Okay, so you want to build a beautiful body. No matter how many times I am asked the question “hey, what do you bench?”, my answer is always the same; “I don’t know”. This is because I don’t go to the gym with the intention of finding out how much weight I can bench press.
Bench pressing is the ultimate ego exercise and continues to dominate the egotistical mind as the standard measure of progress. This would be fine if you were a power lifter, but most people who work out regularly at a gym don’t fall into this category. You will find that the most common goal amongst gym rats is to lose body fat, gain lean muscle, and sculpt a beautiful physique. Well guess what? you are therefore a bodybuilder. Get that in your head first. Now you may not desire to have a physique to the same degree as say a professional bodybuilder, or even a natural competitive amateur bodybuilder, but you desire to create a beautiful body by losing body fat and building lean muscle. Yep, you are a bodybuilder. Once you make this mental shift, you will begin to realise that you can achieve your goals much easier because you are clear on what you are.
So back to the “What do you bench question?”. As a bodybuilder you use resistance training to stimulate and tear down muscle. The question of how much weight can you lift becomes irrelevant if you do not satisfy this first rule. Using the right weight with the right technique is paramount to achieving the desired effect. Yes, you can go too heavy as a bodybuilder. What happens in this instance is that other muscle groups compensate to cooperatively lift the weight. This lessens the tension on the primary target muscle group, and as a result, less stress is transferred to that targeted muscle and hence less results ensue. In the case of the bench press for example; using too heavy a weight incorporates more triceps, more rear deltoids, more shoulders, more forearms, even the back comes into play. All of this combined effort alleviates tension from the chest muscle which is where the stress should be focused. In bodybuilding, transferring stress to the right muscle group, while limiting the incorporation of supporting muscle groups, is critical for the overall development of the targeted muscle.
Bodybuilding is about visuality. It is about making your physique appear balanced, and proportioned, and appearing aesthetic from every angle. However it is also about optical illusion. Let me give you some examples.
– A dark tanned person looks more defined than a pale skinned person of the same body fat%.
– A well defined 16″ arm looks bigger than an undefined 18″ arm.
– Well developed calf muscles give more overall balance to the body, than the development of any other body part.
– If you have short hair, as opposed to long hair, your body will look larger.
– A person with overdeveloped biceps appears to lack chest development.
You can see from these examples how https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/brutal-force-sarms-2023-buy-sarms-online-in-usa-uk-australia-and-canada-news-258242 much visuality and optical illusion contribute to the overall image of the body. So, taking these things into consideration what are the exercises you should never do, and why not do them? Well the reason is this, they can damage your symmetry. Symmetry is the most critical element of a beautifully developed body.
#1 Do not perform side-bends
No matter how many places I have trained I always see someone incorporating this movement into their routine. The problem with this exercise is that is does not target the obliques. Instead it builds muscle in the area beneath your typical love handles, creating permanent, yes permanent love handles. Even if you were to diet down to single digit body fat% you would still have this muscle mass present making your waist line appear wide, and blocky. I have even seen people do this movement holding heavy dumbbells or a cable. I advise against it. Having a nice V taper from your back and lats, combined with nicely rounded shoulders makes the waistline appear smaller. Doing side bends, or weighted side bends makes the waistline look thicker, and no body wants that.