Sometimes less can mean more!!!

I have watched and listened to Dave Palumbo’s Heavy Muscle Radio Show and Ask Dave TV Show for several years now and really like Dave’s no nonsense approach towards training and nutrition.

He has said that the best results he got from his training was by working each body part on their own day and training 5 or 6 days per week.

So here is my version of this where I will integrate my HIT style training with each workout…

Again, not a training tip today, but I thought I would break down the intracies of my personal favourite compulsory pose…“Back Double Biceps”.

Men, in general, can usually get in great shape from the front, but what seems to sort out the pack is whether or not the hamstrings/glutes and lower back tie-ins are in condition and that combined with the upper back musculature ‘popping’!!

They say the show is won from the back, so obviously one needs to (a) be lean enough in this area and (b) be able to present it to the audience and judges in the optimal way that suits your physique.

Here are 7 pointers that may help you…

1. Start from the ground and work your way up.
I like to begin by placing my back leg in position so as to show off the glute/hamstring tie-ins as well as that calf. My legs are quite long so I place my back leg directly behind my back, put the ball of my foot firmly on the floor, ‘screw’ the back leg down into the stage whilst simultaneously flexing the upper hamstring and glute of the trailing leg. Leaning back onto the flexed trailing calf will also help keep the glute and hamstring looking tight.

2. The other option with your back leg, if it is shorter and well developed, is to place it more to the side whilst turning the knee out at about 45 degrees. This then enables you to tense and flex the entire length of the hamstring, sit back on a flexed (and hopefully striated) glute whilst showing off a bit of outer thigh sweep as well.

3. Now for the upper back.
A good way to hit this part perfectly is to place your outstretched arms, with forefingers touching and palms face down, directly in front of you parallel to the floor.
Next, rotate your arms back in opposite directions, out to the sides, palms still face down, into a ‘crucifix’ position with arms still parallel to the ground. This now not only looks spectacular with all the upper back musculature bunched together creating a really gnarly 3D appearance, it also places you in a square and balanced position so as to then flex the biceps.

4. From this so called crucifix position now reel in your wrists with thumbs tucked into your fists.
Make sure you now spread the scapulae from its previously bunched together state whilst flexing your biceps. The transition from the crucifix pose to the back double biceps pose when done correctly really does look impressive.
Importantly, your fists should line up with the top of your head. If they drop lower than this there is then the risk of your upper back being still bunched together and looking too narrow.

5. You’re almost finished now!
Finally tweak your elbows slightly towards the back drop whilst simultaneously flexing down on your lats. Try to keep everything else stationary whilst doing this, which again includes maintaining the horizontal line with your fists and the top of your head.

6. Lean back slightly towards towards the judging table, but not too much, as you don’t want any crinkles or wrinkles emanating from the lower back or bottom of the glutes.

7. And with all of the aforementioned, don’t forget the golden rule of NOT LOOKING DOWN!!!

Back double biceps is a sensational pose if you can get it to pop, so hopefully some of these tips may enable you to do just that the next time you’re on stage!

PS: Don’t forget my Posing ebook is now for sale for only $20. Send me an email or message via the contact link on my website to arrange payment and download.

“GOT TRAPS!!??”

Here’s tonight’s Back & Traps workout at the awesome Gold’s Gym, Rockingham…

1.  Wide grip front chins
2.  Reverse close grip pulldowns
3.  Seated plate-loaded underhand grip rows
4.  Seated close grip cable rows
5.  Plate-loaded machine shrugs

I have always been a firm believer that the trapezius is part of the back musculature as it’s function is basically to pull.

The plate-loaded shrug machine at Gold’s is an absolute cracker, as it really allows you to hit the spot with minimal stress on the lower lumbar area.

Training traps at the end of your back workout is definitely the way to go!

For more videos with accompanying discussion & tips, visit my YouTube Channel “Craig Winter”.

Today, I thought I would touch on some posing advice with probably the most underrated, yet important poses of them all…”Face Front”.

It took me years to try and master this pose which is often referred to “standing relaxed”.

And standing relaxed couldn’t be any further from the truth!!

The judges are literally assessing you in this pose more than any other and will be even judging you in this position when you are stood back in the lineup whilst they judge those that have been called forward for closer inspection.

It is very much an individual pose to create according to your own physique, but there are some general guidelines I thought I would discuss.

1. When walking onto the stage always keep your head up, make eye contact with the audience, smile, keep your chest up and hold your waist tight.

2. Once at your designated stage spot now start from the ground up. Feet sound be placed at 45 degrees (“duck feet”) with heels about 10-15cm apart so that the top of your adductors are just touching.

3. Now push the weight to the outside edges of your feet whilst simultaneously bending your knees just slightly. Try to visualise the ‘splitting of your quads’ with that outer sweep flaring out and around the vastus intermedius.

4. Next flex down on your abdominal wall whilst shrugging your shoulders up, out to the sides and down onto your flared lats. Tuck your thumbs into your fingers, keep the back of your hands in a straight line with your forearms (ie; NO LIMP WRISTS!!!) and punch your fists down towards the ground, NOT towards the audience. You are not riding a motorbike folks!! This in turn will enhance your V-shape, whereas the latter will make you look narrow and straight up & down.

5. At this stage the focus on your breath is critical. Try to imagine air being pumped into your rib box whilst simultaneously being sucked out of your stomach. The best way I have found to achieve this to slowly breath in through your nose and fairly promptly out through your mouth. Many nervous breaths in and out of your only the mouth will result in your rib box collapsing and hence a smaller looking upper torso and bigger stomach/waist. Also, this process of deliberate breaths in through your nose and out of the mouth is akin to how meditation works, so if done properly it can help ease your nerves and/or anxiety.

6. Whether to flex the lower pecs is now an individual dilemma. I have found that keeping the pecs relaxed gave them a fuller & rounder appearance. Guys with very overdeveloped lower pecs may wish to flex them so as to create a harder more defined & balanced look when compared to their upper chest.

7. Once in position it is now important to occasionally refresh or reboot your upper torso. To do this simply repeat my earlier key thoughts of shrugging the shoulders up around and down onto your flared lats whilst simultaneously concentrating on your breath in through the nose and out of your mouth. Remember to keep flexing down on your abdominal wall. This does take some time to master, but with practice you’ll get the idea. And don’t forget, no limp wrists, whilst punching your fists down towards the ground!!

8. Don’t forget about your lower body key thoughts either (ie; points 2 & 3).

9. I will occasionally do a ‘sneaky’ palms together most muscular so as to attract the judges attention and maintain my pump in the pecs and delts. I will quickly then return back to ‘face front’.

10. The whole time you are in this position remember to smile, never look down and try to make as much eye contact with the audience and judges as you can. If these people see that you are relaxed, confident and enjoying yourself then mark my words, they will be drawn to looking at YOU like the proverbial moth to a flame!!!

In closing, I will reiterate that this pose needs customising to suit your physique. But I think you will find that some of these tips should assist you in creating your own awesome version of “Face Front”!!

PS: Don’t forget my Posing ebook is now for sale for only $20. Send me an email or message via the contact link on my website to arrange payment and download.

“Ways to enhance your hormones, naturally!!”

Ok people, this time around I would like to focus, on not a training tip per se, but something that will indirectly improve both your ability and desire to workout.

Optimum hormone production is paramount at any age, but even more important when ‘father time’ starts to kick you in the derrière!

“CW’s Version of HIT explained…”

Just recently cranked out an awesome chest workout at the new Gold’s Gym Rockingham where, in true Gold’s fashion, they have an apparatus for every conceivable angle!!

1. Flat dumbbell bench presses 3 sets 15/12/8 reps
2. Rocking decline machine presses 3 sets 15/12/8 reps
3. CW’s hybrid incline fly-presses 2 sets 12/9 reps (with drop set*)
4. Cross bench dumbbell pullovers 2 sets 12/9 reps
5. Seated pec deck 2 sets 15/12 reps

Total duration: 40 minutes!

The basic premise with this style of training (High Intensity Training) is to put everything you have into the last set on each exercise.

And if you can’t get to positive failure on that set I then like to do an immediate drop set* for about 12-15 reps with approximately half the weight.

Importantly, the one or two lead up sets of 15 and/or 12 reps are performed NOT to failure and are simply getting you prepared for the final all out set.

This way you don’t burn yourself out with all those extraneous sets and allow yourself to be stronger for that last set.

To optimise that final set you can use other principles to take it past positive failure such as forced reps (with a reliable training partner) with deliberate negatives, cheat reps, partial reps, descending sets, etc.

BUT, as always, be mindful of form when going beyond failure.

This type of training brings quite rapid results, increases in strength, allows for recovery and will give you a renewed enthusiasm for training at the gym.

After about 8-10 weeks it is then a good idea to back off the weights slightly for a couple of weeks with perhaps a bit more volume and not going to failure.

The video below is also worth a look, as the principle behind HIT training is well covered by legendary 6 time Mr Olympia, Dorian Yates…

“DELT PRESSER OR PEC PRESSER!!??”

I have been a chronic deltoid presser for all the years I have trained and have worked hard these past few years to try and press with my pecs and consequently take the load off my battered ACL joints.

While I was in Melbourne I went to see Myotherapist, Michael Bordignon, who operates from his clinic next to Doherty’s headquarters in Brunswick.

He showed me how to pinch my shoulder blades together and keep them there throughout the entire movement by practicing against a vertical wall. And to do this in between my sets of dumbbell presses.

The key thought here is to literally keep your shoulders ‘down and back’ during both the eccentric and concentric part of the pressing motion. Minimizing the front deltoids action is what you are trying to achieve all whilst increasing the involvement of the pectoral muscles.

I find that by putting a 10cm high step under the bottom end of the bench, thus creating a slight decline, really helps you use gravity to ‘calm down’ those eager deltoids.

The other exercise I like to do after the aforementioned dumbbell presses is my hybrid incline dumbbell fly/ press.

The key to this great upper pec mass builder is to tuck your chin into your chest, again keep your shoulders ‘down and back’ and then try to bring your upper pecs (near your collarbone) into your chin at the top of the movement so as to create a peak contraction right where you need it.

Just be sure to set the incline bench at only 30 degrees or so.

Check out my vid from my YouTube channel “Craig Winter” and you’ll get the idea.

I then like to finish my chest workout with 2 sets of cross-bench dumbbell pullovers and 2 sets of cable crossovers from high to low.

A great pump is guaranteed!!

Many of people have asked me…

“Craig, what do you do in terms of training your abs?”

To their confusion and disbelief, I say…

“Nothing!!”

Well, it’s not really nothing.

When you consider all the heavy lifting I do during my training week with exercises like deadlifts, squats, bent rows, dumbbell rows, barbell curls, tricep push-downs, pullovers, etc, my abdominal wall is copping an absolute beating as it contracts isometrically against my weight training belt so as to support my core during these taxing compound movements.

The abdominal wall is like any other body part, it needs plenty of rest and recovery for subsequent growth and development to occur.

My advice to you is simple, if you feel this muscle group is not getting enough stimulus from your regular workouts then you could perhaps train them once per week with some ab crunches, cable pull-downs whilst kneeling on the floor and /or hanging leg raises. Two to three sets of each of these exercises with repetitions in the 15-20 range is all you need.

The abdominal wall is VERY easily over-trained, and at the end of the day, most people’s problems with a lack of visible abs are largely due to too much body fat, which in turn can be rectified by tidying up one’s eating habits combined with perhaps introducing some cardiovascular exercise from brisk walking or cycling.

So when it comes to developing world class abs, my response always involves the KISS Theory…

“Keep it simple stupid!!!”

PS: And no folks, fat burners like Hydroxycut are not the ‘magic bullet’ for bringing out your abs!!!