3 Best Exercises for Muscle & Strength
Published: Thu, 02/12/15
This week we have been talking about the 3 Big Lifts.
Namely the Squat, the Bench Press & the Deadlift.
We have established that they are huge mass building
compound exercises that build total body strength
in the fastest time possible.
that are responsible for muscle growth.
So why don't you see more people squatting and
deadlifting at the gym? There's a lot of propoganda
floating around out there, so lets clear things up
starting with the Squat.
Lets clear the air when it comes to what's been called
the King of All Exercises.
Squat Myth #1: Squats are bad for your knees.
Squats are not bad for your knees, squats with bad
form are.
If you use correct form like taught in Anabolic
AfterGrowth and go to parallel you will have safe
strong knees.
My friend Mehdi, from SrongLifts.com told me
where the squat myth originated.
"1. In 1961, Dr. Karl Klein compared the knee laxity
of 128 Squatters to 360 people who didn't Squat.
He concluded Squats create loose knees. But the
study was flawed. Other studies have since then
proven Squatters have stronger knees than non-Squatters.
2. Misinformed people hurt their knees Squatting
with bad form (half reps, knees cave in, no hips, etc).
They visit the doctor who hears for the 27th time
"I hurt my knees doing Squats". Doctors mix
causation and correlation, and conclude Squats are
the problem, not the bad form."
of 128 Squatters to 360 people who didn't Squat.
He concluded Squats create loose knees. But the
study was flawed. Other studies have since then
proven Squatters have stronger knees than non-Squatters.
2. Misinformed people hurt their knees Squatting
with bad form (half reps, knees cave in, no hips, etc).
They visit the doctor who hears for the 27th time
"I hurt my knees doing Squats". Doctors mix
causation and correlation, and conclude Squats are
the problem, not the bad form."
This doesn't make sense. Think about it for a moment.
Millions of babies hang out in the squat position all
day long. So do grown-ups in Asia that don't have
squat toilets. They are not all in pain.
The weight from the bar would only make you stronger
as long as you are working your full range of motion.
The guys who get hurt are the ones that always do
partial reps or half squats. Pretty ironic.
Look I tore my ACL playing football in 2001 and
used the squat to rehab my injured knee.
Squat Myth #2: Squats Widen Your Hips
Nobody wants to look extra wide right? This too is
totally false.
Again I'm going to quote Mehdi from Stronglifts.com
"This myth goes back to June 1952 when bodybuilder
Irvin Johnson wrote in Iron Man magazine...
Irvin Johnson wrote in Iron Man magazine...
Squats, especially with heavy weights, produce big
fannies. Broaden the hips and develop and upper thigh
like that of a woman.
fannies. Broaden the hips and develop and upper thigh
like that of a woman.
Bodybuilder Vince Gironda joined Jonson's anti-Squat
crusade the same year. He wrote in Iron Man magazine
that Squats overdevelop the glutes, widen the hips and
prevent the "v-shape".
crusade the same year. He wrote in Iron Man magazine
that Squats overdevelop the glutes, widen the hips and
prevent the "v-shape".
Yet here's the truth: Your gluteus maximus (one of
your butt muscles) is the largest one in your body/
your butt muscles) is the largest one in your body/
That means your gluteus maximus is also the largest
muscle of your hips Squats works your glute muscles,
so they grow bigger from Squatting But none of your
glute attachments are on the outside of your hips.
muscle of your hips Squats works your glute muscles,
so they grow bigger from Squatting But none of your
glute attachments are on the outside of your hips.
So if your glutes grow, they grow BACK - not to
the side The only part of your glutes that grows
on the side of your hips are your Tensor Fascae
Latae.
the side The only part of your glutes that grows
on the side of your hips are your Tensor Fascae
Latae.
But this is the smallest of your four gluteal muscles,
with therefore the least potential for growth. The
majority of your glutes will grow back and thus
cannot increase the width of your hips Hip width
is mostly a genetic factor - you're born with large
hip bones or you aren't.
If you are, the only way to reduce the size of
your hips is by sawing a part of your pelvis off.
Or you can make them look narrower by increasing
the size of your shoulders and thighs (the latter is
what Squats do).
If Squatting did increase the width of your hips,
then Olympic Lifters who Squat heavy multiple
times a week would all have broad hips. Yet
this isn't the case because your glutes muscles
will always grow back, not to the side, regardless
of how heavy or often you Squat."
Squat Myth #3: If you squat you will look like
a powerlifter.
It's a stereotype but a lot of powerlifters are fat
and bloated looking. That's probably not the look
you are going for.
Well it's not the squat that made them fat it's the
food they eat.
Squats won't make you fat, eating like crap will.
Squat Myth #4: I'll get hurt going heavy
Look heavy just means heavy for you. You are
not going to start maxing out if you haven't
squatted in years.
You can estimate your max by using our chart.
After that you want to practice your form with
weight that you can easily handle before you start
adding more weight.
The weight on the squat will strengthen your core
and back muscles and I'd be willing to bet will even
decrease any back pain you have from sitting too much.
Don't avoid this lift anymore. Who cares what
people think. You will get strong fast and you
need to be strong to get big. They go hand in hand.
====
Either later today or more likely tomorrow we'll
cover some myths about the deadlift.
I want to ask you something though.
If you've been avoiding the 3 Big Lifts for whatever
reason, just think how much time you could save
if you started doing them.
They are not super popular because they require
you work hard. But wouldn't you rather work hard
3 or 4 times a week for 45-minutes rather spending
all your time in the gym?
In our brand new Anabolic AfterGrowth we have
videos showing you how to perform the lifts safely
and effectively.
Like I mentioned before heavy weight is relative.
As long as the weight is heavy for you, that's what
matters. You don't need to compare yourself to
anyone else.
And I promise if you start training with the 3 Big
Lifts...you will grow stronger and bigger than with
any other kind of training and you'll do it much
much faster.
Here's a done for you workout with the training
logs included that sets it all up for you in a simple
easy to follow progression for just $9.
Regular price will be $50 but since is the first week
of the release...it's on sale for our fans today.
Keep training hard,
Mike Westerdal
CriticalBench.com
P.S. Check out what Adam Foster has to say.
From Skinny Teen to Bodybuilding Finalist
"The simple to follow no nonsense approach
from Coach Chris and the team of Critical Bench
laid a foundation of knowledge for me, which has
helped me transform from a skinny teen to placing
in a the NABBA Britain Finals."
from Coach Chris and the team of Critical Bench
laid a foundation of knowledge for me, which has
helped me transform from a skinny teen to placing
in a the NABBA Britain Finals."
