Training Q&A from The Steel Dungeon by Dane Fletcher

LAT GROWTH:
BEST MOVEMENTS

Q:What is the best movement for lat development? I am noticing that my lats are lagging and not growing at the same rate as the rest of my back.

A:Usually, isolation – or lack of it – is the culprit. Most would tell you to run for the wide grip stations, but if you head for wide grip, when you’re already outpacing your lats from your regular workouts, then it means that you are obviously not connecting with wide grip exercises enough to net results. That typically means you need to go back to the basics of isolative movements to get a “feel” for your lats again. Single arm rows will get you reconnected, as will single arm cable rows with a low cable or even high cable pulley. Also check your form. You probably know what you’re doing, but may have gotten sloppy. Pull with your elbows and lats and imagine you don’t have hands or forearms. That visual helps a lot. Keep a slower tempo even if it means lightening the weight. Try doing super close grip chins, despite the whole wide angle theory to hit lats. Even doing pull ups with a little wider than shoulder grip, but not wide, will help you reconnect. After, do some pullovers, even with moderate weight, once your workout is over. Move through the stretch and flex slowly to deliberately feel them.

DIFFERENT
STRENGTH
TYPES

Q:Some guy was telling me about the different types of strength and how you need to train differently to develop each type. Is there any truth in this?

A:Well, technically there is only one type of strength – the ability to exert a force against a resistance – but there are many applications of that strength. So, let’s take a look at some of these various strength applications. There are three basic strength application categories as follows;

(1) Maximum strength - the greatest force that is possible in a single maximum contraction
(2) Elastic strength - the ability to overcome a resistance with a fast contraction
(3) Strength endurance - the ability to express force many times over

Within each category there are even more strength divisions. Maximum strength can be divided into the following sub categories:

(A) Limit strength – this is the maximum force your body can produce – it refers to those rare situations we hear about when amazing strength has been exerted by ordinary people in life threatening situations.
(B) Maximal strength – the maximum strength your body can produce voluntarily, such as when in the gym.
(C) Relative strength – the maximum force a person can generate per unit of bodyweight.
(D) Optimal Strength – the ideal level of strength needed to optimally perform a certain action.

Elastic strength can be divided into two further divisions:

(A) Starting Strength: The ability to move from a dead stop and exert maximum force. An example of this would be exploding out of the blocks at the start of a 100 meter sprint.
(B) Reactive strength: The ability to switch quickly from an eccentric to a concentric contraction.

Now, if your goal is to develop all round fitness in addition to building a decent body ( and it should be), then you need to cover all three basic strength divisions in your training regime. Weight training will, naturally take care of your maximum strength. It will also, to a greater or lesser degree, give you improvements in elastic strength and strength endurance. However you should consider adding in a few extras to supplement your strength in these areas. For elastic strength, for instance, you could include some exercises with the medicine ball as part of your warm-up for your weights session. If you’ve got a training partner, try the standing torso twist, where you stand back to back and, with hips facing forward and hips slightly relaxed, pass the medicine ball to each other by twisting at the torso. And for endurance why not supplement your cardio work-out with a circuit training session once per week. By doing these things you will be building full strength and be well on the way to becoming a fully rounded out athlete.

IceRocket Tags:steroids, steroid, anabolic, anabolics, anablic steroids, bodybuilding, supplements, creatine, protein, getanabolics.com, getanabolics, dane fletcher

Technorati Tags:steroids, steroid, anabolic, anabolics, anablic steroids, bodybuilding, supplements, creatine, protein, getanabolics.com, getanabolics, dane fletcher