How To: Smith Machine- Barbell Rows

One Arm barbell smith machine rows can be used by beginners as a substitute to Barbell Rows.

Crazy Leg Workout

Quad Training with H.I.T Method, with all intensity helps in transforming not only a diced quad muscle but also helps over all physique. Did a leg workout and wanted to mix it up a bit, so did 45 minutes of Stationary Bicycle at higher pace which not only is a great cardio exercise but also helps build quads. Then went on to do a 100 Reps of Machine Leg Press, felt good and ended up doing 133 Reps. The last exercise was Hack Squat did 4 Sets of 10 – 12 Reps. Do this with 20 seconds rest in between the sets and your legs will be on fire.

Here is the Leg Routine:

Stationary Bicycle 45 Minutes

Machine Leg Press 133 Reps

Hack Squat 4 Sets of 10 – 12 Reps

Killer Triceps workout for Huge Triceps

If you need to build big Arms you got to build huge triceps. Triceps is 66 percent of your Arm, so rest is your biceps. Triceps has three muscle heads they are; lateral, middle and long head. Long head of the triceps is the largest muscle head of the three.If you want to get huge triceps here is my Killer Triceps workout for Huge Triceps.

Triceps responds to various moments like dipping, press down and extensions. I suggest you to use various training strategies or training methodology to force the muscle to grow. You can use the shocking principle, forced reps and drop sets to name a few.

The top three exercises I suggest for building Killer Triceps and exercises for huge triceps are skull crushers, close grip bench press, dumbbell extensions or barbell extensions and Dips performed on a parallel bar. Use these exercises in your triceps workout routine and you will see great improvement in your triceps thus increasing the overall size of Arms.This is the recipe for Triceps workout for Huge Triceps

Here is a training video of me, training triceps at Fitness World Gym Bangalore. I performed following exercises.

Close Grip Bench Press - 5 Sets of 8 Reps

Parallel Bar Dips - 5 Sets of 8 Reps

Skull Crushers - 5 Sets of 8 Reps

Best Exercises for Thicker Back

Exercises Performed:

Dead lifts 5 sets of 5 Reps

Barbell Rows 5 sets of 5 Reps

Lats pull down alternating close and wide grip 3 Sets Of 8-14 Reps

Pull Ups To Failure

5 Exercises For Massive Shoulders

Shoulder muscle can be a very stubborn body part for some despite hard training sessions and constant effort. Some don’t see the results they would like to see on them otherwise. Try these 5 exercises and you will see your shoulders responding to workouts in no time!

5 Exercises for Massive Shoulders is something which has helped me to make lot of gains and make my shoulder muscles respond with great development. Shoulder muscles have 3 heads which are front, rear and side, I recommend always do the compound movement first which hits every fiber in your shoulder muscle and gives you that great foundation with mass.This is how I learned how to build shoulder mass.

Clean and press, military press are some of the best compound exercises which you can start your shoulder workout with and make sure you go heavy on them without compromising the form. I suggest do 5 sets and no more keep the rep range around 7-10 and you will definitely feel the intensity and over a period of time great results. Shoulders as we know makes a big impact; consider you hitting a back double biceps pose and a greatly developed shoulder will make a big difference between an average pose and a great pose.

The wider your shoulders are the beautiful your frame looks and when your side delts are huge they make your arms appears more defined and ripped. Hit lateral raises one Arm or both arms at the same time to hit those side delts.

Do these 5 exercises in the same order and rep range and your shoulders will start responding in no time

Barbell Clean and Press 5 sets of 7 Reps  

Dumbbell Press 5 sets of 7 Reps   

One Arm Lateral Raises   5 sets of 10 Reps   

Arnold Press 5 sets of 10 Reps.

Barbell Shrugs 5 sets of 6-8 Reps   

Try these exercises and start saving money for a bigger sports jacket, because in sometime you will not be able to fit into one you already have!

Greg Plitt Dead at 37

Greg Plitt is a world famous fitness model, certified fitness trainer and Actor. 

He passed away on 17 January2015, he was 37 year old. He is a legend in the fitness industry that has helped thousands of people transform their physique.

3 Exercises To Get Big Arms

How to build biceps fast? How to get big Arms? These are questions people often ask. Desperate times ask for desperate measures, you need big arms you got to train big and hard, that’s the only way! Big on basics and heavy on the curling bar is what I say is the formula.

I am not saying this is the magical recipe for massive arms but definitely it will put you on the right path for to get those huge arms. 3 Exercises to Get Big Arms is something that I have tested and used in my Arm workout routine and gained lot of size on my arms. So if I am saying this program or the exercise works then it definitely works, as I have seen the results first hand. Throw way those 20 reps of this and 25 reps of that, if you want big arms. Sure those routine might give you the pump by they aren’t going to help you with building massive arms.

Arms have can be broken down into two muscle groups, biceps and triceps. Triceps is the biggest muscle group in your entire arm and training them can get you huge size, I have covered that in my previous article with workout video on Triceps workout for Huge Triceps. But here we are chasing the second link in the huge arms which is the biceps!

Lots of sets and moderate reps is the mantra, when say moderate you go to failure. Failure here on the entire workout has to be around 7 -8 rep range so adjust the poundage accordingly.

Barbell curls 10 sets to failure

Seated barbell curls 6 sets to failure

Preacher curls 6 sets to failure

Hammer curls 5 sets to failure

Do the outlined exercises in the same format and will see your biceps growing big like that of Larry Scott!

Nutrition – Fish and Shrimp

Shrimps:

Shrimps are excellent source of high protein.

No carbs and No fat.

They are an unusually concentrated source of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient called astaxanthin.

It’s not unusual for a single 4-ounce serving of the shrimp to contain 4 milligrams of astaxanthin.

Astaxanthin known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Fish:

Fish is a food of excellent nutritional value.

Fish provides high quality protein and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.

It’s rich in Vitamins A and D, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium and iodine.

Jacked and Ripped Men of Hollywood

Hollywood has always displayed great heroic characters on screen and some of the actors have gone to great length to match the role. Rambo, Rocky, Commando, Terminator, Hercules, 300 and Thor, the list goes on and on. Few Hollywood actors have put in great effort and dedication to make the role memorable and some do sport that physique throughout their life.

Few of the Hollywood actors who personified the movie role and do have great physiques off-screen too are as follows:

1.Arnold Schwarzenegger.

2.Sylvester Stallone.

3. Jean Claude Van damme.

4.Dolph Lundgren.

5.Dwayne Johnson.

6. Jason Statham.

7. Vin Diesel.

8.Ryan Reynolds.

9.Chris Hemsworth.

10.Matthew Mcconaughey.

Training Frequency

Whether you are a beginner or a Pro bodybuilder, most frequently debated and sort after topic is training frequency. Your gains and progress in the iron game depends on figuring out what exactly works out for you when it terms of training frequency.

We always have had debate as to which is the best way train, is it volume training or very low volume routines. Volume training was popularized by Arnold Schwarzenegger and H.I.T by Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer. Even from top level athlete of 90’s stand point Dorian Yates did advocate low volume training and did say that’s what helped him win six Olympia titles. Well the fact I am writing about this is not to replicate an Olympia winning physique, but just to make sure what suits better for the general public. People, who don’t want to compete, but want to get in shape, people who are athletes and want to cross train to get in shape and better their performance in their respective sport.

Now let’s face it, we all know most pro bodybuilders are on steroids of one form or another. So when a pro is on steroids he can train twice a day and still recover faster from the rigorous workouts and keep training 6 days a week. But that’s not the case with a layman who trains naturally just to get in shape, him training even 5 days a week once per day can be end up being over training. Over training not only deprives him of making muscle gains but also de-motivates him and can end up with injury. I strongly recommend beginners and natural athletes to train low volume and high intensity. Train should be brief and relatively in frequent in case of mass cycle. I would say train anywhere from 3 days to 4 days a week to get good results naturally.

Nutrition For 6 Pack Abs

Let me set the record straight, there is no thing called spot reduction. If you want the 6 pack abs it has to be a combination of hard work with weight training and strict diet. Remember great bodies are made in kitchen not in the gym. I have already explained the tricks and trade of getting ripped in my previous article ABC of Getting Ripped. Workout and dieting is important, but most importantly what you put in your body and how often is also quite essential to getting the six packs.

Here is my strategy to get the six pack abs:

1.       Load up on Dairy.

2.       Add whey protein in contrast to soya.

3.       Eat huge amount of food but in small meals, say 6 to 7 meals a day.

4.       Drink green Tea.

5.       Eat lean protein like fatty fish and sea food rich calcium.

6.       Cut down on sweet.

7.       Use Rum in your protein.

Incorporate these into your diet and work your way up to achieve the six pack abs. 

Barn Door Shoulders

Thick, wide and powerful shoulders not only make heads turn but also provide great strength in becoming a strongman. Shoulders are the most widely used muscle group in upper body. Wash board abs are sure aesthetic and might be please in women’s eyes but when it comes to raw power and brute strength one has to have powerful and thick shoulders.

I think shoulders in combination with powerful back define one’s power and prowess in lifting heavy loads of weights. Most people lack great shoulder development and sometimes if they do they do lack or the shoulder power isn’t really up to the mark in terms of functional strength.

I personally have always had decent shoulder development along with functional strength. Single most impressive exercise to develop shoulder power would be overhead press in my opinion. Of course there is clean and jerk and snatch. Other bodybuilding exercises like lateral raises, front raises and dumbbell or barbell press attacking the different shoulder heads.

My top picks for the shoulder exercises are as follows:

Overhead Press

Clean and Jerk

Dumbbell /Barbell Press

Lateral and front raises.

Do these exercises and progressively increase the poundage and trust me you will make the heads turn.

1980 Mr. Olympia: Fair or fixed?

Was 1980 Mr. Olympia fixed? Did Arnold Schwarzenegger really win the Olympia that night? Were Frank Zane and Tom Platz better than Arnold that night? The 1980 Olympia raised so many questions and eye brows that night, which is still the most controversial Olympia till date. We take a look back at the history and what happened that Olympia night.

Arnold who had told everyone that he will be at the Mr. Olympia to do the commentary at the  show, decided to compete in the event. All the while people speculated that he was in competition shape and might compete, but no one was sure as Arnold brushed it off saying that he was getting in shape for the movie “Conan the Barbarian” .The contest was being held in Sydney, Australia, it was produced by Arnold’s good friend Paul Graham. The contest had some real tough competitors like Zane who was already the reigning Mr. Olympia from last year, there was Mike Mentzer, Tom Platz, and Chris Dickinson. Zane despite injury decided to compete in the show based on Arnold’s advice. Mentzer was in a great shape and hope to win the title; Tom Platz was looking to make an upset at that year Mr. Olympia by defeating last year’s winner Frank Zane.

All of these Top competitors had their own agenda based on previous years Mr. Olympia and had no clue Arnold would compete and that too at a stage where he had retired from the competitive bodybuilding after being the undisputed king of the sport for many years. I think what upset the most of the competitors, was that Arnold had it all 7 times Mr. Olympia, 5 times Mr. Universe and he had moved on to achieve bigger and better things like to make it in Hollywood. Why would Arnold; who had everything would come and take way what they wanted so badly. That created lot of resentment and to some degree it was fear that he would take way the title, this mixed feeling lit the light for the controversy which was in the making.

Some of the things which contributed to the 1980 Olympia controversy were:

Competitors felt Arnold should have register to compete a month before like the other bodybuilder rather than making a last minute entry to compete.

Mike Mentzer and Arnold had a fight which almost got physical and which left a bitter taste in mike’s life, resulting in his retirement from bodybuilding.

Most of the judges were friends or somehow associated with Arnold thus influenced the outcome of the contest.

IFBB bent the rules because it was Arnold.

Yes, the competition was controversial, Arnold didn't look nor had the great physique he had 5 or 6 years ago. Hey but still he is “Arnold” the Austrian Oak, he was cut and still big had the charisma and most importantly experience. Some of the people competing in that show idolized him so they never believed that they can beat him. I would say it was close between Arnold, Tom Platz and Zane, But Zane Looked lighter compared to the other two. Arnold was the tallest in the competition had a great chest, ripped abs and the show stealing arms. I do believe Arnold did win the competition and he did win it fair and square. Why he competed and took away what the other competitors wanted so badly, only Arnold could answer that question.