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Wow! Great suggestions so far, guys... About those dips... try to think about this three dimensionally. Not only is it possible to keep the shoulder blades back while leaning forward, not doing so is the cause of many of those little tweaks to neck and shoulder. You will actually get a...

Hi, RXD :D Do you want your abs (and hence your waist) to get bigger? If you want or need to make them bigger, you may have a few options depending on what kind of set up you have at home. Do you have any type of cable? Can you rig up a slant board? Maybe you can make your crunches...

Hiya, elle! I love ZZTop's "She's Got Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man". There's lots of Stevie Ray Vaughn tunes that "pump me up". I listen to a lot of Nickelback... lots of hard driving bass there. My son swears by Metallica. One of the coolest things that...

Good post, Techo :D Bilknu, this discussion is about how to fine tune HST once you have your program up and running. A newbie should get good results with the basic program assuming s/he follows the basic principles and eats to support her/his goals. However, once you've gone through a...

Welcome, rxd! Lifting at max effort is NOT what builds muscles, certainly not for those of us who have been lifting for a long time. If it were that simple, any program that had you lifting maxes would have you growing. HST is based upon the gradual increase of mechanical load on the...

What a fun thread, Bryan! Kate's pretty obvious... given name is Kathleen. My AOL IM is IronDiva55, the 55 being my "model year" as I am not the original or only IronDiva My eldest daughter is an accomplished dancer and at one time was nicknamed the "Tap Diva" by...

Rectus Abdominis extends from the pubic symphysis in the front of the pelvic girdle to the ribs and the xiphoid process of the sternum. Muscle fibers for this muscle (as for any skeletal muscle) run from end to end, from one attachment to the other. Yes you can feel more fatigue at one of the...

Hi 90poundweakling, and welcome! Overhand would be best for developing grip strength. It is also best for beginners in my opinion because it helps to keep everything in proper balance while "dialing in" the motion. A mixed grip is stronger and allows me to lift more weight...

Hiya, Popa! The picture in the book shows thumbs to the outside of the shoulder at the top of the curl. With arms extended, the model's arms appear to be parallel. Good question! I wonder if I messed myself up trying to make these too narrow... Kate

Interesting you should say that, singleton. I have been training seriously for 12 years and I have never used a system that allowed me to adapt to my body's present needs better than HST does. In reality, there is no "HST routine". There is an example routine listed for those who...

Hiya, Bob! According to Per Tesch's MRI studies, the exercises that best light up the major elbow flexors (both heads of the biceps and brachialis, only the upper arm was tested) are incline hammer curls and straight bar curls with a close grip. My elbows wouldn't tolerate the straight bar...

*HUGEsigh* Painful but true.... gym myths are not just a product of in house gossip. ;) My thinking has changed a lot on this subject recently. It really doesn't make sense that balance training would make a HUGE difference to a non-athlete if said non-athlete does nothing to challenge...

Hi, John! Standing burns more calories and challenges the core. These are things I try to incorporate into most of my lifts. I was taught to do a seated shoulder press when I first started training for hypertrophy. I locked my scaps on the back of the bench and pressed away with a fair...

Hi, John! I don't know about consensus, but unless you have a serious imbalance to adress, I'd stick with a standing MP with a full range of motion. These work great for negatives too... just turn them into push presses. Kate

Hi, aj! This makes more sense if you focus on what your body is doing instead of what the bar is doing. ;) Holding the muscle in a fully contracted position keeps the load on the muscle... unloading the muscle and letting the joint support the resistance will give the muscle time to rest...

Hi, aj! Good form is at least as important as exercise selection, especially for isolation motions. Make sure you are keeping your rep speed slow enough that you are not using momentum to do part of the job. Try to feel tension on the targeted muscle throughout the motion... avoid locking out...

I did the same thing last cycle with deads and extensions in order to focus on my DLs. Prior to that I alternated squats and glute presses with deadlifts and leg presses. There really are a lot of options. The important thing is to err on the side of caution with the volume on deads and...

Julios, Actually, you want just the opposite. Here is a pic of rectus abdominis, the muscle responsible for Cal's nice 8-pack. ;) Rectus Abdominis Please note that the muscle is attached to the lower part of the pelvic girdle and the bottom of the rib cage. It's "job" is to...

Hiya, julios, and welcome! Please note that the first quote is actually my description of how to do a seated row, although admittedly the motions are very similar. I teach rowing this way for precisely the reason you have noted... without sufficient scapular motion this becomes an arm...

aj, The upper traps are attached to the top of your shoulders and to the back of your head. With few exceptions, the best way to hit a targeted muscle is to draw the two attachments together in a controlled manner against resistance. You really have figured it out for yourself! Not only...