Just like well developed shoulders, I feel that one reason a well developed set of upper pecs is so impressive is that, well you really do not see too many people that have upper pecs that are well developed.

To me this can be attributed to one thing, the flat bench press.

While it is true that some genetically gifted bodybuilders can develop very balanced (meaning all areas of the chest, from lower to inner to outer to upper to all areas in between) chest development from just doing flat benches, most of us, myself included, see more in the way of middle and lower pec development from doing flat benches.

Of course, some people see very little growth at all in their pecs from benching, with most of the growth coming in the form of well developed triceps and front delts—and while muscle growth is muscle growth, most people want chest growth for their benching efforts, not growth in the aforementioned body parts.

ENTER THE INCLINE PRESS

Do you know what exercise was the number one choice for most people looking to build up their upper bodies’ back-in-the-day? (the 50’s and 60’s)

If you guessed the flat bench press—you must step to the back of the line.

However, if you guessed the over head press with a barbell—go to the front of the class you are correct.

O.K.

You might be thinking, what does the over head press have to do with building a massive chest, after all I thought it was primarily a shoulder exercise.

You are correct, it is, however, just like the over head press fell out of favor, another exercise, that never quite reached a high level of use—ranks as a better over-all upper body—and chest builder than the flat bench.

The exercise I am referring to is the incline press done with a barbell or dumbbells.

Why?

Truthfully it comes down to a number of things: First, unlike the flat bench, the incline press requires stricter form which helps prevent injuries. Second, it works those all important upper pecs, which ranks up there with the most neglected of body parts. Third, the incline press carries over far greater on the athletic field than does the flat bench press.

SOME POINTS

The incline press done with either a barbell or dumbbells is a great way to build your upper chest—however please don’t be overly concerned with how much weight you can lift, especially if you haven’t tried this exercise before.

Always remember, your goal as a bodybuilder is to work your muscles (in this case the upper pecs) hard enough so that they must grow—NOT to see how much weight you can get from point A to point B.

Also, if you have any shoulder discomfort from using a barbell, try giving dumbbells a go.

THE ROUTINE

In the beginning stick with the tried-and-true 5 x 5 program (that’s five sets of five reps per set, for a total of twenty five reps) and really learn or re learn how to do the lift properly.

After you’ve got the form down—then you can worry about changing rep schemes and adding weight.

One point, the incline press requires stricter form that the flat bench, so you might have to swallow your ego a bit and go down in weight more than you’d like—but remember your muscles don’t know how much weight is on the bar.

A TIP

Lower the barbell or dumbbells slowly to your chest and then pause for a couple of seconds before pressing the bar or dumbbells back up.

You want your upper chest taking the brunt of the work, not other muscles.

NUTRITION BASICS

As good as the incline barbell or dumbbell press is for building the upper pecs not much will come from all your hard work if you are not eating correctly.

If you are looking to gain mass—combine the above exercise with other big lifts like squats, dead lifts, and bent over rows, etc.—make sure your are getting one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (so if you weigh one hundred and fifty pounds you would take in one hundred and fifty grams of protein) from sources like, lean beef, chicken, turkey, and eggs.

Up next are plenty of high quality carbs like oatmeal (preferably steel cut oats) brown rice, yams, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Along with this take in good fats from fatty fish like sardines, nuts, seeds and a good quality fish oil supplement.

A WORD ON POST WORKOUT NUTRITION

You see ads all over the magazines touting amazing sounding products.

However, lets cut the baloney, while some of those products are great, tons of quality muscle has been built over the years with nothing but good old fashioned hard work and good quality food.

No secret ingredients, no hype.

So please if you can’t afford those expensive post-workout (or any supplements for that matter) supplements don’t worry about it, just take in a good quality meal like white meat chicken and white rice after your workout (as you don’t want to much fat and fiber in your post workout meal as this will slow absorption) and you will be fine.

CONCLUSION

Honestly, I know if you give the incline barbell or dumbbell press an honest try, not only will you be well on your way to building another part of your X Frame Physique—

You might have to buy new shirts to make room for all of your new chest size!

Until Next Time

NEVER QUIT

Right off the bat I must admit that I was wrong about Jay Cutler, the guy did what no other bodybuilder in history has or could ever do—he came back and won the Mr. Olympia after losing as the defending champion.

The guys back was up against the wall—and you know what—he nailed it.

You have to hand it to him.

O.K.

But what about the rest of the field.

Well the biggest shock to me was Dennis Wolf, the guy finished in sixteenth place!

Which I believe from looking at the score card is just another way of saying that he was tied for last place.

What a disaster for Dennis, I mean the guy came out like a house-of-fire and took the bodybuilding world by storm and now this.

Second biggest shock to me was Branch Warren.

To finish in second—in a lineup as loaded as this—that speaks volumes about the Mr. Warren’s work ethic and dedication.

I really like Ronny Rockel and I am glad he managed seventh—he should be very happy with that.

And it shows that the judges don’t automatically ignore smaller guys—or guys that don’t get massive exposure either on line or in the magazines.

Also, Melvin Anthony he slipped out of the top ten, but I still like that guy’s physique.

I was disappointed to see that Troy Alves finished tied for last place (at least I am assuming that what sixteenth place is) because Troy has a nice physique and nice lines, but maybe he will get them next year.

CONCLUSION

The Mr. Olympia is the biggest bodybuilding contest in the world and once again you have to give it to Jay Cutler.

The guys back was to-the-wall and he did what he needed to do.

And won the whole show.

Congrats.

Jay.

Until Next Time

KEEP WORKING

Dynamic or explosive lifts like the power clean and high pull are terrific exercises—however for some reason people have a problem with them.

I’ve read in a popular muscle magazine (just recently in fact) about how dangerous explosive lifts are.

And it really bugs me.

The person who said this was and is a respected member of the bodybuilding community.

The trouble is this comment has no substance to it.

Why?

Simple.

Any lift can be dangerous if it is done with improper form—no question about it.

But what about the man or woman who reads about the power clean—again for example—and wants to try it, but goes about it the right way.

Let’s say he or she asks around and finds a competent teacher of the lift and learns how to do it right—from the beginning.

Will our imaginary lifter have any problems?

Chances are they would not, and here is the kicker—they will have just learned a new exercise that they can add into their program—for variety, whenever they want.

Of course, the opposite is also true.

If our imaginary lifter does not take the time to ACTUALLY learn to do the power clean right—and ignores the advice of more experience people who KNOW how to do the lift.

Then yes, chances are he or she will get hurt and then complain about how horrible the dynamic lifts are.

SOME POINTS

When most people here the word dynamic or explosive along with the word lifting I feel they automatically assume that this means that you will be jerking the weight around and or doing something unsafe.

I feel THIS is where the negative aspect comes from—however anyone who has done or who has at least studied lifts like the power clean KNOWS that you are not cheating or jerking the weight.

Also, as stated above, if you have never done any dynamic lifting before, take the time to learn how to do lifts like the power clean CORRECTLY from the beginning.

CONCLUSION

Explosive lifts like the power clean or high pulls are wonderful exercises—but they need to be learned and you must respect the lift just like you do any other exercise—otherwise you could get hurt.

So please, if you ever read or here about such-and-such exercise being dangerous, take the time to investigate the claim and see if it has any merit or if it is just a bunch of hooey.

If you don’t you may be missing out on something that you might benefit from.

Until Next Time

ALWAYS TRY

A couple of weeks back I was talking to a friend of mind, who knows that I am a bodybuilder.

And she said that she could never do what I do.

Meaning workout on my own.

Her way around this is to enroll in classes at our local park district.

So this is my little nudge for the week.

If you simply cannot stomach the thought of working out on your own, either with weights or walking or any other form of exercise.

Check out what your local park district has to offer.

Not only will it (hopefully) give you the incentive to exercise regularly —which in-and-of-itself is great, but you will also be out and about with other people and this is never a bad thing.

So that is your little nudge for the week.

Check out your local park district—and give a class a whirl

Who knows—you might find something you really enjoy doing and will stick with even when the class is over.

Until Next Week

KEEP MOTIVATED

For my money the best thing you can be when you go out to drop your hard earned money on something is—educated.

And that is EXACTLY what you will be—if you buy Bodybuilding Revealed—the next time you go out to drop big bucks on a supplement.

Why?

Simple.

In Bodybuilding Revealed Will Brink lays out everything you need to know about supplements—everything from Whey Protein to HMB.

Plus if you have a question all you have to do is visit Will’s private members only forum—which you get access to when you purchase Bodybuilding Revealed—and ask a question and either Will himself or one of his very educated moderators will answer your question.

And you know what—this feature alone will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year on supplements because you’ll KNOW which ones are worth the money and which ones are pure garbage.

Honesty, if Will only provided this feature the book would be worth its weight in gold, but no, Will covers training with just as much zest and zeal as he did supplements.

Will hits it straight on covering everything from whole body programs to the classic three day split to four day splits as well.

Honestly, there is one section during the training chapter that I am glad Will talks about and this is—keeping detailed records—doing so is vital and really can make a difference in your progress.

Another thing that separates Bodybuilding Revealed from the amateur books out there written by so-called experts is the way Will put Bodybuilding Revealed together.

I’ve read hundreds of e-books and I can’t remember very many that were set up the way Will’s book is.

The side bar on the left gives you quick one click access to any chapter of the book—want to re-read that section on nutrition—simply click—saves you time by putting the information you want right at your finger tips.

Plus throughout the book there are links to Will’s forum—so for example if you are reading about whey protein ( Will’s information on whey protein is excellent I might add) you can simply click the link provided and it will take you directly to the members area so you can discuss this topic with other members of Will’s forum—or ask a question.

Again, this is just another little extra that sets Will’s book apart from the rest.

Will Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed is a soup to nuts affair—everything and anything YOU need to improve your body is here.

From nutrition to cardio—Will covers everything you need to not only make informed buying decisions but, to also make informed choices about how to train and eat to make your body the best it can be.

Bodybuilding Revealed gets my highest recommendation for anyone who wants to learn how to burn fat, build muscle, and totally reshape their body using the power of solid nutrition, training and good honest supplements.

Note: Please if you do nothing else if you know anyone (but young men and women in particular) who want to start bodybuilding please buy them a copy of this book—so they can get started the right way—

Before they get brainwashed by all of the fancy ads and goofball information that is out there.

I wish I had access to this when I started training over twenty years ago!

Great job Will!

For more information on Will’s

Fantastic book—CLICK HERE.

Just recently, I was having a few issues—bodybuilding related stuff—and although I tried to work through it for a few days—it just was not getting any better.

So I did what I needed to do, and got some treatment for it.

It was nothing serious—but never-the-less—I know from pervious experience the longer you wait with things the worse they can become.

O.K.

You may be thinking, well big deal that is an obvious statement—yes it is.

But, and here is the kicker—most people KNOW this, but they don’t follow it.

And you know what happens, well first it was their back (lets say the lower back) and our imaginary person thinks—

Well, it will be alright, and then a week later, because they were babying it, their knee starting hurting, and then before long their foot starts bothering them.

And then, because they really CAN’T function anymore they end up seeing their doctor, Chiropractor or Physical Therapist.

And what could a been a minor problem, that was fixed up in no time, got worse and worse, and before our imaginary person knew it, he was out-of-commission for months instead of days.

SOME POINTS

Chances are, most aches and pains can be handled at home with some rest and icing.

But here is the thing, if deep down, you know something is wrong, and you can’t nurse your self back to health—get professional help.

CONCLUSION

A lot of people find it hard to go to the doctor; either because they simply don’t like doctors, or feel that it is a sign of weakness to admit that something is wrong.

But take it from me—the longer you wait, there is a really, really good chance that things will get worse before they get better.

Until Next Time

THINK COMMON SENSE

With the Mr. Olympia contest less than a week a way I wanted to express all of the respect I have for each and every contestant—from the guy who will win—to the guy who will finish last—they are all winners in my book.

I mean I love to train, I love bodybuilding, but, I could NEVER imagine standing up on stage—basically naked—I mean I KNOW they have posing trunks on—but come on!

That would basically freak me out completely.

Of course, I realize that most of the people competing in this years contest have been competing for a number of years—especially guys like Dexter Jackson and Jay Cutler—but still I would be too freaked out to even try it.

While I feel that the Mr. Olympia is fantastic, I feel sorry for the guys that no one talks about—I mean they bust their buts just as much as the top guys—and deserve some time in the spotlight for all of their work and effort.

That leads me to my next point—people can say what they want about bodybuilding—but you don’t stand up on THAT stage unless you have put in some serious time in the gym and have worked your but off—for a long time.

And here is the thing, you’ve got one shot—if you blow it, all the work you put in for months and months could be wasted.

That’s why you have to feel for Dennis Wolf—he lost a lot of muscle shortly before last years contest—I cannot imagine standing up there—knowing in my heart that I looked so much better a few weeks out—that had to be seriously tough..

Also, looked what happened to Jay Cutler last year—yes he dropped a ton of weight in between the two days of the contest—but even for him it was not enough—he ended up taking second which is great for most people, but when you are the defending champion—you might as well have taken last—because anything less than a win just won’t cut it.

Finally, I will say this, it is going to be interesting to see if we stay on this new path—with guys like Dexter (who have better shape and conditioning) winning continually or are we going to see a return of the mass monsters—guys like Dorian (whom I must admit is my favorite Mr. O of all time) and Ronnie.

We will see.

CONCLUSION

The Mr. Olympia Contest is the biggest and best bodybuilding contest in the whole world and really when you consider all of the greats who have competed in the contest over the years—it really has to be an honor just to be up there competing in the contest.

And for me personally, anyone who competes in the show is a winner—as I cannot imagine having to diet for months and do everything else that needs to be done to compete.

To me you guys are all winners.

Try and relax and enjoy your time on stage.

You’ve Earned It

Until Next Time

KEEP DREAMING

There has been a lot of talk on the forums and in one of the major muscle magazines about which diet is better, the low or no carb diet, or dieting with carbs.

For me, personally I have always been a low carb guy.

Why?

Simple.

I gave the carb thing a try and it did not work for me.

And this is the main point of this post—regardless of if you are into low carbs no carbs or carbs—the best thing you can do is try everything and see how it works for you.

Reading about the benefits of low carbs is great, but if you never try it, how can you really know for sure if it works—for you.

Heck, you might feel wonderful on low carbs—but then again you might feel terrible—but you would have never known this fact if you didn’t try it.

Same goes for different methods of training, some people can gain doing singles and while this approach might look goofy or appear to be without merit—the only thing that counts is that this method works for that particular person.

So even though it might go against all you thought you knew about building muscle—lets say the next time you go stale on a routine—you think back to that guy you saw doing singles—and give them a shot.

Hey the worst thing that can happen is that they don’t work for you—no big deal—lesson learned and you move on.

SOME POINTS

One thing most people forget is that the body is always changing, so you know that super mass gaining routine that you did when you were eighteen—well now that you are thirty five it just might not work anymore.

Same goes for your nutrition—you know that all day pig-out fest you’ve been having for years on Tuesday—worked great up until six months ago—again your body could have changed.

A WORD ON LOW CARBS

As long as I brought up the low carb, no carb, and carb debate, I might as well chime in with my two cents.

Honestly, I feel that most people eat way too many carbs—for the reason being that most people’s lifestyles are VERY sedentary.

Even if you lift weights hard for an hour four days per week, the rest of the time you might be sitting at a desk somewhere eight or more hours per day.

There are exceptions of course, the guy who busts-his-but in the gym four days per week and has a physical job eight hours per day will obviously need more carbs (and calories) than the rest of us.

However, for the most part, I think people (after getting the O.K. from their doctor or health care provider) would do better on a lower carb diet.

To me though, there is a limit, the whole no carb or trace carb diet, where the only carbs that are found in the diet are the ones found in nuts and seeds and vegetables—for example—is pushing it WAY too far.

People will only stick to something that they can live with and I don’t think too many people can live with the no carb thing—for very long anyway.

O.K.

That ends my rant on the carb debate.

CONCLUSION

Trying new things can be hard, but if you don’t try you will never know.

So the next time you are at a loss for a new way to train—how about having the courage to try something out-of-the-ordinary.

Who knows, you might just discover a new favorite way to train.

Until Next Time

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

Setting goals is a great way to motivate your self to make progress, however, as with everything; there is a right way and a WRONG way to go about it.

Say for example, you are one hundred and ten pounds soaking wet (and maybe just maybe your pet elephants big toe was on the scale).

Plus your arms are only eleven inches.

Now, of course, you want to be two hundred and fifty pounds ripped-to-the-bone with twenty-two inch arms.

Plus you wanted it yesterday.

As lofty of a goal as the above is, a better way to go about making progress, is to focus on mini (or short term) goals.

For example in instead of saying I want to gain thirty pounds in six weeks.

Say, I am going to gain a half pound to one pound of bodyweight per week.

I know the later does not sound like much, but if you slowly but surely gain weight (good solid weight) every week or every-other-week, you will over time reach your main goal of putting on thirty pounds.

Same goes for losing weight, if you want to lose thirty pounds by next summer, break it up into mini goals.

For example, tell yourself I am going to walk an extra three miles this week.

When you accomplish that goal set another, like I am going to walk more hills this week.

Little, by little as you achieve your mini goals you will as a result, be achieving your main goal as well.

CONCLUSION

Goal setting is a great way to achieve whatever it is you want, be it a better body, more money, or a better job.

However, looking at a goal that may take you a year or more to achieve can really be hard to handle.

But by breaking your main goal up into a set of easier to reach (say week long mini goals) not only will you have something to strive for every week—you will slowly but surely be getting closer and closer to achieving your main goal.

One last point—

Don’t get so caught up in achieving your goal—that you forget to enjoy the journey.

Until Next Time

STAY FOCUSED

As I’ve noted earlier, I feel that stress can really wipe you out and should not be underrated as something that needs to be reduced in our daily lives.

So this weeks little nudge is—

Finding someplace you can go for some quiet time.

This could be a spare bedroom in your house, your back porch or a local park.

Find some time this week to find a place where you can just sit and reflect on the day, dream or simply think about nothing at all.

Your quiet time does not have to be long—about a half hour per day seems right.

Some would call this meditation, but it does not have to be.

You can think of it anyway you want and think or not think about anything you want.

But the one thing you must do is simply sit—and not get up to answer the phone take someone somewhere or anything else.

Just sit—it is your quiet time—take a deep breath and just spend some time doing—

NOTHING

Until Next Week

KEEP WORKING