These three upper body muscle groups are all a high priority for guys who want a more athletic, muscular look. Broad shoulders, a powerful chest and ‘bigger guns’ define the look of male fitness and athleticism.
I’m going to assume that you’re already doing the Static Contraction workout in Train Smart which means you are using the #1 ranked exercises for each of these muscle groups. But here are some ways to get a bit more out of them.
- Take three deep breaths before any of these lifts. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Really fill your lungs on every breath. And as you exhale on the third breath force the weight up as you exhale.
- If possible, give a loud yell or grunt as you lift as this has been shown to generate 12% more strength in static contraction test subjects.
- On the bench press for chest (not for triceps) try to squeeze your pecs when you are holding the weight. If you do it right the bar will move up a fraction of an inch. Hold it in that position.
- If you have an aptitude for distance running, cycling, martial arts or other endurance sports, try doing the Power Factor: Power, Endurance and Size workout using sets of each exercise and see if your numbers improve faster. (I know martial arts isn’t really an endurance sport but many serious practitioners have told me the Beta workouts using more volume are better for them.)
- Get a pair of Alan Trombetta’s hand pads. On these pushing exercises people just don’t realize how hand pain is limiting the weights they use. The day they use hand pads every weight goes up. Often way up. Alan sells these things for next to nothing. If a nutritional supplement delivered these kinds of weight increases on day one it would be constantly sold out and featured on the cover of every magazine. Using hand pads is what I call training with your brain.
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I read on this forum numerous guys saying they grew their shoulders by as much as 4″ in 6 months, yet I, 68yrs old, have not grown at all although I am stronger with more definition. What more can I do-if it’s at all possible to grow the shoulders at all at my age?
Make sure you are eating enough to gain weight. Maybe the guys who put 4″ on their shoulders were not 68. It is more difficult as we get older but it is still worth trying to reach. Maybe you’ll aim for 4″ and only get 2″ but that’s infinitely more than they guy who doesn’t try.
Hi Pete, At my gym the free weights are usually hugged for a long time and I have to stand in line. Yesterday I went over to the arm curl machine and did the deadlifts with one arm at a time very carefully making sure I did not injure myself. I used one arm because the machine did not go high enough. Just wondered, did I get any benefit doing the deadlifts this way?
I’ve never heard of using a curl machine for deadlifts. Most of them don’t hold enough weight anyway.
Hi Pete, I ordered the hand pads and looking forward to using it soon after it arrives. My Bench Press only went up by 10 lbs so after exactly 6 months it looks as if I am growing slower than before. I had to call for a spotter but could keep the heavy weights up on my own but just wondered: by not lifting the weights off the pegs by myself, was their any benefit gained?
You have to be careful using a spotter becasue you never know how much help you are getting. Also, make sure you are not locked out when holding the weight. A lockout build zero muscle. Finally, everyone grows slower at the 6-month mark than they do in the early stages. Just keep getting incremental increases and you will reach your goals.
I just noticed that the picture of the guy doing the trap shrug he’s holding his hands like he’s doing a dead lift. I’ve been doing the shrugs with the back of my hands facing forward. Does it matter which way my hands face?
There are 3 grips you can use. Underhand, overhand and mixed. All that matters is your personal preference and the one that allows you to lift the most.
Thanks! I have been testing one leg/arm excersizes as a work around. Not perfect, but ok.
1. I feel that the back exercises (chins, lat pull downs, rows) make my biceps equally exhausted as my back (lats). So on arm days I’m still tired from all the pulling on the back days… Hmm, starting to wonder…is biceps trained so hard on back days that it’s unnecessary to train them separately?
2. Legs. I have been doing the following:
- squats in a smith machine (PFT: 15-20 reps, 2 sets. Not enough weight for SCT)
- One leg leg presses in machine (PFT 20 reps on one leg, 1 set. Not enough weight for SCT…)
- lunges in smith machine OR one leg leg extensions
I feel nothing in my legs compared to how I feel in my upper body.
I don’t really like doing squats with lots of weights as it puts my spine under enormous pressure. I use a belt so that’s a help, but I still can feel a bit “shaky” in my lower back a few days after doing squats. I’m tall and slim, 190 cm, 82 kg, made of bone and muscle… no visible fat anywhere. Always been like that. Only way to gain weight is by adding muscles, which is exactly what I am doing now in order to get back to competitive shape again (after a back injury…).
Sorry about the long winded comment…
Pete~The static routine in the Train Smart e-book,you have another way of doing a little more volume,and it is a beta routine.Which I enjoy the longer/more hold times.I feel I get more out of it,my mirror agrees also(ha,ha). Is this similar to the PFT workouts,Just with less wear and tear on the joints,since I am doing statics?Thanks again for your time,Pete
Right, Bob.
There is a spectrum from minimum wear and tear and high efficiency – to more volume, wear and tear and less efficiency. In terms of my training that spectrum is:
SCT Alpha Workout ……SCT Beta Workouts …….Power Factor Alpha Workouts ……Power Factor P.E.S. Workouts………All the other junk out there with low intensity and ‘insane’ volume.
Pete, I can’t believe how easy this workout is. I have been power lifting since the age of 13, now I am 45 and still going stronger and better then ever. I do a strong workout and when I feel fully recovered then I go back to my next session. I seen you on Tony Robbins video, it was the most amazing thing I have ever learned about. Thanks Pete
Thanks, Razzo. Let’s us know about your progress.
Hi!
Just started with STC 4 weeks ago and I have a few questions.
1. My gym does not have enough weights for the no 1 excersices. What are the no 1 excersizes when you have limited weights? (one leg and one arm instead, i.e. leg press with one leg)
2. My upper body is exhausted for a week after a workout, is that normal? My legs however feel quite the opposite, nothing…What is that about? Am I pushing too hard on the upper body and too little on my legs?
3. I am a squash player so lunges are the name of the game for me. Is lunges in a smith machine a good STC excersize? Maybe I should do powerfactor instead for my legs?
Thanks!
1. People are too strong for a lot of equipment. Just shows how poorly engineered machine really are. Here are so workarounds: http://www.precisiontraining.com/static-contraction-exercise-examples-and-some-cheats/
2. Maybe you’re just not pushing your legs hard and your upper body workout is fine. When you track your numbers these difference soon work their way out of your training. Perhaps your upper body workouts are stimulating new muscle growth right now but your leg workouts are not because you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough. But if you make your numbers climb every workout soon you’ll be up to the productive intensity you need. BTW, advanced trainees need 4-6 weeks of recovery so you needing a week is not unusual.
3. Do leg presses for your legs. Soon you’ll approach a ton, believe it or not. You’ll never do that with a lunge. But if you want you can add lunges after your leg presses.
Hey Pete,
Off topic a tad here.
I’m sure there are a zillion ways to modify your great static routine. BUT, why not this. It only makes sense.
A & B workout, do your heavy static.
The next A & B workout, do the Power Factor Training (2-3 sets and reps / more range of motion)
Then back to A & B static.
Then A & B Power FActor Workout etc etc.
How simple is that? It seems there would be many reasons to do this. And you/I keep track of this just as we always do. On paper or your spreadsheets.
What are the drawbacks?
You could do that. The big benefit of the SCT workout is efficiency. Another is the minimalist wear and tear on the body. When you add extra exercises you lose those advantages. But if you don’t care about that, there is no reason why you couldn’t do what you are suggesting.
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