Chin-ups

  Chin-ups, like squats, also work several muscle groups, thereby stimulating significant overall muscle growth. To begin, grasp the chin-up bar with a palmsup grip. (You may require straps to reinforce your grip for the required number of repetitions.) Slowly begin to contract the muscles in your arms, and try to touch the bar to your lower chest when you have reached the apex of your ascent. Hold this contracted position for a two-count, and then lower yourself slowly (four seconds) back to the starting position, all the while making sure that the latissimus dorsi muscles are constantly contracted. Repeat this procedure until at least eight repetitions have been completed.

  If you can’t perform a chin-up on your own, you may either use an assisted chinup machine, if your local gym has one, or do a negative-only set. We’ll discuss negative further in the next chapter, but for now, here’s what to do: Stand on a chair facing the chin-up bar, grab the bar, and step off. Under full muscle control, lower yourself to a stretched position as slowly as you can. Repeat to exhaustion. When you can complete ten negatives, you should be able to perform at least three or four regular chin-ups.

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Standing Dumbbell Curls

  This exercises are to be performed in a superset. First, to perform the standing dumbbell curls, grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at your sides with the palms touching your upper thighs. Slowly curl both arms up until the dumbbells are at shoulder level.
  Pause briefly in this fully contracted position, and then lower the dumbbells slowly, in four seconds, back to the starting position. Perform your fi rst set as a slow, controlled, warm-up set (supersetted with the next exercise), and then increase the resistance by 20 percent (give or take a couple of pounds, depending on your existing strength levels) and superset your next two sets for 10 repetitions each. Supersetted with lying triceps extensions.

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Lying Triceps Extensions

  Lie on an exercise bench, holding a barbell (or E-Z curl bar) in both hands directly over your chest. From this position, slowly lower the resistance, in four seconds, to a point just behind your head. From this fully extended position, slowly press the resistance back up to the starting position. Just as in the preceding exercise, use your fi rst set as a slow, controlled, warm-up set, and then add approximately 20 percent more to the bar and perform two more sets (supersetted with the previous exercise) of 10 repetitions.

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Presses Behind The Neck

  Use the same form as outlined for the standing barbell press. It’s not necessary to clean the weight here; note the seated starting position in the photo as an alternative technique. Begin with a light poundage in order to warm up your entire shoulder girdle. Take a deep breath before pressing the weight up smoothly to the fully extended position of your arms, and then lower the resistance twice as slowly (four seconds) back to the starting position. Add weight to the bar (approximately 20 percent more than your warm-up weight) and perform two more sets.
 
  You may notice that you will not be as strong in this movement as you were last month. The reason for this isn’t that you’re becoming weaker, but rather that your last four exercises have involved your deltoids to a greater extent, and consequently, your shoulder muscles are more fatigued than they were when you performed this exercise last month. Battle through the fatigue to get your prescribed number of repetitions, all the while maintaining perfect form.

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