Building Muscles

How to build massive triceps at home

Day 69 training big triceps with triceps push downs

You have to watch out that you don't use your upper body to push the weights downs because you have gone heavy. Its so easy to lean over the weight and then push it down. The answer is to stand straight upright and keep your elbows tucked in to your sides and then push the weight down so only the triceps do the full exercise. You might not be able to go too heavy doing it this way but you will get much better results when the muscle has to do all the work.

I continued with my 5x5 training and my pushdowns were amazing.

Bodybuilding| how to develop a big chest at home

Day 69 training your chest at home with flat bench press

There are people that will say you should do a variety of exercises for your chest. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but I do think basic exercises work just as well. I have always believed that simple exercises were originally designed for the purpose of building a great looking body and the early bodybuilders are definitely proof of that. I know people want more, and the times have changed, but if the average person could get a body similar to that of Charles Atlas they would be the envy of their town. 

I did simple basic flat bench press.

I did my 5x5 training. I feel fantastic after this workout.

Body building muscles| calf training at home| standing calf raises

Day 68 how to get the most from your calf training at home

Calves are slightly different to the rest of the muscles. You need to do a bit extra to get them to respond. I don't use 5x5 training when I do calves. I will go heavy but rather do 12 reps per set. I want the burn or I feel like I haven't worked them hard enough. I got a wonderful burn and my calves really felt like they worked hard today.

I am quite exhausted after this session and am rather thankful that I have a full night sleep to recover. Rest is so important when you train. If you do not get the right amount of rest you will not get the growth and results you want.

How to develop strong hamstrings at home| building leg biceps

Day 68 how to train and build big hamstrings at home

I did a mixture today. I warmed up doing 20 reps with light weights doing some good mornings.

I then went on to do 2x5 sets of dead lifts with heavy weight. I followed this with 3 sets x 5 reps of heavy good mornings. Like I said before I do not want to overdo the dead lifts and risk premature disk wear in the lower back. This is a great combination and certainly does work the hamstrings well.

Building Muscle| how to develop big legs at home| quad workout

Day 68 how to train and build strong quads

I had a number of calls with clients today so had to plan my leg training very carefully. I have found that because the legs are such big muscles, when you work them hard you will feel very tired after your training. My good friend always used to train legs on a Saturday morning and then have a sleep so he was fit for the rest of the day. I trained after my last client call at 5pm so I could just relax and watch TV till bed time.

I am still on the 5x5 training so I did a good warm up with light weights. I did 15 reps and then did my heavy stuff. I always play safe and put on my knee bandages with my back belt. I have a feeling of safety and that is really important for me to work heavy with confidence.

How to develop a V shape back at home| training lats

Day 67 how to train and build big lats at home with limited equipment

I have a problem doing really heavy weight with lat pull downs as I have no way to anchor myself to the bench. If I try to lift more then I weigh I will lift myself off the bench and end up doing pull ups instead of lat pull downs. I could do seated front rowss but really wanted to do the pull downs. The answer was to train lighter and do more reps and that is exactly what I did.

I did 5 sets of 12 reps medium weights.  I made sure each rep was slow and I pulled the weight down to just below the chin on to the top of my chest. It is a good idea to hold the weight at the lowest point for the count of 1 or 2. This forces the muscles to work harder and does add quite a bit extra to my training session.

Developing big shoulders at home| training deltoids

Day 67 How to train and build massive shoulders at home

I am still on my 5x5 training plan for the rest of this week. It seems to be a lot quicker because you are only doing 5 reps however it actually is not that much quicker because I find I need a bit more time between each set. I like to try and have a one minute break between each set but with these I often need more time. There is no point rushing it because you will not have recovered enough to do the next set properly. It is quite easy however to wait too long. I do know some people have a few minutes rest between very heavy sets but I don't think that would help me. I certainly wouldn't have longer than 1 ½ minutes rest.

I did seated shoulder press quite heavy. As a reminder that is 5 sets of 5 reps. I warmed up with 1 set light weight doing 20 reps. I am really enjoying the weekly change I am doing with reps and sets.

Develop big guns at home| biceps

Day 66 how to train and build huge biceps

One of the things you have to be careful about is that the bicep is fairly small but strong.  It can lift quite heavy weight which will put a lot of pressure on tendons and ligaments in the elbow joints.

I have found that you need to warm up well. I did a set of light weights with 25 reps. I actually got quite a burn from doing this. I then went on to do the 5x5 training. The first set was the most important. I had to make sure I did not try to rip the weight up to quickly because it was heavy. This is a sure way of doing elbow damage. I did each rep quite deliberately and it worked like a charm.

No pain in any joint and yet the bicep had to really work. I felt fantastic.

How to develop big arms at home| triceps

Day 66 how to train and build massive triceps

I often have a problem doing triceps push-downs with heavy weights. There is a huge tendency to want to cheat. I find that it is easy to stand over the weight and then use part body weight to get the weights moving down.

I am so proud of the weight I used and how strict I was. I didn't cheat in any way but had to really focus like crazy. I used triceps power only to do the push downs and the workout was amazing.  I started with a set of 20 reps using very light weight.

I then moved on to the 5x5 method. 5 sets of 5 reps with heavy weights.

How to train and build a strong big chest at home| massive pecs

Day 66 how to develop your chest

This week I am on strength training. The plan I am using works exceptionally well.  It is call the 5x5. You do 5 sets of 5 reps per set. This means that you can go quite heavy with the weights as you are not doing too many reps. You have to be careful that you warm the muscle up that you want to put under a lot of stress.

I don't like to do stretching exercises before training as the muscles are usually cold and if you suddenly stretch them you run the risk of tearing them. I do a light set of weights with loads of reps to warm up the muscle. There are lots of ways you can warm up but I have found this works best for me. I have never torn a muscle or done damage doing it this way.

I really pushed hard today and the 5x5 worked like a dream. I seldom ever break out into a sweat with limited reps but that is what happened today.