So
how do we build the serratus? The serratus is involved mostly in the
very last portion of the vertical and horizontal pressing motions as
well as during shrugging motions.

At the end of a bench
press, incline press, or overhead press, try to reach even higher with
the bar (via an upward action of the shoulder girdle), basically
reaching for the ceiling, trying to bring the hands as high as
possible. Hold that position for two to three seconds.

Training and Soreness
Q: What's your take on training through mild soreness? A:
I personally feel that it's okay to train a sore muscle. Using
relatively light weights and high reps can actually speed up the
recovery from training-induced soreness. Just avoid training an injured
muscle.

Cardio and Contest Dieting
Q: How much cardio did you do during your last contest prep? What type of cardio do you prefer for competitive bodybuilders? A:
When on a severe caloric deficit, I recommend low-intensity cardio to
avoid muscle breakdown due to excessive glycogen depletion. My
contest preparation period lasted five months. I performed cardio for
the first two months to get the fat burning process started without
cutting calories too much. Then I performed no cardio at all for around
six weeks, got back to it for four weeks, then stopped two weeks out.
I performed either treadmill work at 3.0mph and a 12-degree incline for
20-40 minutes, or X-Vest walking for 40-60 minutes.

The Top Chest Training Mistakes
Q:
Given how everyone at almost every gym seems to be addicted to chest
day, what's the biggest mistake people make in terms of training chest? A: I'll give you three:
1. Poundage addiction on the bench press While
I'm all for moving big weights, most people make the bench press an
ineffective pectoral exercise by focusing too much on lifting big
weights to impress others rather than on getting the chest to do most
of the work. The
regular bench press is basically only a good chest builder if your
shoulders and/or triceps aren't overpowering. In other words, the bench
press will be effective at building the pecs if your pectoral muscles
are dominant (or at least in proper balance) compared to the triceps
and shoulders.

If someone is "pectoral dominant," heavy
bench pressing — even using the powerlifting technique (which normally
emphasizes the triceps) or loose technique — will build a lot of chest
mass. However, if that's not the case, the bench press as performed by
99% of the population won't be an optimal growth inducer. However, some slight technical changes can make the bench press effective. For example:
a) Using a wider grip and keeping the elbows out during the eccentric (lowering) portion of the movement.
b) Trying to "squeeze-in" the bar as you perform the exercise.
c) Performing only the first two-thirds of the movement. d) Including low position partials at the conclusion of a set.
2. Faulty neuromuscular activation pattern This
is a "chicken or egg" kind of situation. People who have problems
building up their chest often have trouble recruiting/activating this
muscle group maximally. During a strength-training exercise,
the CNS will send most of the motor impulse toward the anterior
deltoids and triceps (if it's a pressing movement) or biceps (if it's a
fly movement). Now, is the chest weak because of the motor pattern
(which is often due to bad technique, improper mind-muscle connection,
or bad posture), or is the motor pattern faulty because the chest is
weak (so the CNS must involve the synergists more to compensate)? Nobody
knows for sure, but one thing is certain: a big mistake I see is people
who aren't focusing on the chest when they train it. They thus have a
lousy mind-muscle connection, which makes it hard to fully stimulate
the pecs.

My recommendation is to train yourself to feel the chest contracting on every inch of every rep of every set.
3. Overlap/Redundancy I often see guys doing the following:
A. Bench press
B. Incline bench press
C. Decline bench press
D. Dumbbell press
E. Flyes
F. Pec deck machine The
problem is that this is very redundant. You basically have four
pressing exercises, including three which will basically hit the same
region of the pectoral (bench press, decline bench, dumbbell press) and
two "flying" movements which hits the pecs the same way. This leads to
a lot of volume for nothing, and too much volume can lead to stagnation
and overtraining. Now, I'm not an anti-volume guy. But I do
believe that if you add one exercise to your workout it should bring
something that isn't already in there. Don't add exercises if you can't
justify using them. The following is an example of justifiable volume:
A. Wide-grip bench press to the neck
B. Low incline dumbbell press
C1. Gironda-style dips
C2. Cable crossover
D. Low position (partial) dumbbell flies Each exercise brings something slightly new to the table. On the other hand, the following wouldn't be acceptable:
A. Bench press
B. Dumbbell bench press
C1. Low incline dumbbell press
C2. Dumbbell flyes
D. Low pulley cable flyes Same
number of exercises, but it's too redundant: bench press, dumbbell
bench press, and dumbbell flyes/cable flyes are basically hitting the
same muscle region. Volume (within the realm of your adaptive capacity) isn't a bad thing; pointless volume is though.

Lean Body, Fat Belly
Q:
My fat stores seem to be around the abdominal region. I have a very
good diet and don't eat or drink any rubbish. My body fat on my distal
segments is very low; I can see the veins in my legs and arms easily.
What can I do to get rid of this stubborn fat? Is this genetic or what? A: Could be one of several things:
1. Genetics Although
I always blame genetics when all else fails, in most cases I think that
it's a cop-out. But it's true that some individuals will tend to store
more fat in the abdominal region due to genetic predispositions.
2. Elevated cortisol levels Several studies have demonstrated that there's a strong correlation between abdominal fat and stress/cortisol levels. I
had an athlete who was an obsessive exerciser. He was a football player
and would train every day in the gym, go sprint in the afternoon, and
then play ice hockey in the evening. He desperately wanted to have abs!
However, that was his downfall because although he got shredded
everywhere (even to the point of having striations) he actually gained abdominal fat! Sometimes doing too much and worrying
too much can lead to abdominal fat gain. Life stress can also
contribute to elevated cortisol levels. Some supplements like
phosphatidylserine (400-800mg, two to three times a day) may help lower
cortisol levels.
3. Excessive aromatization of Testosterone into estrogen In
men this can lead to fat storage as well as water retention in the
abdominal and lower back region. This is because that's where there's
the greater concentration of alpha-adrenoreceptors in men (in women
it's in the buttocks and upper thigh area). This can be
"cured" by using an anti-aromataze (a pharmaceutical one like
letrozole, aromasin, or anastrozole) or the new Biotest product REZ-V.
The problem with the pharmaceutical versions is that they're actually
too potent (unless you're using massive doses of steroids) and can
cause several problems due to excessive estrogen suppression.
4. Water retention I
know that I tend to hold water in the abdominal region. For example,
when I wake up in the morning my mid-section is always super tight, but
as the day goes by I lose quite a bit of definition only to be back to
square one in the morning. The same doesn't happen to me for other body
parts. Also, if I spend some time in the sun, my abs are more
defined (because I lose some water there). So it's possible that it
could be a water retention problem. In that case I'd suggest
drastically upping your water intake (not diet soda or juice) and maybe
taking an herbal diuretic.

Front Squat Coaching Points
Q:
When I back squat, just before I start I have a small list of things to
keep in mind for good form: chest out, weight on heels, etc. Can you
give a quick run down for front squats? A:
The most important thing is to keep your torso as upright as possible
to avoid the bar rolling off the shoulders. Here are some other
coaching points:
a) Keep your elbows as high as
possible during the whole movement. In fact, as you go down you should
actually try to raise your elbows even higher. This will help you keep
the bar in place and will even help you keep an upright position by
leading to an upper/mid-back contraction. This only applies if using a
clean grip and not a cross-arms grip.
b) Imagine sitting down between your legs.
c) Feet are three to four inches wider than the hips (so approximately shoulder-width.)

Think Progression, Not Difficulty
Q: My gains have really stalled even though my diet is in order. Should I try to keep making my workouts more difficult? A: I really don't like the term, "difficult." Difficulty has nothing
to do with stimulating gains. Juggling five knives while standing on a
Swiss ball is "difficult" but it won't lead to gains. Stimulating gains is about progression. What we want is to make the training sessions progressively more stressful on the body. Progression is not
necessarily using more weight, although adding weight is a form of
progression. You can increase training stress (progress) several ways:
1. Loading: Using more weight
2. Volume via reps: Performing more reps with the same load
3. Volume via sets: increasing the total workload by increasing the number of sets per exercise
4. Volume via exercises: Increasing the total workload by using more exercises for a certain muscle group/lift structure 5. Density: By reducing the amount of rest between sets (performing more work per unit of time) 6.
Eccentric TUT (time under tension): By increasing the duration of the
eccentric (lifting) portion of the exercises without using less weight
7.
Concentric force via acceleration: F = mass times acceleration. This
method consists of lifting the same load with more acceleration (thus
producing more force.)
8. Special techniques: Using different, more challenging techniques (e.g. cluster sets, extended 5's, drop sets, etc.)
9. Exercise choice: By switching to more challenging exercises (going from a leg press-based cycle to a squat-based cycle)
10. Focus: By working on improving the mind-muscle connection
11. Frequency: By training each muscle group more often And
these are just some ways to progress! So just because you get back to
using lower weights doesn't mean that you're taking a few steps back.
Similarly, you don't have to be focused only on adding weight to
progress. If you find a way to progress via one of these eleven factors
at every workout, you'll improve.

However, despite all that I've said, do understand that the body can't adapt in a linear fashion ad vitam aeternam. At some point you'll have to take a step back to take a few steps forward. You
can either decide yourself when you take that step back, or wait for
your body to force you to take it, at which point it might take a while
before you can get back to a positive fitness status. That's the point
of cycling: varying the training stress in a way that your body isn't
pushed past its limitÉ and yes, that sometimes requires taking a step
back.

Normally after 12-16 weeks of hard training (one
training cycle) you should deload for a week (transition phase) or even
ten days, then start a new cycle. That new cycle will start from a
lower point (stress-wise) than where you ended your last cycle, but
higher than where you started it. This is wavelike periodization.

Ectomorph Supplement Stack
Q:
What kind of supplement plan would you recommend for a tall ectomorph
who gains fat easily but wants to put on a lot of muscle? A: The first thing to do is use 10 grams of BCAAs
and 5-10 grams of creatine five times a day. I've had some trainees
gain a lot of muscle simply by adding that to their daily caloric
intake.
Metabolic Drive
is also very good for a guy like you because it has both slow and fast
absorbed protein. Ectos need to have a constant flux of nutrients
flowing in their bodies and the slow release protein that's part of the
Metabolic Drive formula is perfect for that purpose. Then I'd add a mix of supercharged Alpha Male and REZ-V
to help you build a lot of muscle by increasing your Testosterone
levels. Plus it'll help you lose fat because of the lowered estrogen
levels.

Wrist Straps
Q: What do you think of bodybuilders using wrist straps? A: If you're lifting only to gain muscle mass and improve how you look, using straps on all pulling lifts is fine. In
fact, in most upper back movements, using straps can even increase the
efficacy of the exercise. The straps allow you to grip the bar more
loosely, which means that the forearms and biceps won't contract as
hard, making the back do more work.

Now, if you're training
for a sport, I'd stay away from straps for all but your heavier sets so
that you can at least get some "grip" stimulation. Finally, if you're a
competitive powerlifter, grappler, or strongman competitor, I'd stay
away from straps completely.

On a related note, soft knee
sleeves (the neoprene kind) are okay too as they keep the knees warm,
but I wouldn't use the kind that help you lift more (powerlifting knee
wraps).

Pound o' Week?
Q: When trying to lose fat, how much fat loss per week is ideal? I always hear that it's about a pound. What do you think? A:
Shooting for one to two pounds of fat loss per week is ideal. It is
possible with more drastic measures to lose more fat, but at the risk
of A) losing muscle mass and B) feeling like crap.

I do
think that it's possible to do very short bouts (one to three weeks) of
super restrictive dieting to lose three to five pounds of fat per week
without too much muscle loss. However, that strategy can't be used on
the long term.
And remember, you really can't judge your progress by the weight on the
scale. You might gain some muscle and lose some fat so your scale
weight doesn't budge. You might retain some water which will elevate
your weight without elevating body fat levels. You could also be
dehydrated which will make you weigh less. Just a few things to keep in mind when looking at those scale numbers!

Help Me Chin!
Q:
I think pull-ups are the best lat exercise out there but I can't do
them anymore since I've gotten bigger. Any advice? And can you add size
with only a few reps? A:
I recommend negative-only pull-ups until you can do complete ones. Lift
yourself up using a chair or a bench and lower yourself in five
seconds. Perform reps until you can't control the lowering movement.


Hypertrophy can be seen with as little as three reps per set (if you
perform a higher number of sets) but the optimal ranges are 6-8 and
8-12 reps.

Note: For more great advice from Thibs, keep an eye on the T-Nation forum!