Essential Back Thickening Tips

With all the emphasis on bigger chest, more ripped abs and bigger biceps, you begin to wonder about other important parts of the anatomy. Is everyone neglecting these? Has it become uncool to care about the size of your legs or the traps?

What about the back? If you are serious about possessing an impressive physique, it would be unwise to neglect your back and not give it the attention it deserves. Your back can transform the way you look in the most dramatic way. Ever wondered how you can get that coveted 'V' Taper that everyone lusts after? You work out your latissimus dorsi muscles which are part of your back!

For those interested in getting a thicker, wider back, there are some tips you can incorporate into your regimen which will take your conditioning to the next level. We shall take a very quick look at these and I guarantee you will be aching to put these into practice before you finish reading this. Your approach to working out your back will totally change.

1. Squeeze n' stretch - If you are serious about changing your body, you may have watched a bodybuilding DVD or two. If you watch bodybuilding star Kai Greene's videos, you will know of the importance of 'the contraction'. Squeezing and stretching the muscle allows you to focus on the exact muscle you are working.

Unfortunately, most people never bother doing this. They grab the weights and go for broke - trying to get as many reps as possible without putting any emphasis on the quality of the reps. The contraction is important when performing latissimus dorsi exercises such as the row or the pull up. Always squeeze at the top and stretch at the bottom.

2. Visualise - Building from the previous point, it wouldn't hurt to know some basic anatomy and visualise the actual muscle working. This not only get you in the 'zone' by allowing you to focus on exactly what you are doing, but it lets you perform high quality, focused repetitions which will do more to build your back than simply 'going through the motions' and trying to eke out as many reps as possible. It allows you to really 'feel' the exercise.

3. Strap up - Some people have weak forearms no matter how hard they work to increase their grip strength. It's just one of those things. Thankfully, you can use straps. These allow you to work with bigger weights without worrying about the weight slipping from your hands.

Bigger weights mean worse injuries and so you really need to be careful and practise immaculate form. If you are unsure, always consult one of the gym's fitness instructors and let them put you through your paces. Back injuries are no fun. I would know - I've been nursing one for a few years. It really slows your progress so avoid sloppiness at all costs!

Latissimus dorsi exercises can give you a lot of width but the fundamental tips in this write up can provide you with the thickness everyone desires. For more information on these exercise and more, check out my weight training website.

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Essential Forearm Building Tips!

Have you ever seen some pictures of muscle-bound studs with huge chests and rippling abs and thought to yourself; "Yes this is impressive but something isn't right, I can't put my finger on it - what's wrong?". The human eye is naturally good at spotting proportion and chances are, that particular person has neglected certain body parts which results in a lopsided physique.

The forearms are one of those muscle groups that few people pay particular attention to. Trainees always assume that since a lot of bodybuilding exercises involve gripping heavy weights, the forearms get adequately exercised and therefore, there isn't a need to target them specifically. Unfortunately, for most people who don't possess a natural capacity for large forearms, this is not true.

The reality is that most of us will have to work pretty hard to get impressive forearms. In my experience, you need to target the forearms with a mixture of low weight high reps exercise alongside heavy weights and low reps. You'll also need a lot of patience as you will need to do multiple sets, hitting them from multiple angles. We will look at some of these exercises.

1. Plate Pinch - The plate pinch is primarily a gripping forearm exercise. It works best with the smaller, thick metal plates. Olympic plates are far too big and will slip from your hands. The plate pinch is simple. You simply pinch two plates together with your fingers and then pick them up and drop them as many times as you can or for a set number of repetitions.

2. Wrist curls - There are multiple variations of the wrist curl. It's almost always best to do this exercise with barbell. You can do them with your palms facing up or facing down. You can do them using a bench or your knees as a support and you can also do them while standing with your hands behind your back. I recommend performing 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Volume is key with these.

3. Hammer curls - Very few exercises are as effective at inducing the burn in your forearms as the hammer curls. The advantage is that you can work with more weight as large muscle groups are involved in the movement. Another variation of the hammer curl is the cross-body hammer curl. Both of these exercises are effective at adding size to your forearms if performed consistently.

4. Reverse curls - These are an awesome way to target the upper part of your forearms. An excellent way to take this exercise to the next level is to combine a reverse wrist curl in this movement. As you reach the top part of the reverse curl, you do the concentric part of a wrist curl and as you reach the bottom phase, you do the eccentric part. This is a great way to make the exercise a tiny bit more beneficial.

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