Muscle Targeting

           When we were first getting started, the main thing that we were developing is form and getting a new lifter comfortable with the gym. Then as Furyan Strength progressed, you saw the workouts becoming more specific as far as muscle targeting to a point where we started having individual days for certain muscle groups. Now, my goal when it comes to lifting weights is to develop a more classic physique. I do not want to be one of these no-neck bodybuilders. For me it is not about “cultivating mass” and being the biggest guy with these impossibly large arms and such.

           As I have said before, I want to look good naked and, quite frankly, it seems like most women find those types of men intimidating. But ask them how they feel about Channing Tatum and just watch the ladies swoon. So this means your body needs to have a physical aesthetic. And that means a total body workout.

           I had one person ask me how to get rid of “teacher arm” – you know that waddle that hangs down from the triceps. I think she just wanted to get in the gym and work her arms out to eliminate that effect. But you have to work everything. You cannot spot reduce and training too much in one area and not enough in another can lead to muscle imbalance, which can lead to injury.

           So there are times where you need to make sure you are doing specific targeting. For those coming in late, here is a quick recap. Let’s take for instance the shoulders. The shoulders have three heads: a front, a middle, and a rear head. If you are performing an overhead press where your elbows are in front of you, you are targeting the front head. If you are performing an exercise where your elbows are extended out to your sides, you are targeting the middle head. And any shoulder exercise where you are bent over is targeting the rear head. Most people neglect that rear head because it is not one that is readily seen when posing in the mirror. So you need to do different exercises to make sure you are hitting all three heads.

           The chest also has three heads; upper, middle, and lower. This is why we perform bench presses at incline, flat, and decline angles. This makes sure that all the heads are getting active work. The same principle works with Push-Ups, you just have your chest facing the floor instead of the ceiling. So an Incline Push-Up is targeting the lower part of your chest and a Decline Push-Up is going to target the top of your chest. 

           With all this in mind, it seems the human body works off a bit of a reverse principle. For instance, take Barbell Curls. A close the grip on the barbell works the outside of the biceps. Conversely, a wide grip works the inside of the biceps. This is why I try to alternate slightly between my circuits the width of my grip, even if it is only an adjustment of a finger width. This makes sure the muscles are getting attacked from different angles.

           This also applies to legs. If you are performing Barbell Squats, a wide stance is going to work the inside of your legs. But, maintaining a very narrow stance will work the outside of your legs. By switching up things like your stance and your grip, it is going to give you a more well-rounded physique. If you feel that the outer wall of your bicep needs more size, grip that barbell a little closer. Same thing with your legs. Rock a narrow stance to put more emphasis on those outer walls.   

           You will find that alternating your foot placement is going to minimize the amount you would do at your standard shoulder-width foot placement. Therefore, I always recommend that specific targeting after your perform at least three circuits of the standard exercise. Do three rounds of standard Barbell Squats and then use the Narrow Stance Barbell Squats after.

           Remember, this is all about improving your “Gym IQ.” I want you to understand why I do things and then you can modify your program accordingly.