Vital Stats

Name: James Grage
BodySpace: JamesGrage
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 175 lbs
Occupation: Co-Founder and Vice President of BPI Sports

Vital Stats

Name: Whitney Reid
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 215 lbs
Occupation: BPI East coast sales manager, fitness model
Website: bpisports.net

If you grew up in a gym like the ones James Grage and Whitney Reid did, you didn’t see many people, machines, or cell phones. You definitely did not spend any time composing a selfie. The equipment was minimal and the space was limited, but the blue-collar work ethic was there in abundance.

“In my opinion, it’s work ethic that makes you successful in the gym,” says James. “Everybody wants fast and easy. They want the fast and easy nutrition plan and the fast and easy workout. Well, there is no fast and easy. Building a great physique takes time and patience.”

James and Whitney work out together because they share that common belief. “You know, it’s real simple,” says James. “You come in here and you work hard. You work your ass off.”

That’s just what James and Whitney do when they train. They push each other to be better and stronger than they were the day before.

In this workout, James and Whitney get back to their old-school roots and hit their shoulders with an intense high-volume session. Step into the gym to watch them train in the video below, and then hit this hardcore shoulder smasher yourself.

Take note: this workout isn’t meant to be done every week. Do it just once per month and reap the mega-pump benefits.

Throwback Shoulder Workout with James Grage
and Whitney Reid
Watch The Video – 19:29

Throwback Shoulders Workout

“Shoulders and traps are one of those body parts that no one wants to train because there’s nothing exciting about [them],” says James. “It’s the coast day. But shoulder day is the day that you should go in and just kill it because nothing will make you look bigger than having big shoulders and traps. You can wear a sweatshirt and still look big if you have big shoulders and traps.”

There’s no better motivation than that! If you want to look big, then you need some boulder shoulders. Here’s the workout:

Exercise 1

Use these lateral raises as a shoulder warm-up. You don’t have to go super heavy to do them right. Prepare your shoulders for the work ahead by concentrating on controlling the weight throughout the entire lift and getting an extra squeeze at the top.

Exercise 2

“The neat thing about these overhead presses is that you can’t cheat. [With] seated dumbbell presses, you can press down into the chair to help yourself move the weight. But with these, there is no hiding,” explains Whitney.

As you’ll learn throughout this workout, it’s not the weight that matters. Hitting every rep and concentrating on using just your shoulders to do the work will absolutely blow them up.

Exercise 3

“This is an old football movement,” says Whitney. “You don’t see this much anymore. It’s a total-body workout. The key is having explosive hips and the strength in your shoulders to power the bar upward. It’s better than regular cardio.”

Hang Clean and Press

If you can get a few extra presses in after the last rep on the last set, do it.

Exercise 4

“The little baby weight you use on this exercise will start to feel really heavy,” says James. “But, like I said before, it’s not about how much weight you lift. Your goal for every set is to use just your shoulder to move the weight. “

Don’t bring the dumbbell up too high. Let it come just high enough to put the maximum stress on your delts, pause for a beat, and then bring it back down.

Exercises 5 and 6

For the rear delt flyes, James has some good advice: “Don’t put any weight on your forehead. Your head is against the bench only to maintain your body position. If you start putting weight on your forehead, you’ll tweak your neck or back. If you feel like you have to lean on the bench to get the dumbbells up, drop the weight.”

Face Pull

To do face pulls, keep your body tight and try to maximize the use of your rear delts. Exercise that mind-muscle connection.

Exercises 7 and 8

On your shrugs, do your best to keep your elbows out of the movement. Keep your arms straight. Squeeze your traps up and back. “Don’t do that weird [shoulder] roll, though,” says Whitney. “Just squeeze back.”

When it comes to upright rows, James says, “You see a lot of guys doing upright rows with a really narrow grip, bringing their hands all the way to their chin and their elbows up to their ears. You don’t need to bring your arms so high. Bring your hands to your chest, your elbows parallel with your shoulders. That’s plenty.”

Exercise 9

“The best way to think of these is to compare them to a chest fly,” explains James. “You’re not pressing the weight up; you’re squeezing the delts to move the weight.”

Dumbbell Overhead Scott Press

“Keep your elbows at 90 degrees. The only thing that moves is your shoulders. At the top, turn your thumb down and keep your pinky up. These are nasty. Don’t go too heavy.”

Rest pause if you need to finish the set, but do all of the reps.

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The first of three cardio sessions this week will train your alactic-aerobic energy system and demand a lot of effort from your legs, heart, and lungs. Alactic-aerobic training is designed to improve your endurance during intense activities by increasing the density of mitochondria in your fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Find a cardio machine—or maybe even an outside track— and go as hard as you can for 10 seconds. After the work interval, you’ll rest for 50 seconds. You’ll do the whole thing 15 more times. I know it seems like a lot of sets, but when it’s all said and done you will do less than 3 minutes of actual work.

Because you have such a long rest period, you need to make sure that you’re going as hard as possible for those 10 seconds. Sprint your ass off!

AMP
Watch The Video – 01:34

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It’s the start of the week. You’ve done your research and have a line-up of healthy meal ideas all ready to go. You’re feeling pumped to tackle this diet stuff and—once and for all—achieve your fitness and bodyweight goals.

But, have you forgotten to include healthy between-meal snacks? Far too often, people only perfect their three main meals each day. Come snack time, they’re left opting for vending machine fare or whatever they can find at the local convenience store or. Worse yet, they swing by a local greasy spoon for a drive-thru visit. If they skip snacking entirely, they miss their calorie and macronutrient target.

Don’t let this happen to you. Plan ahead so that you have some smart snack ideas on hand! To help get you started, here are a few great between-meal options that you can use for each point in the day.

1 Mid-Morning Munchies

You ate a balanced breakfast and were feeling great for the first half of the morning. But now it’s 10:30 a.m. and your 6 a.m. meal is starting to wear off. What do you reach for?

Rather than making the common mistake of grabbing a sugar-loaded coffee, grab this favorite of Cellucor athlete and strongman Colton Leonard: protein peanut butter balls. His recipe below provides the perfect mix of protein and slow-digesting carbohydrates, which is the requirement of any between-meal snack he eats.

“These protein peanut butter balls are a great way to get extra healthy calories in throughout the day if building lean mass is your goal,” says Leonard.

Protein Peanut Butter Balls

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup 100% whole wheat oats
• 2-3 scoops Cellucor Molten Chocolate COR-Performance Whey
• 1-2 tbsp. honey (optional for added sweetness)

1. Mix all ingredients together, and roll into 1-2 inch balls.
2. Sprinkle extra oats or crushed almonds over tops of the rolled protein balls.
3. Place in fridge for several hours, or overnight.

Protein Peanut Butter Balls PDF (68.9 KB)

2 Mid-Afternoon Fuel

With lunch now well behind you, you’re heading into an afternoon meeting and can feel your blood sugar levels plummeting. There’s nothing like that mid-afternoon low to make it nearly impossible to stay focused on the task at hand. And, if you choose the wrong snack at this time, your low will turn into a slump and you’ll be ready for your mid-day siesta.

Choose wisely and you can get around this. “My all-time favorite between-meal snack is cottage cheese and watermelon,” says Cellucor athlete and bodybuilder Calum Von Moger. To change things up, he’ll occasionally swap the watermelon out for freeze-dried fruit.

This snack is ideal because it doesn’t hit you with a load of carbs, which will just make you sleepy. Instead, it gives you a few carbohydrates from the watermelon and some very slow-digesting protein from the cottage cheese to keep you going until dinner.

Cottage Cheese and Watermelon

• 1-1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 cup watermelon
• Honey to taste

Cottage Cheese and Watermelon PDF (68.3 KB)

3 Pre-Bed Snacking

Perhaps the hardest time of the day to control your cravings is right before you go to bed. Many people get caught up in the late-night munchies, which leads them to mindlessly plow through bags of chips, boxes of cookies, or a little more ice cream than they had planned to eat.

Staying in control of your diet is essential at this time, especially because you’re about to be sedentary for eight or more hours while you sleep. Choose wisely and you can fuel your body, helping it complete the important repair processes needed for you to wake up the next day feeling strong and energized.

However, don’t think you have to fight your sweet cravings and nosh on chicken breast and broccoli. If you plan ahead and learn some smart recipes, you can please both your taste buds and body.

“I’m a self-proclaimed dessert monster,” says Cellucor athlete and WBFF Fitness Pro Jen Jewell. “I’m always on the lookout for delicious and simple ways to have my protein treats while keeping my abs.” As such, she has perfected the recipe to achieve this goal—her Protein Cookie Delight.

Protein Cookie Delight

• 3/4 cup frozen or fresh berries
• 3/4 cup raw old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup light/unsweetened almond milk
• 2 scoops Cellucor Red Velvet flavored whey protein powder
• Chocolate or rainbow sprinkles (optional, but great when not cutting)
• Honey to taste

1. Place berries in a bowl and microwave for 45 seconds. Once finished, mash with a fork.
2. Add remaining ingredients to create the batter. Make sure to stir thoroughly so all ingredients are evenly mixed.
3. Place 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto a plate to form each cookie, then place in microwave for 45-60 seconds.
4. Remove, let cool for a minute or two and enjoy.

Protein Cookie Delight PDF (69.3 KB)

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Vital Stats

Name: Jen Selter
Occupation: FitMiss athlete
Instagram Followers: 3,500,000+

When someone mentions cardio, you may think “necessary evil,” but take a step back and withhold judgment for just a moment. As reluctant as you might be to hop on that treadmill—worried it’ll be boring or that it’ll zap your gains—give cardio a chance. When properly paired with weight training, a good cardio plan will lead you to an ideal world of fat loss and help you carve a great, shapely figure—which, of course, includes great glutes.

The trick is figuring out which movements will put you on the fast path to meeting your goals. Hint: You can kiss mind-numbingly slow walks on the treadmill goodbye. I’ve found four effective movements that will work wonders for your cardio routine. They’re my favorites because they pump some much-needed variety into your workout plan and produce results you’ll love.

1 The Stairmaster

The stairmaster is my first and favorite cardio choice for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it targets your glutes and thighs and it’s guaranteed to make you sweat. Think about it: When’s the last time you saw somebody not covered in sweat after ten minutes of climbing?

The stairmaster’s also great for fat loss. In fact, if you get into a really aggressive mindset, you can almost feel the fat melting off you. The key is intensity. Don’t treat your time on the stepper as you would a typical jaunt on the treadmill or stroll in the park. Crank up the intensity a bit, and get to work.

I usually do 20-30 minutes of stairmaster two to three times per week. I love how versatile it is. You can do both high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and low-intensity steady-state cardio (LISS). Both styles deliver great results.

One effective method is to alternate styles throughout the week so your glutes and thighs—as well as the rest of your body—get the best of both worlds. Be prepared to be challenged, no matter which version you pick. Always push your limits. During my LISS cardio, I also like to incorporate glute kickbacks to really target my rear. It’s a superb way to bring out your bum during your cardio routine. You’ll definitely be pleased with the results.

Selter’s Method

2 Plyometrics

In my experience, plyometrics are on the opposite end of the spectrum from your standard, bored-to-tears cardio workout. Plyometrics are challenging: They get your heart pumping and require a go-getter’s mentality.

Plyometrics are also easily adaptable. If you’re new to the movements, you can get away with fairly basic body-weight-only exercises like jumping jacks. They’re convenient and portable, so you have no excuses. Quick: Dive into one of my favorite plyometric exercises—the “Jumping Jack Attack!”

It’s like my twist on Tabata—you do as many jumping jacks as you can in 20 seconds, then rest for 20 seconds. Here’s the kicker: When you repeat the process, increase the time to 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds. Then move on to 40 seconds. Repeat this cycle three times for a quick and effective cardio workout!

Selter’s Method

3 Running

This may not be a glamorous choice, but running outdoors has always been a favorite of mine—even if I do occasionally have to hop on the treadmill during the winter months. Running is obviously a key cardiovascular exercise, but I’ve always found it to be a great stress reliever, too. If you lead a busy lifestyle, a good run may be exactly what you need to relax. Put your headphones in, throw on some music, and start running toward your own personal Zen zone. Before you know it, you’ll have hit the reset button on your stress levels, leaving you recharged and back on track.

Running’s also a great tool for fat burning, especially when utilized with these other movements. When I’m on the treadmill, I set it to a high incline and do 15-second sprints with 45 seconds of rest for 12 rounds. This is a surefire way to elevate your heart rate and speed up the fat-loss process.

Selter’s Method

4 Jumping Rope

For added variety, I like to throw a jump rope into my workout. Sometimes I’ll even make it a stand-alone workout. It’s great if you’re pressed on time and need to work up a sweat quickly. You can use a variety of speeds, frequencies, and rest periods to put together a unique program each time. Plus, it’s convenient and can be done just about anywhere—all you need is a rope.

When I incorporate my jump rope cardio session into my workout routine, I like to jump for a prescribed number of jumps or amount of time between exercises. I do 50-100 jumps or jump for 30-60 seconds between exercises. It’s a fantastic way to keep my heart rate up while I’m working out. An increased heart rate speeds up fat loss, keeps things interesting, and gives you one heck of a workout in the process.

Selter’s Method

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Vital Stats

Name: Dean Somerset
Occupation: Exercise physiologist; medical and rehabilitation coordinator for World Health Clubs.
Website: deansomerset.com

When I was in my 20s, training was easy. A warm-up consisted of walking into the gym, cool-downs were nothing more than crushing a protein shake, and mobility work was something best left to the freaks in a yoga class. I’d train, go to work, come home, eat, and then do it all over again the next day without any real soreness or stiffness. Injuries didn’t happen because I was immortal, and if they did, they healed quickly with some harder workouts and a night out with the guys.

Now that I’m in my 30s, the protocol has changed a bit. I find an actual benefit from a dedicated warm-up, and the cool-down helps keep soreness from becoming a detriment the following day. Injuries from being stupid in my 20s are now something that have to be addressed and worked around, and training with all-out intensity is cycled to allow for recovery and adaptation versus just blindly pushing through mind-numbing intensity all the time.

Pretty soon I’ll be in my 40s, and I’ll have to continue making adjustments thanks to Father Time. While I’m not giving up the lifting belt, I’ll have to make a few more concessions to ensure I remain active and allow for performance improvements on a regular basis. Here are four must-try tweaks for the aging trainee.

1 Take More Time to Prepare for Training

Tendons and ligaments tend to lose elasticity over time. As you age, they wind up becoming stiffer and less forgiving. They take a little longer to become pliable when you start your workout than they did in earlier years, so spending a few minutes doing warm-up sets of a multi-joint movement is time well-spent.

Dean Somerset
Watch The Video – 0:35

Consider first the ambient temperature and humidity. If it’s close to freezing and humidity is low, it could take considerably longer to warm up connective tissue than if the temperature is closer to body temperature. Where I live in Edmonton, during the winter it can get to -40°, so the warm-up would have to be somewhat longer than if I lived in a warmer climate like San Diego.

Prior to your planned workout, spend some time doing cardio-based exercise to increase blood flow and muscle temperature, then move on to some low-intensity general movements that will mimic the movements you’re going to do later in your workout. If you’re training legs, do some light stretching and squat pattern training, as shown in the videos below, to get you supple and move your tissues prior to loading up the plates.

Dean Somerset
Watch The Video – 0:27

2 Invest In Mobility Movements

Over time, all joints wind up going through degenerative processes, and yours are no exception. The more active you were through your youth, the more likely you’ll need to spend time on maintaining and improving mobility through some key centers—your hips, thoracic spine and ankles—in order to continue doing physical activity. This is especially true if you’ve been involved in contact sports like hockey, football, or rugby.

I remember watching WWE superstar Triple H in his mid-40s work out with Joe DeFranco as he was getting ready for WrestleMania a few years ago. Regardless of whether you consider the activities onstage sport or entertainment, these athletes/entertainers still have to make their bodies do the work to make it look like they’re getting hit with full force. Triple H had accumulated a lot of injuries over 20 years in the ring, and it showed.

Dean Somerset
Watch The Video – 0:35

The first half of his workout was dedicated to maintaining and improving his mobility through his hips, spine, shoulders, and ankles. The rest was dedicated to strength, power, conditioning, and generally looking like a complete badass in the ring. This approach can work not only for beat-up pro wrestlers still at their peak, but also for bodybuilders and regular lifters.

Two simple mobility series you can work through to help the hips and spine are the half-kneeling rotation with an elastic band, and a hip-kneeling rocking matrix. Check out these videos for detailed instruction.

Dean Somerset
Watch The Video – 2:45

Make sure you’re taking 3-5 seconds to inhale and exhale on each rep. If you’re willing to spend 10 minutes on mobility at the start of each workout, you’ll have a much better workout, and a much easier time getting out of bed the following morning.

3 Reduce Training To Failure

“Ligaments and tendons don’t adapt to workout stressors as quickly as muscles do, since muscles have specialized satellite cells that help them go through active remodeling. As a result, training intensity needs to be moderated to allow for reduced stress on the connective tissue.”

Maximum hypertrophy typically involves taking a muscle to its most fatigued state, but over time a muscle’s ability to grow is mitigated by the connective tissue’s ability to recover from these workouts. Ligaments and tendons don’t adapt to workout stressors as quickly as muscles do, since muscles have specialized satellite cells that help them go through active remodeling. As a result, training intensity needs to be moderated to allow for reduced stress on the connective tissue.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to refrain from taking every set to absolute failure. If the ligaments and tendons don’t recover from previous workouts, repetitive strain ailments like tendinitis and fasciitis can become a reality. This doesn’t mean you should never push yourself to the max; just save failure for the last set of every exercise, rather than each and every set.

Another consideration is max weight being lifted. In your early 20s, you could probably do a max deadlift each workout and rebound without much effect; in your 40s, it may have to be cycled so max-effort work is done just once each month. The remainder of your workouts would be focused on sub-max levels—perhaps 80-90 percent intensity—while working on the technique and mobility requirements of each lift. This doesn’t necessarily mean your workouts will be easy, just that the total weight lifted won’t be maximal each workout.

4 Spend Time Doing Actual Cardio

Cardio sucks when you’re 20, and it still sucks when you’re 40. But remember that your heart is a muscle, just like your biceps, though it’s got a slightly different makeup. When you lift heavy, your blood pressure increases; when you stop, it decreases. This pressure change on a recurring basis can, over the long term, lead to less-than-desirable changes, such as left ventricular hypertrophy and decreased cavity volume. It can also be one of the factors involved in atherosclerotic plaque formation in the cardiac arteries and veins, which could lead to a blockage and eventual heart attack.

Some substances—including steroids —have been shown to have a direct action on this change, and can lead to an increased risk of injury to the heart itself. If you have a family history of heart problems, your risk is elevated even further.

One way to reduce risk is through the involvement of some steady-state, cardio-based activity that works at a level slightly below your anaerobic threshold. This zone is one in which you could perform the “talk test,” where you’d be able to hold a conversation with someone next to you, albeit in short sentences.

“One way to reduce risk is through the involvement of some steady-state, cardio-based activity that works at a level slightly below your anaerobic threshold.”

As an example, if you’d normally be able to run on a treadmill at 6.0 mph and maintain a relatively easy level of effort, but 6.5 would cause you to hate life and force you to stop after about three minutes, then 6.0 mph would be your target zone. Maintain this heart rate for 20-30 minutes a workout, and try to get in three cardio workouts each week to help with cardiac remodeling.

Lower-intensity cardio workouts are also valuable. These could be simply walking through the neighborhood, biking with your family, or anything where your heart rate is above resting without much actual effort. These workouts may not have a direct impact on your body composition, but they can have a massive impact on your heart health and your overall quality of life.

Fit Far Beyond 40

There’s a saying that 40 is the new 20. Apparently orange is the new black, as well. What hasn’t changed is that you want to keep working out and seeing the kind of progress you’ve likely seen for the last 20-30 years, regardless of your age. There’s no finish line when you’re 40—just a couple of small considerations to help you continue to do what you love. Much like drinking enough water or getting enough sleep, these tweaks may be less than exciting, but they can make a massive difference in every other part of your life.

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You might be a little fatigued from the cardio session yesterday if you’re not used to that sort of sprint work. If that’s the case, start today’s lifting session with a bit of foam rolling targeted at any trouble spots. Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial release to help loosen up really tight areas in muscles. This keeps them healthy and maintains their range of movement.

Afterward, get your legs ready to do some skater squats. It’s a challenging movement, so you won’t need much more than bodyweight to get a good workout. In fact, most of today’s exercises will provide enough of a challenge with bodyweight alone. Once you think you’ve mastered the movement and bodyweight becomes too easy, add a load.

Keep it simple and keep building your base!

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What is the best workout to strengthen core stability? Our forum members have detailed why they think core training is important, who can benefit, exercises, sample training programs and more. Try them out now!

TOPIC: What Is The Best Workout To Strengthen Core Stability?

The Question:

Strong core muscles are a standard “must have” for a great athlete’s physique. There are different ways and concepts of training the core muscles; but which is the best?

What is the best workout to strengthen core stability? Be specific.

What are the benefits of strengthening core stability?

Who would be interested in strengthening their core stability?

Bonus Question: Have you ever used this type of workout before? If so, how were the results?

Show off your knowledge to the world!

The Winners:

To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.

1st Place – ho_124
View This Author’s BodySpace Here.

Introduction

Core stability is an important attribute of the body that is vital to an array of athletes. This is an aspect that keeps the body in equilibrium during certain types of movements. For example, it’s core stability that allows a wrestler to throw an opponent in a fluid motion.

Of equal significance is the fact that core stability is a preventative measure against injury in the lower spinal region. Think again of that wrestler. What keeps the musculoskeletal system (relating to the muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and spinal discs) of his/her core system from failure leading to injury? The obvious answer is core stability.

RELATED ARTICLE

What Is Core Stability? The purpose of this article is to provide insight into what core stability actually is and how it can impact your training. [ Click here to learn more. ]

First of all what is the core for those who don’t know? It is the lower torso region including the abdominals, obliques and lower back. This is involved in facilitating a wide variety of movements, such as jumping, twisting, etc. It is also important as a power source for many actions. For example the power from a punch or kick comes not from the arm or leg, but from the core.

Lets define stability:

Stability is defined as remaining unchanged even in the presence of forces that would normally change the state or condition (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/inmag25.htm). Since this is the definition of stability, just apply this to the core region and there you have it, core stability.

Click Image To Enlarge.

The Power From A
Kick Comes From The Core.

Proper stability of the core allows athletes to withstand forces that have the ability to be debilitating. It is also involved in coordination of simple and complex movements that result in optimal performance.

Seeing as how core stability can influence an athletes performance, let’s see how this characteristic can be improved and developed.

Workout
What Is The Best Workout To Strengthen Core Stability? Be Specific.

Before we get into a workout, I want you to understand how core stability can be improved. One misconception I would like to clear is that of core strength and its relation to stability. It is erroneous to think of strong core muscles as ones that can provide maximal stability.

Just because you can push out twelve decline crunches while holding a hundred pounds doesn’t mean your core stability is on the same level. What do I mean by this? Well think of a powerlifter. They are the strongest people on the face of the Earth, that’s their main skill. Now try putting them on thin poles and see if they can do the job.

“Just Because They Have The Strongest Legs,
Doesn’t Mean They Are Capable Of The Greatest Stability.”

My instant instinct would be that if they would fail miserably. That’s right, just because they have the strongest legs, doesn’t mean they are capable of the greatest stability. This isn’t to say muscular strength doesn’t help, it’s just that it isn’t the main factor.

So how do we go about working on core stability? Well there are three general ways.

1. In The Gym:

	Homeostasis Homeostasis is the property of either an open system or a closed system, especially a living organism, which regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition. Multiple dynamic equilibrium adjustments and regulation mechanisms make homeostasis possible. The concept was created by Claude Bernard, often considered as the father of physiology, and published in 1865. The term was coined in 1932 by Walter Bradford Cannon from the Greek homoios (same, like, resembling) and stasis (to stand, posture).

2. Training In Your Sport:

Click Image To Enlarge.

A Wrestler Needs To Develop
Coordination To Perform Moves.

3. Off Court Training:

Click Image To Enlarge.

Jump Lunges Require A Stable Core.

Workout

Now that you’ve got a good idea of what core stability is and how to improve it, its time for the workout. Keep in mind I’m writing this for the average weight lifter looking for some core stability. Therefore if it doesn’t suit your needs, i.e. the rep range, sets, workout frequency, exercise, then feel free to tweak it according to your preference.

“Workouts That Focus On Core
Stability Can Also Promote Strength And Size.”

Keep in mind, don’t treat this as a “separate workout.” This can also count as your core workout (abdominals and lower back). So if you already got your workout program going, just integrate it into the regimen. Workouts that focus on core stability can also promote strength and size if that’s what your looking for. So basic idea, don’t treat core stability workouts as some special, separate, training program.

• Frequency – Once per week, the norm for most weight lifting programs.
• Repetition Range – 6-12 the norm for most bodybuilding programs and even those for athletes.
• Sets – 12 total for one workout.
• Duration – 30-45 minutes, shorter workouts are best since you can focus your intensity in a shorter amount of time giving you a better workout.
• Intensity – High intensity. Your intensity should be such that you fail or are close to it on most of your sets. If you’re a beginner take it easy please, I don’t want anyone hurting themselves.

I’ll provide 2x workouts. You should switch up your workouts every 1-2 months to prevent your body from going into a plateau and adapting to the exercises. Final note, on these workouts you will need an exercise/Swiss ball.

View Exercise Balls Sorted By Top Seller Here.

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Swiss Ball Sit Ups.
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Crunches.
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Seated Leg Tucks.
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Deadlifts.
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Back Extensions.
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Click Here For A Printable Log Of Workout 1: Lower Back Workout.

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Ab Roller.
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Swiss Ball Leg Pull-In.
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Plate Twist.
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Click Here For A Printable Log Of Workout 2: Abdominal Workout.

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Stiff-Legged Deadlift.
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Good Mornings.
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Click Here For A Printable Log Of Workout 2: Lower Body Workout.

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Off Season Hockey Training! Here is a list of hockey-specific exercises to prepare you for the upcoming hockey season! Printable workout logs included! [ Click here to learn more. ]

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Tuck Jumps.
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• Sprint cone drill – 15-30 seconds

  Set up two cones, sprint to one then back to the other and keep repeating. Set cones 10-15 meters apart. The farther apart they are, the more you work speed, the closer they are the more you work agility. Also the more you work agility the more your core stability is worked.

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Cone Sprinting.
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• Illinois Drill – 15-30 seconds

  Set up cones a short distance from each other to work your agility and thus core stability.

  Rest 1-2 minutes.

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Illinois Drill.
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• Agility ladder drills – 15-30 seconds

  Look up the millions of ladder drills that exist. Choose one that you like best.

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• 4 Star Drill – 15-30 seconds

  Either draw or imagine 4 stars about 18-24 inches apart. Start at the 1 and jump to the 2, then to the 3, and finally to the 4 as fast as possible and minimizing ground contact time. Once around this box counts as a rep.

  Repeat 2-4 times.

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4 Star Drill.
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• Optional – Straight sprints or hill sprints – 15-30 seconds

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Hill Sprints.
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NOTE FOR ALL PROGRAMS: You should switch up the exercises every 1-2 months so you don’t get bored with it and so you don’t plateau. If you keep with the same workout too long your body can adapt to the exercises and your progress starts decreasing.

Benefits
What Are The Benefits Of Strengthening Core Stability?

1. Increased Strength:

2. Increased Coordination:

3. Increased Stability/Balance:

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The Football Player With Good Stability/Balance
Is Better Able To Keep On His Feet.

4. Decreased Chance Of Injury:

5. Increased Performance:

FORUM THREAD

Is Badminton A Good Cardio Workout? I’m starting to play more often now so I was wondering if this was a good cardio workout, usually about an hour-an hour and a half, with 5 minute’s rest between each match. By the end of the match my shirt is completely soaked. Usually the matches are singles so it’s tougher and more tiring. Anyone think this is a pretty good cardio workout? – bulkingup79. [ Click here to learn more. ]

Interest
Who Would Be Interested In Strengthening Their Core Stability?

Athletes that require lots of core movement and strength should definitely consider strengthening their core stability. This will help with their performance and to execute their movements with greater ease.

First of all you have to decide how important core stability is to your sport. Usually high intensity sports such as MMA, wrestling, football, hockey, track and field etc require large amounts of core stability as well as strength.

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Sports such as marathon running and long distance biking require less core stability, but it is a good thing to have since they need a bit of it over a long period of time.

Weight lifters, bodybuilders etc should also consider strengthening their core stability. Why? If all your doing is weight lifting you still need it believe it or not.

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Weight Lifters Should Also
Strengthen Their Core Stability.

When doing heavy exercises like deadlifts and squats, you need a steady, strong, and stable core to support the weight. Without it, your spine would buckle under the pressure causing injury. Also if your doing things like clean and presses, power cleans it is even more important. All that jerking requires your core be coordinated and balanced to ensure you don’t injure yourself and everything lifts smoothly.

Bonus Question:
Have You Ever Used This Type Of Workout Before? If So, How Were The Results?

In the past I played badminton which does require core stability. All the lunging, jumping, running to a shot etc. required a stable core to be able to perform smoothly. I did workouts similar to the one listed above and also my cardio, plyometrics and speed training did resemble the ones listed above.

The results were great. Not only was I stronger, faster and had greater endurance but I also had a lot more balance, and I could feel my self moving with greater efficiency. Also I never had any major injuries which I attribute to my core stability as well as strength.

References:

1. http://www.brianmac.co.uk/corestabex.htm
2. www.bodybuilding.com/fun/inmag25.htm
3. www.bodybuilding.com/fun/inmag29.htm

2nd Place – Blink41
View This Author’s BodySpace Here.

Introduction

The core muscles lie deep in the upper body. They are usually attached to the spine, pelvis and the muscles that support the shoulder blade. When the core muscles contract, they create a solid base of support for the body.

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Without a solid core, your lifts will suffer and you will not perform to your full potential. Training the core muscles will also correct posture imbalances that can potentially injure an athlete. In this article, I will show you how you can strengthen your core muscles as well as the many benefits you will enjoy.

Workout
What Is The Best Workout To Strengthen Core Stability? Be Specific.

Training the core muscles is easy. Why? The core muscles are worked by many exercises, including any variation of the squat, deadlift, military press, bench press and many other common exercises. A strong core provides support for your spine so you walk, jog, run, lift and much more. A weak core will lead to bad posture, lower back pain and ultimately injury.

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The Bench Press Works The Core Muscles.

The core muscles, such as the abdominals and back, aids in almost every exercise. However, there are exercises to isolate the core muscles and train them individually. Here are some of the best exercises to train and strengthen the core:

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Bridge.
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Crunch.
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The Plank is one of my favorite exercises. To perform this exercise, lie on your stomach. Raise yourself up so you are resting on your knees and forearms. Keep your back and head as straight and in line as possible.

A good way to think about it is to pretend that your back is a tabletop. Squeeze and contract your core muscles by pulling your elbows toward your knees. However, neither the elbows nor knees should move from their positions. Hold the position for approximately five seconds. As you get stronger at this exercise, move on to about eight seconds.

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The Plank.
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Benefits
What Are The Benefits Of Strengthening Core Stability?

Before I discuss how a strong core can benefit you, I would first like to discuss how a weak core can hurt you. Weak core muscles can lead to numerous injuries, some more serious than others. The most common injury associated with weak core muscles tends to be lower back pain.

The most common reason for lower back pain is caused by having bad posture. Weak core muscles can also hurt you lifts in the gym because your body is not properly supported. If you are not stabilized during a lift, your form will start to slip and you will injure yourself.

For all you visual people out there, pretend that your spine is a stack of empty soda cans, each one stacked on top of the other. If you do not have strong core muscles, your spine (soda cans) will be wrapped in Scotch tape. Now if you have strengthened your core muscles, that Scotch tape will become tighter and more tensed, sort of like the bandages athletes use to wrap injured ankles. A strong core will increase the support in your spine by helping it handle the forces of rotation and compression that lead to back injuries.

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Most people do not know this, but a strong core will promote healthy normal bowel movements. How? Well, the pelvis muscles are part of the core. Therefore, a strong and healthy core will lead to a strong and healthy pelvis. For those who don’t already know, the pelvis muscles eliminate waste from our body by contractions. If you have a weak core, your pelvis may not contract properly.

Your core muscles also play a great part in your sports performance. Take for instance baseball. When a batter swings the bat, the power behind his swing starts from the legs. The power than transfer up through his abdominals/back (The core muscles) and to his arms for the swing. Now think of how his swing would be affected if he had a weak core. The power from his legs would not have transferred to his arms and his swing would have been weaker.

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Your Core Muscles Play
A Great Part In Sports Performance.

Interest
Who Would Be Interested In Strengthening Their Core Stability?

So who would benefit from core stability and core strength? Well, athletes from tennis to bodybuilders and power lifters to baseball players will benefit tremendously from core training. Besides athletes, just about every single person on Earth can benefit from core training.

“Just About Every Single Person On
Earth Can Benefit From Core Training.”

Everyday activities such as walking, jogging and running require strength from the core muscles. Training the core may even make your stomach look flatter. That “ponch” will shrink if you strengthen your back muscles so you stand up straight. There are so many benefits of a strong core. If you train the core, you will not be disappointed.

Bonus Question
Have You Ever Used This Type Of Workout Before? If So, How Were The Results?

Yes, I do core training every four days. My major lifts such as squat, deadlift and the bench press went up a couple pounds when I began core training. However, the important thing is that my lifts all feel stable and safe. My form is close to perfect and it is thanks to a strong core.

I believe it is important to train the core muscles for all the reasons I mentioned above but specially to be well balanced. The abdominals are just like any other muscle so I train them like so. I cannot stress the importance of being well balanced.

Severe injuries can and will occur if one muscle group is stronger than its opposing muscle. A common example of this is the quadriceps and the hamstrings. If you have super strong quadriceps and weak hamstrings, you will pull a muscle. In this case, it would be the lower back and the opposing muscle group, the abdominal muscles. Remember, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

Bottom line: TRAIN YOUR CORE

3rd Place – Veeshmack
View This Author’s BodySpace Here.

The core of the body is often referred to as the “trunk of the tree.” Simply put, it’s the large hard part, consisting of the abs, chest, and back. Strengthening the core is key for athletes as almost every body movement goes through the core muscles, but also having stability, that is important as well.

Workout
What Is The Best Workout To Strengthen Core Stability? Be Specific.

Firstly, always get a proper warm-up before lifting, preferably in the form of dynamic stretching.

Strengthening core stability requires two separate abilities within the core muscle group. The first being strength. The base output power must be there for the body to use. Second is balance, playing more of a role towards stability.

The core muscles are worked in every day lifts, and are worked thoroughly through the big lifts such as squats, front squats, bench press, deadlifts, snatches, power cleans, and various abdominal workouts.

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The Power Clean.
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To strengthen core muscles, the key is to work the various muscles of the group.

For the chest, back and abdominal there are many exercises that can be done.

For the chest, bench press as always leads the herd, but also dumbbell presses can be even better for stability as it requires your arms to balance two SEPARATE pieces of weight. For the back, bent over rows and deadlifts surely get the strengthening job done. And for the abs, almost any exercise will be beneficial.

I recommend using a 5×5 power lift for acquiring strength, but its good to mix it up to avoid plateau and to find out what works best for you.

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Stability is more of balance and endurance throughout the core. Athletes of all sports, especially contact sports will know that being able to break through using all the power available is always a positive. In contact sports, core stability helps you stay up, so even when you have a 230-pound linebacker on you or a 300-pound prop, you can have the ability to shake them off and keep going.

To get better stability I recommend using a 4×8 – 4×12 system for endurance. The main goal is to test you through lifts that often require balance to perform and to send power through the core muscles to the group that is being trained. This primarily occurs with lower body and Olympic lifts.

Also, abdominal exercises will help in stability, especially those done in an isometric manner (holding an exercise at certain spot to increase fast-twitch muscle fibers).

So the big lifts for core stability are squats, front squats, hack squats, deadlifts, power cleans, and snatches.

Benefits
What Are The Benefits Of Strengthening Core Stability?

For starters, everyone wants a good-looking core. All the abdominal work that goes into core training will get the job done, with plenty of chest and back work to match. As I said earlier, athletes playing full contact sports will greatly benefit as it allows the ability to shed tackles, hold onto blocks and just offers more all around strength.

Interest
Who Would Be Interested In Strengthening Their Core Stability?

Everyone should be. Simply put, I do a lot of different forms of training because I find that training differently will help in many ways in the long run, especially as an athlete.

If you are just a bodybuilder, it’ll help you train all the little muscles and big ones while adding a new dimension to your routine.

” I Find That Training Differently Will Help In Many Ways In The Long Run, Especially As An Athlete.”

For athletes, the reason I mentioned above, and just the overall strength and maneuverability.

Strength and strongman competitors get the extra edge of keeping their balance while surging strength throughout the entire body. And the best part of doing this since anyone can, is you don’t need to make a new day out of it; just add the lifts where they fit into your schedule. On your lower body days simply do front squats sometimes opposed to regulars, on full body days, make sure you get some Olympic lifts done and the list can go on.

Bonus Question
Have You Ever Used This Type Of Workout Before? If So, How Were The Results?

About a year ago, I attended various skills and strength camps for both rugby and football. Both stressed to me how important it was to have the strength throughout the core. So I started to switch-up my routine. Replacing basic lifts with ones that were more effective on the core. As a result, I became the mini-tank.

At only 5-foot-7, 155 pounds, I didn’t seem like much of a threat on the rugby, nor the football field. But last fall, when I lined up as a fullback for football, despite being small, I made the necessary blocks to get my team to a championship game. This year, I play for a new team, and because of my core strength, I managed to become the smallest offensive lineman in the league.

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On the rugby pitch, I was able to keep better balance on the cuts, run over kids, hold my ground when making tackles, and ruck the living daylight out of props. With the constant core training, it only is getting better and it’s making me a better athlete every day.

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It’s rare to find someone in the world of fitness who isn’t interested in building—or admiring—a bodacious booty. After all, a solid rump indicates a sturdy lower body that offers stability and power to many movements, in and out of the gym. It’s the sign of a true athlete.

If you want to build your own glorious glutes for function and form, you’re in the right place! The BodySpace members below possess some of the most coveted trunks in the Bodybuilding.com community, and we’ve got their favorite backside-building workouts, tips, and tricks.

1 Danielle Beausoleil

With proper weight training, competitor Danielle Beausoleil says you can “create your very own butt lift!” It’s all about employing a routine that targets your glutes while also tying in your hamstrings and quadriceps to toughen your primary lower-body muscles.

Danielle finds that warming up with lying leg curls (aka lying hamstring curls), using a lighter weight and higher volume, primes the body for the mother lode of work later on.

(You can) “create your very own butt lift!” – Danielle Beausoleil

2 Lindsay Cappotelli

Because her goal is strength and hypertrophy at the moment, MuscleTech athlete Lindsay Cappotelli gravitates toward bigger, compound lifts for most of her workout.

“I am a huge fan of heavy barbell hip thrusts for building up the glutes,” she says. “I always make sure to add a few glute isolation exercises at the end of my workouts to finish off the muscle group.”

“I always make sure to add a few glute isolation exercises at the end of my workouts to finish off the muscle group.” – Lindsay Cappotelli

3 Tricia Ashley Gutierrez

Glutes are one of Tricia’s favorite body parts to train, and it shows. She uses a combination of heavy compound movements alongside more isolating and higher-rep exercises to simultaneously bring out definition and gain strength. “This particular workout has definitely helped shape and build stronger glutes,” she says.

“This particular workout has definitely helped shape and build stronger glutes.” – Tricia Ashley Gutierrez

4 Katie Miller

Personal trainer Katie Miller really ups the ante when it comes to her lower-body training. She dedicates one day to heavy leg-oriented exercises and one day to glute-targeted movements. On her glute-heavy day, Miller likes to do more isolated, lighter-weight exercises like step-ups and hip thrusts to amplify her mind-muscle connection.

“I like to tell my clients to pretend like their glutes are the only muscle they have to lift the weight. This will usually lead to a greater mind-muscle connection, making them ‘feel’ the exercise more,” she explains.

“I like to tell my clients to pretend like their glutes are the only muscle they have to lift the weight.” – Katie Miller

5 Elissa Martis

Physical therapist Elissa Martis is no stranger to glute training. In regard to her overall training strategy, Elissa says, “I generally keep my rest periods shorter between exercises and focus on higher repetitions in order to maintain a high-intensity workout.”

She also notes that squeezing the glutes to fully engage the muscle helps to enhance her results and give the backside a more rounded appearance over time.

“I generally keep my rest periods shorter between exercises and focus on higher repetitions in order to maintain a high-intensity workout.” – Elissa Martis

6 Jessica Tarnawski

As competitor Jessica Tarnawski prepares for her next contest season, she’s focusing on increasing her lower-body size and strength. “I do each of these exercises in different variations, using a number of machines and techniques,” she says. “I’m using my own bodyweight for many of these exercises, but every few weeks I’ll add in a heavy week to really change things up and fully exhaust my muscles.”

“I’m using my own bodyweight for many of these exercises, but every few weeks I’ll add in a heavy week to really change things up and fully exhaust my muscles.” – Jessica Tarnawski

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Name: Hunter Labrada
Age: 21
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 235 lbs
Education: Texas A&M University
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Every trainee I know wants a set of nicely developed calves. There is often a disconnect, however, between wanting good calves and actually sporting them.

Very few muscle groups can be as stubborn to grow as your calves, and a constant lack of progress might compel you to stop training your lower legs entirely and put your own calves out to pasture.

However, before you throw in the towel, you should know that your calf-to-cow trouble could be the result of some easily fixed calf-training mistakes.

Yes, there is hope for your lagging gastrocs! Even the skinniest calves can grow into full-blown bulls with the right approach.

Here are six training errors you might be making, and the best way to fix each of them. I’ve also provided a calf workout that’s brought me incredible results.

Read on so you can properly build the burly, cut calves you’ve always wanted!

Mistake 1

Much like the rear delts on shoulder day, calves are often neglected—or saved for the last part of a leg workout, when you’re tired and barely able to muster up the energy for a couple of half-assed sets.

As you probably already know, muscles can’t grow if they receive subpar training. If you really want to make your calves stand-out, you must start training them the way you train your back or chest: fresh, from every angle, and to complete exhaustion.

If you can start your leg training with calves—and train them with the same intensity as you do your quads and hamstrings—do it. If you’re trying to hit your upper legs super-hard and just don’t have the energy to do the same to your calves on leg day, add an extra calf day into your split or add the work to a different workout.

Whatever you choose, the point is to ensure that your calves don’t suffer from lack of attention.

Mistake 2

When training your calves, throw conventional rep ranges out the window. I never do less than 20 reps per set when I train my calves. Usually, I aim for 25-30 reps.

This higher rep range forces you to use a slightly lighter weight, which allows you to fully contract your calves and stimulate new growth. Lots of reps will also mean an awesome pump!

Mistake 3

I see a lot of people training their calves in the exact same way at every single workout. If you only do calf exercises sitting or standing, then you’re not hitting all portions of your calf muscles equally.

Your calves are made up of several muscles. Your gastrocnemius is the muscle that makes up the inner and outer head of each calf. When you are doing standing calf exercises, the majority of the work is performed by the gastrocnemius muscles.

When more muscles get activated, you’ll see more growth.

The soleus, on the other hand, runs directly underneath the gastrocnemius. The soleus muscles are activated when performing calf exercises with your knees bent, like when you do a seated calf raise or calf raises without your legs locked out.

Armed with this knowledge, you can select exercises that will train your entire calf, not just parts of it. When more muscles get activated, you’ll see more growth.

Mistake 4

Common calf-training knowledge says you have to train calves heavy to make them grow. I completely agree! However, if you use weight that’s so heavy you can’t do an exercise properly, you’re just robbing yourself of gains.

If you use too much weight, you could start bouncing at the bottom of each rep, or fail to complete the rep with a hard contraction at the top. Too much weight might also make you get assistance from the quads and cheat the weights up.

Not only does this poor form place a ridiculous amount of dynamic stress on your Achilles tendon, vertebrae, and knees, it also cheats your calves of precious stimulation.

Not sure if you’re going too heavy? Here are a few ways to tell:

1. Your ankles get severely out of line with the rest of your leg during any portion of the rep.

2. You can’t perform standing calf raises without bending your knees, or seated calf raises without using your arms to pull the weight up.

3. You feel pain in the arch of your foot or your Achilles tendon.

Mistake 5

Your calves reap the most benefit from an exercise when it’s done with a full contraction, slow negative, and a full stretch.

Just like any other muscle, your calves reap the most benefit from an exercise when it’s done with a full contraction, slow negative, and a full stretch.

Many people like to bounce the weight or just perform partial reps in the middle 50 percent of the range, leaving out the full squeeze at the top.

In my opinion, that hard contraction at the top is where the real growth occurs. Optimize the squeeze you get at the top of each rep by getting up on the balls of your feet and pushing as high up as physically possible.

Once you’re at the top, flex the muscle, hard. It takes a conscious effort and mental focus. Those who have tried my arms workout can attest to the enormous difference a big squeeze at the top will make in the efficacy of your workout.

The work isn’t over once you’ve hit that peak contraction. Keep tension on the muscle while you slowly return the weight to the starting position.

Taking your time throughout each rep will increase the amount of time your calves are under tension, even if you’re using the same weights and reps you normally do.

At the end of each rep, gently—no ballistic movements—stretch the calf as far as you can without shifting the focus of the stretch from your calf to your Achilles tendon. You want the stress to stay on the target muscle, not your connective tissue.

Mistake 6

We’ve all heard that pointing your toes in, out, and straight ahead will hit your calves from various angles. Much of this is true, but only to an extent. It’s true that having your feet pointed straight ahead will equally train the inner and outer heads of your calves.

It’s also true that having your toes pointed out will shift the focus to the inner heads of your calves, and that having your toes pointed in will shift the focus to the outer heads. That being said, your toes do not need to point out or in more than an inch to change the focus.

Performing calf raises with your toes at extreme angles not only prevents you from achieving maximum calf activation but also places an inordinate amount of stress on the ligaments and connective tissues in your ankles and knees.

For best results, don’t play around with your toe angle too much. Mix it up if you wish, but do notemploy extreme angles. An inch in or out will do just fine.

My Killer Calf Workout

Now that you’re familiar with some of the most common calf-training mistakes and how to fix them, I want to share my favorite calf workout. I’ve performed this workout religiously twice per week over the last year and have seen incredible results:

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This one will be more familiar than the previous cardio session. You’re back at it with low-intensity, steady-state cardio for 48 minutes. Start jamming out to your favorite playlist and use this time to burn some calories, deliver blood and nutrients to your sore muscles, and clear your head. Steady-state cardio has numerous benefits, and it’s great for active recovery.

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coach Marc Megna shouldn’t be living his dreams. But

they’re not stopping him.

Fitness 360: Marc Megna, Dream Big, Never Quit

Marc Megna played in the NFL and coached pro athletes after he left the game. Now, he’s an elite trainer and fitness model. Follow his fitness plan!

Marc Megna’s Weekend Warrior Workout

Can’t spend hours in the gym every day? You don’t have to! This twice-per-week, full-body workout will help you weekend warriors do better in sports and live healthier lives.

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Today’s full-body workout is going to hit your lower body a little harder than previous days on the AMP program. We turn up the heat with sumo deadlifts and split squats. I want you to feel the reps and enjoy the challenge. Your legs can handle it, I promise.

The first movement of today’s workout is the sumo deadlift, which involves a wider stance and is easier on the lower back than the conventional deadlift. Still, you want to focus on driving the hips forward and keeping the bar close to your body as the weight comes up. Some folks find the sumo position to be more comfortable than a regular stance. Even if you prefer a regular stance, it’s always helpful for your performance to make your body do new things.

Both the half-kneeling cable row and rear-foot-elevated split squat are designed to challenge your core and stability. If you’ve never done either, it’s best to go with a slightly lower weight and then build up as you get better at the movements.

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Working Class Man: Marc Megna Workout

There are a million reasons why Muscletech performance

coach Marc Megna shouldn’t be living his dreams. But

they’re not stopping him.

Fitness 360: Marc Megna, Dream Big, Never Quit

Marc Megna played in the NFL and coached pro athletes after he left the game. Now, he’s an elite trainer and fitness model. Follow his fitness plan!

Marc Megna’s Weekend Warrior Workout

Can’t spend hours in the gym every day? You don’t have to! This twice-per-week, full-body workout will help you weekend warriors do better in sports and live healthier lives.

Back | Main | Next

You rested for two days during Phase One, but now we’re upping the ante. It’s time for a cardiac power workout. At the tissue level, training cardiac power will increase the strength and contractile abilities of your heart muscles, which will further improve oxygen delivery. Training this system will also improve your body’s utilization of oxygen to produce energy within the working muscles. In other words, you’ll improve your ability to use the aerobic energy system at higher rates of exertion.

Today’s workout is similar to what you did on day 16, but the work and rest intervals are longer. This time, I want you to sustain a high level of work for 2 minutes. Choose a rate at which you don’t have to stop to rest. After the work period, you’ll have 4 minutes to recover. Repeat this 5 more times for a total of 6 sets.

Keep water handy as you go through this workout. Hydration will help you perform better.

AMP
Watch The Video – 01:16

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Working Class Man: Marc Megna Workout

There are a million reasons why Muscletech performance

coach Marc Megna shouldn’t be living his dreams. But

they’re not stopping him.

Fitness 360: Marc Megna, Dream Big, Never Quit

Marc Megna played in the NFL and coached pro athletes after he left the game. Now, he’s an elite trainer and fitness model. Follow his fitness plan!

Marc Megna’s Weekend Warrior Workout

Can’t spend hours in the gym every day? You don’t have to! This twice-per-week, full-body workout will help you weekend warriors do better in sports and live healthier lives.

Back | Main | Next

You’ve earned today’s rest, but that doesn’t mean you get to go crazy with cheat meals and undo all of your progress. If you find yourself absolutely wiped from the past week, take a hard look at your food intake. Are you sticking to the proper ratio of carbs, protein, and healthy fats? With the addition of interval training to the weekly regimen, it’s now more crucial than ever to properly fuel yourself with adequate carbs, especially around your workout.

If you’re feeling particularly sore or tight, take some time to stretch throughout the day and foam roll. Don’t have a foam roller yet? It’s a worthy investment! Even tennis, lacrosse, or softballs will help you massage tight spots and work through particularly sore areas on your body.

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Working Class Man: Marc Megna Workout

There are a million reasons why Muscletech performance

coach Marc Megna shouldn’t be living his dreams. But

they’re not stopping him.

Fitness 360: Marc Megna, Dream Big, Never Quit

Marc Megna played in the NFL and coached pro athletes after he left the game. Now, he’s an elite trainer and fitness model. Follow his fitness plan!

Marc Megna’s Weekend Warrior Workout

Can’t spend hours in the gym every day? You don’t have to! This twice-per-week, full-body workout will help you weekend warriors do better in sports and live healthier lives.

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Welcome to the 50th Anniversary of Joe Weider’s Olympia Weekend! With $1.1 million in prize money and a stacked line-up of competitors, the 2014 Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, sponsored by Ultimate Nutrition and Bodybuilding.com, is a must-see event! Whether you have plane tickets to Vegas, or you will be viewing our live webcast from home, experience all the action with Bodybuilding.com’s full 2014 Olympia weekend coverage.

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See who won this year’s Mr. Olympia, Ms. Olympia, Figure Olympia, Fitness Olympia, Bikini Olympia, Physique Olympia, and 212 Showdown!

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Joe Weider (1919-2013): Remembering The
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Of all the muscle groups women love to target, glutes hold the top-ranked position. There’s nothing quite like a firm, round backside to finish off your look. A nice booty also shows off the fact that you know what you’re doing in the gym.

If you’ve been training your glutes for quite some time and don’t see the results you had in mind, it might be time to re-evaluate how you train them. Stop doing what doesn’t work and try reigning Bikini Olympia champ Ashley Kaltwasser’s butt-building workout!

Before you hit the gym, check out these key concepts that Ashley uses in her glute-training regimen. This Gaspari Nutrition athlete knows how to make her backside look great on and off the stage—so you and your booty are in good hands.

Incorporate the following five tips into your normal glute training for bikini-ready results!

Tip 1

It may sound silly, but if your body weight isn’t balanced where it should be, you won’t train your glutes as effectively as possible. By putting your weight on your heels, you can turn a mediocre glute workout into one that gets you into tip-top shape in no time.

“When doing an exercise like Smith machine deep squats or glute-ham raises, think of pushing through the heel the entire time,” explains Ashley. “This is going to place more stress on the glute muscles, taking away some of the stress off the quads.”

Putting your weight on your heels and taking stress off your quads can help you build a firmer, perkier bum without adding a bunch of size to your thighs, so it’s worth the effort to get this right.

You may find you need to lower the weight until you grow accustomed to this shifted balance. That’s okay. It’s better to lift lighter and feel that mind-muscle connection than to lift heavy and lose it.

Tip 2

Ashley is quick to point out that building a great butt means slow, steady work. “Slow and steady is more beneficial than fast and sloppy,” she says, speaking of pistol squats in particular.

Rushing through an exercise—especially for the lower body—only increases the chance your stronger quads will take over the movement. Doing repetitions quickly can also mean that you’ll use momentum rather than your glute muscles to perform the exercise.

Think about keeping your glutes under tension for as long as you can. Know that your workout might take a little longer than it usually does. It’s a small price to pay for a killer butt!

Tip 3

Like any other body part, your glutes really benefit when they’re worked from various angles. Rather than keeping your feet pointed straight forward, move them into a slightly turned-in or turned-out position. Changing the angle of your feet can put more emphasis on the glutes.

It’s just a small change, but it can lead to insane results. Try varying your foot angle by incorporating sumo squats instead of regular squats into you routine.

Tip 4

Single-leg work is one of the best ways to build your glutes. It allows you to concentrate on one side at a time, ensuring it’s your glutes—and only your glutes—moving the weight. This takes a lot of balance and a fierce mind-muscle connection. The effort you put into your workout, though, will be what makes the difference.

Because you’ll be less stable when performing single-leg exercises than you are during two-legged lifts, you’ll be able to feel your muscle fibers firing hard. “Make sure to perform very slow and controlled movement patterns,” Ashley advises.

Take your time and feel the burn! If your muscles are screaming, it means you’re doing something right.

Tip 5

To round out her workout program, Ashley likes to do plyometric work such as box jumps. Box jumps help increase your explosiveness, which will teach your glutes how to fire quickly. Not only is this important for athletic performance, it’s great for making your glutes move more efficiently and powerfully.

“When doing box jumps, make sure you land with your entire foot on the box, not just with your toes. You don’t want your heel to be hanging off; it’s way too easy to get injured that way,” says Ashley.

Ashley’s Booty-Building Workout

Incorporate this workout into your routine at least twice per week, but don’t do it two days in a row. Leave a day or two between sessions.

Because your quads and hamstrings will do a lot of work, you can use this workout in place of your normal leg workout.

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It’s no secret that doing the same workouts with the same internal variables over and over again won’t lead to muscle growth. But you don’t need to completely abandon your routine every time you need a change. Instead, implement one or more of these 11 simple hacks to kick your results back into overdrive!

1 Do Your Monday Workout on Sunday

I hate to ruin your love affair with pro football, but unless you enjoy standing in lines reminiscent of your childhood trip to Disneyland, Monday is absolutely the worst day to be in the gym—especially if you’re planning to train your chest. Ironically, if you were to hit that same athletic club a mere 24 hours earlier, you’d find it practically empty. I’ve come to find the most serious lifters at my gym are there on Sundays to skip the crowds. In fact, maybe I shouldn’t even have shared this tip…

2 Bust Out Your Cardio Between Sets

We know you’re popular: You’ve got friends to text, selfies to post, and conversations to catch up on with your crew at the gym. None of this changes the fact that you’ve still got a cardio session waiting for you at the end of your workout. Why not get your cardio done alongside your lifting so you can get back to life faster?

Instead of sitting your butt on a bench between sets, you can speed things up, get your heart going, and burn calories at the same time. Active rest (doing a mild cardio activity between sets) will help you get a more productive workout and cut your time in the gym substantially. Try jumping rope, doing step-ups, or hitting box jumps for 45-60 seconds between weight-training sets. Just make sure you pace yourself.

“Adding a fast-paced, active-rest workout once or twice a week will do two things,” says David Sandler, CSCS*D, Director of Science and Education for iSatori. “First, your athletic ability will improve as balance, core strength, footwork, and muscle endurance improve within only a few weeks. Second, you’ll increase your work capacity and burn more calories in less time. The downside is that you’ll sacrifice some strength, but you’ll lean out faster and get a better overall pump.”

Active rest (doing a mild cardio activity between sets) will help you get a more productive workout and cut your time in the gym substantially.

3 Add Weight To The Bar With Smaller Plates

Working out with a partner has some huge advantages. But creating a partner-friendly workout means finding convenient ways to load and unload weights, says Sandler. Nothing feels more like wasted effort than continually having to make 45-pound weight changes. By using the smaller plates—5s, 10s, 25s, even 35s—you can more easily make weight changes, saving time and effort. Bonus: If you do dropsets, you can simply pull off the right amount of weight without having to take off one of the big wheels and replace it with a smaller plate.

4 Train Your Internal Alarm To Go Off At 10 Reps

“If you’re in fact going for 10 reps, you should barely be able to squeak out a 10th rep,” says Sandler.

Too many lifters—at least the ones who never make any progress—come to the gym and choose weights they can lift for 10 reps, rest, and repeat. The problem with this approach is that the body has already grown accustomed to the load, and no further adaptation is taking place. You can literally train like this for years and never see progress.

Instead of hitting the usual 10 reps after your warm-up sets, choose challenging weights you can do for 6-8 reps—especially early in your workout, when your energy levels are high—and then employ sets of 8-10 later in your training session.

“If you’re in fact going for 10 reps, you should barely be able to squeak out a 10th rep,” says Sandler. “When you can hit 10 reps without cheating or help, then it’s time to add a small plate to each side of the bar.”

If you find that you’re taking every set to 10 reps, your internal alarm should go off. As soon as you hear yourself say the number 10, automatically add a plate to increase the overload. Don’t get lazy and work out on autopilot.

This tip applies mainly to multijoint movements, especially for individuals looking to increase their size and strength.

5 Do The 10-Minute Arm Workout For The Pump Of Your Life

Try this workout once and I promise you’ll swear by it. Let’s say you’re doing chest and triceps. Do your chest workout as usual, consisting of lots of heavy presses. Rather than doing your normal triceps routine afterward—they’ve already been hit hard with all those multijoint moves—choose a single exercise like a rope press-down or rope overhead extension and do it for 10 minutes straight.

Here’s the plan: Choose a weight you can lift for just 10-12 reps. Do your set, but then rest for only 20 seconds—no more—between sets. Fatigue will build up quickly as your arms are unable to completely recover. When you can’t complete 8 reps, drop the weight by one plate on the stack.

The next set will be slightly easier now, and you may be able to do 12 again. But by keeping rest periods to just 20 seconds, that lighter weight will soon feel heavy and you can drop the weight again.

When done for 10 minutes, this simple combination of rest-pause and dropsets will deliver the best triceps pump you’ve ever had, and you’ll feel sore for days afterward.

Try the same technique with biceps for a killer arm pump after training your back.

When done for 10 minutes, this simple combination of rest-pause and dropsets will deliver the best triceps pump you’ve ever had, and you’ll feel sore for days afterward.

6 Invest In Straps For Extra Reps

Oftentimes when training your back, your grip will give out before your lats. Never sacrifice your back for your hands. When your grip starts to fail, put on a pair of lifting straps and you’ll be able to get an extra rep or two on each set, which translates into more muscle growth. Don’t let your grip be your limiting factor on lat day. If you want to work on grip or forearm development, throw those on to the end of your biceps workout.

“When using straps, be sure to isolate your lats and let the straps do their job,” says Sandler. “You don’t need to use an overly firm grip with straps. Just press lightly on them, allowing your forearms to relax a little to send the focus of the movement toward your back.”

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7 Get In, Get It Done, Get Out

If your workouts are taking two hours, work on increasing the intensity (and texting less between sets) by making each set heavier and harder.

When is 60 minutes better than 120? When it’s the length of your workout. Unless you wear a capital “S” on your shirt and leap tall buildings in a single bound, you probably can’t sustain a high-intensity workout for long periods of time. You can, however, do a long workout with moderate intensity, but even that’s suboptimal for big-time muscle gains. Powerlifters are known for longer workouts, but that’s typically due to more warm-ups and substantially longer rest periods between sets.

If your workouts are taking two hours, work on increasing the intensity (and texting less between sets) by making each set heavier and harder. Don’t just add more sets and exercises; that only serves to lengthen your workout.

“Unless you’re a powerlifter, a faster pace does two things,” says Sandler. “First, it has been shown that shorter rest times and higher volume may improve your hormone activity, which means you’ll likely build size at a quicker rate. And second, it’s easier to stay focused for the duration of your session. Mental fatigue contributes to less-than-perfect focus and form, not to mention increased risk of injury.”

Successful bodybuilders get in and out of the gym fast—in 60-75 minutes, tops. But what they sacrifice in duration, they more than make up for with intensity. Plus, you’ll save yourself an extra 45-60 minutes each day!

8 Learn To Keep Your Back Arched

You can save your spine and properly target your working muscles by learning how to hold the arch in your back.

Learning how to keep your lower back arched correctly when training is like learning how to ride a bike: It doesn’t come naturally at first, and you’re going to make mistakes along the way. But while falling off a bike may result in only a few scrapes, using bad form and rounding your back when training with heavy weights disrupts spinal alignment and can cause permanent damage. Disc herniation can happen when you don’t protect your spine during lifting.

You can save your spine and properly target your working muscles by learning how to hold the arch in your back. This is especially important for bent-over exercises like Romanian deadlifts, bent-over rows, and bent-over lateral raises.

“By having normal curvature—or even a slightly modified arch in your lower back—you’ll also gain stability across the core,” explains Sandler. “By breathing in on the negative and having your chest up, if you squeeze your abdominals in tight you’ll increase your intra-abdominal pressure and actually provide much greater strength across your core. As an added benefit, contracting your ab muscles will actually help build them to a degree.”

To check your form, stand perpendicular (sideways) to the mirror (without weights), bend over about 45 degrees, stick your butt out, keep your chest big and open, and bend your knees slightly. Look sideways at the mirror and check your body position, ensuring you have a tight arch in your lower back—not a humpback that’s rounded forward. You must practice this until you get it right, and few beginners naturally get the hang of it.

9 Don’t Duplicate Nearly Identical Exercises

You’ve probably heard that you want to hit a large muscle group with exercises from multiple angles over the course of your workout. Pay attention to bench angle and hand, foot, and body position so you’re not repeating very similar movements. Incline, decline, and flat-bench presses work the pecs from multiple angles, but there are only small differences between flat-bench barbell, flat-bench dumbbell, and flat-bench machine presses.

“Angle training ensures that you hit every muscle fiber, especially in muscles that have multiple attachment points,” says Sandler. “Performing a similar exercise with a different piece of equipment may help improve stabilizer muscle contribution, but going from a machine to a barbell, or barbell to a dumbbell, still hits the muscles at almost the same angle. At the very least, if you’re going to do the same exercise at the same angle with a different piece of equipment, vary your grip or your stance [with leg exercises]. A varied grip changes the emphasis of the primary muscles and the activation pattern of the assisting muscles.”

Below are some sample exercises and their similar cousins. Avoid mindlessly doing them both in the same workout:

10 Finish Your Workouts with Lower-Back
and Forearm Exercises

Want to know the best way to ensure you’re physically incapable of doing anything later in your workout? T your body’s weakest links and train them to failure. For most of you, that’s your grip and your lower back.

Blow your grip with forearm or grip training, and you can forget about holding on to anything afterward.

Once your lower back is fatigued, standing upright becomes nearly impossible, let alone maintaining good form with heavy weights. For safety’s sake, do lower-back exercises at the end of your training session, most likely on back day.

Likewise, blow your grip with forearm or grip training, and you can forget about holding on to anything afterward. A heavy set of bent-over barbell rows after forearm training? Fuhgetaboutit. So save the forearm and grip training until the end of your biceps workout, with no other body parts to follow. It’s also a good idea to skip training those body parts if they’ll be necessary for the next day’s workout.

11 Don’t Look For
The Easy Way Out

Everyone wants big muscles, but no one wants to lift heavy-ass weights. Eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman popularized that phrase, and he was dead-on. If you’re looking for shortcuts or otherwise trying to make your workouts easier—avoiding free-weight squats, bench presses, and deadlifts, for example—I’m sorry to say that you’re taking the wrong approach.

Looking for the easy way out may also mean excessive cheating on your movements, such as bouncing the bar off your pecs when benching, or bringing your elbows forward when curling. Although there is a time and a place for cheating, relying on it takes stress and tension off the muscle, which is counterproductive in bodybuilding.

Find ways to increase the degree of difficulty and make movements harder, not easier. Add chains to your bench press, do negative reps, extend sets with dropsets, or decrease your rest intervals: whatever it takes to make a movement more difficult. When you substitute machine movements for free weights, do seated motions instead of standing, or otherwise look for ways to make your workout easier, you only shortchange yourself—and the results you see in the end.

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Vital Stats

Name: LaRon Landry
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 225 pounds
Age: 29
Position: Safety, Indianapolis Colts

LaRon Landry plays safety in the National Football League. Wrap your mind around that challenge: Landry is the last line of defense to halt the advances of some of the greatest athletes on the planet. He works in a field that requires immense strength and speed, but also power and endurance.

This former LSU standout also carries a serious pair of arms! Try a Google search and your jaw may drop. This veteran just spent seven seasons in NFL weight rooms, pumping iron professionally. He looks great, but Landry is definitely not all show and no go.

Now in his second season at free safety for the Indianapolis Colts, the MusclePharm-sponsored athlete plays with one of the most impressive physiques in all of pro football. He carries 225 pounds of muscle on his chiseled athletic frame.

To carry that muscle year-round and always stay game-ready, Landry puts significant time in the gym. You don’t make 570 tackles in the NFL without a certain level of strength and toughness, and you don’t forge strength and toughness without ample time under the iron.

If you want to lift like Landry, check out a few of his favorite exercises and workouts below. You want a pro body? You’re going to have to lift like a pro.

LARON LANDRY’S 3 FAVORITE EXERCISES

Exercise 1

A quick look at Landry’s upper body is all the proof anyone needs to see that the pause bench press has translated into some amazing results.

The power clean and press is a staple lift in football training. It’s a regular part of Landry’s training plan and a definite go-to during the off-season. The mix of speed, power, and explosion required to perform the movement successfully readies anyone for the challenges of the pro game.

“Speed, power, and explosion” is also the perfect description of Landry’s fierce playing style. “This movement helps me a lot with explosion,” Landry says. “With my aggressive style of play, this [exercise] is the key in my routine.”

Exercise 2

A quick look at Landry’s upper body is all the proof anyone needs to see that the pause bench press has translated into some amazing results. The movement helped him produce a huge chest and arms, but it also plays a part in his performance on the field. Remember, his job is to catch opponents and force them to the ground.

The added pause makes a big difference when added to a standard bench press. It helps build the explosiveness Landry needs to shed blockers, hand-fight with physical receivers, or drive a running back into the turf.

Landry’s power on the pause bench press impresses observers. He blows through reps like a gridiron god. “This builds a crazy amount of power for me,” Landry says. “I keep my reps low, but my weight is well over 315 pounds.”

Exercise 3

There’s no such thing as a powerful physique without a pair of powerful arms. Landry has some of the most impressive arms in football. It’s a body part that has drawn attention for years.

Landry revealed his go-to for big biceps: the single-arm hammer curl. It’s a hidden gem under the massive-arms mountain. The single-arm hammer curl is a great way to add strength and thickness to the biceps as well as the forearms, and that strength is essential on the football field when it comes to wrapping up tackles.

“I really like the way this exercise builds the biceps,” Landry says. “It has always worked well with me, and I do reps with 80-pound dumbbells.” Most people may not be able to use that much, but this lift is a great addition to any LaRon-themed arm workout.

There’s no such thing as a powerful physique without a pair of powerful arms.

LANDRY’S FAVORITE WORKOUTS

Leg Annihilation

This brutal leg session is centered on the leg press. The total volume adds up to 140 leg-press reps, and the only rest you get is when you get up to add more plates. This leg-press blowout delivers a mind-blowing pump. Landry credits it with building the mental toughness and endurance he needs for 60 minutes every Sunday.

“This [workout] builds the strength and the stamina I need to be fresh throughout all four quarters of a rigorous NFL game,” he says.

After the leg press annihilation, the workout finishes with a 5-set, 15-rep superset of the leg extension and leg curl. It sends your legs into official Jell-O mode.

A 10-minute bike requirement puts the finishing touches on this brutal leg day, which, thanks to Landry, is also NFL-toughness approved.

Example Leg Annihilation Workout

After a quick warm-up, load a leg press sled with one or two 45-pound plates per side to begin this workout. Add either a 25- or 45-pound weight to each side between sets. The only rest period is loading the weights.

The 28 Method

The 28 Method was designed by MusclePharm Co-Founder Cory Gregory and is one of Landry’s favorite intensity techniques. It takes the standard 21-reps method and adds a unique and effective twist.

28 Method

• 7 normal reps
• 7 slow reps
• 7 half reps at the bottom
• 7 half reps at the top

The 28 Method delivers a pump in a major way, but Landry has his own twist. “I do this [technique] for each body part,” he says. “I love the burn this gives me and sometimes I’ll even add another seven regular reps at the end just to make my muscles mad!”

In Landry’s world, the 28 Method often becomes the 35 Method, which will blow up any body part like a balloon. It’s hard to argue with Landry’s results—both in the weight room and on the field.

Try these 28-Method workouts!

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