The Best Exercises Review

The "Mad Scientist of Exercise", Nick Nilsson is the master of creating New and Exciting Exercises that Exercise Muscles in a way you've never heard of.

Tricep Bench Dips - Hasta la vista Flabby Arms

Secret Training Tip #623 – Wave Goodbye to Flabby Arms – Bench Dips For The Triceps and How to Make Them Work Better For You

By Nick Nilsson

Want to know an exercise that requires no specialized equipment yet tightens and builds your upper arms effectively? Learn it here and learn how to do it better.

The Bench Dip is an excellent exercise for the tricep muscles, which are located on the back of the upper arms. It is very simple and can be done with a minimum of equipment.

You can use a bench (or even an ordinary chair) for this one. Start by sitting on the bench. Place your hands on the bench right beside your glutes with your fingers curled over the front edge. It will almost look as though you are sitting on your hands.

You will find pictures of how to do this exercise and the tricks described below at the URL listed at the end of this article.

If this is your first time doing this exercise, set your feet flat on the floor a foot or two away from the bench. Your knees will be bent.

Move your butt forward off the bench a few inches. Now dip your upper body down as though scraping your back along the front edge of the bench. Push yourself back up, squeezing the triceps hard.

This is the easiest position. As you get stronger at this exercise, you will find that this position is too easy. Now it’s time to increase resistance.

Move your feet further away from the bench. This forces your triceps to take up more of your bodyweight. As you get even stronger, move your feet as far out as you can so your legs are straight. Your next position after that is with your feet up on a bench with your legs straight. You may even with to try it with your feet on a bench that is higher than the one you have your hands on.

If you get really strong and ambitious, you can even add extra resistance to your body. Have a partner stand behind you (on another bench, if necessary) and push down hard on your shoulders as you push yourself back up. Another option is to place weight plates on your lap or squeeze a dumbell between your thighs, but the partner-resistance is normally more effective.

Pictures on how to execute this exercise and the tricks for increasing the resistance

The Hamstring Trick to Stiff Legged Deadlifts

Secret Training Tip #463 – The Most Amazing (and Effective) Trick For Stiff-Legged Deadlifts

By Nick Nilsson

Do you have a hard time feeling your hamstrings working when you do stiff-legged deadlifts? You will never EVER have that problem again after you read this tip.

The stiff-legged deadlift is one of the best exercises you can do for your hamstrings. The only problem is, it can also be one the hardest exercises to perform properly.

For years, I tried to feel my hamstrings working when I did the stiff-legged deadlift. I knew it was the best exercise to work the hip extension function of the hamstrings but I never succeeded in feeling my hams work until I came up with this simple technique.

Let me tell you, the very rep of the very first set I used this technique on, I could feel my hamstrings like never before! It was like a revelation. It was also extraordinarily simple. I guarantee if you’ve never had success with stiff-legged deadlifts, you will definitely have it after applying this technique.

The trick? Elevate your toes on weight plates while you do the exercise. That’s it! It’s very simple but very elegant in the way it addresses the kinesiology and anatomy of the hamstrings. I will explain exactly how to set it up and the mechanisms of why it works so incredibly well.

How To Do It:

Set two 25-pound weight plates on the ground butted up against each other (one for each foot). They should be right beneath the barbell you will be using for the exercise and placed side-by-side so you can set your feet on both of them.

Stand in front of the barbell with your feet half on the plates and half off. The front parts of your feet will be on the plates and your heels will be on the ground. Use the weight plates to brace your feet up so that your toes are up in the air and your feet are flexed up (known as dorsiflexion). At the end of this article you will find a link to a picture of how to set up this exercise.

Bend over and grasp the bar at about shoulder width with an overhand grip. Keep your knees locked but slightly bent while doing this exercise and keep a tight arch in your lower back.

Look directly forward while you are coming up and going back down. This will help you to keep an arch in your lower back.

Squeeze the bar off the ground slowly and deliberately, coming up only until your upper body is slightly above parallel. Any higher and you’ll start to lose tension in the hamstrings and throw it on your lower back. The real value of this exercise lies in the stretch at the bottom anyways.

Come down slowly, being absolutely sure to keep the arch in your lower back. As you near the bottom, stick your butt out and try to raise your toes as high up as possible. This dramatically intensifies the stretch you put on your hamstrings. Hold that stretch for a moment or two then reverse the direction without bouncing.

Repeat this for 5 to 7 reps. At the end of the set, place the barbell down gently then get ready to grab onto something for support. If you’ve done this technique correctly and intensely, your hamstrings will probably feel like jelly and you might find yourself prone to falling down suddenly (this is not a joke – I can’t tell you how many things I’ve had grab onto to catch myself on after doing a hard set of these)!

Why Is This Technique So Effective?

The reason this toe-raising technique is so effective for the stiff-legged deadlift comes straight from biomechanics and anatomy.

The stiff-legged deadlift exercise places the most tension on the hamstrings at the bottom, stretched position. Therefore, in order to maximize tension on the hamstrings, we must maximize the stretch on the hamstrings at that point.

In the standard stiff-legged deadlift, this is normally accomplished by simply bending at the hips. But this is not the greatest anatomical stretch that can be put on the hamstring muscles.

As you may or may not know, the muscles of the calves are tied in with the hamstrings. Therefore, placing a stretch on the calves also places more stretch on the hamstrings. This is what the weight plates accomplish – they raise your toes, putting a stretch on the calves, which then puts a greater stretch on your hamstrings.

By stretching the hamstrings at both the hip joint and the knee joint (from stretching the calves), you literally force your hamstrings to activate strongly during the stiff-legged deadlift movement.

The difference is quite amazing! Try it for just one set and I promise you’ll never go back to doing it the standard way ever again!

A photograph of how to set this exercise up

The Stability Push-Up - Hit Muscles you don't even know you have | stability push up

Secret Training Tip #788 – Unstable And Proud Of It! Learn How To Turn The Ordinary Push-Up Into An Exercise “In Stability”

By Nick Nilsson

Push-ups are an excellent bodyweight exercise for your chest but this version will hit muscle fibers there
that you didn’t even know you had!

When I get finished teaching you this never-before-seen version of the push-up, you’re going to think that either I’m crazy or a genius or both! Of course, the results you’ll get from it will speak for themselves.

First, we need to set the stage for this version of the push-up.

To begin with, exercises that move your body rather than the weight (such as the push-up) have been shown to fire more muscle fibers than exercises that move the weight rather than your body (such as the bench press). This means that the push-up has the potential to activate a lot of muscle fibers.

Next, we know that exercising in an unstable environment also increases muscle fiber activation. This is because your body compensates for the instability by firing more muscle fibers in order to stabilize the resistance. Anyone who’s run barefoot on sand knows the tremendous work your calves get from it. The same concept is put to work in this exercise.
* NOTE: Effective exercise requires progression, and that is essential for learning to perform this exercise safely. Because you will end up doing it in a very unstable environment, you need to start slowly and work your way into it. Naturally, if you’re an advanced trainer or are used to working in an unstable environment you may progress more quickly.

Only go as far as you’re comfortable with these exercise stages. Each stage holds great benefits but you should always err on the side of caution.

Read through these exercise stages one at a time, then, at the end of the article, you’ll find a link where you can view pictures of each stage.

Stage 1 – Dumbell Push-Ups

Set two dumbells on the floor in the approximate hand position and spacing you would use for a push-up. You will essentially be using the dumbells as push-up handles.

The plates on the dumbell should be round (meaning that they’ll roll) for maximum instability. Use fairly lightweight dumbells, e.g. 15 to 20 pounds each, so they’ll move around more.

This variation by itself is an excellent exercise for beginner to intermediate trainers. You may do this variation with your knees on the floor if you’ve not yet developed the strength for regular, full push-ups.

Stage 2 – Swiss Ball Push-Ups

Set a large Swiss Ball (the inflatable exercise ball) on the floor where you’ve got some space.

Place your hands on the floor in your regular push-up position then set your legs on top of the Swiss Ball. Your shins should be on the top of the ball, placed slightly to the sides so you can use them to maintain your balance.

Do push-ups in this position. You will find that the ball will shift around as you are doing the exercise and you’ll be forced to move your body around to keep your legs on top of it. The ball will roll slightly forward with you as you drop down to the bottom of the push-up position and roll slightly back as you push yourself up.

Stage 3 – Swiss Ball/Dumbell Push-Ups

Now that you’ve experienced instability at both ends of the push-up, it’s time to put them both together and feel the burn!

Be sure you are comfortable with other two progressions before attempting this one and be sure you are not too close to anything should you lose your balance and roll off.

Set the dumbells up as you did in Stage 1 and set the ball up as you did in Stage 2. Place your hands on the dumbells first then set your legs on the ball.

Now do push-ups on three rolling, unstable surfaces!

Make sure you drop down and get a full range of motion (the dumbell handles will allow you to go further down than if you were doing them on the floor).

The first few reps may feel easy but as you continue, you will notice a burning sensation in the deep muscle fibers of your chest. Keep going! This is where it gets good. You are now hitting muscle fibers that have most likely never been effectively worked by standard chest exercises!

And if you think you’re getting a burn on the first set, just wait till you do a few more sets. You’ll feel it across your abs and sides too!

The reason this exercise is so effective is simple: complete instability.

Since the vast majority of chest exercises are performed in a reasonably stable position, there are some muscle fibers that never get fully worked. They aren’t required to work because you’re stabilized.

By placing your legs and both hands on independently moving objects, you demand massive amounts of stabilizing work on the part of your pecs. Your pecs never normally get this work with most chest exercises. Now they’re stabilizing your entire body and your limbs while you’re moving yourself up and down!

All this intense stabilizing work fires many more muscle fibers than are normally required for a push-up, resulting in a tremendously effective exercise for the chest.

View the exercise progressions explained above

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book - Larger Rounder Firmer Gluteus Maximus

gluteus to the maximus Gluteus to the Maximus e book Larger Rounder Firmer Gluteus Maximus

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book is here to show you the secrets to achieveing your goal of building Larger, Rounder, Firmer Glutes.

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book will teach you:

  • How training the glutes only a few minutes a day CAN build the butt very quickly!
  •  How powerful, properly-targeted exercise and nutritional techniques can literally BLAST inches onto your glutes!
  • The REAL reason why your glutes stay small and flat and what you can do to SHATTER your genetic limitations and build those sexy glutes you want!

nick nilsson Gluteus to the Maximus e book Larger Rounder Firmer Gluteus MaximusWhy Believe Gluteus to the Maximus e-book author Nick Nilsson?

The Gluteus to the Maximus e-book author Nick Nilsson has been a certified personal trainer for more than 12 years. Nick Nilsson has trained with weights for more than 20 years and has a university degree in physical education, covering physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and anatomy. Nick Nilsson is always training and inventing new ways to get results fast. I’ve been through all of Nick’s books and he’s got some pretty amazing stuff. They don’t call him the “Mad Scientist of Exercise” for nothing.

Nick Nilsson’s speciality is muscles and your glutes just happen to be muscles. Nick knows what it takes to build muscle on even the most stubborn of bodyparts. He has had great success with his targeted training programs both with himself and with a tremendous number of his clients. Take a look at his picture. Does he look like he knows how to build muscle?

Who is the Gluteus to the Maximus e-book for?

Nick Nilsson has created the Gluteus to the Maximus e-book for anyone that is suffering from a flat or small butt, and that desperately needs to get better glutes. I haven’t even seen any other books out there that focus on the butt like this one. If your butt doesn’t need to be larger, rounder or firmer then this book would probably be useless to you. Maybe Nicks Best Arm Exercises or Best Abdominal Exercises would be better suited for you.

Order Gluteus to the Maximus e-book NOW!

User Reviews of Gluteus to the Maximus e-book

Here are some reviews of Gluteus to the Maximus e-book from people that have used the program.

“I Am Loving What I Have Seen So Far…”

I have only had the Gluteus to the Maximus e-book for three days now, but I am loving what I have seen so far. I’ve printed out some material, so I have it handy when I’m working out at home. Yesterday, I attempted the Bench Step One-Legged Squats. I think this will take a bit of practice before I can master it.

I am very exited to see results, and you have provided me with information I’ve never seen before. I’m sitting in my office chair right now, and I can feel the pain already. I’m confident this will work.

Regards
R. Garcia

“I increased 2 inches on my butt in two weeks. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I finally have hope for my flat buns. They have never responded to weight training, no matter how much weight I used, but this gluteus to the maximus e-book actually worked!”

S. McMillan

“Nick, you are a genius.

I am getting great results from your Gluteus to the Maximus e-book butt-training programs, more than I ever thought possible since I am not genetically predisposed to having a large behind. Pretty soon I will be cracking walnuts with my derriere. Move over Van Damme. Thanks again.”

Maureen Shafer

Order Gluteus to the Maximus e-book NOW!

“Gluteus to the Maximus e-book Has Allowed Me to Redefine My Entire Workout Routine to Build An Area I Have Been Insecure About For Years…My Flat Rear End…”

Dear Mr. Nilsson,

I just wanted to tell you how much I have been blessed by your online book, “Gluteus to the Maximus”. It has allowed me to build an area I have been insecure about for years…my flat rear end. The videos were very helpful in displaying the proper form for each exercise. I also appreciate the extra information on stretching and proper eating habits. From this day forward, I promise to stick with this one….

Thank you for this Gluteus to the Maximus e-book and I wish you the best of success in your future fitness endeavors; others will be blessed by it as I have.

Sincerely,
Mrs. L. Gettis

“Hi Nick,

This Glutues to the Maximus e-book is by far your best to date…although the other books I’ve read were awesome, this one tops them. There are a lot of great butt busting exercises here. In my days of training as a natural bodybuilder I have had some experience with a few of these exercises previously, but there were some I did not. I chose to do the ones I had never done before and I am currently going to try your advanced specialization program.

Once again, I have never felt my glutes like this before. I actually wish this book was in print. This is one I would like to carry with me. If you ever decide to put this ebook in a printed version PLEASE let me know. I would be first in line. If you already have such a version let me know.

The amount of information, exercises, programs, etc. for the glutes is awesome. Glutes and legs are a troublesome area for me (and all woman I know) . This book can benefit ANYONE looking to develop their Glutes to the Max!

Thank you again,”
Georgette Pann

“I wanted to drop you a note of thanks for putting together such a great e-book. I started using the Gluteus to the Maximus e-book programs about 4 weeks ago, and I have seen results – I only wish I would have taken a before picture to have something visual to compare with, but I feel the results. I know your Gluteus to the Maximus e-book program works.

What’s amazing is when I first received your e-mail talking about the book, I was very interested and thought, wow, I wonder how much this will cost - I was floored to find out how cheap it was. I live on a farm with many responsibilities and I don’t have time to run to the gym 3 days a week – I love that I can do these programs in the privacy of my own home, on my own time and they don’t take that long, but you feel the burn very quickly and in all the right places!!! Thanks for taking the time to put together such a wonderful book. I have recommended your Gluteus to the Maximus e-book to many people!!!

Thank you for your book, your time, and your help!!!!”
K. Riebold

Order Gluteus to the Maximus e-book NOW!

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book Negatives?

Gluteus to the Maximus focuses on one specific bodypart.

 What will I see in the Gluteus to the Maximus e-book?

    • complete descriptions and how-to pictures, including common errors and techniques for making every exercise in gluteus to the maximus e-book even more effective.
    • large, full-color digital exercise videos for most of the exercises in the Gluteus to the Maximus e-book.
    • 18 complete glute-building programs with 127 sample workouts to keep you making progress.
    • nutrition and supplementation information to help you maximize your efforts.
    • unlimited e-mail support through Nick Nilssons private e-mail address.
    • free updates of this Gluteus to the Maximus E-Book for life. You’ll never have to worry about missing out on anything!

 

gluteus to the maximus Gluteus to the Maximus e book Larger Rounder Firmer Gluteus Maximus

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book

Nick also gives you an unconditional, lifetime, money-back guarantee. There is no risk to you at all.

Gluteus to the Maximus e-book is also divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced trainee techniques. You’ll get a workout no matter how lacking your Glutes are.

Order Gluteus to the Maximus e-book NOW!

Change your Dumbbell Curl Grip for Superior Results

Secret Training Tip #149 – Get a Grip! Get More Results From Dumbbell Curls Just By Changing Your Grip

By Nick Nilsson

If you like training biceps you absolutely MUST read this tip! You will feel the difference in the very first rep!

Would you like to know how to get more out of every single dumbbell curl you do? Amazingly enough, you can do this simply by changing where you grip the dumbbell.

First, I’m going to tell you what the trick is, then I’m going to tell you exactly how and why it works. Then I’m going to finish by telling you how to make the trick so powerful it’ll blow your mind!

In a nutshell, instead of gripping the handle in the middle (as is normally taught), grip the handle with the thumb and forefinger side of your hand pressed up against the inside of the dumbbell plates. There will be a space of several inches between your pinky and the other side plates.

To take full advantage of this change in your grip, start the curl with your palms facing in to your thighs, otherwise known as a neutral or hammer grip. As you curl up, rotate your forearm so that your palm is facing up at the top of the movement. You should feel a strong cramping in your biceps.

You can find more of Nick’s Bicep Tips in his book The Best Arm Exercises You’ve Never Heard of.

Here’s how and why it works:

The biceps muscle has two main functions. The first is flexing the elbow (in essence, bringing the forearm closer to the upper arm like when you bend your arm to scratch your nose). The other function is called supination, which is a biomechanical term for
forearm rotation. Supination occurs when you turn your hand from a palms-down position to a palms-up position.

The traditional dumbbell curl without forearm rotation addresses the flexing function of the bicep. Rotating your forearm as you curl the dumbbell up invokes the supination function of the bicep, working more of the muscle mass of the bicep and giving you a stronger contraction.

Holding the dumbbell off-center essentially adds resistance to the supination function of the bicep muscle. If you think about it, when you hold your hand in the middle of the dumbbell, the two ends are balanced like two identical-weight people on a see-saw. You get very little, if any, resistance on the supination.

By holding the dumbbell off-center, you tip the balance of the dumbbell towards the pinky side of your hand. Your bicep must then work against resistance to accomplish the supination, adding in more resistance to the curl movement.

This resistance translates into more efficient work for the bicep and, ultimately, more results for you!

—

Now I’m going to tell you how to adapt this trick into something that will make your jaw hit the floor on the first rep you do.

You’ve learned about supination and adding resistance to the supination movement by holding the dumbbell off-center. You’ve felt the difference this makes in your biceps.

Now imagine how much more effective this trick will be if you add actual weight for resistance instead of just shifting your hand over!

In order to accomplish this, you’re going to need one of two things: do-it-yourself dumbbells with which you can add or remove weight or Plate Mates (TM), which are small magnetic weight plates that stick to the metal of the dumbbell.

The execution is simple: make a dumbell with more weight on one end than the other. That’s it. For example, place 20 pounds of weight on one end and 25 pounds of weight on the other.

Grip the dumbbell in the middle when you use it, making sure that the heavier end is on the pinky side of your hand. If you are using Plate Mates (TM), stick a few of them onto only one side of the dumbbell to accomplish the same imbalance.

Now when you curl up and supinate, your bicep is going to have that added resistance on the supination movement. The cramping sensation you get on the very first rep as you come to the top and squeeze the muscle hard will show you just how powerful this technique is. The pump you get in your biceps after your set will seal the deal!

You will also notice that your forearm and grip are getting a lot of work with this trick. This is just icing on the cake and will not decrease the tension on your bicep in any way.

Note: If you are using dumbbells that weigh less than 30 pounds total, I would recommend you use a 2 1/2 pound plate on one side rather than a 5 pound plate. Any more than 30 and you should use a 5 pound plate.

Demonstration

More information about the anatomy of the biceps

The Best Chest Exercises You've Never Heard Of Review

the best chest exercises youve never heard of 120 The Best Chest Exercises Youve Never Heard Of ReviewJust like “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of”, “The Best Arm Exercises You’ve Never Heard of” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard of” Nick has outdone himself with this “The Best Chest Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of“.

The Best Chest Exercises Review

The Best Chest Exercises E-book provides 53 unique, plateau-busting pec exercises that will get you out of ANY chest training rut you’re in. If you’ve read any of his previous books you know that he provides many pictures of the exercises along with detailed description, tips and tricks as well as notes on all of the exercises. He makes sure you know exactly how to perform the best chest exercises. They all include online video demonstration.

What can I expect from the Best Chest Exercises?

  • provide a new growth stimulus for your pecs, which will help you make gains without any more effort than you’re putting in right now on your current exercises and programs.
  • increase your strength in other conventional exercises. You could potentially increase your regular bench press simply by working in a few of the strength-and-connective tissue targeted exercises.
  • help you blast through plateaus quickly and easily. No more ruts or stalled progress.
  • help you develop a more complete physique by working your chest from many different angles.
  • prevent staleness and boredom and send your motivation sky high.

Who is the Best Chest Exercises for?

Nick’s Best Chest Exercises e-book provides chest exercises for everyone no matter what your strength or skill level is.
The Best Chest Exercises E-book is for anyone who wants a great chest and a bigger bench press. If chest is your weak spot or you just need something to stimulate your chest from your old boring bench press routines.

Best Chest Exercises Proof

I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you be the proof. This Best Chest Exercises book has a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, anytime. Try the best chest exercises and see for yourself. If they aren’t for you, then move along to some other program. You should know immediately or at least within a day or two if these exercises are making your muscles work.

Are there any Best Chest Exercises Negatives?

I would like to provide some negatives but there is a Lifetime 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If the best chest exercises doesn’t work for you then return it. He obviously believes you will get results otherwise everyone would be returning it and he wouldn’t be in business.

What is Included with the Best Chest Exercises?

  • Downloadable e-book (So you can use it right away)
  • Online Video Library of all the 53 exercises.
  • Online Support directly from Nick Nilsson
  • FREE Updates for life. (Nick has increased the exercises from his “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” E-book so there is proof that he does add to the books in the future.)
  • Lifetime 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. (How many personal trainers will give this?)

How can you go wrong with this. He’s also throwing in several additional e-books.

You’ll never guess what kind of a deal he’s giving. Find out today’s price!

Visit his site now to learn more about how the Best Chest Exercises book can take your chest development and pressing strength to a whole new level AND grab your FREE sample chest exercises!

Isolate your Lats with this Isolation Exercise for the Back

Secret Training Tip #346 – Work Your Lats With One Of The VERY FEW True Isolation Exercises For The Back

By Nick Nilsson

When you think of back exercises, you think of different types of rows, pulldowns, chin-ups, and deadlifts, right?

These are all compound exercises that work multiple muscles. To TRULY isolate your lats,
you need this exercise! This is a great one for beginners OR advanced trainers!

There are two main things that hold people “back” when trying to train their back. The first is that they can’t see it when they’re training it. This makes it harder to really focus on and properly work AND, since it’s not a “mirror muscle,” it tends to get lower priority in the overall training workload.

The second thing is that people can’t FEEL the back muscles actually doing the work. And if you can’t feel the back muscles working, chances are, they’re not getting worked very effectively.

Now, you can’t fix the first problem of not being able to see the muscle while training it without having a double mirror setup that allows you to see your back in the mirror. It’s rare you’ll find a gym that has mirrors on two opposing walls – they try to avoid the “funhouse” effect.

So you’ll just have to take it from me that it’s CRITICAL to put a lot of effort into back training – MUCH more so than it is for chest training. Your pecs don’t hold your spine up…

But we CAN address the point about feeling your back working. One of THE most effective exercises I’ve found for really teaching you how to feel your back working is the Stiff-Arm Pushdown.

It’s an isolation exercise (defined as a single-joint exercise, in this case, the shoulder joint) for the latissimus dorsi, a.k.a. the “lats,” which is rare. And even though it IS an isolation exercise for the lats, the long heads of the triceps are involved in the movement as well. The long heads of triceps perform a similar function in bring the arm down towards the waist and can’t be removed from the movement due to their anatomy.

The Stiff-Arm Pushdown is also one of the ONLY back exercises that doesn’t involve the biceps in some way, making it a great teaching tool for helping you feel what it’s like for your back to work without relying on bicep assistance.

How To Do It:

To perform this exercise, all you’ll need is a high pulley and an attachment (bar or rope).

Set a moderate weight on the pulley – you won’t use a heavy weight for this exercise as it’s all about feel. If you go too heavy, you’ll have to resort to momentum to move the bar and that will defeat the purpose of the exercise.

Put both hands on the bar (overhand grip) about 6 to 8 inches apart. Take a big step back, bring the bar back with you. Lean forward so your torso is at about a 45 degree angle. You can have your feet set together or be in a lunge position – whichever is most comfortable to you.

Keep your abs tight and an make sure there is an arch in your lower back. In order for your lats to function properly, the lower back MUST be arched.

At the start position, your arms are in an overhead position and slightly bent but stiff. The cable weight is pulling up on your arms so your lats are getting stretched.

Now begin the movement, pushing the bar directly down and around in an arc. DO NOT bend your arms!! Keep them locked into that slightly bent position. All the movement should occur at the shoulders.

Push the bar all the way down to your thighs, squeezing your lats hard the whole time. Pause at the bottom then let the cable pull the bar back up, keeping tension in your lats.

As you come to the top, dip your upper body down a bit to increase the stretch on the lats.

For breathing with this exercise, you want to take a BIG deep breath at the stretch (top) of the movement. Inflating your lungs maximally at the top will increase the stretch on the lats and help you feel the lats working. As you push the bar down, exhale through pursed lips (like you’re blowing up a balloon).

This exercise can also be done one arm at a time with a single cable handle as well.

Go for moderate to higher reps with this exercise – it’s not a power-based exercise but more a “feel” exercise that you need to really keep form tight on. This exercise will give you a strong burning sensation in that lats because they don’t really get any break in the tension throughout the movement.

I like to use this exercise as part of a pre-exhaust style of set, working it immediately before another exercise for the lats such as a variation of chins, rows or pulldowns. Do a set of 8 to 10 reps of the Stiff-Arm Pushdown then go right to the exercise. I can promise…you’ll feel your lats working!

You see, because the Stiff-Arm Pushdown only hits the lats and leaves the biceps untouched, when you move to the other exercise for back (e.g. chins, pulldowns or rows) the lats will already be “pre-exhausted” and the biceps will help keep the movement going, pushing the lats harder.

It’s a great technique and very effective if you have trouble feeling your back when you train it.
Conclusion:

Give the Stiff-Arm Pushdown a try in your next back workout. If you’ve never done a true isolation exercise for the back before, it’ll be a nice change of pace and help you get a lot more out of your back training.

Pictures and video of this exercise in action

Crunch Pulldowns for your Rectus Abdominus (Six Pack)

Secret Training Tip #667 – Crunch Pulldowns For a Great Six-Pack

By Nick Nilsson
Best Abdominal Exercises

Scorch your Rectus Abdominus (Six-Pack) with the Crunch Pulldown. It will hit those abs in a way they’ve never been hit before! This is NOT your standard cable crunch!

The Crunch Pulldown is a very simple exercise to do, perfect for hitting the abs in a way they’re not used to at all. For this one, all you need is a high pulley and a bar attachment.

Hook up the bar to the pulley and set a moderate weight on it. You don’t want to go too heavy or you won’t be able to perform the exercise. After you do it once, you’ll get a better idea of how much weight you can use.

Lie on your back under the pulley. In my own gym, I have an adjustable-height pulley and have it set a few feet off the ground so all I have to do is reach up and grab the bar. If you have just a regular, unmoveable high pulley, the exercise will work exactly the same way but you’ll have to grab the bar first THEN lie down in position rather than lying down first then reaching up and grabbing the bar.

Once you’re on your back (with your head directly under the pulley), pull the bar down so that your elbows are bent about 90 degrees. Your knees should be bent 90 degrees and feet placed flat on the floor. The bar should be 8 to 12 inches above your body. That’s the start position.

Now crunch up. But here’s the trick – as you’re crunching up, DO NOT use the weight to help pull yourself up. Instead, perform a pulldown movement as you’re crunching up. To do this, just pull the bar down towards your lower chest until it touches your lower chest, all while crunching up.

So not only do you get the normal tension from the crunch movement, you’re also getting tension on the abs using the weight from the pulldown movement. This really fires up the six-pack muscles to help them stand out. It’s a unique angle of resistance that your abs have probably never felt before!

Pictures of this exercise in action

Massive Quads and Shapely Thighs with this Must Do Exercise

Secret Training Tip #120 – My VERY Favorite Leg Exercise (I Like It Even More Than Barbell Squats For Working The Thighs HARD!)

By Nick Nilsson

This mystery leg exercise requires only two dumbbells and the guts to push yourself to the limit! If you want great legs, whether it be massive quads or shapely thighs, you NEED to put this exercise in your routine. Find out what it is!

Rather than starting this article off with a riddle (like what’s black and white and red all over?… a newspaper), I’ve decided to the take the suspense completely out of it!

My VERY favorite leg exercise for really hitting the thighs HARD is not a new exercise…it may not even seem to you to be all that great of an exercise at first glance. But when I tell you how to do it FOR REAL, you’re going to LOVE the results you get with it.

The exercise is the Dumbbell Split Squat and it’s going to change the way you look at dumbbell leg exercises forever!

Here’s what it is:

To honest, it looks almost exactly like an incomplete dumbbell lunge. In fact, you may have even done it before thinking it WAS a dumbbell lunge.

The big difference is this…when you do a regular dumbbell lunge, you start in a standing position holding two dumbbells in your hands. You take a step forward with one leg then drop down into a lunge position. From there, you push yourself all the way back up to the standing position then repeat with the other leg (stepping forward then pushing all the way back up).

When you do a Dumbell Split Squat, you START in the split position (which looks like the bottom of the lunge) and STAY there. You just move your body up and down, keeping your feet exactly where they are on the floor. No standing up, no stepping forward.

This is a key difference. It takes away many of the balance problems you find with lunges…it also takes away almost ALL of the knee stress that you might experience with lunges (when you step forward, your knee has to absorb all the momentum of not only your body but the weight of the dumbbells moving forward).

When you plant your feet, you can keep your balance MUCH better. When you don’t step forward, your knees don’t take that stress from the forward momentum.

The Dumbbell Split Squat is also ideal for home workout situations in that you only need a couple of dumbbells to get an AMAZING leg workout.

Now, these are some great benefits but do you want to know what REALLY makes this my favorite leg exercise for hitting the thighs hard?

Simple…it gives you the ability to absolutely DESTROY your quads without mercy. It does this by having the resistance very close to the ground at the hardest part of the exercise (the bottom of the rep).

Basically, this means when you’re doing the split squat, if you get to the bottom of the rep and can’t push yourself back up, your dumbbells are only an inch or two from the floor! All you have to do is set them down and you’re done.

The practical upshot of this simple feature is that you can perform the exercise until your legs ABSOLUTELY GIVE OUT. When you’re doing a barbell squat, you can certainly work your legs extremely hard but it’s tough to push them to the absolute limit – you always have to get the bar back to the racks before you’re done.

With practice and time, you can build up to some VERY heavy dumbbells with this exercise (I’ve gone as high as 2 x 150 lb dumbbells for reps).

This exercise puts less stress on the lower back and will work every major muscle group in your entire lower body. Believe me, you’ll feel this one in the morning.
How To Do It:

First, pick two light to moderate weight dumbbells the first time you do the exercise. You can definitely work up in weight as you work with the exercise more, though. It’s important to learn the technique properly before moving on to more weight.

Set the two dumbbells on the ground about 6 inches apart. Set your left foot in between but a little forward of the two dumbbells. Now set your right foot back about two feet or so and assume a lunge position, kneeling on your right knee. Your right foot should NOT be directly in line with your left foot. When you place your right foot down, set it a little out to the side.

What this does is increase your base of support and make the exercise more stable and allowing you to generate more power. If you set your right foot directly in line with your left foot, you’ll be spending most of the exercise trying not to fall over.

Keep your abs and lower back tight and make sure you keep an arch in your lower back here. Lean forward and reach down and grasp the two dumbbells. Bring your torso back to vertical, picking up the dumbbells off the ground.

This is the bottom position of the exercise. Now, push yourself up with your left thigh. Don’t stand up to vertical…just straighten that front leg, keeping your front foot planted firmly on the ground.

It’s important to keep your upper body VERTICAL as you do this exercise. DO NOT allow your body to lean forward as you do the exercise. Imagine it as a straight up and down movement and that you’re sitting back as you do it. This visualization will help keep you from leaning forward.

Be sure you don’t utilize a forward and back, lunging type of movement, as may be the tendency if you’re used to doing regular lunges. This is very much an up and down type of movement.

Perform your target number of reps with your left leg forward. Push yourself hard! If you have to bail out on the exercise, all you need to do is set the dumbbells on the ground at the bottom.

At this point, you can either take a rest period or immediately switch to the other leg in front – I prefer to go right to the other leg in front with no break. Do as many reps as you can with the other leg now.

Note that you most likely will not get as many reps with the other leg…no matter which leg is in front, the rear leg is also doing a lot of work. So if you start with the left leg in front, the right leg is still doing work. When you switch legs, the right leg will already be tired from the previous set.

Because of this, it’s important to always switch which leg you start with on successive sets. Start with your left foot forward on your first set, then on your next set, start with your right foot forward. This will ensure a balanced workload.

This exercise allows you to basically “leave it on the floor.” Because you can just set the dumbbells on the floor, you can push your legs to the point where they can hardly keep you standing. That’s my idea of a good leg workout!

Pictures and a video of this exercise in action

In the video, you’ll also see a slightly different technique that I use to get very heavy dumbbells into position for the exercise more efficiently. It involves setting the legs near the top position first THEN picking up the dumbbells. It’s a more advanced move that should only be attempted by those with a strong lower back.

Build Incredible Biceps with this Hybrid Training Exercise

Cable-Barbell Curls – Hybrid Training For Incredible Biceps!

By Nick Nilsson

The standard barbell curl is NOT the most efficient way to build massive biceps. With this Hybrid Training exercise, you’re going to learn how to add additional targeted resistance to the barbell curl to hit the biceps MUCH harder and build more muscle faster!

Want to build muscle faster? “Hybrid Training” is a powerful new concept in weight training that combines TWO separate forms of resistance into ONE single exercise to dramatically increase the muscle-building power of both!

After releasing the full “Hybrid Training” book in Novemeber, the response has been just tremendous! But for those who want to experience this extraordinary technique for themselves before unleashing the full power of ALL the exercises in the book, I’ve decided to go ahead and turn a sample exercise loose!

This exercise is the Cable-Barbell Curl and it’s going to turn your biceps into mush and then into mountains!

So What is “Hybrid Training?”

“Hybrid Training” is a technique that allows you to use TWO distinct forms of resistance in ONE exercise. Why is that good? Because standard exercises have limitations due to your body’s biomechanics.

When you do a barbell curl, you can only use as much weight as your biceps can handle IN THE WEAKEST PART of the exercise, which is when your elbows are bent 90 degrees.

So if you’re only use as much resistance as you can handle when your muscles are at their weakest, don’t you think you’re shortchanging yourself when it comes to strength and muscle-building?

With this “Hybrid Training” exercise, you’re going to dynamically alter the resistance AS YOU’RE DOING THE EXERCISE. When you start, you’ll be curling the barbell as usual. But the moment you pass that “weak point” and your biceps are mechanically stronger, the resistance will INCREASE, dramatically ramping up the muscle-building power of the exercise.

This will happen because you will be attaching a cable (or elastic training band) directly to your barbell. I’ll give you detailed instructions on how to do that after you learn how to perform the exercise.

This combined targeted resistance means you’ll be matching the actual strength curve of the barbell curl MUCH closer (using more resistance when the biceps are in a stronger position). This means MORE muscle growth and more strength because you’re pushing biceps to the limit through a MUCH greater range of motion.

You can find more of Nick’s Bicep Tips in his book The Best Arm Exercises You’ve Never Heard of.

How To Do It:

First, you will attach a low-pulley cable to the EZ bar or regular straight barbell (this is explained in detail below). Reach down and pick up the bar, taking a shoulder-width grip on the bar. Use a light to moderate weight on the bar and a light weight on the cable machine – you’ll know why you need to start light after doing a few reps of this!

Now take a big step back. This big step changes the angle of resistance that the cable will provide. Rather than pulling it straight up and down, you’ll be pulling it up and back.

This is more effective because the barbell curl is NOT a straight up and down movement but is actually an semi-circular arc type of movement. Pulling the cable up and back means you’re pulling directly backwards towards your face. In the standard barbell curl, you get NO backwards-pulling tension at the top and have to focus on squeezing the biceps hard yourself. With this direct angled tension, you simply won’t have a choice and the tension stays on HARD!

Now begin the curl movement. Keep your knees slightly bent, your core tight and your head looking straight forward. Because of the cable pulling you forward, you will need to lean back a little as you perform the exercise.

During the first 2/3 of the range of motion, the cable is not actually moving very much. But as you come towards the top 1/3 of the range of motion, you’ll notice the cable curl portion kicking in MUCH more.

As you come to the top, as I mentioned above, you’re actually pulling the cable directly towards your face, dramatically increasing the tension on the biceps at the top. This is very useful because you get increasing resistance only AFTER the sticking point (the weakest point) of the exercise.

The biceps are biomechanically stronger in this top range of motion and can handle (and will thrive on!) the increased resistance that you’re providing them.

Hold for a 2 count at the top, squeezing the biceps hard, then lower slowly. Repeat for as many reps as you can do with good form then adjust the weight for your next sets, if you need to.

How To Do This Exercise With Bands:

This exercise can also be done using a band attached to a solid object in front of you and looped around the bar (explained below). Use a light-tension band the first time you do this exercise to get a feel for how it’s done.

Now, take a big step back to get some tension on the band at the start of the movement. Perform the curl exactly as described in the previous exercise, bringing the barbell towards your face and squeezing hard at the top. The increasing tension in the band puts a powerful contraction on the biceps at the top.

How to Attach the Cable To the Barbell

It’s a very simple process to attach a cable to a barbell. All you need to do is loop the cable around the bar and clip it back onto itself. There will be pictures of this process at the link below.

- First, get the barbell set up and place it in front of the cable to be used.
- Next, pull the cable out and loop it once around the bar (in the very center)
- Clip the cable right back onto itself at a point right next to the bar (the weight on the cable stack will automatically tighten up the loop)

The only downside to this setup is that the cable may slide around on the surface of the bar if the bar tilts during the exercise as it has nothing to grip on. If you have a small towel, you can very easily place this on the bar first, then loop the cable on top of the towel. This will help keep the cable from moving or sliding around on the bar.

As a general point, you will almost ALWAYS use less weight on the cable than you will on the barbell. For example, when doing cable-barbell curls, you may use 70 lbs on the bar and 30 lbs on the cable.

How to Attach Bands

To use a band with this exercise, you just need something solid to anchor the band onto. This can be a weight machine or a railing or even a dresser leg at home! It just needs to basically be an immovable object.

It’s a simple process to securely tie the bands onto a rail or post – you will use what is called a bale hitch. And you don’t need to be in the Navy to figure out how to use it!

To do the bale hitch, loop the entire band around the solid object. You have the two ends in your hands. Now pull one end through the loop of the other end. When you pull that end all the way through so the loop tightens up, it creates a secure hitch.

Make this attachment low to the ground for the band-barbell curl. For the barbell, just loop the other end around the barbell and move it to the very center of the bar. There’s no need to hitch it onto the barbell – the tension on the band during the exercise will keep it in place.

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Conclusion:

The first time you perform this exercise, get ready for an eye-opener! It may not look like you’re using much weight on the bar or on the cable but the combined result is huge. The difference in the critical muscle-building tension on the biceps is astonishing!

Give this exercise a try in your next bicep workout. Then imagine the results you can get in your ENTIRE BODY when you put the full power of “Hybrid Training” into effect on every single bodypart!

Pictures and video of this exercise in action and to see how to attach cables and bands to barbells

And to learn more about “Hybrid Training” and grab your copy of the full book, click here now!

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