It may look simple, but you're using your own strength to pull your body up and the pull-up engages all major muscle groups. It strengthens your arms and shoulders, back muscles, overall body strength and has significant benefits on your mental health too, as you pull your body into position. If you rotate between only overhand, underhand, and neutral-grip pull-ups,
If you’re looking to add mass quickly, multi-angular tri-sets are a great way to build muscle. Focusing on your back, shoulders, chest and arms will add the necessary width for that desirable V-shaped torso, so you’ll be ready to impress at your next formal occasion. An abs regime is all very well, but if it’s the perfect V-shaped torso to
Let’s face it: you know more about strength training than a highbrow Jeopardy contestant knows about Shakespeare. But despite your vast fitness knowledge, you may not know you’re doing more harm than good with some of your favorite back moves, stripping you of results and potentially putting you in harm’s way. The good news is that we're is here to help. Read
There is only one body-weight exercise you can think of for hitting pecs—pushups—and those get old after a while. Why pushups? It’s both their simplicity (everyone knows them; they require zero equipment) and that they test strength and cardio capacity. Pushups are the ultimate adapter exercise. They can be done anywhere. They recruit more than half the muscles in the
Is your back workout not delivering the results you expect? If your efforts to create a well-defined rear view are leaving you less than impressed, perhaps its time for a new approach — a “friendly takeover” of your regular routine may be in order, shaking non-responsive muscles out of their complacency and into higher levels of performance. This top-down approach
Your biceps and triceps might be popping, but big arms are nothing without some bulging traps muscles to support your upper muscles. Your traps are muscles that add an instant air of dominance, power, and masculinity to your physique. And when it comes to building them, there are three key factors you need to implement. Building mass and strength in your
Variety is important, even doing slight variations of the same movement can help attack a muscle from a different angle to spur new gains in size and strength. We take a look at the lat pulldown—an utterly basic back-building exercise, but one with numerous deviations worth incorporating in your program. The back muscles contract when the shoulders are retracted (pulled
Lower back pain affects about 80% of the population at some point. It’s the third most common reason to see a doctor and the second leading cause of missing work—only the common cold beats it! Back pain can stem from a long list of causes: sprains and strains on one end, herniated discs and fractures on the other. Less serious—and
There isn't anything wrong with having a little extra back and underarm fat. Unlike abdominal fat, which is linked to heart disease and diabetes, back and arm fat isn't going to kill you. But let's face it, a strapless dress or swimsuit or — guys have it, too — a form-fitting T-shirt looks better without bulges of back and armpit
What's the best big lift you can do for the upper body? If your gut reaction says either bench press or military press, perhaps you need to start focusing a bit more on pulling than pushing. Truth is, the classic barbell row will give any upper-body exercise a run for its money in terms of developing pure strength and piles of muscle. In
