Full-body fitness

Full-body fitness

MAYBE IT WAS A SINGLE BODYPART that got you into the gym; a football player's shoulders, a basketball player's arms, an actor's abs--could've been any one of them. It's human nature. You see something someone else has, whether it's an impressive physique or a fast car, and you think, I want that. It's the reason we feature the finest athletes in the world in this magazine. They represent the pinnacle of what we're after: Jay Cutler's traps, Ronnie Coleman's lats, Phil Heath's biceps. etc.

That's why we provide training tips and instruction for a many muscle groups as possible ion every issue of MUSCLE & FITNESS. And we realize that while some of you might want the perfect six-pack and others may want thicker quads, ultimately we're all after the vary same thing: a strong, symmetrical physique. To that end, one of the Weider Principles, flushing training, can help get you there.

This particular principle is named after the so-called "flush," or pump, you feel in your muscles after you lift weights. The idea behind it is to train one bodypart with multiple exercises (3-4) before you train another. The "flushing" is your brain sending the maximum amount of blood and muscle-building nutrients to that area of your body to stimulate repair and growth--and growth, after all, is what we're pursuing.

One way to capitalize on this training technique is to check out 2006-07 Figure International champion Mary Elizabeth Lado's back routine on page 198. The workout behind her award-winning back includes a medley of exercises, from the dumbbell row to the T-bar row to the pull-up. Performing these moves back-to-back speaks to the very foundations of flushing training. Likewise, amateur bodybuilder Steve Kuclo's delt workout on page 184 gives you an arsenal of movements to help you develop the shoulders you've always wanted.

As with all the Weider Principles, though, one usually complements another. In this case, one of the most efficient ways to flush your muscles is through a technique called holistic training This strategy incorporates a variety of rep ranges for the exercises you perform. For instance, as you focus on flushing your muscles, instead of doing 6-or reps in every set, try decreasing the weight and doing for 20 reps in some of your sessions. This builds endurance-related muscle fibers and accomplishes the goal of completely flooding the muscle with growth-promoting nutrients. Another option is to change up the speed of each lift (faster positive/concentric movements vs. slower negative/eccentric movements, or vice versa) to truly keep your muscles guessing.
And as you all know, if your muscles are guessing, they're growing. With our help, you'll leave no muscle group behind.

Live to the fullest.