort into changing it until the last year or so, and now i use the priority principle much more.

I started doing my incline bench (dumbell or barbell) first in the workout, when i was fresh. Then i move on to my flat presses and so on. This made a dramatic difference in my chest development. Where I used to be able to push about 30 pounds more on my flat bench, now they have evened out, and i can rep just about as much on my incline presses as with my flat. It took about 3-4 months to even out while using this method.

I read in some article about some bodybuilder, i forget who, and he said he was yet to see someone with an overdeveloped upper chest. That hit me, and really changed my chest days haha

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