Compound movement

In bodybuilding there are three movements that everyone wants to know how well you can do. They are bench press squat and dead lift these three movements are the foundation to every thing you can do in the sport. Even people that know nothing about lifting weight will always ask you “What your bench press” these three movements are compound movements and as I said earlier they employ more muscle and so generate more results.

I prefer for beginners to do only compound movement since they will result in the greatest
changes the quickest. Let’s talk about what they are;

Chest Bench press
Shoulders Shoulder press; (I prefer dumbbell as this employs the fear factor)
Back thickness Seated rows; (bent over rows are better but harder to teach without injury.)
Back width Lat pull downs medium grip to the front of body at the neck
Abdominals Hanging leg raises with bent leg; there is no advantage to straight leg
Front of thigh Squats, but I teach the leg press machine, unless you have knowledge already of the squat.

Rear thigh Bent leg dead lifts or lunges;

Calves Donkey calf raises; this is old school but some gyms have a machine that
you can use for them.
Triceps bench dips; or close grip bench press to save the elbows
Biceps There really is no compound movement for the bicep I suggest the ez- curl bar or straight bar (some people create forearm injuries form the ez-curl bar) your bicep will get a lot of work from any pulling motion like back work
Forearm hammer curls; to this day this is my favorite exercise.

Ok now that we know the exercise lets find out how to do them. Let’s start with the king of upper body movements the bench press. This movement is done by taking the weight off the rack with arms fully extended (see photo to left). Take a deep breath as you lower the weight to the position at your chest.
As you push the weight back to starting position you exhale. Remember breath out when resisting gravity in when you allow gravity to move the weight. To return to starting position is one single rep.

The shoulder press is done starting with the weight eye level and pushing the weight up until your arms are extended. I think it’s important to know that in no exercise do you full extend any
joint elbow shoulder or knee. To go from the start position to extended and back to start is one repetition. This exercise is shown with dumbbell but is most often done with a barbell. Most
bodybuilder use a lifting belt with exercise that compresses the back like shoulder press and squat. Some bodybuilders use a lifting belt for all exercise. I would suggest always using a lifting belt even though I may not.

Seated rows are sometimes said to be back width exercise I think this is true but if used
correctly it will definitely work the back thickness. This is done from a cable machine, bent over rows are the only free weight comparison to seated cable rows, but they are difficult to teach over the internet. The start position is with the arms fully extended and the contraction is with the cable pulled all the way to your chest. When doing this movement make sure that you don’t lend back or forward and that you lower back stays arched. If this exercise is done with a straight bar it is a back thickness exercise which is my goal here. Even though the picture shows the exercise being done with a V-bar you should do this exercise with a straight bar.

The next back exercise is the Lat pull down. I think it important to know that “Lat” is short for latissmuss dorsi the largest single muscles in your body. This exercise is don from a lat machine if you don’t have one some people use simple pull-up with the palms facing out as a replacement. Pull ups are much more difficult to do. By now I think you can follow the star and finish of the exercise just by looking at the diagram, there is just on caution. DON”T DO LAT PULL DOWNS BEHIND THE NECK it’s just not safe, if you have a trainer and he tells you otherwise drop him, find another trainer quickly.

For the abdominal you must do the hanging leg raise; the diagram shows this movement be done from a pull-up bar but most gyms have a machine which allows you to do this with a lot more comfort. This exercise works just the lower stomach which is where most people have their problem. When doing the seated rows I said keep your lower back arched, with exercise I want you to keep your lower back rounded only let your legs down as far as you can and maintain a rounded lower back

I will give you a diagram of both the squats and the leg press but will only describe the leg press. The reason for this is the difficult in getting the form correct over the internet. I would
suggest the squat only be done if you have an experience trainer there to teach you. Some things
just can’t be done over the web. Teaching form for an exercise is one. The fist diagram shows the
squat (on the left)

The exercise that I would like you to do is the leg press it is shown in the diagram on the right. This is the movement I want you to do unless you have an experience trainer telling you other wise.
Lunges work the rear of the leg. There is an exercises that may work the leg better (stiff leg dead lifts) but It can cause injury. Some people believe that leg curls are a better exercise for the rear leg. Leg curls are isolation movements and therefore don’t do what they need to in
the way of anaerobic development. My observation of the bodybuilders with the best rear legs development is that all of them do lunges. This is what is known as anecdotal observation or training.

Anecdotal training the foundation to my way of lifting, I don’t pay as much attention to what I learn as I do what I see. Caution should be made when training anecdotally, often what you think you see you don’t When doing lunges it is most common to do this exercise with dumbbells at your side rather than a barbell on your shoulder as shown in the diagram. Many bodybuilders do
this exercise outside in the gym’s parking lot for set of about a hundred yards ( one football field) I would suggest that if you can not do this in a parking lot, if you are restricted by space that you do this exercise in an alternating manner. You would step out with your left leg and push back with the same leg so that your feet return together at the starting point. Then do the same thing with your right leg. When you have done both legs you count that as a single rep.

Donkey Calf Raises are possibly the best mass producer for your lower leg this is an old school exercise that has gone away for the most part but if you want results it should be added into your workout. Unless your gym has the best equipment you will have to have a partner to do this exercise. The problem with this is that your development is dependent on the weight of your partner. The photo above shows both with a partner and without one .

I took me almost 10 years to understand how important this exercise was. I never got anything
form this exercise so I never did it.

The result was I always had lagging triceps this is among the simplest exercise to do and if you should reach the point where you no longer get a pump from the exercise have a partner put a
45lb plate in your lap for added resistance. In the last year I added this to my workout and
now for the first time in my life my arms are over 18” what was I thinking?

I guessing if you know nothing about bodybuilding you know the basic movement the barbell curl. When your daughter or in my case grand daughter say “Pop Pop make a muscle” she doesn’t what to see me flex my chest or legs she wants to see my bicep. More than any other muscle on your body this is the show muscle. People want to see that full muscle and towering peak they want biceps. And the way to developing that full bicep is the standing barbell curl. Even though its an isolation movement its included here because there is no compound movement for the bicep. Learn this movement it makes you look great in a tight fitting t-shirt and the women love the result as well.

Last but not least is the hammer curl; sometime called the zotttman curl by the old school lifter this movement when use following barbell curls will help you develop tremendous arms it is a must for anyone wanting to develop the grip strength. When done correctly you hold the dumbbell at the bottom and squeeze so that the bar does not slip in your hands. Some people do these curls across the body I don’t like that because it causes you to swing the weight but
either way is correct. When looking at this exercise please note the position of the dumbbell. The thumb stays pointing up throughout the movement.

Training Frequency and Duration

This is where I get into trouble! Every trainer that you will meet will tell you that beginners should train three times per week on nonconsecutive days. And for the most part that is true. But three times per week assumes some things that is not true for everyone. Just as I said you should lift the heaviest weight possible and still complete the firs set. I will say that you should lift as often as possible and not over train. So how do I know if I’m over training? If you are tired most of the time and you got 8 hours sleep correct amount of protein you are overtraining, if your muscle are still sore form w one workout to the next you are at risk of overtraining. If you spend more than 1 hour in the gym you are at risk of overtraining. If your workout has more than 24 set for small body parts and 12 to 15 for larger one you are at risk of overtraining. ( did you get that duration thin in there?)

Since your workout should be about beating your last workout you are continually increasing your intensity, the higher the intensity of your workout the greater chance of overtraining. Muscles grow when you rest not when you workout. This is what is know as the recovery of muscles therefore get enough rest. Rest means sleep and it also means time away form the gym.

I often compete with my workout partners to see who can go the longest without missing a workout, but this competition includes the assumption that we have adequate rest, and are able to workout at full speed. When we bet we are saying that we will get enough sleep enough nutrition enough recovery. This competition is not about frequency of workout as much as it is about doing the things that are necessary for muscle growth.

Exercise the Why and How

Before we can talk about sets reps and speed of movement I want to talk about the two basic type of movements, they are compound and isolation. Unlike a lot of trainer I don’t believe in teach a beginner isolation movements. The main reason for not teaching isolation movement are two fold first they are easier and so many beginners think that bodybuilding is easy and second they do employ as many muscles as compound therefore they burn more fat and build more muscle faster.

Let’s look at this for a moment, for the chest there are two movements we will address (of course there are many chest movements but most are a variation to these two) the fly (an isolation movement) and the bench press ( compound movement) the major muscle involved in the fly are the chest ( Pectoralis Majors) muscles. However the major muscle involved in the bench pres are the chest, the shoulders the triceps and one that everyone overlooks the teres major and minors (muscle in the upper back behind the scapular. As you can very easily understand since this exercise involves more muscle you can use heavier weight and burn more fat as well as build bigger muscle1. Enough said.

You will be amazed how many people come to me in the gym and ask why they can’t get results with a routine made up of all isolation movements. After I finish laughing ( I got some issues myself ) I explain the whole thing and within week they are seeing the result they desire.

Repetitions, Sets and Speed of Movement

A repetition is a movement from start to finish and then back to starting position again. This is the grounds from which all your information on lifting is done. If you do not know what a repetition (sometimes called rep) is don’t lift.All instruction, no matter who gives it to you will include reps and sets know them like you know your name.

A set is a series of reps organized into groups. These groups are commonly organized in counts of 10 to 12 repetitions. For intermediate and advance bodybuilders there are set of 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 25. On some occasion of extreme specialization there may be set of any number. When you are asked to do an exercise you will be given a set and rep sequence “ 3 set of 10 rep” ( written as 3X10 ) this means you will do 10 repetitions of a given weight rest repeat the 10 rep rest and then do the final 10 reps.

Ideally a repetition should take about 7 seconds that is 3 second on the contraction and 4 second on the return. The contraction is normally the start of the exercise for most exercise, the bench press and squat are two exercise that are reverse (that gravity thing ) the contraction is the return for both. In the Photo to the left the contraction is when the bar is in the up position the stretch is to the right.


Weight, Form, and Breathing

What weight should you use depends on the goal of the exercise. If your goal is to do 3X10 rep the weight should be so heavy that it is impossible to complete the third set. Basically you should use the heaviest weight possible and still complete the first set. What is common is that you can barley complete the first set you may only get 9 rep on the second and only 6 to 8 on the third set.( please note that you goal is to complete all three set for 10 reps) When you can complete all three set for 10 reps its time to add weight!

This takes us right where we started setting your goals. Keep notes of your progress from one workout to another. Know what you did the last are workout for all sets and before you do a set make a goal of doing better this will give you small success which will keep you motivated a keep the intensity of the workout high.

Even though I want you to keep the intensity of your workout high and continually try to surpass your last workout, it should not be at the expense of form. All reps must be smooth and continual no poses on the up or down motion. You should never bounce the weight off your chest in the bench press (I know your power lifting friend does it) nor should you drop quickly and
uncontrolled into the squat. These things may allow you to lift more weight but you are just an injury waiting to happen.

I spent months trying to tech people how to breath when lifting ( you do know you have to breath) but the only thing that seemed to make sense to everyone is to say when you are trying to move the weight against gravity breath out, breath in when you allow gravity to move the weight toward the floor.

Think about it, it’s not that difficult.

Getting Started Body Building

Ok we’ll get back to history later, now let’s talk about actually getting started. You know
when I first walked into the gym I was able to squat 225lbs at a body weight of almost 115lbs. but I couldn’t bench the bar (45lbs). The reason I said that was to express the most important thing you should learn about bodybuilding. That is, that you are an individual and you will have some strong points as will as weak. But no matter what your starting point is for a given exercise “Don’t measure your success by what someone else has achieved! If you do, you are setting your goal way to low! You see, the only person that you will never be able to beat, you will never be able to lift more weight, or do more reps than or build bigger arms than is yourself. And because of this truth you must compete with only yourself. If you beat your all time best in the bench even though your best is only 135 lbs you are a winner. However if you compete against someone with a 225lb bench and you do 165lb for the first time in your life you are still a loser. I have never seen a motivated loser so don’t worry what someone else does stick to your guns
(no pun intended) and reach your goals

Goal Setting

Most everyone that I’ve ever trained has already had a picture of that idea body in their mind. What they don’t have is any idea of what they really look like. Before you decide that you want 20 inch arms look at where you came form. I’m not saying that you can’t have 20 inch arms, it’s taken me almost 25 years to reach 19inch cold so any goal is possible if it’s realistic.
Lets expand on this if you are 5 foot zero inches tall and weigh 115 lbs then a goal of 20 inch arms is a bit much. However a goal of reaching 125lbs in 6 month is realistic or even 25 lbs in a year for some beginners. Please note it’s not likely that you will have 20 inch arms and weight less than 180 to 200lbs it may be possible but I don’t think so!

Everywhere you go people are telling you to set goals, but you know nothing about bodybuilding how can you set bodybuilding goals? It easier than you think are you
ready to start? First make sure you are somewhere you will not be disturbed. Make sure you have a full length mirror stand in front of that mirror with your clothes off,
all your clothes off, and relax.

I use the mirror to set my goals, not a scale or a
measuring tape. Understand my reasoning this, I want to
look a certain way, not weigh a certain amount, or measure any certain inches. I can’t tell
you how many people have reached what they thought was their idea bodyweight and did
not like the results. Fact is when you see someone with an attractive body you don’t sayto yourself “man he/she weighs 175lbs” do you? Of course not, we say “he/she has a
great body” we know nothing about their weight or measurements at all.
The next thing you want to do is compare yourself to what you think is the average
male/female. Compare your chest (just the muscle not breast size) are you carrying too much fat? Give yourself a negative 1 point. Do you need more muscle size give yourself a positive 1 point. Do the same thing for your arms size and firmness, leg size and firmness, waist size and firmness, and calf size and firmness. Now add the numbers up is the total a negative or positive? If it a negative you need to work on trimming down and diet. If the total number is a positive 1 you’re in pretty good shape. If it’s a positive 2 or more you did not even need to go through this you knew you were in better shape this most people already. Let’s talk about the results.

Notice I did not mention the scale or measuring tape? Neither should you! OK here’s
how to look at it

-4 You have some work to do but there is no reason you can’t see real result in the next year of training. Your goal should be working toward cutting back on fat and combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise with diet to lower your weight and increase your health -3 Your goal is identical to the person scoring -4 but you should take less time to reach normal health levels -2 Your are where most of America is just husky I believe that anaerobic exercise alone will work but you need to know how thing work together combine the two maybe 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per day.

-1 to +1: You are in pretty good shape, maybe you were once an athlete in high school or college and you just let yourself go. You know better, that office job is killing you, and you think life is better now that you are making all that money. Not!

+2: You have a pretty good body, always had, will always have one. You just need direction. And my ask Troy section is better suited for you then the basic information that you will get from here but please read on remember this is the intelligent bodybuilders site you just might learn something. Knowledge is power.

Ok now that we set our goals how do we reach them? In the back of this book I will outline two workout plans each directed at the general rating as stated above, if you need more help or you feel that the workout is not for you contact me through my ask Troy section and we will work at reaching your goals! I’m here for you. Just ask Troy.

Alone with the workout is the diet plan that goes alone with each. If you are a diabetic or have other illness let me know so we can adjust for that. But most of all get your doctors OK before you take on any type of training.

OK I seen this on some other site and liked it so much I’m going to use it pay attention There is no secret to success in bodybuilding except persistence and hard work. If you are not going to work at this goal don’t waste my time with your questions. My goal is to guide you and teach you. Your goal is to work and succeed I can’t do your work and you can’t do mine.

Before You Start Anything

Get a Doctor’s OK, I don’t care how healthy you think you are, everyone needs to see his doctor first. Explain to him what your intentions are and he will guide you medically. If
something I say contradicts his instruction, follow your doctor’s advice, not mine. One more time if something I say contradicts his instruction, follow your doctor’s advice, not mine. I will work with you if he says there things you should avoid but I will not take responsibility for you failing to follow his/her advice. Commit yourself to three months before making any judgments about whether it's working or not. The truth is, you're probably a bit impatient, and sculpting your physique takes time. I use the mirror as the indicator not the scale or the measuring tape I suggest that you don’t use these tools either, they only depress you. We will talk later about why I don’t like them. Most of the time I see result in about 6 weeks, but some people take longer. Before you say this doesn’t work give it a chance, you will see results.

Introduction to Bodybuilding

Today we have an expression for a bodybuilder with a symmetrical physic “X-Men” while back in the day most were x-men and the most famous of all was Steve Reeves. Before Steve Reeves every bodybuilder was after mass (somewhat like today) no one had ever thought to combine natural symmetry with mass to develop the idea body. And to this day he is still the most famous of all the X-Men typebodybuilders.

It would not be fair to mention symmetry without saying the name of Frank Zane, at 180 lbs was and still is one of the most amazing thinkers of the sport of bodybuilding. Just like everyone in his time Frank Zane had another job teaching math and chemistry so for him bodybuilding was a hobby! In 1968 this little guy with great lines did the unthinkable he beat the great Arnold Schwarzenegger for the 1968 Mr.Universe one week after winning the Mr. America now everyone had to take Frank serious so serious in fact he went on to win the 1977, 78 and 79 Mr. Olympia and be known today as one of the greatest bodies of all time.

For many people the Golden Age of
Bodybuilding (1940 to 1970 was what bodybuilding was all about. The competitors were huge, and Strong and still could relate to the everyday person. Some bodybuilders like Steve Reeves and Reg Parks (seen here with Fay Span in 1961 Hercules and the Captive Women) could also become movies stars because of their natural good looks. but for the most part many
of the great bodybuilders of history will never been known to you and I.

Everyone knows the story of Joe Weider how he came to the
United States with less than 10 bucks and in pocket and
formed the multibillion dollar business now known as the
IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilders) and the
Weider publishing company. During the golden Age there
may not have been anyone that has done more for
bodybuilding the Joe Weider. He sponsored the great Arnold
( no last name needed) and together they created this
physical fitness rush that we see today. Even though you
may not know him I think you should thank him for the
knowledge you will get from this book.

History of Bodybuilding

A little history will give us a connection to those that came before us. Let us learn from the past that we shall not repeat it.

In 1926 York Barbell Company produced the first commercially manufactured barbell set and the area of bodybuilding took off. For the first time the strength training was based on this barbell. From about the late 1920’s to the late 1930’s the Mecca of bodybuilding was York Pennsylvania, the home of York Barbell Company and Bob Hoffman the founder. Bob Hoffman (right) the "Father of World Weightlifting," was the driving force for weightlifting and health for over 30 years combined with his monthly magazine Strength and Health later to be called Muscular Development Bob Hoffman single handedly created bodybuilding as we know it today!

Someone told me that bodybuilding started back in the time of the ancient Greeks. I’ve also heard it said that bodybuilding started in the 11th or12 century in India. Both of these may be correct but when you or I think of bodybuilding we don’t think of ancient Greeks or a thousand year old Indians, we think of muscle beach, We think of the time which is affectionately know as “The Golden Age of Bodybuilding” this was the time when dinosaurs like John Gremek (left) and Clarence Ross (right) walked the earth. This was a time when women
strength was more than a side show for the men’s competition and people like Abby
Stockton(next pages) wrote for Muscle
and Fitness magazine.


During this time bodybuilders were big and strong, many competed in strength contest as well as
bodybuilding shows. Most were considered health freaks and super athletes. Not many could afford to live off the winning or the endorsements of a supplement company almost all had some other type of job be it trainer, writer for a magazine, or plumber they all worked.