Hey guys...have you ever wonder why some muscles in your body grow faster that the others....or why there are guys with big chests and backs but small guns....or the oposite!....the guys with huge arms and poor chest/back development.......or the guy with huge legs and the only thing he does is squats......well a lot of this is due to genetics but the real reason may be the exersises we choose to do in the gym!!!
Some people are limb dominant and others are torso dominant....for instance what is optimal for some individuals might not be the best for you. If you are able to recognize how you were built you will clearly undertand what to do to to improve the inbalances in your physique.
This is part of an article writen by my favorite coach...Christian Thibadeau.....i was really facinated when i read it the man knows his stuff
I hope that you enjoy the reading as much as i did
He said: Proper exercise selection depends on your body structure (limb lengths, shoulder and hips width) as well as your muscle dominance. For example, the bench press or incline DB press are great movements to build the chest in individuals who are either "chest-dominant" (chest proportionally stronger than shoulders and triceps) or who have a balanced development in all the pressing muscles. However, if someone is "shoulder-dominant," these might not be the best choices.
See, it's not as simple as saying that compound movements are superior to isolation exercises. In many cases it's true, however in other case the proper isolation drill might be superior to compound movements.
Exercise selection is even more vital during a bout of low-volume training, because you must use a low number of exercises, 2-3 per muscle group. There's simply no room for a subpar movement.
While complete exercise selection depending on your body type and muscle dominance is outside the scope of this article and will be a series of its own, I like to use the following 'basic' guidelines when it comes to low-volume exercise selection:
• For a dominant muscle (a muscle that responds well to training) I suggest using only 'big movements': the exercises in which you can use the most weight for the target muscle group.
• For an 'average muscle' (a muscle that's neither a super easy responder nor a stubborn one) I recommend two 'big movements' followed by an isolation exercise.
• For a 'stubborn muscle' I suggest using a pre-fatigue approach: starting with an isolation exercise and then performing either one 'big movement' plus one more isolation one, or two 'big movements'. The key is to start with the isolation one.
Pre-fatigue is a technique that I recommend only for a stubborn muscle group. This technique is effective because by isolating a muscle you 'prime it' (both neurologically and physiologically) so that it's recruited more easily during the subsequent 'big movement'. The localized pump from the isolation movement also enables you to better 'feel' that muscle working during the compound drill (enhanced feedback) and are thus able to have a better mind-muscle connection with that stubborn muscle.
Here are some examples of possible exercise selections. Note that this is not an exhaustive list. You have my permission to choose other exercises.
Chest exercise selection
If you're pectoral-dominant or balanced:
A. Flat bench press
B. Incline DB press
C. Chest dips
If you're shoulders-dominant:
A. Decline dumbbell flies
B. Decline bench press
C. Cable cross-over
If you're triceps-dominant:
A. Flat bench dumbbell flies
B. Wide grip bench press to the clavicle
C. Low-incline DB press
Back exercise selection
If you're latissimus-dominant or balanced:
A. Chest-supported T-bar rowing
B. Supinated chin-ups
C. Rope lat pulldown
D. Seated rope row to the neck
If you're biceps/forearms-dominant:
A. Machine pullover or straight-arm pulldown
B. Rope lat pulldown
C. Bent over lateral raise
D. Seated rope row to the neck
Quads exercise selection
If you're quadriceps-dominant or balanced:
A. Back squat
B. Close-stance leg press
C. Short step lunges
If you're gluteus-dominant:
A. Leg extension
B. Front squat
C. Sissy hack squat
Hamstrings exercise selection
If you're hamstrings-dominant or balanced:
A. Romanian deadlift (DB or barbell)
B. Reverse hyper
C. Lying leg curl
If you're lower back-dominant:
A. Lying leg curl
B. Leg press feet high on board
C. Standing leg curl
Deltoid exercise selection
If you're lateral deltoid-dominant or balanced:
A. Seated DB shoulder press
B. Arnold press
C. Seated lateral raise
If you're front deltoid-dominant:
A. Seated lateral raise
B. Scott press
C. Cable lateral raise or leaning-away lateral raise
If you're triceps-dominant:
A. Seated lateral raise
B. Bradford press (never lock out)
C. Cuban press
Triceps exercise selection
If you're triceps-dominant or balanced:
A. Close-grip bench press
B. Triceps dips
C. Lying DB triceps extension
If you're shoulders-dominant:
A. Decline close-grip bench press
B. Decline EZ bar triceps extension
C. Rope triceps kickback
If you're chest-dominant:
A. Decline DB triceps extension
B. Overhead EZ bar triceps extension
C. Cable triceps press-down
Biceps exercise selection
If you're biceps-dominant or balanced:
A. Preacher curl or machine preacher curl
B. Seated hammer curl
C. Standing reverse EZ bar curl
If you're forearms-dominant:
A. Wide-grip/elbows-in preacher curl
B. Seated supinated (palms up) DB curl
C. 1-arm preacher curl (preferably with low pulley)
Great info in my opinion.....take care and train hard and smart
Team Johnnie Jackson / Pretty Boys
…I am going by feel….however I ordered a new set of calipers and as soon as it arrives I will check where I am at….i will post my results every week and I will adjust my food intake and cardio according with the results
). They refer to trainees, articles by other strength athletes and coaches etc. But I have yet to see something really proven i.e. 10 trainees on 1.5g/kg protein for 6 months on diet/calories A and program A compared to the same 10 trainees on 1.5g/lg for 6 months on diet/calories A and program A. I guess they don't feel the need to prove anything but I would be very interested in something like that.
