I recently found a discussion panel, at the “Muscular Development” Magazine - website / Forum (http://forums.musculardevelopment.com/showthread.php?p=2111825) where the topic being discussed was my blog article called: The Case Against Overhead Presses. I’d like to take this opportunity to address some of the comments written by some of the members on that forum, as well as clarify a few points.

Criticizing Without Merit

In response to the opening statement from “Kevin27”, where he asks “Have you read Doug Brignole’s ‘Case Against Overhead Presses’ – “Kaladryn” says, “Um… his entire premise seems flawed because I never once hear him say ‘anterior deltoid’…”  Well, apparently Kaladryn did not actually read my article, because I certainly DO mention the anterior deltoids in that article – no less than FIVE times.  In fact, I clearly and specifically say in that article that the Overhead Press is about 70% front deltoid, and about 30% side deltoid.  Curious, isn’t it?  Why would someone criticize someone’s article, and in the same sentence, show evidence of having not actually read that person’s article?  Further, my “entire premise” involves much more than the involvement of the anterior deltoid.

Arguing Apples and Oranges

Another member – “DBowden” – responded that “…the lateral deltoid not only performs lateral abduction – it also performs horizontal abduction and flexion” (… actually,that is not the lateral deltoid’s primary function… as is clearly evidenced by the direction of the muscle fibers, i.e. vertical – not horizontal).  He further says that this shows my “… lack of understanding of how the lateral deltoid functions.”  In response, I would simply say that while the lateral deltoid may assist when one performs horizontal abduction (the classic rear deltoid movement), there is NO horizontal movement occurring during an overhead press – it’s an entirely vertical movement.  But more importantly, the lateral deltoid is not positioned properly to receive maximum stimulation from the resistance.

A muscle must be positioned directly opposite the direction of resistance, in order to benefit from that resistance.  In other words, if the resistance is coming from straight down (i.e., gravity pulling on a free weight), whichever muscle is “on top” – directly opposing the downward resistance – is the one doing the most work.  Expressed another way, if resistance is coming from the 6:00 direction, the muscle that is at 12:00 is doing the work.  This is obvious.  There is no way that a muscle positioned at 2:00 could possibly get more of a load (work harder) than the one positioned at 12:00.  During an Overhead Press, the anterior deltoid is mostly in that 12:00 position, and the lateral deltoid is positioned mostly at that 2:00 position.  You can see this for yourself – when watching someone who is lean enough to see the division between the front and side deltoids.

Others argued that “… everyone knows Overhead Presses are primarily for anterior deltoids”, and “… I don’t know anyone who does Overhead Presses for the lateral deltoid”.  In fact, many do not know this.  One of the 5 problems with the Overhead Presses is that it works the front deltoids more than the side deltoids (… the other 4 problems are mechanical), and I was making that point expressly for those who mistakenly think that the Overhead Press is primarily for side deltoids.  Keep in mind, everyone has a different level of awareness.  Although some might know the Overhead Press is not a particularly good lateral deltoid exercise, many do not know that – and they should be informed as well, should they not?

Making the Best Choices

If it’s true that “everyone knows” that Overhead Presses work the front deltoid more than the side deltoid, the question is this:  Is it the BEST front deltoid exercise you can do? In my opinion, absolutely not.  There are other exercises that work the front deltoid with much more force.  And, as a bonus, these other exercises don’t create the risk – i.e., the excessive external rotation of the humerus, nor the impingement – that Overhead Presses do.  In other words, you can work your front deltoids harder, and without joint strain, with other exercises.  And – given these other options – why bother with an Overhead Press, if it works your front deltoids less and strains the joint more?

Try doing any one of various angles of Lying or Incline Front Presses, and you will instantly see (and feel) what I mean.  To do this, simply lie down on a flat bench, with a pair of dumbbells (or even with a barbell, if you prefer), with your palms facing upwards (toward your face, instead of toward your feet).  Now lower the dumbbells or the barbell toward your belly button, keeping your elbows close to your sides as you come down.  Then, after the weight reaches the sides of your abdomen, push it back up, so that it ends up directly over your shoulders (… this creates a slight arc, as it travels through that range of motion).  As you do the movement, try to keep your forearm perpendicular throughout the movement.  This will ensure that neither your triceps, nor your biceps, participate in the movement.  You can go as heavy as you like (… I usually use a pair of 50 or 60 lb. dumbbells, or a 120 lb. bar), and it will blast your front deltoids – without that outward rotation of the shoulder joint, and without the impingement that typically occurs at the top of an Overhead Press.

The exercise I just described was on a flat bench.  Now try it with a slight incline – like 20 degrees.  Then, with a slightly higher incline – like 40 degrees.  Every angle change creates a new “resistance curve” – which means that the front deltoid will find it’s “maximum resistance point” at a slightly different place in the range of motion.  Every time you introduce a new “resistance curve” to the muscle, it adds a new stimulation to the muscle.  However, I recommend that the incline angle you choose be no higher than about 60 degrees (… this would be 30 degrees shy of vertical).  Higher than this, and you’ll likely experience that pinching in the joint, which is impingement.  This movement – where the upper arm travels alongside the body, toward the front – is the primary path of the front deltoid – which is why “front raises” have historically always been performed along this path.

Credibility

At one point, someone name “Mike Arnold” said – in reference to a couple of photos of me – that I was “… conditioned, but far from huge – very far”.  I suppose this is meant to suggest that if I were correct in my assessment of Overhead Presses, I would be bigger… that the reason I’m not “huge” is because I don’t do Overhead Presses.  Well, I have two comments in response to that.  First, no other (muscular) body part of mine has ever been huge.  I’m an “ectomorph”, as most people know.  I have a relatively small frame, and I have frequently been compared to Frank Zane and Bob Paris (… by which I am honored).  If I had foolishly omitted Overhead Presses, only my shoulders would be “not huge”.  But, in fact, my shoulders are no less “huge” than my arms or legs.  Actually, my shoulders have improved dramatically since I began focusing more on lateral raises and front deltoid raises and presses (as described above) – instead of Overhead Presses.  Some have even suggested that my delts are now my “best body part”.

Also, if the only barometer of bio-mechanical knowledge – or of an informed opinion – is a person’s physique, than I suppose only those with a better physique than mine could comment in opposition to my opinion.  I may not be as big as Arnold was, or as Jay Cutler is, but I would bet that many of those who claim to have an opinion that is more valid or more informed than mine, have inferior physiques.  So by Mike Arnold’s standard, they wouldn’t be able to comment (… in fact, maybe even Mike isn’t “qualified” to comment).  My credibility does not come necessarily from my physique, but by the fact that my analysis is based on elementary physics and sound logic.  However, the fact that my deltoids are as outstanding as they are, despite the fact that I don’t do ANY Overhead Presses, does make a point – after all.  At the very least, it shows that Overhead Presses are not “essential” for good deltoid development – even if (for some people) the exercise poses no risk at all.

Risk is Relative

And speaking of risk – everyone would experience a different degree of risk, with an Overhead Press.  It depends mostly on how much external rotation / flexibility you have … and also, to a lesser degree, on the amount of clearance you have under your acromion process (i.e. the upper ridge of your shoulder blade) – factors which are determined mostly by genetics, and in part by age and previous injury.

To check your own degree of shoulder flexibility, do this – hold your arm directly out to the side, and bend it so that your elbow is at 90 degrees.  Now, begin slowly rotating your arm upward, so that your forearm moves from a position that is parallel to the ground, toward a position where it is pointing straight up.  Somewhere in the course of that movement, or perhaps just beyond it (if you’re lucky), you will begin to feel the limit of your own external rotation – as indicated by no further ability to rotate externally, and some degree discomfort, or maybe pain, at the upper-most limit.  Now look at where your arm is, at that point.  If you are able to position your forearm straight vertically, with no discomfort, and perhaps still have the ability to rotate externally another 5 or 10 degrees, than you are not likely to have any serious joint strain from performing an Overhead Press.  But if you find that you are unable to rotate your forearm into a directly vertical position (stopping shy of that by 5 or 10 degrees), or you feel pain in the joint when you arrive in that straight vertical position, or just before it, then clearly it would be unwise to put a heavy load on it when it’s in that position.

It’s that simple.  Some people can perform an Overhead Press more comfortably than others.  Not everyone can perform an Overhead Press without joint strain – even if they have not actually had a shoulder injury.  And that, in itself, is a significant statement – is it not?  Few other exercises actually exclude a percentage (in fact, the majority) of users from doing it safely, due solely to a lack of sufficient flexibility.

According to Eric Chessey, MA, CSCS, who has a Masters Degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, and is the author of “Optimal Shoulder Performance”, “Maximum Strength”, and several other books, “… only a small portion of the population can really Overhead Press safely” – due to natural, genetic limitations in the mobility of the shoulder.  It is not an entirely safe movement for most people.  Imagine that !  How good can an exercise be when you have to preface it with, “… it’s not a bad exercise, unless you’re one of the majority of people who lack the flexibility to do it safely” ?

Knowing What Works

In terms of efficacy, no one can claim with certainty that Overhead Presses are “essential” for good or exceptional deltoid development, because there has never been any sort of study, whereby the results have been compared between those who do only Overhead Presses, and those who do not.  People who claim that it’s “the best” exercise… or the “most important” exercise, or the “foundation” exercise, are simply stating their belief.  How would they know for sure, given that they probably do not ONLY do Overhead Presses?  They most likely do a combination of exercises – including side raises – so how would they know which exercise contributed more, or less, to the overall result?

I believe people “think” that Overhead Presses contribute more than they actually do, for several reasons: first, they prioritize it.  They probably do it first; they usually do more sets of it; they usually push themselves a little harder on them – as compared with side raises; they might even “compete” with their buddies, to see who can lift more; and they assume that since they are moving more weight – as compared to side raises – that the deltoids must be doing more work.  But mechanically speaking, using a shorter lever (i.e.,  a bent arm, versus a straight arm = better leverage), allows one to use more weight.  Also, during an Overhead Press, the triceps contributes considerably, whereas the triceps cannot assist during a side raise.  Other muscles also assist, during an Overhead Press, including the pecs, if one leans back far enough.

Practical Application

Farther down on the forum, “GermaniaK” says, “… I kinda fail to see how a movement, that humans are naturally accustomed to, due to our evolution, would be so bad for our bodies”. Well, bending over and picking up rocks, or any other heavy object seems natural as well, but if you do it with a rounded back, you will likely herniate a lumbar disc.  It happens all the time.  Throwing a rock, or pitching a baseball, seems natural too.  But there is abundant evidence attesting to the damage that can occur to a shoulder joint when this type of movement is performed repeatedly with great force.  And, interestingly enough, pushing heavy objects over our heads (i.e. overhead pressing movement) is much less common – in day to day human survival – than lifting heavy objects up from the floor, or throwing rocks and baseballs.

Another argument that has been made is that the task of being able to pick up a heavy object and put it on a high shelf, would be improved by doing an Overhead Press.  First, I would say that when we put a heavy box on a high shelf, our elbows are mostly in front of our body, not alongside our body – as is the case with an Overhead Press.  Keeping the elbows in front, rather than to the side, is much safer for the shoulder joint.  Further, one does not need to do Overhead Presses, regularly, in the gym, with heavy weight, in order to (occasionally) be able to put a heavy box on a shelf.  I have no trouble putting a heavy box on a shelf, even though I never do Overhead Presses, and the reason is because the muscles involved in “…putting a heavy box on a high shelf…” have been more than adequately strengthened by side raises, front raises and presses, shrugs, triceps extensions, etc.  And lastly, when we put that heavy box on a high shelf, we stop short of putting the box directly over our head – which is where the impingement would occur.

Be Open-Minded… Unless You Refuse

I don’t “insist” that everyone stop doing Overhead Presses.  If you like them, and you’re comfortable doing them, and you don’t believe they offer a compromised benefit (as I believe), by all means – continue.  However, if you have experienced shoulder pain, and you are someone who is less influenced by tradition, and more influenced by a logical analysis, give it a try.  It might be the best thing that’s happened to your deltoid development and the well-being of your shoulder joint.  I can certainly attest to this: after re-directing my own efforts away from Overhead Presses, and more toward heavy and deliberate Side Raises and Front Raises (from a variety of angles) – “look Ma – no more shoulder pain – but geez look at these delts” !!

For those who did not see my first article (“The Case Against Overhead Presses”), or would like to see it again, here’s a link to that: http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/blogs/dougbrignole/?p=148

Also, here are few other references (links) you might like to look at – related to orthopedic and sports medicine – where Overhead Presses and other overhead movements are evaluated.

http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/36/8/1604.abstract

http://shastaortho.com/where-does-it-hurt/shoulder.php

http://www.worldortho.com/dev/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2221

Outcome of my appearance at the 2010 West Coast Classic

I competed yesterday (June 26th) in the 2010 West Coast Classic – my target contest for my big “coming out of retirement at 50 years old” event.  Just four weeks ago, I took 1st place at the 2010 Muscle Beach International Classic, as a warm-up to the West Coast.  But this was going to be my Main Event.  Of course, I wanted to win 1st place.  Instead… I place 2nd.  I was beaten fair and square by a worthy adversary.  His name was Don Willes, from Las Vegas.  He simply out-sized me.  I was leaner, but he was much bigger, with great fullness in the pecs, lats and traps.

I realize some of you might be thinking, “hey – 2nd place is still pretty good”.  But – as some of you know – I’m very competitive, and I wanted to win 1st.  Some of my close friends even asked me, “are you okay?”, after seeing, or hearing that, I had placed 2nd.  They know that I “expect” to win, and they know how hard I work toward that goal.   So the question is this: did I lose? Answer: of course not.

The Contest Within

Competition of any kind – particularly of a sporting nature – is arbitrary.  You prepare yourself with winning in mind.  You tell yourself that you will accept nothing less – that you must beat all the others who will be there competing against you.  You want that 1st place trophy – anything less will be “losing”.  That’s a nice pre-event attitude – in that in makes you work your hardest – but it’s completely unrealistic, for several reasons.

It’s relative.  You show up on a particular day, as prepared as you can possibly be.  If you enter an event that is at a moderately competitive level, you might take a 1st place trophy.  But if you enter an event that is at a highly competitive level, you might take a 5th place trophy – or perhaps no trophy at all.  Yet – in either case, you were equally prepared.  In bodybuilding terms, you looked just as good.  You had X amount of muscle, and you were at X level of leanness.  But, depending on which contest you entered, you’re either a winner, or you’re a loser ??  That’s not correct at all.  It all depends on who happens to be there to challenge you, on that particular day, and you have no control over that.

You won your own battle.  Any challenge you take on requires you to reach deep down and summon a certain amount of courage, discipline and effort.  Doing so causes you to rise to a new level of personal success – physical or otherwise – that surpasses where you were before.  Maybe it causes to you to defy certain odds, or to overcome certain obstacles, which others may not have to face … or which might cause others to not even try.  Rising to that new level makes a big, bold statement that says – “I reached high, and I’m better now than before”.

It adds to your insight and emotional fortitude.  The pursuit of a goal – especially one that is lofty – causes you to pass through adversity, stress, physical discomfort, emotional difficulty and – yes, pain.  You cannot pass through that without gaining some insight about yourself.  Knowledge is power, and that kind of personal knowledge then adds to your future abilities, which enhances your future potential.  It’s like money in the bank.

You gain motivation – but only you have the right frame of mind.  Some people view “defeat” critically.  They criticize what they see as the “unfairness” of the circumstances which might have resulted in their defeat (or lack of ultimate victory).  They say something like, “… if this is the kind of crap that one has to deal with in this sport, than I quit – this sport’s not for me”.  But that’s naïve, because of the 3 reasons listed before this one.  But also because of this 4th one: it can be used productively to fire-up the next attempt.  Frankly, I am MORE motivated to make improvements, and to do better “next time”, than I would have been if I had won that 1st place trophy (winning is good, but it can often make one complacent).

Yesterday, we all enjoyed seeing Brian Whelan – one of the contestants, who had shattered both of his legs in 21 places when a 1,200 pound leg press collapsed on top of his legs – compete for the first time while walking and standing on those two legs (… which were fairly muscular, I might add).  Lonnie Teper, the show promoter and Emcee, afterwards remarked, “… and some people say they won’t compete because they have to work in the morning.”  Amen!  Whether Brian Whelan took a 1st place trophy, or no trophy at all, didn’t matter.  He is a winner because he continues to fight the battle to be better than he was before.

Losing – or just “not winning” – occasionally happens, despite our best efforts.  But it’s relative.  I won yesterday (… in fact, everyone there won their own personal contest), although it’s true that I failed to win the trophy that read:   1st Place / Men’s 50+ / 2010 West Coast Classic. But I did actually win.  In fact, I won before I even got there – because I did my homework to the best of my ability; because I elevated my condition to a new level – despite my age; because I chose to participate instead of sit on the sidelines; because I chose to accept the outcome – rather than complain about it; because I am now more fired up than ever to make more improvements.  And it wouldn’t have mattered if I had placed last – all those other victories would still be there.

I’m in better shape than I ever thought I would be in, at the age of 50.  In some ways, I’m actually in better shape now than when I was 30.  And I realize now, more than ever, that I still have untapped potential, which I plan to bring to the surface in the years to come – regardless of whether or not it’s rewarded with an actual (or a particular) trophy.  The trophy is a nice “carrot”, which makes for a convenient incentive.  But it’s not about the trophy.  It’s about the quest.  And in that sense, I was – and will again be – victorious.

_   _   _

Please forgive this departure of my usual articles related to biomechanics and the analysis of exercise effectiveness, but I have a bit of a news flash.

I’ve returned to the bodybuilding stage.

For those of you who don’t know my competitive history, I began weightlifting at the age of 14. I entered my first bodybuilding contest at the age of 16 – placing 2^nd in the Teenage Mr. Compton contest (in California), in 1976.  By the time I was 19, I had won the Teenage Mr. California and Teenage Mr. America trophies.

Then, at the age of 22, I won the Mr. California title.  At 26, I won my division in the Mr. America and Mr. Universe competitions.  At 31, I won the Northwestern Mr. America.  At 40, I won the LA Championship in the Over-40 division.

That last contest was 10 years ago, in 2000.  I thought – at that time – that I was finished competing.  I had resigned myself to putting my future efforts exclusively toward teaching the things I had learned along the way, believing that my better years of bodybuilding competition were behind me.  Of course, I continued to train – because I love it.  But the idea of getting on stage again seemed like a thing of the past.

Apparently Lonnie Teper knew better.  At his recent urging, I agreed to prepare again for competition.   The target was the 2010 West Coast Classic, which will be held on June 26^th, in El Monte, California.  The challenge – of course – was to overcome the fact that I am now 50 years old, and yet still achieve a level of development and leanness that is respectable.  At the time that I agreed to the challenge, I had about 4 months to prepare.

However, somewhere along the way, another challenge was laid at my feet – the 2010 Muscle Beach International Classic, which was to be held on Memorial Day (May 31^st, 2010) – about 4 weeks before the original target date.  The Muscle Beach contest is a notable event – although not officially sanctioned, and receives a fair amount of publicity every year.  I figured it might be fun as a warm-up, even if I was not quite at my peak.

Below are some of the photos from that 2010 Muscle Beach Classic – taken this past May 31^st – about two weeks ago.  I won 1^st place in my division – the Over 50.  And I am now two weeks away from the West Coast Classic.  This year marks my 34^th year after first competing, at the age of 16.

To those of you who have encouraged me and have cheered me on, I would like to express my most sincere appreciation.

I expect to make an even better showing at the West Coast Classic, so if you’re in the neighborhood, please consider attending the event.  Jay Cutler will be guest posing, and that should be really awesome.  For details about the 2010 West Coast Classic, log onto www.npcwestcoast.com .

I guess this proves that 50 years old is not too old to get into great shape.  It also proves that great deltoids can be built without overhead presses (which I haven’t done for over 20 years), and that Lonnie Teper is one of bodybuilding’s greatest ambassadors.

Strategies of Body Part Grouping

As bodybuilders (or weight lifters) who workout every day, we know it’s not good to work the same body parts on consecutive days.  Thus, we break up the dozen or so total body parts, and separate them into two, three, four or even five different sub-groups, and assign them their own day.  For example, a person may choose to do upper body on “day one” and lower body on “day two”.  He would then either skip a day or two and then repeat the sequence – as just one example.

Other examples include working a third of the body on day one, another third of the body on day two, and the last third on day three.  That’s what I do.

Still others do only one or two body parts per day, which might therefore take them a week (or more) to work each of their primary muscle groups one time.  This assumes – of course – that they are not neglecting any muscle groups.

Over the years, numerous theories have popped up, in terms of the best way to group body parts.  One of the most common ways is known as “Push – Pull”, which requires a person to work the “pushing” muscles (chest and triceps) on one day, and the “pulling” muscles (back and biceps) on the next day.  On the third day (assuming there are other body parts that person wants to work) – one works whatever was not included in the first two days: shoulders, legs and abs.  The question is this: Is PUSH-PULL a good “formula”, and if so, why is it better than other methods of grouping body parts ?

The Rationale

The supposed rationale behind Push-Pull is this: “Since your triceps are activated while you’re working your pectorals, it’s a good opportunity to finish them off”.  Same with back and biceps: “Since your biceps are activated while you’re working your lats, it’s a good opportunity to finish off your biceps”.

The Logical Questions

This brings up at least five questions:

1.  Are your triceps “supposed” to be working, while you’re doing your chest exercises?

2.  Is there an advantage to working your triceps after they have been partially exhausted by doing chest exercises (… assuming they really were working while doing chest exercises)?

3.  Are your biceps “supposed” to be working, while you’re doing your back exercises?

4.  Is there an advantage to working biceps (or any muscle, for that matter), after they have been partially exhausted from other activity?

5.  Is there any special grouping of body parts that works better than another, and – if so – what is the basis for that “advantage”?

Mechanical Analysis of Chest Exercises

The function of the pectoral muscles is to move the upper arm bone (the humerus) horizontally, from a point where it is straight out to the side (mostly perpendicular to the torso), forward and inward, toward the mid-line of the body.  Technically, this is called “horizontal adduction of the humerus”.  This definition only involves one joint – the shoulder, and one action – that of the pectoral muscle, pulling the humerus horizontally around the shoulder.  If you had no forearm, and – instead – had a hand attached to the end of your humerus (where the elbow would be), you could work your pectoral muscles just fine, simply by moving the weight that is held in your hand, connected only to your humerus.

However, you probably have a forearm, and – thus – an elbow, and muscles that bend that elbow one way (flexion – by way of the biceps) or the other (extension – by way of the triceps).  And since your hand is attached to the end of your forearm, there is the potential for either the biceps or the triceps to participate in your chest work – depending on how you position your elbow during the exercises.  For example – if you were to do a flat dumbbell press, and you held the dumbbells wide (like a fly movement), your biceps would participate.  But if you held the dumbbells close, so that your forearm leaned inward from what might otherwise be a straight vertical position, it would be the triceps that participate.  (To learn more about how this works, you might want to read one of my previous blog articles, entitled “The Physics of Fitness”… particularly the part about how when resistance CROSSES a particular lever, from a particular direction, it activates the muscle responsible for that action.)

So, as you can see, the triceps muscle does NOT always participate in chest work.  In fact, not only does it not need to participate, I would suggest that it SHOULD NOT participate.  Ideally, when doing flat dumbbell presses (for example), the weight should be held directly over the elbow (the forearm 100% perpendicular to the ground), so that the triceps and the biceps are both neutral.  However, one could justify holding the dumbbells wider – outside the elbows a bit – because it lengthens the lever (the distance between the shoulder and the weight), and therefore magnifies the resistance that the pectoral experiences.  Doing so would activate your biceps – not your triceps – and there goes the theory that pressing movements are entirely “pushing” movements (… the biceps is a pulling muscle).  Holding the dumbbells closer – inside the perpendicular line of the elbows – is foolish.  Doing so decreases the resistance on the pectoral muscles because it shortens the lever length.  Yes – it activates the triceps, but at the expense of the pectorals.  It does not increase resistance to the pectorals, like biceps involvement would.

Bench Press certainly involves the triceps muscles.  And – for the most part – it is the only chest exercise (… okay Dips do too, if you want to delude yourself into thinking that Dips are a reasonably good chest exercise) that absolutely requires triceps participation.  But – as you might have read in a previous article of mine – the Bench Press is not one of the better chest exercises.  Personally, I never use it.  It over stretches the shoulder (when bringing the bar all the way down to the chest) and it misses the last 25% of the pectoral range of motion, including the contraction of the muscle.  You’re much better off – from the perspective of pectoral development and shoulder safety – using dumbbells, cables and well-designed machines that bring the hands together at the mid-line of the body (like butterfly machine, and certain pressing machines).

So – wham.  There goes part of the justification of doing triceps with chest.  As it turns out, a well-designed chest workout might have NO triceps involvement at all.

Mechanical Analysis of Back Exercises

The function of the Lat muscles (and of all of the upper back muscles, in fact) involve various directions of pulling the humerus from a position where it is in front of the body, backward – toward various positions where it is alongside or behind the body.  As you can see, that definition says nothing about the forearm.  Again – if your hand were attached directly to your elbow, and you could eliminate any involvement of your forearm, there would be no participation whatsoever, of the muscles that move the forearm (i.e., your biceps that bend the elbow, or your triceps which extends the elbow).  But the fact that your hand is attached to the end of your forearm, suggests the possibility that either your triceps or your biceps may participate in one of these pulling movements.  But – again – it depends entirely on the position in which you hold your elbow during your back exercises.

For example, say you were doing a one-arm dumbbell row.  As the weight rises, you will notice that the upper arm creates an arching movement, going from parallel with gravity (when it’s straight down), to perpendicular with gravity, and every range in between.  When it’s parallel with gravity, resistance to the lat muscle is zero.  When it’s perpendicular to gravity, it’s at 100%.  When it’s half way between, it’s at 50%.  But the forearm is mostly parallel to gravity the entire time – and parallel to resistance is always ZERO.  Your forearm is activated by either your biceps or your triceps.  So as long as your forearm stay completely perpendicular to the ground (parallel to gravity) – both your biceps and your triceps are NOT activated.  However, if you were to bend your elbow a little bit – angling your forearm forward, so that you were bringing the weight more toward the chest, than toward the waist, you would force the biceps to participate.  Similarly, if you were to extend the elbow a little bit, angling your forearm toward the rear, during the rowing movement, so that they weight was moving more toward the hip, than toward the waist, you would be forcing the triceps to participate.  But – ideally – the forearm should be nothing more than a connector – as if it were simply a rope, hanging from your elbow, 100% neutral – allowing all of the work to be done by the upper arm (lever) and the muscle that operates it (the lats, in this case).

Some exercises – like pull downs and chin ups, and also certain rowing machines (which determine the angle of our forearm for us, because of a fixed hand position, thereby not allowing us the option of choosing the angle ourselves) – force us to involve our biceps, although we might not want them to be involved, nor need them to be involved, in order to get a great lat workout.  Personally, I am not a huge fan of chin ups or pull downs, because I believe there is a much greater risk to the shoulder in pulling from a position above your shoulders, and not much of an advantage over rowing movements, which are much safer.  Therefore, I do a variety of rowing movements, during which I determine the position of my forearm (and therefore the involvement – or lack of involvement – of my biceps).  My goal – a reasonable one, I feel – is to isolate the lats as much as possible, and minimize the involvement of either biceps or triceps.  My goal is to have my forearm act as a neutral “connector” during my back exercises.

So, as you can see, the biceps might NOT play much of a role in a good lat workout.  And if it did play a role at all, it shouldn’t be a major role.  And this would theoretically shoot down part of the justification for making a biceps workout an automatic part of your lat workout – wouldn’t it?

But wait a minute.  An even better question is WHY would it be advantageous to work your biceps after lats, even IF your biceps played a major role in your lat workout?  The same goes for the triceps and chest combination.  Is there a logical reason, or a scientific justification, for working biceps or triceps, after you’ve “pre-exhausted” it (them) by doing other exercises that involved it (them)?  In a word – no.

What Builds Muscle ?

In one of my previous articles – the one entitled “To Burn or Not to Burn?” – I analyze the difference between athletes who experience fatigue, versus those who don’t.  Clearly, what builds muscle is resistance – specifically, “overload”.  As a bodybuilding community, we’ve known for years that lifting higher weight for lower reps builds a thicker muscle.  Lifting lighter weight for higher reps builds more endurance, for the obvious reason that a muscle adapts to the environment of fatigue, by increasing it’s ability to withstand fatigue (i.e., called endurance).  Endurance athletes (distance runners, bicyclists and swimmers) are the least muscular.  Power athletes (sprinters, gymnasts, etc.) are the most muscular.  By this definition, you would get a better triceps or biceps workout when those muscles are fresh, and you are able to use the most weight.  But instead, you are choosing to work them after they’ve been pre-exhausted, and are compromised in how much over-load (resistance) you can handle.  Is that smart?  No.

Of course, since a good chest or back workout really does NOT require much participation from your triceps or biceps, they would not be so pre-exhausted.  You could, therefore, use as heavy a weight as you wanted, without compromise.  But it would still completely derail any rationale for grouping triceps with chest, or biceps with back.

The truth is this: The way you group your body parts matters very little.  You could – theoretically – work the left side of your body today, and the right side tomorrow, and still get a good result.  Of course, it might make for a very strange workout.  But the point is that it doesn’t matter much – with one possible exception.

The Exception

There is a biomechanical term known as “reciprocal intervention”.  Essentially, what this means is that when a particular muscle is working (the biceps, for example), the opposite muscle (the triceps) is completely relaxed, so as to not inhibit or interfere with the action of the working muscle (in this case, the biceps).  Isn’t that nice?  If only people were so considerate.  What this means to us, in the bodybuilding community, is that when you work your pectorals, your lats are resting MORE than any other time.  And when your quads are working, your hamstrings are resting more than any other time.  And when your abs are working, your lower back in resting more than any other time.  Therefore, one of the most logical ways to group body parts is that of opposing muscles.

Chest and back – in superset fashion – is an extremely good grouping.  After doing a set of chest, you go and do a set of back.  And while your back is working, your chest is recovering BETTER than it would if you just sat there, chatting up the girl with the fake boobs.  And – as a bonus – your heart and lungs keep working, thereby providing you with additional calorie spending (i.e. fat burning).  And – as an additional bonus – you save time.  Who could argue with a savings of time, a cardio-system advantage that is simultaneous to your muscle building, and improved muscle recovery between sets ???  I’ll tell you who.  The guy who wants to keep his workout more social, than productive.  Or the guy who’s been working out the other way so long, he can’t bear the thought that there might have been a better way all these years.  By the way, a simultaneous chest and back pump feels awesome.  As does a simultaneous triceps and biceps pump.  Good Lord.  Better results, in less time, and more fun.

The Wrap Up

I’ve been doing opposing muscles (in super-set fashion) for years, and I’m convinced it’s the best way to train – assuming you want the best results in the least amount of time.  As I watch people in the gym, doing a set of chest, and then just sitting there (presumably recovering for their next set of chest) – wasting time, losing cardio benefit by cooling off, and perhaps getting distracted by the Laker game on TV, or being swept away in a conversation with a friend (that suddenly steals away 10 minutes) – it amazes me how long people take to workout and how little they accomplish.  If this describes you and your usual workout, consider the advantages of grouping opposing body parts as supersets.

In any case, you’ll see that doing only chest, followed by only triceps… or only back, followed by only biceps… not only takes longer, but does not have any logical or scientific justification.  There is no muscle-building advantage, it’s not as much fun, and you get no additional cardio benefit.  Try doing chest with back; biceps with triceps; quads with hamstrings; abs with lower back; shoulders (left side/right side – and then front deltoids with rear deltoids).  Split it up into 3 days or 4 days – then repeat.

QUESTION

Thank you for all the coherence you have brought to the bodybuilding world by your writing over the years.

Regarding your recent blog post, The Case Against Overhead Presses:

I find your logic and biomechanical evidence unimpeachable (as usual, for you, Doug). And I agree with your conclusion that overhead presses are an extremely poor choice for a lateral delt movement.

However, I have never performed this movement for anything other than its action on the anterior delt.  In spite of the disadvantageous mechanics involved (as well outlined in your post), and considering that incline presses primarily work the pectorals, what movement can an enthusiast do for his front delts? Since front dumbbell raises seem to be biomechanically wrong for the front delt, what is a guy to do, Doug? Would you be so kind as to take a moment to offer a suggestion for a front delt exercise?

Tony D.

ANSWER

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your kind words and support.

Regarding the front deltoid, you are correct in that the overhead press works front deltoid more than side deltoid – although with some mechanical risk.  There are several excellent front deltoid exercises that work the front deltoid much better than the overhead press, and with no mechanical risk.

First, understand that the path of the front deltoid is primarily alongside the torso – with the upper arm starting at your side, moving straight forward, and stopping at a point where your upper arm is even with your shoulder.  The anterior delt is involved in other paths too, including overhead presses and most chest exercises, but those paths are not the primary path of the front deltoid.

The second consideration is the position of the muscle, relative to the direction of the resistance.  The rule is that a muscle must be positioned opposite the resistance, in order for it to be maximally stimulated by the resistance.

As an experiment, do the following:  raise your right arm straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground, with the palm of your hand facing downward.  Now look at your deltoid complex (the area of the three heads of your deltoids).  What you’ll notice is that both the front deltoid and the side deltoid are “on top” – opposite the downward pull of gravity.  But now – turn the palm of your hand upwards, so that your elbow is pointing straight down.  Now look at your shoulder.  You’ll notice that the side deltoid has rolled more out to the side – away from the position opposing resistance, leaving primarily your front deltoid on top.  This is the way all of your front deltoid exercises should be done – with the palm up.

The next consideration is the resistance curve.  Do you want to make the early part of the range of motion easy and the latter part more challenging?  Or do you want to make the early part more challenging, and the latter part more easy?  Both are good.

If you do a standing alternate front DB raise, with the palm up, you will feel the movement start easy, and become more difficult as the hand (with the weight in it….approximately 20 lbs is good) reaches a position that is even with your shoulder.  Doing them alternately (while standing) is good because it allows better concentration per deltoid, but mostly because it protects the lower back, since raising them simultaneously would force your lower back to sustain twice as much weight.

Now, lie down on your back on the floor, holding a pair of dumbbells at arms length (but with a slight bend in your elbow, so that your elbow is touching the ground, but the weights are not quite touching the ground), alongside your body, with the palms up.  Now raise them up, simultaneously (since your lower back is now protected) – along the same path as the one you used in the standing version of this same exercise – until the weights reach a point directly over your shoulders.  You’ll notice how it starts off with maximum resistance, but ends with minimum resistance.

You could do the same movement while on an incline bench (45 degree angle) – and experience a resistance curve that provides 50% resistance at the beginning, 100% in the middle, and 50% at the end.

Now try them in front of a pair of cables that originate near your ankles, a few inches outside your ankles (with you facing away from the pulley, so the resistance is pulling downward and backwards).  Same path, different resistance curve.

If you have access to an adjustable massage table, you can vary the degree of incline from flat up to 45 degrees.  You can choose 10 degrees, or 20, or 30 – and each angle offers a new resistance curve for the front deltoid, and therefore a new “environment”.  Same path always, and always palm up, because that is the path and proper muscle position of the front deltoid, for maximum activation.

In my shoulder workout, I typically do three or four side deltoid exercises (all laterals), followed by a front deltoid / rear deltoid super-set.  Then, if I have time, I do a second front deltoid / rear deltoid super-set. Then I do one or two trap exercises, and that constitutes my shoulder workout.

As you can see, there are lots of GREAT options for front deltoid exercises.  Hope that helps.

Best,

Doug Brignole