You can google all you want, but there is not a one-size-fits-all answer to the popular question of “how long should I rest between sets.” You’ll find plenty of recommendations — and plenty of people who claim to have the answer — but it varies dramatically between different coaches.

When there aren’t hard-and-fast rules, common sense can guide you in the right direction. Here’s our common-sense recommendations.

Be Flexible With Rest Time

If you’re doing a follow-along video workout, like in Fat-Loss Extreme For Women, Fat-Loss Extreme For Men, MOVE,  our Facebook groups for men or women, or in V-Shred University, a good plan rest as however long the coach in the video tells you to rest.

But even these rest times aren’t set in stone. If you’re one round in and you feel like your heart is in your throat, or you’re about to lose your lunch, just pause the video and rest a little longer. Don’t worry, doing this won’t sabotage your results in the least!

Now, suppose you’re following one of our gym-based programs, like Clean Bulk. In that case, our suggestion is that you rest about 60-90 seconds between sets of weighted exercises. That’s long enough to catch your breath and let your muscles recover, but not so long that you’ll totally cool down.

Again, this can also be altered to your fitness level. If you need to take a bit longer, like 2 or 3 minutes, and it will help you bring more intensity or lift more weight on the next set, that’s fine.

That said… it’s important to use your gym time as efficiently as possible. If you need to rest a little longer, take it, but only if you REALLY need it. Otherwise, get off your phone, stop socializing, and get to work.

Don’t sell yourself short, but also listen to your body! Recovery both in and out of the gym is crucial to seeing results! So take the time you need!

And if you find yourself struggling during your workout, that’s where the best workout-boosting supplements can be your best training partner. Consider pounding some Sculpt Nation PRE 15-30 minutes before a tough workout that, or supplementing with some intra-workout “fuel” in the form of Sculpt Nation BCAAs while your lift!

Let The Experts Help You

If you’re completely puzzled by rest times, if you are pushing hard enough, or by how to train for your goal of weight loss or muscle gain, you’re not alone. So let us help you!

V-Shred has a team of of highly qualified coaches who create customized workout programs and diet plans for thousands of people every day. This is what helped them build the bodies they’ve always wanted — and figure out the right way to train to keep those results once they earn them!

Click HERE or email coaching@vshred.com to finally start getting some answers to your questions.

The post How Long Should I Rest Between Sets? appeared first on V Shred.

We have a full shoulder workout that is the perfect combination of compound low-rep strength exercises and some higher-rep pump movements.

The way this workout is structured… your shoulders will be ON FIRE!

Just remember: if you are looking to build your dream physique, you have pay some attention to ALL muscle groups! You can dial in your entire training week with Vince’s other Ultimate workouts:

Monday: Ultimate Chest & Triceps
Tuesday: Ultimate Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Rest and/or steady-state cardio
Thursday: Ultimate Leg Day
Friday: Ultimate Shoulders
Saturday: Ultimate Arms
Sunday: Rest, play, and meal prep

This is actually Vince’s current shoulder workout, so instead of just filming an instructional video, he let the cameras roll during his last lift and gives some technique pointers between sets!

This video would be great to check out before you attempt the workout on your own to make sure you are doing each movement with proper form and to learn a little more about why Vince includes these specific exercises for strength and hypertrophy! It’s always a good idea to know WHY you are doing what you are doing, and Vince breaks it all down for you! 

ULTIMATE BOULDER SHOULDER WORKOUT

A: Seated barbell dead-stop shoulder press 5 sets, 5 reps (2 minutes rest between sets.)
B: Standing dumbbell single-arm shoulder press 4 sets,10 reps (1 minute sets, no rest between sets.)
Superset
C1: Dumbbell front raise, 4 sets 12 reps (no rest)
C2: Barbell bent-over rear delt row 4 sets, 12 reps (1 minute rest)
D: Dumbbell lateral raise 1 set, 6-8 reps, then run the rack

Let’s get to building some BOULDER SHOULDERS!!! 

Before any lift, but especially one like this where you will be pushing some heavy weight, you need to do a proper warm-up. It doesn’t have to take long! Just 5-10 minutes of movement, walking, and some shoulder circles or other joint mobility work can be enough to gets blood flowing to the shoulder and get your heart rate up just a little bit.

Do it while you’re waiting for your pre-workout to kick in, then hit a couple of lightweight sets of your first movement in the workout, and you’re good to go!

Here are some crucial cues to keep in mind for each movement…

Seated barbell dead-stop shoulder press

We are starting off with a compound movement. The goal for this first exercise is not a lot of volume but a lot of weight.

The “deadstop” shoulder press is a little different than your standard shoulder press. If you have never done these, they are great for explosive pushing.Typically with HEAVY pressing, you need a spotter, but you don’t need a spot with this style of press because you will be set up on a  smith machine! 

If done with PROPER form, this movement will hit all heads of the delt. It also requires the support of other, smaller muscles in your shoulders and even your core (so keep that stomach tight.) 

You will do 5 sets of 5 reps, with 2 minutes of rest between sets.Go as heavy as you can while maintaining proper form. Once you get to rep 3, it should be really tough, that 4th rep should be a struggle, and rep 5 should be failure. 

The biggest thing with this first exercise is to make sure you get in ALL 25 REPS. 

This may mean that you need to lower the weight for the last set. That’s fine! Don’t decrease the number of reps; just decrease the weight.

Standing single-arm dumbbell shoulder press

For exercise two, we are doing another compound movement but with less weight and more reps. This one is going to give you an insane pump. Consider yourself warned!

You will perform 4 sets of 10 reps with no rest between sides or arms. This means you will NOT be able to go heavy. So leave your ego at the door and focus on form. We are focusing on a slow and controlled tempo, so these sets are long!

If you think the first 10 reps are easy, just wait until set 2 or 3. No rest makes this exercise VERY DIFFICULT! You will most likely have to drop the weight toward the final sets. Don’t be shocked if you are struggling with 5-10 pounds by that last set! 

That’s OK! Remember, this exercise is purely for volume and keeping tension on the muscle at all times. 

Superset: Dumbbell front raise with barbell bent-over rear delt row

The previous exercise was one “constant” set. This one is a super-set, which is just two exercises back to back with no rest in-between the exercises.  

You’ll do 4 sets of 12 reps for each exercise, resting 1 minute between super sets.

First up will be the dumbbell front raise. With these, you will be focusing on reaching out in front. Don’t shrug your shoulders up or raise the weight past shoulder height. The goal is to keep tension on that front head of the delt!

Without rest, you will jump straight into barbell bent-over rear delt rows. Focus on pulling up and at an angle for these. 

Dumbbell lateral raises, “run the rack”

We are finishing up this delt destroyer with a lateral raise that will destroy the outer or “lateral” head of your delts. This is the area of your shoulder that gives you that much-desired wider shoulder appearance.

You’re only going to do one set, but it is a long, grueling set that will keep you going until you’re at total muscle failure and can’t get your arms up an inch! 

Start with a weight where you can go as heavy as possible for about  6 to 8 reps. Then just keep dropping weight by about 5 pounds, aiming for at least 5 reps with each lower weight. Do this all the way “down the rack” of dumbbells until you don’t have one single rep left in the tank! 

Again, we are not focusing on a set number of reps. It may be 30, it may be 100. It’s however many reps it takes for YOU to go to complete failure. 

When it comes to form on these, make sure you are lifting OUT and not just UP.

You will have a slight bend in your elbow, so a cue to help you out with that would be to think of leading with your elbows out. Only go to about shoulder height. No need to go higher, or you will just lose tension on the muscle. Also, try not to bounce. You aren’t working your shoulders when you do this.

Toward the very end, you may have a slight bounce as you are trying to force those final few reps to failure. But if you start struggling too much, that’s when you know you need to stop. 

The Perfect Workout for a Pre-Workout

Diehard bodybuilders and lifters know that shoulders love the pump to grow. If you are looking for a new way to challenge your shoulder workout and want to focus on building muscle size, expect to work through the burn! 

Want to really max out the pump? Then pound a serving of a quality pre-workout about 30 minutes before you hit the weights. 

Sculpt Nation PRE is an excellent choice. Our formula goes beyond a “jolt” from caffeine! It will no doubt give you long-lasting energy, but also has ingredients that will help you focus, pump out more reps using more weight, help promote muscular endurance, rev up your metabolism and allow for better recovery between sets. 

Adding a pre-workout to your supplement stack is just a bonus. Of course, you also have to eAT and supplement for your goals! You can find out how to eat for your bulking goals using the macro calculator in the V Shred app for iOS or Android.

Or if you want an even more personalized bulking plan, let one of our expert trainers build you a personalized custom meal plan to help you grow bigger, faster!  

Chasing muscle gains? One workout won’t get you there, but a full growth plan like Vince’s Clean Bulk will! This legendary 90-day program isn’t easy, but follow it to the letter, and you will see the scale go up–and need a new wardrobe!

The post Vince’s Ultimate BOULDER SHOULDER Workout appeared first on V Shred.

How heavy you lift has a lot to do with your goals and experience level. It will vary for every person, every exercise, and every workout. 

But there are still some common sense guidelines you can follow to help you figure out how to maximize both the safety and the effectiveness of your workouts! 

The short answer is: Muscle growth does not necessarily depend on the amount of weight you lift.  As long as you lift heavy enough to challenge yourself and use proper form, you should build muscle and strength. 

And no, ladies, lifting heavy enough to feel challenging will not make you “bulky.” On the contrary, lifting too light is a surefire way to make your workouts less effective for all goals! 

Think effort and form, not numbers

Before you even think about how much weight you should lift —  you need to focus on PROPER FORM! 

Male or female, you should work hard enough to send your body a loud and clear message to change while not pushing yourself beyond where you can recover from—or hurting yourself. Not every rep should be easy. But not every rep should be hard, either! 

The key to finding this balance is slowing down, being patient, and not letting your ego decide how much weight to lift. 

Keep in mind that “heavy” is individual. Heavy for one person could be 5lbs, and for another, it could be 100lbs. Don’t focus on that. 

All you need to do is use proper form and lift heavy enough to challenge yourself on some of your reps. Then ever so often (every week or even every couple of weeks), increase the weight, number of reps, or number of sets. You could also push just a little closer to “muscle failure,” or the point where you can’t do another rep.

These are all forms of what is known as progressive overload. 

Let Your Workout Rep Range Guide You

A good rule to help you pick weights is to aim to perform all the reps and sets prescribed with proper form, but make each set progressively more challenging. 

Here is what this could look like…

Say you’re in the gym, and the workout says to do four sets of 8-12 reps, like most of the gym workouts in our program Fat Loss Extreme For Men or Fat Loss Extreme For Women. 

 Aim to make the first set kinda easy— like you feel you probably have a solid 4-5 reps left in the tank. Wait 60-90 seconds, and then add a little weight, so you have about 3 reps left in the tank. 

Now you’re warmed up and breathing a little harder. 

Rest another 60-90 seconds, and do a third set. This time, only leave a couple reps in the tank. Rest again On that final set, keep repping until you’re pretty sure you don’t have another rep in you. 

If you only managed 5, you probably went a bit too heavy. Got 12-15 or more? You went too light. No problem; just write it in your workout log and remember it for next week.

Trial and error, paying attention to your body, and keeping a workout log are the essential techniques to help you pick your ideal weight range when lifting weights. Because if you’re doing things right, that weight range will change over time!

And yes… you can build muscle using nothing like your body weight.

Thousands of V Shred customers have totally transformed their bodies by pushing the intensity of bodyweight movements like you can find in our at-home program MOVE.

Even if you never pick up a single weight, you can learn a lot about how to find that “this feels heavy, but I can handle it” sweet spot. As a bonus, each workout is 20 minutes or less!

Keep Growing and Transforming

As your fitness level progresses, so should your workouts! Remember the key to building muscle is to challenge them over and over again. Fitness results happen over the course of weeks and months, not a single workout–no matter how good that workout is! 

If you are struggling to make it to the gym, need an extra push to get in those reps you know you have in you somewhere, and lift heavier, you have options beyond simply “dig deep and tough it out.” Take a quality pre-workout like PRE by Sculpt Nation about 15-30 minutes before hitting the weight room, and don’t be surprised if “heavy” feels just a little lighter. 

If you’re someone who looks at a workout chart and sees a foreign language, please don’t give up. We have a team of certified personal trainers who can build a custom workout plan that works for your experience level and the equipment you have— even if it’s no equipment!

If you are interested in one-on-one coaching, click the link above or email coaching@vshred.com and let us know you’re interested.

Are you ready to push yourself in the weight room and build muscle? Then try Vince’s legendary Clean Bulk program! This 90-day gym-based program is engineered to add maximum lean tissue with as little fat as possible, and come with a targeted meal plan to match. Warning: You will need a new wardrobe! 

The post How Heavy Should I Lift? appeared first on V Shred.

If your chest and triceps day is getting a little boring, you are struggling to grow, or you’ve just hit a muscle growth plateau, we’ve got a killer workout for you to try! It’s packed with the best chest exercises and triceps exercises, combined with a perfect balance of pump and volume to give your upper body that “shock” to kick it into growth!

Just remember: if you are looking to build your dream physique, it can’t be chest day every day! This workout may be the perfect way to start off the week, but it works even better as part of a complete, balanced training plan. Dial in your entire training week with Vince’s other Ultimate workouts:

Monday: Ultimate Chest & Triceps
Tuesday: Ultimate Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Rest and/or steady-state cardio
Thursday: Ultimate Legs & Glutes
Friday: Ultimate Shoulders
Saturday: Ultimate Arms
Sunday: Rest, play, and meal prep

ULTIMATE CHEST & TRICEPS WORKOUT FOR MUSCLE GAINS

A. Incline dumbbell bench press 4 sets, 6-8 reps (rest 90 sec. between sets, single dropset after final set)
B. Alternating single-arm dumbbell flat bench press 4 sets, 12 reps (rest 1 min. between sets)
C. Incline cable chest fly 4 sets, 12 reps (rest 60 sec. between sets)
D. Pec deck or machine fly 4 sets 12 reps (rest 60 sec. between sets)
E. Rope triceps push-down 4 sets, 12 reps (rest 60 sec. between sets)
F. Incline EZ-bar skull crusher 4 sets, 12 reps per arm (rest 60 sec. between sets)
G. Cable single-arm cross-body extension 4 sets, 12 reps (no rest between sides or sets)

Most of the exercises should be familiar to anyone who celebrates International Chest Day on a regular basis, but here are a couple of pro tips from Vince to get the most out of every set. If you’re building up your little black book of training tips, also be sure to join our Facebook men’s group, packed with V Shred personal trainers and other dudes who geek out on this stuff every day.

Incline dumbbell bench press

Don’t flare your elbows completely out to the side on this exercise. That’s a common technique mistake that puts a lot of stress on the shoulder. Go down far enough to really feel the stretch in your chest on every rep, and then push up to feel the squeeze. Nail 6-8 no-doubt reps per set, then finish the last set by immediately lightening the weight by around 20 percent for a dropset.

Alternating single-arm dumbbell flat bench press

If you haven’t done these before, prepare yourself to be humbled! Keep the rest periods to 60 seconds on the dot, and expect to have to go far lighter than you would on a “normal” dumbbell bench.

Incline cable chest fly

Keep a soft bend in your elbows through every rep, and only lower the weight until it’s around parallel to the ground. That will keep the focus on your chest, and off of your vulnerable shoulder or elbow joints! Again, keep those rest periods strict!

Pec deck

Vince’s favorite cue here is to “lead with your elbows.” He advises, “don’t even think about what your hands are doing. Think about what your elbows are doing.” Focusing on bringing them together will help place more tension on your pecs and really burn out your chest to finish this portion of the workout.

Rope triceps push-down

Getting the most out of this staple triceps exercise is all about the set-up. “I like to take a step back away from the stack,” Vince advises. “There’s not much tension at the bottom if you’re too close. Step back, lock your elbows into place, and press your chest out as you press that weight down, squeezing your triceps at the bottom and bringing them up to right around 90 degrees on every rep.”

Incline EZ-bar skull crusher

Again, this is all about the set-up. Keep your elbows at around shoulder-width and no wider, and you’ll feel this right on your triceps without making your elbows cry mercy! Vince also performs each rep with the weight slightly behind his head to keep tension on the triceps throughout the full range of motion of the exercise.

Cable single-arm cross-body extension

This finisher will truly fry your tris! It’s simple but brutal: go straight from 12 reps on one arm to 12 reps on the other… and then back. That is one set. You WILL NOT REST before starting your next set. Go straight into the next one! Do this for all 4 sets, aiming for 12 reps for EVERY set. This will get really difficult with no rest, so you will likely need to lower your weight with each set. Go as low as you need to get in 12 reps from start to finish!

LIGHTER DOESN’T MEAN EASIER!

There are 7 exercises total in this workout: 4 for the chest and 3 for the triceps. The rest periods are all pretty short, so even though it’s 7 exercises, the entire workout should take 45 minutes to an hour to complete. As fatigue builds, you might need to rest as much as 2 minutes or more between exercises, so plan for an hour!

Just don’t forget to get in a solid warmup and/or do some warmup sets for each exercise first! Never jump into any lift with stiff and cold muscles.

Another thing Vince always does before hitting the gym to ensure he is making the most out of every workout is pound some SCULPT NATION PRE about 20-30 minutes before training. The ingredients in a pre can be especially helpful on a pump-chasing workout like this one!

BUILD YOUR CHEST IN THE GYM AND THE KITCHEN

Of course, this workout isn’t everything Vince is doing to grow his chest. He has to eat and supplement for his goals! If nutrition is what’s been blocking your gains, you can find out how to eat for your bulking goals using the macro calculator in the V Shred app for iOS or Android. You can even jump fully onboard the gains train by having one of our expert trainers build you a personalized custom meal plan to help you grow bigger, faster!  

If you are serious about putting on muscle mass you have to put just as much thought into what you do AFTER your workout as you do in the gym! And no, that doesn’t just end with your traditional post-workout protein shake (although that’s a great idea, of course).

Your body needs specific nutrients to recover after working out. POST WORKOUT by Sculpt Nation has them, in science-backed doses! It is jam-packed with amino acids and the other essential nutrients your body needs for rapid recovery to keep your body primed to build muscle, burn fat, and get stronger after every single workout.

If you are serious about putting on size and are looking for a new full body program, check out Vince’s best-selling CLEAN BULK program.  

The post The Ultimate Workout for a Bigger Chest & Triceps appeared first on V Shred.

You Don’t Need a Gym To Grow Your Arms!
This Arm Workout Will Challenge Your Muscles With Only Dumbbells

Building bigger arms is not rocket science. You don’t even need machines and barbells! A rock-solid arm workout can be achieved with some dumbbells and the correct execution of the right exercises.

This superset arm workout for biceps and triceps handles the “what to do part.” And the tip guide below will tell you how to do it! Then it’s just up to you to put in the effort and eat for growth. (PS: the V Shred App has a customizable calorie and macronutrient calculator that you can set for muscle growth. Download it for your Apple or Android device, and the nutrition part is done, too!)

If you are looking to put on mass all over your body to achieve a balanced physique, you’ll need this arm workout and a few others! That’s why we consider it the perfect way to end a week of Vince’s other Ultimate workouts:

Monday: Ultimate Chest & Triceps
Tuesday: Ultimate Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Rest Day or Steady State Cardio
Thursday: Ultimate Shoulders
Friday: Ultimate Legs & Glutes 
Saturday: Ultimate Arms
Sunday: Rest, play, and meal prep

Biceps & Triceps Workout for Big Arms

Superset 1
A1: Dumbbell triceps press 3-4 sets, 10 reps (no rest)
A2: Seated hammer curl 3-4 sets, 10 reps (rest 90 sec.)

Superset 2
B1: Dumbbell skull-crusher 3-4 sets, 10 reps (no rest)
B2: Supinated curl 3-4 sets, 10 reps (rest 90 sec.)

Superset 3
C1:Dumbbell Overhead Extensions 3-4 sets, 10 reps (no rest)
C2: Concentration Curls (3-4 sets, 10 reps (rest 90 sec.)

All you will need for this workout is some dumbbells, so you can do it almost any gym or even at home.

Before you get started, you may want to consider taking a quality pre-workout! Our go-to is to slam some Sculpt Nation PRE about 15-20 minutes before training. The ingredients in this one-of-a-kind pre are engineered with the best workouts in mind–that means long-lasting energy with zero crash, a crazy pump, and increased endurance so you can grind out more reps!

Bigger Arms Workout Exercises

Dumbbell Tricep Press Superset with Seated Hammer Curls

Starting laying back on a bench,  hold the dumbbells with your arms straight up and palms facing together. From there, bring the dumbbells down until your elbows are at 90 degrees. Make sure you are squeezing your elbows inside to protect your elbows target your triceps more. Do 10 reps.

Then sit up and do seated hammer curls. This means you’ll keep your palms facing in as you curl the weight up. You may do these alternating or both arms at the same time. Focus on the squeeze of the biceps rather than just lifting the weights up. Do 10 reps each arm.

Dumbbell Skull-crushers Superset with Supinated Curls

First, lay back on the bench with the dumbbells out above your head. From there, keep your elbows elevated while you bend them and lower the weight behind your head. Then, using your triceps, extend your arm back up and squeeze at the top. Repeat for 10 reps.

After that, you will go straight into supinated curls sitting on the bench, just like the seated hammer curls. But instead of having your wrists facing in, turn them forward. From there, continue to keep your wrists turned forward as you curl up. Do this for 10 reps on each arm.

Dumbbell Overhead Extensions Superset with Concentration Curls

Start by grabbing just one dumbbell. This dumbbell is going to probably be heavier than the rest because you are going to use both arms with it. From there, raise the dumbbell above your head, then lower it back behind your head while keeping your elbows elevated. Do this for 10 reps.

After that, remain seated on the bench. Grab a dumbbell with one hand and lean over your legs. Placing the back of your upper arm against the inside of your thigh, hang your arm with the dumbbell down between your legs. From here, = use your leg as a “wall” and curl the weight up. Squeeze the weight to the top and return back in a controlled manner. Repeat for 10 reps on each side.

Don’t forget proper post-workout nutrition!

What you eat after a tough workout is crucial, no matter your goal. But this is especially important if you are looking to grow! Your body needs specific nutrients to recover after working out. If not, you could experience muscle loss, fat gain, sore joints, and loss of strength.

POST WORKOUT by Sculpt Nation takes out all the guesswork. It is jam-packed with amino acids and the other essential nutrients your body needs for rapid recovery to keep your body primed to build muscle, burn fat, and get stronger after every single workout.

But you can’t only rely on supplements. If you want to grow, you have to have a nutrition plan that matches your goals!

To figure out your own unique calorie and macro needs – check out the calorie and macronutrient calculator in our V Shred App. Download it for your Apple or Android device to ensure you are eating enough to reach your muscle-building goals!

The goal is to eat enough to support your gains without gaining excess body fat. This can be tricky. To help take out all the guesswork, consider hiring a V Shred custom coach. Our team of certified nutrition and fitness coaches can create a personalized muscle-building meal plan to fit your budget that will help you reach your goals even faster!

If you are looking to add muscle mass you can also check out our BIG ARMS or CLEAN BULK programs. They are ready to download workouts that are designed to help you pack on muscle in no time.

If you enjoyed this workout make sure and send it to a friend and let us know in the comments what you want to see next! 

The post Best Arm Workouts with Dumbbells for Bigger Arms appeared first on V Shred.

Back and biceps go together like steak and potatoes, or a summer day  a stringer tank. This is a day of your training week worth looking forward to… and it’s worth doing right! But the best back workouts for mass aren’t just about heavy lifting, and the best biceps workouts for mass aren’t just about chasing the pump (although that’s definitely part of the fun). You need to do the best exercises, and do them right! Vince will show you how in this in-depth video guide. Find out which exercises you need to add to your next pull day workout and how to execute them properly!

If you are looking to pack on mass, don’t just focus back and biceps! Dial in your entire training week with Vince’s other Ultimate workouts:

Monday: Ultimate Chest & Triceps
Tuesday: Ultimate Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Rest and/or steady-state cardio
Thursday: Ultimate Legs & Glutes
Friday: Ultimate Shoulders
Saturday: Ultimate Arms
Sunday: Rest, play, and meal prep

For a demonstration on the proper form of each of the exercises in this back and biceps workout, watch this video from the V Shred YouTube channel!

Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Muscle Gains

A. Pull-up 3 sets, 8-10 reps (do machine-assisted pull-ups if necessary, rest 90 sec.)
B. Bent-over barbell row 4 sets, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps (rest 90 sec.)
C. Straight-arm pull-down 4 sets, 15, 12, 10, 8 reps (rest 60 sec.)
D. Seated cable row, neutral grip 4 sets, 10-12 reps (rest 60 sec.)
E. Preacher curl 4 sets, 10-12 reps (rest 60 sec.)
F. Alternating dumbbell curl 4 sets, 10 reps per arm (rest 60 sec.)

Back Workout Exercises

1. Pull-up

Pull-ups are one of the best back exercises, and it’s a great way to warm up all of the muscles on your back. To do this correctly, make sure to lead with your shoulders and squeeze your elbows into your side. Avoid swinging and kicking your legs to keep the focus on your back muscles. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

2. Bent-Over Barbell Row

Bent-over barbell rows are popular in a lot of back workout routines, especially for bulking up. This compound exercise works multiple muscles on your back simultaneously. Do 4 sets, decreasing your reps with each set.

There are 3 big mistakes we see most people make when performing this exercise. Check out this video to ensure you are using proper form.

3. Straight Arm Lat Pull-Down

This exercise is great for your lat muscles. Try to keep weight at a minimum to keep the focus on the lat muscle instead of the triceps. Make sure to keep elbows slight bent and keep your chest out. Do 4 sets with decreasing reps with each set.

4. Seated Cable Row, Neutral Grip

For this back exercise, make sure to keep your chest pushed out while pulling back on the cable. Pull back with your elbows by your side instead of flaring them up and out. Do 4 sets of 10-12 reps.

Intra-Workout Supplements

One tip you may not hear often is the importance of taking am intra-workout supplement. Halfway through your back and biceps workout, it could be beneficial to take some quality BCAAs. These are building blocks of protein and will instantly help with muscle recovery, fuel your energy, and hydrate you with a boost of electrolytes. For BCAA supplements, we recommend Sculpt Nation BCAAs. They are digest quickly and can help keep you going for the rest of your workout.

Biceps Workout Exercises

1. Preacher Curl

Preacher curls are a great exercise for working out both heads of the biceps, but it does put more emphasis on the short head of the biceps and improve the thickness of your biceps. Remember to squeeze your biceps when you’ve pulled the bar to the top. Do 4 sets of 10-12 reps.

2. Alternating Dumbbell Curl

Alternating dumbbell curl is a great arm exercise which also targets both heads of the biceps. With this exercise, don’t lift dumbbells beyond your capacity. You will have a harder time maintaining proper form. Do 4 sets of 10 reps for this exercise.

Your biceps are the secondary movers in your back exercises, which makes it easy to target both back muscles and biceps for this workout. In every workout, you need to be mindful of the muscle groups you’re targeting to achieve your muscle mass goals. Most importantly, don’t forget that the best way to see results from these exercises is by practicing good form.

Don’t forget to eat for gains!

Want to grow? Then you need to eat like you mean it. The best way to do that is to use a calorie and macronutrient calculator that can be customized for muscle growth! This is exactly why we built one right into the V Shred App. Download it for your Apple or Android device and start eating for pure gains!

If you just asked “what’s a macro,” hey, we’ve been there. The answer: Hire a V Shred custom coach to make you a personalized muscle-building meal plan to fit your budget, and fill your sleeves even faster!

A great way to kill your gains is to not give your body what it needs after a tough lift. Your body needs specific  nutrients to recover after working out. If not, you could experience muscle loss, fat gain, sore joints, and loss of strength. POST WORKOUT by Sculpt Nation takes out all the guesswork. It is jam-packed with amino acids and the other essential nutrients your body needs for rapid recovery to keep your body primed to build muscle, burn fat, and get stronger after every single workout.

Want to really dial in your arms? Your journey starts with Vince’s legendary Big Arms program. This is a six-week arms specialization that will add size to your biceps and triceps. It will hurt, but it will be worth it! 

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Do your knees seem to be older than the rest of your body? Are they stiff when you get out of bed? Do they hurt when you walk up and down steps, play sports, run, squat, or lunge? 

If so, we might be able to help you avoid a costly scan or trip to a doctor/therapist! 

We have Dr. Zaki Afzal back with us for Part Five of our FIX YOUR BODY series to tell you how to assess knee pain safely so you know why you are having issues. 

Assuming your knee pain is movement-related, he has a few corrective exercises that you can do on your own that should help get you pain-free in no time!

Before we dive in, we want to quickly discuss when you SHOULD NOT do these assessments and exercises and some stats and facts that may help you better understand your knee pain! 

How Common Is Knee Pain?

Knee pain is the second most common cause of persistent pain, and one-third of all Americans report experiencing knee pain at some time or another.

Two of the most common reasons for knee pain are being overweight and improper form/technique during activity. 

If either of these is the root cause of your knee issues, there is a solid chance your knee pain is reversible, and something we can help you with — for free!!

Types Of Knee Pain 

The biggest difference in day-to-day knee pain versus pain that may be activity or workout related is that discomfort in those that are active is generally felt on the front side of the knee and sometimes only occurs when lifting or post-lift. 

Often, when people feel knee pain in the gym, they automatically think they need to take a week off training or go get an x-ray or MRI. Not so fast!!

There is a good chance that none of that is necessary! Remember what we’ve said throughout this series …. 

If your pain originates from a movement-related issue … movement is most likely the answer to finding relief!

Of course, you have to do the right corrective movements — which is exactly what we are helping you with today and why we’re doing this entire series! 

Speaking of, we’ve already gone over neck, shoulder, back, and hip pain! If you missed those episodes — you can find links to each at the bottom of this article!

Before we get started, we do want to make sure you know that these assessments and corrective exercises should only be done if you have knee pain that is movement or possibly joint-related. 

If your knee pain is ongoing, severe, due to an injury or medical condition, or is accompanied by any other symptoms —  you should see a doctor or physical therapist like Dr. Afzal for a one-on-one assessment.  

FIX YOUR BODY EPISODE 5: KNEE PAIN 

Below you will find three common movement related reasons for knee pain, assessments you can perform on yourself to see if this is your issue, and then a quick corrective exercise that typically provides INSTANT relief! 

Again, before trying any of these, you must ensure your knee pain isn’t something more serious. 

If you are confident your knee pain is movement-related, here are some possible root causes, assessments, and simple fixes!! 

If at any time you are unsure how to perform anything below, click on the video box above for a step-by-step video demonstration! 

COMMON ISSUE #1: POOR KNEE FLEXIBILITY 

As mentioned, most active people will feel knee pain in the front of the knee.

The “medical” term for this is Patellofemoral Pain. To break down this type of pain in really simple terms  …

• The patella is your knee cap.
• The femoral refers to your femur (the big bone in your thigh.) 
• Patellofemoral is just the relationship your knee cap has with your femur – which is the straightening and bending of your knee.

Most active people with knee pain will have pain after they workout around this area or slightly underneath. 

The first instinct when most people feel this pain is to stretch the quad. But that isn’t going to help because most of the time, this issue it’s not from the inability to bend the knee; it’s the inability to fully straighten the knee.  

You can check this really easily! 

Knee Flexibility Assessment

You want to see if you can get your “painful knee” as straight as your non painful side. The goal with this assessment is to check for symmetry side-to-side!  

• Sit on a table or hard surface with your knees straight out in front of you. 
• Evaluate if both backs of your knees hit the surface about the same. 
• Now evaluate if they hyperextend about the same. 
• Hold your knee down and see how high you can lift your foot up off the surface. Repeat on the other side. 

If you are lacking on either side, that knee may need more mobility to properly tackle day-to-day movements and activities in the gym.

There is a straightforward way to correct this! 

Corrective Exercise – Knee Extension Mobilization

This is an easy way to get your knee moving! All you need to perform this exercise is a foam roller or anything firm you can prop your foot on to slightly elevate it.

• Sit on a hard surface with legs extended and relaxed.
• Put the foam roller under the ankle of the “bad” knee. 
• Cup your hands around your knee and push downwards toward the table/ground.
• Push until you feel a good stretch in the back of the knee.
• Hold for about 2 seconds and ease off.
• Repeat this movement for 10-15 reps. 
• Immediately see how your knee feels! Perform the knee assessment again, go for a walk, go up/down some steps, do a squat movement, etc. One round should give you significant knee pain relief.

Tips:

• Do not place the foam roller under your heel. 
• You want to get a good stretch, but do not push too hard to where you feel pain or discomfort. Ease your way into more pressure. 
• As you progress and build more flexibility, try flexing your quad when pressing down on your knee.  

COMMON ISSUE #2:  TIGHT/RESTRICTED ADDUCTOR

If you feel achiness in the knees when lunging or in a deep squat position, you want to make sure your inner knee muscles are open and have a full range of motion. 

You may be shocked at what muscle in your leg could be limiting this from happening and potentially causing knee pain.

It’s your groin muscle!! 

During the bottom of a lunge or squat, one of the main muscles that help you get up is the groin muscle (better known as the adductor muscle) – which attaches to the inside of the knee! 

You want to ensure this muscle isn’t restricted, and the assessment for this is very simple. 

Adductor/Groin Assessment 

Nothing fancy here .. just perform a few deep lunges or squats and see what they feel like! Super simple, but don’t skip this step! 

You need to see if you feel any pain or restrictions. If they feel off, pay attention to how far you can go down, when and where you feel pain, etc.

This will be your “baseline” so that when you re-test – you will be able to better determine if the corrective exercise is working! 

Corrective Exercise – Inner Knee Soft Tissue Release 

This is very similar to the side glute tissue release we did in our hip pain video in the sense that once you hit “the spot,” — you will know!!

• Flip over onto your stomach.
• Prop yourself up on your side with the foam roller placed lengthwise under the inner part of your knee (to see the exact placement, click here.)
• Move around until you feel the spot that needs to be released. You will know when you hit it!! 
• Once you have found it, hold and then lift your foot up and rotate it up and down, so you are rolling back/forth on the adductor muscle. Work your way across the length of the muscle, stopping at about halfway up the thigh.
• Hit each spot for about 5-10 rotations, for 2 sets, with about 30 seconds rest between. 
• Switch legs and repeat. 

Re-test your lunge and squat. If you had pain before, you should notice instant relief. Or, if you didn’t have pain, you should notice that you are stronger coming out of the bottom of the lunge or squat. 

This is another example of where you feel pain may not directly represent where the pain stems from. 

Exactly why we are giving you multiple options to try out! Let’s move on to the next! 

COMMON ISSUE #3:  LIFTING FORM
You might not have bad lifting form; you just might not have an ideal form for preventing knee pain or not aggravating the existing pain. 

The few things you can do are – – limit range of motion, perform isometric holds, strengthen your quads, and make slight modifications to things like squats and lunges. 

Modify Lower Body Exercises

In our episode on low back pain, we discussed how allowing your knees to go over your toes is not inherently a bad thing. 

But if you have knee pain and still want to squat, it could be beneficial to not allow your knees to track over your toes simply because it can take a little bit of stress off the knee. Instead, sit back in your squat. Box squats are a great alternative. 

Same with lunges! There is nothing wrong with allowing your knee to slightly track over your toes if you don’t have knee pain. But if you do have knee pain, you may want to try shifting your weight more onto your hips to see if that relieves some pressure. 

Another good modification for lower body exercises is not going as deep as you normally would without knee pain. Have a marker you are going down to — then slowly move that mark lower and lower each training session. 

Remember, these modifications are temporary! You don’t want or need to use them forever!

The intention is to make small adjustments that take a little pressure off your knees while you are working through your knee issues, so that you can still exercise. 

You do eventually want to get back to the full exercise! 

Limit Range Of Motion and Use Isometric Holds

Limiting your range of motion and incorporating holds is a simple and very effective way to calm down an irritated knee.

An isometric hold is simply when you hold a position and the muscle is firing, but nothing else moves. Think .. wall sits, static lunges, or holding a leg extension in the contracted position.

These are really great low-level exercises because you are in complete control of how hard you squeeze, how long you hold, etc. You can push harder or softer, depending on how it feels. 

The idea is to start here. Eventually, after doing isometric exercises for a while, try adding in some limited range of motion until you work up to full knee extension!

If you feel any pain when attempting more range of motion, just scale it back! 

Don’t Write Off Leg Extensions 

Speaking of leg extensions, you may have heard they are a bad exercise if you have knee pain, but this isn’t entirely true.

In fact, Dr. Zaki says almost every patient he works with in knee rehab does some sort of knee extension because having strong quads can help avoid knee injuries in the future!! 

Before you totally write of an exercise, remember that nothing is inherently bad for a particular part of your body. It’s all about the context that it is performed in. 

If leg extensions hurt your knees, chances are you are just attempting to lift too heavy. Try scaling back before totally removing the exercise. 

This sort of reminds us of the running myth. I’m sure you’ve heard that running is bad for your knees … but again, it’s all about context!

If you already have bad knees, pounding the pavement for hours might not be a  great idea.  But Dr. Afza says studies have actually shown that recreational runners have stronger and more healthy-looking knee cartilage in imaging than those that sit on the couch! This kinda busts the myth that running “gives wear and tear on the knees.”

BUT …

What if none of these exercises work?!

What if you STILL have knee pain?!

As mentioned, you would want to see a doctor to rule out an injury, something mechanical, or anything more serious.

But there is another reason your knees could be bothering you. It is actually the most common reason people have knee pain.

If you are carrying around extra weight, there is a good chance your knees hurt because you are overweight. 

In that case, you may probably want some help getting rid of the excess fat in the fastest and easiest way possible.  The best way to do that is to diet and exercise based on your goals and body type!

A great place to get answers is our free body type quiz! 

It is only 6 questions, you get your results instantly, and we also give you the top three things you should be doing to reach your goals faster and easier based on your genetics! 

Take it for free — HERE!!

WE HOPE THIS ARTICLE AND VIDEO HELPED YOU FIGURE OUT WHY YOUR KNEES HURT AND HOW TO FIX THEM!! 

You need to consider the root of your pain! You should not attempt any of these exercises if your pain is extreme or not related to joints and muscles.

Please talk to your doctor, or if you are in the Las Vegas area, feel free to click here to contact Dr. Afzal. He would love to help you! 

If you are interested in the rest of our FIX YOUR BODY series with Dr. Afzal, here are the links to the episodes we’ve filmed to date! 

Episode 1 on neck pain — you can WATCH HERE.

Episode 2 on shoulder pain — check that one out HERE. 

Episode 3 on Back Pain – watch HERE

Episode 4 on Hip Pain – watch HERE

Come back next week! We are wrapping things up with ankle pain! 

Source – https://www.classicrehabilitation.com/blog/knee-pain-statistics-and-causes/

The post Fix Your Body Episode 5: Knee Pain appeared first on V Shred.

Today we are talking about a muscle many don’t think about – the forearms! Even if massive forearms aren’t your goal —  it’s still important to strengthen these muscles!

Strong forearms increase your grip strength – a strong grip will help you have more upper body strength – more upper body strength means better lifts – better lifts means bigger gains!!

See the domino effect? If you lack forearm strength, your ability to build strength in other parts of your body will undoubtedly  suffer! 

So yeah….

Your forearms may be more important than you ever realized!

If you have a solid full-body training program, your forearms probably get hit a decent amount.

But if you are looking to grow this muscle or need better grip strength, you probably need to throw in a little extra accessory work! 

Today we are giving you The 5 Best Exercises For Bigger Forearms, plus three bonus exercises that are great for grip strength! 

Before we dive in, we want to make sure you understand there is no need to have a dedicated day you work your forearms. Put emphasis on doing plenty of compound exercises. Then pick and choose a few of these exercises and throw them in at the end of an upper-body or accessory day!

You have to always keep your overall training plan in mind, which should be based on your goals and body type. If you need some help with that, we have a Free Body Type Quiz that will tell you what you need to do in the gym and kitchen based on your goals and genetics. Check it out! It’s only six questions, and you get your results within minutes! 

No matter your quiz results, these are some great exercises to throw into ANY plan if you want to have better grip strength and build your forearms!

We will start off with five of our favorite forearm exercises, then at the end, we will give you three bonus exercises that focus more on grip strength.

Because remember what we said earlier … one of the best ways to build your forearms is to make them stronger and one proven way to do that is to develop your grip strength. 

If you aren’t sure how to execute any of these exercises, we filmed a video that walks you through each one! We suggest watching it to ensure you are using proper form! 

Exercise One: Forearm Curls

First up, we will hit the big meaty part of your forearm! The best way to do that is with some wrist flexion!

You will probably be able to go a little heavier for these. Try somewhere in the 20-40 pound range. 

• Sit with your feet on the floor. 
• Grab a heavy dumbbell and grip it really tight. 
• Place your elbow and topside of your forearm (palm up) on your thigh, allowing your wrist to hang off your knee.
• Allow your wrist to very slowly drop down all the way to get as much of a stretch as possible!
• Don’t ease up on your grip! Keep it tight! Then slowly drive your palm up towards your elbow as far as you can and squeeze your forearm. 
• Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets. 

Tips

• Focus on time under tension! Go really slow! Do not just pump out reps! 
• Do not loosely hold the weight! Squeeze tight!! 

Exercise Two: Wrist Extensions

This exercise targets more of the top side of your forearm. People tend to focus on the under meaty side, but don’t forget to isolate the top! It plays a significant role in how big your forearms look!

You will need to grab a much lighter weight for this one, probably around 50% less than what you used for the forearm curls. This is because your forearms fatigue much faster with wrist extension than flexion. 

• Sit with your feet on the floor. 
• Grab a light dumbbell and grip it really tight. 
• Place the bottom side of your forearm (palm down) on your thigh, allowing your wrist to hang off your knee as far as you can. You want to get a good stretch in the top of your forearm. 
• Drive the weight up slowly as high as you can and squeeze. 
• Don’t ease up on your grip! Keep it tight! Slowly lower the weight.
• Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets. 

Tips

• Focus on time under tension! Go slow! 
• Do not loosely hold the weight! Squeeze tight!! 
• Don’t go too heavy!! Use a weight where you can control both the eccentric and concentric portion of the lift! 

Exercise Three: Overhand Curls

The first two exercises are great staples for wrist flexion and wrist extension. These last three work a muscle most don’t associate with being part of the forearm: the brachioradialis. 

The brachioradialis is the muscle that flexes the forearm at the elbow. To give you a visual, it’s the muscle you see pop out when you “flex” your forearm. 

Most people think of the bicep with any type of curl, but that isn’t always true. Your grip can change a lot! With overhand curls, of course, the bicep will get hit, but because your palms are facing down, your forearms get a lot of isolation! 

• Grab an EZ Curl Bar
• Hold at shoulder-width apart with palms down. 
• Grip tightly and keep your elbows tucked in.
• Curl the bar up and squeeze your forearms at the top.
• Slowly lower.
• Repeat for desired number of sets and reps.

Tips

• You will feel this in your biceps; that’s fine! But if done correctly, it does a great job at isolating the brachioradialis. 
• Focus on time under tension! Slow down!
• Do not loosely hold the weight! Squeeze tight!! 

Exercise Four: Hammer Curls 

This is another exercise that people only associate with biceps, but when done correctly, it will also do a great job at hitting the brachioradialis. 

• Grab some dumbbells that are heavy but light enough that you remain controlled and do not use momentum.
• Get into a nice strong position (elbows slightly forward.) 
• Grip the dumbbells really HARD with your arms by your side and palms facing each other. 
• Curl the weight up (remaining in this neutral position the entire time) and squeeze your forearms at the top. 
• Slowly lower, but do not lock out your elbows.
• Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets. 

Tips

• It’s okay if you feel it in your biceps! Just focus on squeezing your forearm at the top and going slow! 
• Make sure your grip remains neutral from beginning to end.
• Don’t flare out your elbows! Keep them tucked in by your sides.
• Don’t lock your elbows out at the bottom. 

Exercise Five: Zottman Curls

We are ending with a unique exercise you may have never done before! It’s another curl that hits the brachioradialis and forces you to use time under tension!

It is a hybrid style curl where you start with one hand position and switch to another hand position on the way down. So pay attention to the details! 

• Grab some dumbbells that are heavy but light enough that you remain controlled and do not use momentum.
• Get into a nice strong position (elbows slightly forward.) 
• Grip the weight really HARD with your palms facing up (wrists supinated.)
• Curl the weight up, and at the top, rotate your wrists to a palms-down position (wrists pronated.)
• Lower the weight slowly in this pronated position. 
• Switch hand position back to palms up and repeat this process for the desired number of sets of reps! 

Tips

• Make sure you are lowering slowly! It’s on the way down that you are hitting the forearm! 
• Don’t pause or lock your elbows out at the bottom. 
• Don’t flare out your elbows! Keep them tucked in by your sides.

3 BONUS EXERCISES (for grip strength)

Developing grip strength really just comes down to holding something HEAVY for an extended period! 

Here are our three favorite ways to develop grip strength. 

1: Dumbbell Hold – It can’t get any more simple than this. Just grab some REALLY HEAVY dumbbells. Hold them down by your sides until you give out. Rest and repeat for a few rounds! 

2: Farmer’s Carry – Grab two heavy weights … and we mean heavy .. really heavy! Safely pick them up from the ground and bring them to your sides with your palms facing your hips. Drop and pin back your shoulder blades, keep good posture, brace your core, and walk as far as you can. If you made it more than a couple hundred yards, you need a heavier load. These work not only your forearms and grip – but also your neck, shoulders, back, abs, legs, and glutes! Just don’t forget that the key is going HEAVY. 

3: Bar Hang – Another self-explanatory one! Just head to a pull-up bar or any bar you can hang from … hang and hold your body weight as long as you can! Drop, rest, repeat for a few rounds! 

FOR BIGGER FOREARMS

Try adding a few of the above exercises and at least one grip strength exercise on an upper-body or accessory day. 

Yes, these are super simple exercises, but if done correctly, we promise they are extremely effective for building your forearms (with the bonus of some bicep work if you pick those last three.) 

Always remember, you don’t have to get super creative when weight training. Simple exercises usually work the best no matter what muscle you are working, including your forearms! 

After you’ve thrown these into your workout routine for a few weeks, come back and let us know what you think in the comment section!  And while you’re there, let us know if you have a favorite grip strength or forearm exercise!! We love hearing your suggestions! 

The post 5 Best Exercises For Bigger Forearms + 3 Bonus Grip Strength Exercises appeared first on V Shred.

What is it they say about variety? That it’s the spice of life? We 100% agree!

But when it comes to your gym life — it depends. 

You have to be strategic, and today we are going to help you with that!  We have SIX BENT OVER ROW VARIATIONS for you to add to your exercise library.

For most, exercise variety is great! 

• Variation helps keep you motivated! 
• Mixing things up prevents burnout! 
• Changes can be beneficial for pushing past a plateau!
• Trying new movements expands your exercise knowledge! 

But if you are looking to get bigger or stronger — constantly changing your programming may not be the best idea! 

The keyword is constantly! Everyone needs some sort of change from time-to-time to avoid adaptation.

Here are 10 ideas to help keep your body from hitting a plateau that may be hard to break …. 

• Change your sets or reps.
• Increase or decrease your load.
• Try a different intensity.
• Add in, take away, or change your style of cardio.
• Change your tempo (pauses, etc.)
• Increase or decrease rest times.
• Change your workout schedule/training split.
• Incorporate supersets or clusters.
• Try all new exercises.
• Perform the exercises in your plan in a different way. 

If growth or strength is your goal, your training program should mainly consist of basic (but effective) staple exercises that change based on your progress, goals, and training phase, and hypertrophy should be achieved mainly through those first eight suggestions above! 

You can still incorporate new exercises or your current exercises in a different way,  but they need to fit into your overall plan and have a specific purpose.

Constant confusion IS NOT ideal … 

But a little strategic confusion could be beneficial!

One of the best ways to be strategic with muscle confusion when you are trying to grow or get stronger is to take an exercise you already have in your plan and make a slight adjustment. Which is exactly what you can do with the SIX BENT OVER ROW VARIATIONS we are showing you today. 

You can find step-by-step instructions and tips below! But if you are more of a visual learner, or want to ensure you are doing them correctly, check out this instructional video we filmed!

6 BENT OVER ROW VARIATIONS FOR A BIGGER BACK 

The first three variations only use dumbbells which makes them great if you workout from home, travel, or go to a gym with limited equipment. 

They are all dumbbell rows, but each is slightly different and serves a unique purpose!

VARIATION ONE: Bent Over Two Arm Dumbbell Row

This is a back-day staple for most. We include it in our variation list because many people workout from home or only have access to a gym with limited equipment and need dumbbell-only ideas for back day!

But also because many people perform this row variation with poor form and end up recruiting more traps or arms.  We want to help make sure if you are doing it, you are doing it right!

How To:

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and weights by your side. 
• Hinge at the hips, so your back is almost parallel to the ground.
• Brace your core, engage your glutes, keep your spine neutral. 
• You will stay in this position for all reps. 
• Perform your row by driving your elbows back first and then squeeze up.
• Slowly lower to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of reps.

Tips To Consider:

• Use moderate to light weight. Your goal is to hit the lats hard. Lowering the weight will help ensure you maintain proper tempo, use less momentum, and ONLY recruit your lats. 
• Do not row the weight up into your chest! Drive your elbows back and up.
• Try this exercise as a super-set with a pushing movement! 

VARIATION TWO: Bent Over Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 

This exercise is very similar to variation one, except you will be using a bench for support and only rowing one arm at a time. 

Throwing in unilateral movements is important to ensure you are hitting each side of your body equally. If you don’t currently have any unilateral exercises in your plan, you should!

How To:

• Place your right knee and right arm on a flat bench.
• Grab a DB with your left hanging arm. 
• Brace your core and keep your spine neutral. 
• You will stay in this position for all reps on the right side. 
• Perform the row by driving your left elbow back and then drive it up and squeeze your lats at the top. 
• Slowly lower and repeat for the desired number of reps.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Tips To Consider:

• Same as the two-arm row. Keep the weight moderate to light. 
• Do not row the weight up into your chest!!!! Drive elbows BACK and then UP!
• To not overly recruit your biceps, reduce elbow flexion to isolate lats.

VARIATION THREE: Chest Supported Dumbbell Row

This is another dumbbell variation with a bench, but you will put the bench at a slight incline and use it for chest support! 

The back is a large muscle, and sometimes people attempt to use a load that is way too heavy. This usually results in swinging or using the legs for momentum

When your chest is supported, it takes out all momentum and is all muscle! You get to focus on what’s most important — tempo and time under tension!

How To:

• Place a bench at a slight incline.
• Put your dumbbells on the floor next to the top of the bench, or hold them in each hand as you approach the bench.
• Straddle the bench and rest your chest on the angled portion of the bench. 
• Plant your feet firmly on the ground.
• Allow your arms to hang straight downwards with your palms facing toward one another and pull your shoulders down.  
• Row the dumbbells up towards the ribcage by pulling your elbows back and up and squeeze your lats. 
• Slowly lower and repeat for the desired number of reps, 

Tips To Consider:

• Similar form tips as above. Your elbows should drive straight back along your body and not flared out to the sides.  
• Use LIGHTER weight. Without ANY momentum, you will likely only be able to do about 50% of the normal weight you do for variation one. 
• Rest only your chest and torso on the bench, not your neck or head. Your head and neck should be over the top of the bench.
• Keep your head/neck neutral at all times.
• As you lift, your upper chest will probably slightly lift up off the pad. This is fine. Just keep your spine neutral! 

VARIATION FOUR: Standing Cable Low Row 

This row variation hits your lats at a lower angle and is great for people who have a hard time with the elbow back and up movement. With the cable pulley down low, once you stand back, the back and up movement is a little more natural. 

You can use any handle you have available at your gym. If you use a straight bar, we suggest an overhand (pronated) grip for better lat isolation. You can also use an EZ curl bar with an underhand (supinated) grip, but be aware that you will recruit a little more bicep performing them this way.

We also really like using a rope. With a rope, you can use a neutral position, which is great for lat contraction!  It also allows you to go out and around your hips. 

How To:

• Lower cable pulley to the very bottom.
• Hold a straight bar with an overhand grip. 
• Facing the machine, step back away from the machine.
• Keep your chest out and get a full stretch in your lats. 
• Get in a similar stance as row variation one.
• Drive the weight DOWN and into your belly button!

Tips To Consider:

• Do not pull toward your chest. Pull to your belly button, 
• Do not flare your elbows out. 
• Try out a variety of handles and grips. 

VARIATION FIVE: Inverted Row

This is a bodyweight-only exercise, but don’t let that fool you! It is VERY DIFFICULT, especially if added in as a back day finisher! 

It’s also a great back day warm-up and perfect for anybody working on developing their pull-up strength.  

You would typically use a smith machine/squat rack for this exercise, which is how we describe below, but if your gym has rings or a TRX system, those are also great options!

How To:

• Set the bar to around waist height when standing. You want the bar set just high enough to allow your arms to fully extend in  the hanging position.  
• Position yourself underneath the bar face up.
• Grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Let yourself “hang,” and then step your legs straight out and plant your heels on the ground. Your body should be in a straight line.
• Keep your core and glutes tight and contracted. 
• Pull yourself up to the bar until your lower chest touches the bar.
• Squeeze and push your chest out.
• Slowly lower yourself back down.
• Repeat for the desired number of reps. 

Tips To Consider:

• Focus on full range of motion!!
• You won’t be able to drive your elbow down and pull up to the belly button as we would typically advise. You still want to focus on having your elbows down at an angle, but your elbows won’t be completely tucked like they are with a DB or cable row. 
• If this is too difficult, try raising the bar up so that your body is at more of a 45-degree angle when you lean back.
• Another way to make this movement  easier is to bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor. 
• Try this as a warm-up, finisher, or in a super-set with a weighted exercise. 

VARIATION SIX: Meadows Row 

The Meadows Row was made popular and named after the famous bodybuilder John Meadows. You may have also heard it called a — Landmine Row, Single Arm T-Bar Row, or Perpendicular Landmine Row. 

Whatever you wanna call it, we love it!  It is unilateral, allows for a more significant elbow-out arm path, provides extra range of motion, and is great for grip strength!

It seems that a lot of people don’t know about this row variation, and we’ve noticed those that do tend to use bad form. A few weeks ago, we filmed a video on back thickness where we go into even more detail on how to do the Meadows Row with proper form. You can check it out HERE if you want!

How To:

• Position a barbell wedged into the corner of a wall. You can also use a landmine attachment if you have access to one.
• Load the bar using small plates.
• Get into a split stance position.
• Grab the end of the barbell with an overhand grip.
• Rest your non-working arm on your front leg for support. 
• Hinge forward, slightly turn your body and get your hip as high as possible.
• Row the weight up, out, and away from your body.
• Stop and squeeze when your elbow is at the midline of your body.
• Slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position.
• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
• Switch and do the same number of reps on the other side. 

Tips To Consider:

• Whatever leg is stepped back (the side you are working) make sure you really focus on driving that hip upwards for a better stretch in your lat. 
• Use smaller plates. Large plates restrict full range of motion. 
• Do not arch through your spine or let your back “rotate.”
• If you feel this movement in your arms more than your back, try adjusting your grip.

We hope you found this video helpful

and it helps you spice up your next back day!! 

If you want to hit your lats a little differently, swap your current row variation for one of these!

Or, if you are looking for more lat-focused movements, pick a few from the list and add them to your current program!

But don’t forget that including variations like these to bust past plateaus or cure boredom should be pretty low on your list of priorities if your goal is to build a BIGGER BACK! 

Actually, no matter your goal, your first priority should always be finding a training program and diet that best matches your goals and genetics. 

That is if you want the fastest and easiest results!!

We have a FREE QUIZ that can help you out with this. It’s only six questions. You get your results instantly and are given the three most important things you can do to get real results fast!! 

You can check it out HERE whenever you get a chance! 

The post 6 New Row Variations To Try On Back Day appeared first on V Shred.

If your shoulder is bothering you and you aren’t sure why or how to find relief, you’re in the right place!

We’ve teamed up with a performance expert doctor for a really cool 6-part blog and video series called FIX YOUR BODY!

Today, we are focusing on SHOULDER PAIN!

If you do a lot of manual labor or hit the gym hard, you most likely have at least one part of the body that causes you some sort of discomfort.

Even if these pinches, aches, and pains seem minor or come and go —  it’s important to not brush them off.

Getting to the root of your muscle or joint pains and correcting them can not only prevent injury but can also make your workouts more effective! 

If your pain is muscle or joint related, you probably won’t need to see a doctor or therapist in most cases.

With the right expert guiding you, many body pains can be pinpointed and fixed at home!

We may know a lot about health and fitness here at V Shred and Sculpt Nation, but we aren’t doctors specializing in muscle and joint pains. So we called in performance physical therapist Dr. Zaki Afzal to help us out with this 6-part series.

Each week, Dr. Afzal offers his expertise as we work our way down the body to address the most common reasons people experience body pains and how you can correct them at home in an educated, safe, and simple way!

In Episode One, Dr. Afzal went over a few reasons people have neck pain and how to find relief at home! If you missed it, you can watch it HERE!

It was interesting to hear him explain why the source of most neck pain isn’t even in the neck! Everything is connected, so it makes sense that WHY you hurt isn’t always WHERE you hurt. 

The same goes for pain and stiffness in the shoulders. As you will learn today, when your shoulders hurt, the issue probably doesn’t even originate in the shoulder itself. 

Before we go over 3 reasons you could be experiencing shoulder pain and give you some easy at-home solutions, keep in mind that sometimes you need a one-on-one assessment from a professional.

DO NOT attempt any of the corrective exercises we are showing you if you have severe pain, accompanying issues such as numbness or tingling, or if you feel that your pain is not muscle or joint related. Speak to your doctor or a trained medical therapist.

3 SOURCES OF SHOULDER PAIN AND HOW YOU CAN FIND RELIEF AT HOME 

1:  RIB CAGE MOVEMENT
If you have shoulder pain when bench pressing, your ribcage could be the issue.

Because they are attached, if the ribcage doesn’t move the way you want it to, the shoulder blade will have a hard time experiencing full range of motion. 

Typically, this occurs because of internal rotation limitations, which generally happens due to the inability for the ribcage to move up toward the chest. 

In some instances, the issue could also be your sternum, which should move like a pump handle. If it’s not moving that way, you could have limited internal rotation, leading to shoulder issues.

To determine if either of these limitations are the source of your shoulder pain, you need to first test out your internal rotation range of motion. 

How To Access Rib Cage Internal Range Of Motion

• Lay on your back on a flat surface.  
• Bring the elbow of your right arm straight out to the side to form a 90-degree angle between your torso and arm. 
• Take your left hand and put it on top of your right shoulder to hold your shoulder blade down from the front, so it doesn’t move. 
• Lower your arm to see how far you can get your hand toward the table without the right shoulder blade coming off the table. You should be able to get to about 70-90 degrees. 

While you are in this position, go ahead and repeat going in the opposite direction to test external rotation. You don’t have to hold your shoulder down; just allow your arm to go back as far as you can without your shoulder lifting.

You should be able to go 90-degrees (flat/parallel to the ground) or further. If not, you could have limited external rotation. This is usually an upper back issue that manifests as neck pain, not shoulder pain, which we talked about last week in our neck pain video.

If you notice your external rotation is limited when doing this assessment, check out the 2nd corrective exercise demonstrated HERE. 

Corrective Exercise: Full Exhale Breathing
Getting the air OUT is what really unlocks the full shoulder and rib motion you need for healthy shoulders.

Something as simple as FULL exhale breathing can be the easiest fix. Yes, just breathing! But when done correctly, it’s a little more complex than it sounds!

• Lay on your back.
• Bend knees, with feet still on the ground. 
• Place a foam roller upright between your knees and squeeze with about 10% pressure. 
• Lift your toes and dig your heels into the ground (also about 10% effort.)
• Make sure your back remains flat on the ground/table.
• Take a deep breath in through your nose and then blow out ALL the air through your mouth (like you are blowing out candles.) 
• Two sets of about 5-6 reps should do the trick!

Helpful Tips
** Most people aren’t fully emptying their lungs. For this exercise to work, you need to get out every single drop of air.

** If you are doing this correctly, you should feel your lower abs come “on” pretty strong at the end of the exhale.

** If you don’t have a foam roller, you can also use a soccer ball or basketball. You just need something that is somewhat firm to put between your knees to squeeze.

2:  ISSUES WITH YOUR ROTATOR CUFF
If you feel pain in the front of your shoulder, it may be because of your rotator cuff.

To understand why it could cause your shoulder pain, it is important to quickly tell you what the rotator cuff is and what it does. 

The goal of the rotator cuff is to stabilize the shoulder ANYTIME it moves. 

If your rotator cuff doesn’t have control over your shoulder, it can lead to compensations that result in shoulder pain. 

One thing to keep in mind when correcting this issue is that the rotator cuff isn’t one muscle. It’s actually a collection of four muscles – the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor. Three are located on the back of the shoulder blade, and one is underneath the armpit. 

You’ve probably seen similar exercises to the one we are showing you. However, there is a very unique way that you need to perform the movement if you want to isolate the correct rotator cuff muscle that will help keep your shoulders happy and healthy! 

Corrective Exercise:  Side-Lying Rotation
This exercise is a great way to target the infraspinatus – the small rotator cuff muscle that needs to be strengthened to possibly help correct the root cause of your shoulder issues! 

You’ve likely seen this exercise performed standing. But the best way to perform the movement, especially as a corrective exercise, is lying down.

Dr. Afzal explains why and shows you how to do it in this video, but here is a breakdown of how to do it.

• Lay on your left side.
• Pin your right elbow to your side. It should NEVER come away from your body at any time during this corrective exercise. 
• Relax your shoulder blade. 
• Make a fist and rotate your arm up and back (again, keeping your elbow pinned to your side at all times) as far as you can without letting your shoulder blade move. You only want your infraspinatus muscle activated.
• Try doing a few sets of 10-12 reps a couple times a week or on your upper body training days.

Important Form Tips
** If you are doing this exercise correctly and targeting the part of the shoulder we are looking to isolate (the shoulder/rotator cuff muscle), you should feel some fatigue in the back of the shoulder even with 10-12 reps with NO weight.

** If you start to feel fatigue toward your neck, you are probably shrugging your shoulders too much and not using the shoulder itself. 

3:  FOREARM DIRECTION WHEN PRESSING
The key for proper form with pressing (whether it’s overhead or in the front) is in the direction of the forearms!

The direction your forearms are pointing is where you are applying force. You always want your forearms pointing straight up and down. 

How To Correct Your Forearms During Chest Press
When benching, be it with a barbell or dumbbells, any deviation in any other direction other than perpendicular is wasted energy because you are pushing your force in the wrong direction!

If you are using positions like this, you may not instantly feel pain, but you are in a much less efficient position.

For a good visual, check out this video.  

How To Correct Your Forearms During Shoulder Press
This same thing applies when doing a shoulder press.

You don’t want your elbows too far back. This limits your shoulder motion and puts your body in a position where it requires a lot more strain to lift the weight.

If your forearms are pointed too far back, you won’t be able to bring them all the way down to your torso when you lower the weight down.

You certainly do not HAVE to go all the way down when pressing. There are many times you should not use full range of motion. We are just saying you should be ABLE to. 

An easy fix is to just bring your elbows forward into a natural plane of motion.

You will know you are in a proper plane of motion if you can lower your elbows down to your side.

In short, whether you are performing a bench press or shoulder press, if you want to keep your shoulders healthy and get the most out of your lift, you’ve gotta pay attention to your forearms! Make sure they are always straight up and down from start to finish!

We filmed a video that goes over each problem and solution in little more detail…. 

If you are serious about fixing your shoulder pains, we suggest you watch it before trying any of these corrective exercises!!

ALSO, DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU MUST DO BEFORE TRYING ANY OF THESE SHOULDER PAIN SOLUTIONS!!

You need to consider the root of your pain! You should not attempt any of these exercises if your pains are extreme or not related to joints and muscles.

Please talk to your doctor, or if you are in the Las Vegas area, feel free to click here to contact Dr. Afzal. He would love to help you! 

Next week we are moving down the body. Make sure you check back; we will be talking about back pain! 

In the meantime, if you have any questions about this shoulder pain article and video, you can leave them in the comment section HERE.

The post 3 Possible Reasons Your Shoulders Hurt and How To Find Instant Relief appeared first on V Shred.