Welcome to the training advice page. This page is dedicated over the next few months to giving specialised training techniques to those who wish to improve their weaker body parts or improve their physique overall. The specialised techniques comes from 25 years hard won training experience of a competitive bodybuilder, also used by other athletes to great effect.

Training advice on Biceps

Barbell Curls

This month’s exercises are the barbell curl and hammer curl. For barbell curl I suggest using a straight bar rather then an E-Z bar, this will put more contraction on to the biceps. Standing in a upright position place your hands on the barbell shoulder width apart, palms facing upwards, do not grip the bar to tight as this will put more stress on the forearms. With your arms slightly placed forward in a fixed position so your elbows are in front of your side oblique’s, curl the barbell up, keeping from the shoulders to the elbows dead still, contract the biceps at the top of the curl and back down to a full arm lockout to stretch the biceps, remembering to keep the elbows fixed in one position to put full emphasis on the biceps, I recommend no more than 8 sets in total for biceps as this is a small muscle group.

Hammer Curls  

Biceps Barbell Curl Video 

Biceps Hammer Curls Video

Training Advice on Triceps

Tricep Pushdown

This months exercises is the tricep pushdown and the rope split. For pushdowns use a overhead pulley machine, attach a straight or angled bar, place your hands 10" apart with thumbs over (not under) the bar, this helps to lesting your grip taking tention out of thr forearm onto the tricep. Keep your elbows tucked in to your sides and from your shoulders down to your elbows should remain still through out the set. Start the movement with forearms parallel to the floor and push down and outwards away from your body at the same time (the function of the tricep is to push) by pushing the bar slightly away from you instaed of the conventional pushing straight down to the floor puts a greater work load on the tricep

   Strating position just above parallel.                             Half way position                                  Full arm lock out finish position

Tricep Rope Split.

The key to developing good triceps is to work all 3 haeds to the tricep muscle, one which is over looked is the inner tricep, this can be trained specifically using a split movement, used the same as the pushdown movement (above) but with a rope, hoilding the rope in a hammer position, hands 6" apart press down and away from the body, half way position start to turn both hands inwards so palms are facing the floor and part your arms (splitting) the movement, this will put maximum stress on the inner head of the tricep. Again with this exercise do NOT sacrifice form for weight. 

Tricep Video

Training Advice on Chest

Welcome to the training advice page. This page is dedicated over the next few months to giving specialised training techniques to those who wish to improve their weaker body parts or improve their physique overall. The specialised techniques comes from 25 years hard won training experience of a competitive bodybuilder, also used by other athletes to great effect.

This month's exercise is the decline bench press, this exercise is performed differently from the conventional decline press, instead of taking the bar to the pectoral muscle, the bar in this movement is lowered to the neck which brings in more of the chest and less of the front delt. You will have to lower your weight poundages but the overload will be much greater on the whole of the pectoral muscles. The best way to perform this exercise is in a Smith machine: 

Slide a 45% decline bench under Smith Machine bar, with bottom of bench directly placed under bar, by laying on the bench with your head placed at the bottom of bench, hands grip shoulder width apart, keeping the elbows back, lower the bar down to your neck (without weight) adjust bench forward or back for right position. Warm up with just the bar to give you a full stretch.

Decline Press

starting position  (bar directly above neck)	half way position	full rep range to neck

Decline Press Video part 1  

Decline Press Video part 2