By Dayne Hudson
Weak body parts. Unless your name is Phil Heath or Zeus - chances are, you've got at least one. Whether you're an endurance athlete, bodybuilder or sprinter - you know your limits like no one else. So this is the time where you have to go back to drawing board and be 100% honest with yourself - which part(s) of me is lagging, and WHY? Once you've figured this out - it's time to ask yourself a few things. 1 - INTENSITY Ask yourself honestly - do I train this lagging body part as hard and at the SAME intensity as I do my BEST body parts? Chances are - the answer is NO. Just a few hours ago, I was training chest and biceps. I came across this young gym goer who spent the same time as I did for my WHOLE workout - on biceps. In all my time at the gym - I've never seen anything like it! And he looked as if he couldn't spell squat, with legs that wouldn't look out of place attached to a Victoria's secret model. My point is - if this young man spent the same time on his lagging parts as he does his strongest, he wouldn't have any proportion problems! So if you KNOW you train your ARMS harder than your BACK or LEGS - it's up to you to remind yourself before EVERY workout that you MUST match your intensity in EVERY WORKOUT. When I interviewed IFBB Hall of Fame inductee Lee Labrada right here on FIT'N'FLEXED, a man famous for his incredible symmetry, he told me: "When I approach my training I treat my body parts like I would my children - I give them an equal share of love."
LEE LABRADA
Take Lee's advice, treat your muscles like children - don't let them get jealous of one another! 2 - TRAINING STYLE How do you train? What rep range? Is it time to mix things up? Dig into your arsenal of shock tactics:
- TRI-SETS (3 sets for the same muscle group with NO rest in between)
- GIANT SETS (4 or more sets together with NO rest! Get ready for the pain!
- SUPER SETS (2 sets, one after the other with NO rest!)
- NEGATIVES (Coming down SLOWLY during the ECCENTRIC phase [the way down]. Yours muscles are 30% STRONGER on the way down. Smash out an ENTIRE workout focusing on the ECCENTRIC phase, taking 4-6 seconds to bring the weight down. See how your weak body parts like that!)
- HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING - Made famous by the Legendary 6 x Mr Olympia Dorian Yates, this is when you perform ONE working set, for 6-8 reps, with every piece of energy and passion you've got. For more on this training principle, check out Dorian Yates on FIT'N'FLEXED right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAeJ0sS1Y6s
- VOLUME (if you simply AREN'T doing enough sets and reps - then it's time to STEP IT UP!)
- PAIRING - If you're pairing this weak body part with another, consider giving it it's OWN day?
3 - TRAINING FREQUENCY How OFTEN are you training that weak body part(s)? How about trying to train it TWICE a week? My weakest body parts are my BACK and HAMSTRINGS (at least I think so anyway). My original program looked like this: MONDAY - LEGS (Quads, Hamstrings) TUESDAY - CHEST and ABS WEDNESDAY - BACK and CALVES THURSDAY - OFF FRIDAY - SHOULDERS SATURDAY - ARMS SUNDAY - OFF Then I decided it was time to get serious. So I came up with the following to attack my BACK and HAMSTRINGS: MONDAY - LEGS (QUADS and HAMSTRINGS) TUESDAY - CHEST and BICEPS and ABS WEDNESDAY - BACK and TRICEPS and CALVES THURSDAY - OFF FRIDAY - SHOULDERS and HAMSTRINGS SATURDAY - BACK SUNDAY - OFF. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works for me - but I'm tipping I'll come out a winner. There's no use looking like Arnold from the front - and Whitney Houston from the back.
"No use looking like Arnold from the front - and Whitney Houston from the back."
4 - CHEAT MEALS Take a look at the timing of your naughty meals. Do you respond BETTER to your cheat meal the night BEFORE your weakest body parts? Or on the day OF training your weakest parts? Fool around with your cheat meals to see what your body responds to best. If it's the day BEFORE - then CHANGE the timing of your cheat meal. You'll be AMAZED at the difference this makes. 5 - CONTRACTION Are you using TOO MUCH weight on the day of your weak parts? If you're NOT focusing on the QUALITY of your contraction, and even still, NOT going to muscle failure, then it's time to change that, and FAST. FOCUS on the quality of your reps. Each and every single one is another stroke of the brush towards your master piece - don't throw weight around you can't lift! NOW GET TO IT! EVERYONE has their parts they struggle with - Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't bring out his calves to save his life. The solution? He cut off the bottom of ALL of his long pants, so he would be reminded of the little muscles at the bottom of his legs he had to improve.
After cutting off the bottoms of his pants - this was the result. Arnold's calves then turned out to be one of his STRONGEST body parts.
Now I'm not suggesting you take the scissors to your suit pants, but thanks to the tips above, I'm hoping you won't have to. STAY FIT, STAY FLEXED!
