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2 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM ı OCTOBER 2011
By Patrick Cunningham, NSCA, CSNC
BECOME
WORKING OUT FOR
AESTHETICS
WORKOUT
S
ometimes people orget just
what the sport o bodybuildingused to be. Fitness enthusiasts
early on in the sport were
incredibly concerned with not only size,
but also overall muscular symmetry and
proportions. The body these athletes
sought ater was commonly reerred to
as the “X-Man” or “X” shape with the “X”
representing broad shoulders, a narrow
waste and wide legs. The ultimate goal was
to have a symmetrical, aesthetic physique
having every part built as though perectly
ormed in accordance with a complex yet
owing mathematical equation. To thebodybuilders who ounded this epic sport,
the geometry behind Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian
Man” was true north.
No one muscle was to be worked harder
than another. As Arnold Schwarzenegger
once said, “I I want to increase one
muscle a hal inch, the rest o the body
has to increase. I would never make [just]
one muscle increase or decrease.” Each
and every muscle had to be a certain
size when compared to another. But as
the sport became more mainstream, the
once sought ater “X” physique beganto change and has unortunately, largely
been orgotten. Nowadays, one is more
likely to see what could be reerred to as a
“V” man, i you get the drit.
Today, it seems to be all about size,
size, size instead o biomechanical beauty
and conditioning, and we all see prime
examples o this at the local gym. Many
guys, determined to achieve a dominating
physique, show up, blast biceps and
chest or three hours straight and then
call it a day. In act, it would appear that
every day is either chest or biceps day orthe modern bodybuilder; no warm-ups, no
XAN MAN
Photographer: James Patrick
www.jamespatrick.com
Model: Artie Cook
Location: Maximum Fitness Gym
www.maximumftnessscottsdale.com
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33OCTOBER 2011 ı WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM
stretching, no breathing, just as heavy as possible. Where did all the
fnesse go? Dominic Current, NPC judge and Max Muscle ranchisee,
notes that, “Many guys show up to competitions either very big and
poorly conditioned, or with great lines and symmetry, but lacking in
size. It takes a perect mesh o the two to bring the total package.
There are a lot o one-dimensional guys out there. This is why so
many o them get rustrated, wondering why they placed so low or a
given competition. You have to place equal emphasis on all aspects o
aesthetics i you want to bring the real deal.”
Well, there is a better way to build your body and it will not onlybe more aesthetically pleasing, but also more biomechanically
sustainable.
WORK IT ALL OVERMore oten than not, the muscles you cannot readily see in the mirror
are the muscles that pull everything together or a well-built, fnished
product. Take a set o your mid-back muscles or example: the
rhomboids. These muscles are located near the spine between your
shoulder blades and are responsible or pulling your shoulders back
and helping you keep your back straight. I you learn to isolate them,
you will naturally pull your shoulders back, which will help broaden the
appearance o your chest and shoulders as well as help utilize every
inch o your height. So why would you beat the heck out o your chestinstead o ocusing on mid-back? Isolating your chest muscles alone,
while also neglecting your back muscles, will only draw your shoulders
orward and terrorize your posture.
Another example o a requently skipped muscle group would be
your triceps. Us guys want big arms right? So why then do some o
us train our biceps to be able to curl a bus in order to do so but seem
to neglect one important act: triceps make up about 65 percent o
our upper arms and thus the majority o their overall size. Nothing flls
out the sleeves o a T-shirt like well-developed triceps. So i you want
big arms, don’t skip triceps. On the contrary, ocus on them and be
prepared to switch that medium sized T-shirt or an XL.
This brings us to the most commonly skipped muscle group o them
all: legs. Why, oh why, do guys neglect legs so requently? Sure theyare tough to train and not as un to ex in the mirror as say biceps are,
but they serve a crucial role in your progress. You not only burn the
most amount o calories when you train them, and thus at, but, as a
man, you generate the highest levels o serum testosterone because o
it. More useable testosterone in the bloodstream equals more natural
muscle hypertrophy, as well as a hardy boost in sex drive and overall
vitality. Consider yoursel warned: i you do not train your legs, you are
robbing yoursel o the results you crave.
Now be honest: Are you guilty o some or all o the aesthetic crimes
just mentioned? Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty o it then. Take a deep
breath and prepare to be presented with the next 10 weeks o your lie.
Go ahead and take care o all the other muscles as you have, but add
these workouts to your weekly repertoire. You can thank us later.Be sure to begin each workout with a 5-minute bout o light cardio.
This will get the heart pumping and warm up the core o your body in
preparation or the epicness that is about to ensue. And remember, i
you are not getting adequate protein in your diet, the best workout in
the whole world will not help you put on muscle. On the contrary, i you
work out without enough protein in your system, you are catapulting
your body into a catabolic state.
Keep in mind that, as mentioned earlier, these workouts are not
meant to be all-inclusive. You will still need to train your biceps, chest,
quadriceps, core and do your cardio all on your own. Use this as a
guide on how to train the muscles people requently skip. Truth be told
though, even i you did just these muscle groups, you’d still build a
physique superior to the “chest and biceps” guys. We’ll see you in 10weeks.MS&F
Aesthetics: DAy OneDELTOIDS Ma souldr Pr: Sit with your back
and shoulders frmly rested against the backrest o
the machine. Adjust the arms so that the handles go
as low as your shoulder line. Choose the appropriate
weight and begin your repetitions exhaling as you press
the weight up and inhaling as you bring the weightback down. Make sure that your lower back does not
compress.
Do 3 sets of 12 reps.
sad Dumbbll souldr Pr: Choose
the appropriate dumbbell weight and take a seat on a
90-degree bench. With the dumbbells to your sides in
line with your shoulders and parallel to the oor, ully
extend your arms exhaling as your raise the weight and
inhaling as you reset the weight to the starting position.
Elbows should stay out to your sides, never moving
orward, and remain under your wrists at all times. Do 3
sets of 8 reps.
Dumbbll Rar Fl: Using a bench, sit on the
very edge and lean orward until your torso is almost
parallel with the oor. With dumbbells, straighten your
arms and keep your elbows acing outward while ying
your arms backward and squeezing your shoulders
together simultaneously. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.
TRICEPS sadg srag Bar cabl Pr-Do:Facing a high-pulley cable machine with a straight
bar attached, begin the press-down by keeping your
elbows frmly to your sides and extending your armsdownward. Nothing else should move during this
exercise except your lower arms and you should ocus
on the exion o your triceps muscles. As with most
exercises, you should exhale as the worked muscle
shortens (concentric) and inhale as the worked muscle
lengthens (eccentric). Do 3 sets of 10 reps.
sad Dumbbll Ovrad trpexo: Using a 90-degree bench, lit the
dumbbell above your head with your elbows directly by
your ears. Keeping your elbows by your ears and upper
arms stationary, bring the dumbbell down behind your
head and then ully extend above your head. Again,no other body part should move during this exercise
but the lower arms. Be sure to keep your shoulders
stationary as well and resist the urge to shrug or roll
them. Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
Dl B eZ Bar exo: Also known
as decline skull-crushers, lie at on a decline bench
with an EZ barbell extended above you, arms shoulder
width apart. Now, keeping your elbows shoulder width
apart and acing the ceiling, slowly allow the bar to
drop toward your brow and then ully extend upward
keeping your elbows acing your eet. Do 3 sets of 6
reps.
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Aesthetics: DAy thReeBACK Udrad Grp La Pull-Do: At the lat pulldown machine, using a straight bar, place your hands acing yoursel,
shoulder-width apart. Pull the bar down to your neck keeping your elbows to your sides pulling your shoulder blades together.
Then allow the bar to raise high enough to eel the stretch in your lats and then repeat. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.
sad cabl Ro: Using the dual V-handle on the seated row machine, sit with your back straight and knees slightly bent.
Pull the handle to your belly button, squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping your elbows close to your sides. Then
extend your arms back to the starting position and repeat. Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
sad O-arm cabl Ro: On the seated row machine, use the single handle and prepare your body as with the
seated cable rows only this time, use one arm to grab the cable and one arm at your waist. Drive the one elbow back isolating
that side’s lat and shoulder blades. Allow your body to slightly twist to complete the range o motion then switch sides.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
HAMSTRINGS Ma Lg hamrg curl: Lying ace down on the hamstring machine, point your toes away rom your body and
curl your leg up in a similar motion to that o a bicep curl. Exhale as your raise your lower legs and ocus on the exion o the
hamstring. Allow the weight to slowly drop back down to the starting position and repeat. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.
O-Lg hamrg curl: Using either the dedicated one-leg hamstring curl machine or the lying hamstring curl machine,
isolate one leg by keeping the other straight and allowing only one to lit the load. Toes should always be pointing away rom the
body to allow the biceps emoris (hamstrings) to be activated and minimize cal recruitment. Allow the weight to slowly go back
to the starting position and repeat. Do 3 sets of 12 reps.
Good Morg: Adjust the hyperextension
machine so that your legs rest securely on the pads
but your core is exposed. Put your arms across
your chest and, while keeping your back straight,
allow your torso to naturally pull you downward ar
enough to eel the stretch in your hamstrings (back
o the upper leg). Then, as you press back upward,
ocus on the exion o your lower back, glutes and
secondarily your hamstrings. Exhale on the positive
(upward) motion. Do 15 reps. (Rest 60 seconds,then repeat this superset.)
Glu Brdg Rpo: Lying on your
back on a mat, pull your eet up high enough on
the oor so that there is a 90-degree bend in your
knees (while keeping your eet on the oor). Place
your arms across your chest and lit your toes o
the oor so only your heels are touching the oor.
Now press your pelvis orward using a thrusting
maneuver and actively squeeze your glutes. At the
top o the exercise, only your shoulders and your
heels should be touching the ground. Allow your
glutes to come within an inch o the oor. Do 30 reps then move directly into Superman.
suprma: Lying at on your stomach on a
mat, reach with your arms and legs to lengthen
your body as much as possible. Now, without
bending your arms or your legs, hyperextend
upward ocusing on the exion o both your lower
back and glutes. Then allow your lower back and
glutes to relax to reset the motion. Do 30 reps.
(Rest 60 seconds, then repeat this superset.)
Glu Brdg Rpo
suprma