Exercise to Prevent Rotator Cuff Injury

This exercise can be done at home or at the gym. It is extremely beneficial to perform this exercise during warm-up before a shoulder related bodybuilding exercise such as bench press, incline press, seated press, or dumbbell press. As always be sure to warm-up thoroughly with light weight and high reps for the specific movement you are performing.

Natural Muscle is Built to Last

I've had over 30 years bodybuilding experience and there is one thing that I can say for certain: Build your muscles naturally and they will be built to last. I've seen so many bodybuilders and powerlifters make unnatural drug induced gains in power and size only to soon drop out of the game. Why? Because they don't last. As soon as they are cycled off their muscle enhancing drugs the gains that they so quickly made quickly diminish to pre-drug levels and in most cases even beyond. This is because when you obtain testosterone from an outside source the body ceases to produce it's own. Then when the drugs are stopped the body is left with a testosterone void. Often there are other problems as well because there are now more female hormones running through the body than male hormones. This often can produce some embarrassing unwanted feminine side effects. Additionally, there are also many long term negative side effects such as well such as cancer.

If you build your muscles naturally, the right way, without performance enhancing drugs, through hard exercise and proper nutrition it often takes longer to make gains in size and strength. But to me it is more than well worth it. Those gains you will see in the mirror are your own made from your hard work and proper nutrition. And when you have to endure a layoff you will not immediately shrink to pre-workout levels. Additionally, once you hit the weights again your peak form will return much quicker. You can enjoy a lifetime of bodybuilding, lessen the chance of injury and illness if it is done through natural means. To me it was a lifestyle I chose from the very first day I walked in the gym and I've never regretted it since.

Get Huge Arms with Biceps and Triceps Supersets

The Proper technique for performing biceps and triceps supersets for arms.

Key features:
1) Perform the 2nd exercise immediately upon completion of the first.
2) Keep rest to a minimum between sets to approximately 1 minute.
3) Do not go heavy in these as you will be tired as the goal is continual effort.

Work Your Lower Back Safely with Weighted Hyperextensions

Working your lower back safely is of utmost importance for bodybuilding. A lower back injury can affect almost any exercise you would perform. If you stiff-legged deadlifts on a regular basis weighted hyperextensions are a great substitute which works the same area as effectively and more safely.

To perform this exercise properly lie face down across a horizontal hyperextension bench with your hips supported on the pad. Place your lower legs under the roller pads to stabilize your body in the horizontal position. Bend forward from your waist so that your upper body is hanging over the bench down towards the floor. Grab a barbell or weight and place it behind your neck. From this position, straighten all the way up from the waist and extend backward until your upper body is slightly past parallel to the floor. Hold this hyperextended position momentarily before lowering back down slowly and repeating. Perform three sets of 15 - 20 reps for optimal benefit.

Keeping a Journal of Your Workouts

Keep a daily journal of your workouts. Include the exercises you perform as well as sets, reps, and how you feel throughout the workout. There is no better way to analyze your routine and keep tabs of your progress and sticking points.

When I started lifting I kept an extremely detailed journal of my workouts (sets and reps), diet (caloric, protein, carb and fat intake), and body weight and measurements. I was so excited to see almost weekly progress in my strength and size. This more than anything gave me the incentive to push myself above and beyond what I thought I could do. This was because I KNEW, and had actual physical proof of my progress. I learned that there was a direct correlation between the hard work I put in at the gym and my new found growth. I also learned to vary my routine when I analyzed my results and I saw that I was doing the same exercises for too long of a time period. I also had documented proof as to what worked and what did not when I tried a new exercise or varied an old one.

Keeping a weight training journal may sound a bit tedious to you but I am convinced that there is no better way for keeping close tabs on the entire bodybuilding lifestyle if you are a serious trainer.

Unique Fitness Featured Exercise: Barbell Row

This exercise is one of the best lat building and back thickening exercises you can do. It's difficult to breath while your doing this exercise since your bent over the entire time. But if done properly this strenuous exercise is well worth the effort. You'll notice a thicker and wider back almost immediately if you make this exercise part of your back routine.

Here's how it's done: Step on a platform or bench with your grip on the bar slightly wider than shoulder width. Bend over, arch your back and pull the weight up slowly to your chest (not stomach). Lower the weight slowly to the starting position and repeat. Perform 3 - 4 sets with a moderately heavy weight for 8 - 12 reps.

Remember do not lower your chest to meet the bar and do not bounce the bar off of your chest. This constitutes cheating and not only will you not build muscle you'll also leave yourself susceptible to a lower back injury.

Nothing Beats the Look of a Powerful Back

I've always admired bodybuilders and powerlifters who sport a powerful looking well-developed back. You know the type - the tapered V look that looks like there isn't enough room to hold that amount of muscle. All of the top bodybuilding champions like Arnold, Sergio Olivia, Ronnie Coleman, and the current Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler had the best backs of their respective eras. When these champs wrote about their back routines they always seem to be proud of the amount of work and effort it took to build this impressive body part. They usually performed at least 4- 5 different exercises to ensure that they hit all areas of their back. Although some of these aforementioned bodybuilders who were from "golden age" seemed to always train to much I have to agree with the number or exercises they performed on a regular basis for back.

In order to fully train the back properly one must address the upper, middle, and lower back almost as separate body parts. Here is one of my back routines and the associated part of the back it works.

1) Pull-ups: 4 sets of 10 - 15 reps and works the upper back and lats.
2) Seated Cable Rows: 4 sets of 8 - 12 reps and works the middle back.
3) Barbell Rows: 4 sets of 8 - 12 reps. Works lats and middle to lower back.
4) Hyper Extensions: 2 sets of 30 rep. Works the lower back.

As you can see the total of 14 sets works the entire back and will give you that powerful well-muscled back that all bodybuilders strive for. Try this routine for about four weeks and I'm certain that you will be pleased with the results.

Check out the video below and you can see back exercises performed with PowerBlock adjustable dumbbells.

View video for PowerBlock Ab & Back Exercises.

Please visit Unique Fitness Concepts for more fitness tips and exercise routines.

Discover What Motivational Factors Work For You

I've been lifting now for 35 years and there has been one consistent factor throughout that time and that is motivation. Motivation gets you going when you're feeling a bit lazy and don't want to go to the gym. Motivation gets you that one extra hard fought rep to make you grow. Motivation gives you the drive to be the very best you can be. All of the top bodybuilders have always used it to their advantage to get to the top of their profession.

Personally, I started out very weak and underweight and my motivation was to build muscle so I wasn't that 97 lb. weakling in the Charles Atlas comic book cartoon. As I got older my motivation changed from building up to trimming down and ridding myself of extra fat. During my workout I pictured myself with my stomach protruding and that thought alone drove me to push myself harder. The point is that I used a factor in my life that lit a fire under me to push myself beyond what I normally would do. The same should hold true for everyone. Think about it and choose something that will push you to excel. It may be an ex boyfriend or girlfriend or an irritating boss. Or maybe you want to look great in your swimsuit on the beach. Whatever your motivation is store it in your brain and bring it out when you're lifting to push yourself beyond where you would normally go.


Please visit us at Unique Fitness Concepts for more bodybuilding tips and routines.

Advantages of Training with Dumbbells

Some bodybuilders have gravitated to the weight training machines since they burst onto the gym scene in earnest in the 1970s. The machines are all well and good and they can add variations of exercises to your routine, but they do restrict your natural movement due to their design.

I've always liked training with free weights and especially dumbbells. Dumbbells give you freedom of movement and also work your core with certain exercises as well. You can also alternate between arms for a variation of the exercise which is not possible with machines. Once you've mastered the balance part for exercises like dumbbell presses and flyes you'll be able to better focus on the muscle group you're working due to the isolation nature of the movement. This in turn will lead to greater gains in strength and mass.

Here are some excellent dumbbell exercises for arms with PowerBlock adjustable dumbbells.

View video for PowerBlock Arm Exercises.

To see more videos of dumbbell exercises please visit us at Unique Fitness Concepts