Updates & More!

"I'm currently training with the Florida Gulf Coast Weightlifting Team and hope to one day make the U.S. Olympic Team. My next competition is in August 2010.  I train five days a week, legs every day at  the YMCA in Port Charlotte on Quesada.
Megan McBride

A huge congrats to Megan from the StrengthAddicts Family, at only nineteen years of age, I think the sky's the limit fort his aspiring lifter!

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Video Views & More!

Congratulations to:::

Karson Lattimore whose "Mighty Quads in Action" @ 2,954!
Mike "the Tank" Ivancevic's "Push Press" @ 2,459!

Big kudos to John M. for a great effort w/ Delts on Friday -- his video (which I've been promoting like a madman) is close to 500 views (his highest charting to date).

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The New Gym

Many of the members of 'the Brand' are growing more and more concerned in regards to accessibility to Go Workout, given the establishment of Gym Bumz. In the absence of an announcement, I will ask Mitch and see if I can't put up an answer in the coming days. I think the folks at our gym are doing a great job (between painting and remodeling); however, I'm not crazy about the Friday's closing time going from 10pm to 9pm -- a very minor issue. Overall, I hope that many of our guys considering to jump ship will stay put for the time being. (In regards to my earlier issue -- I spoke to management [again], and I personally want to stay put as long as possible).

Gym Bumz is a gymrat-and-bodybuilding-friendly establishment -- we need to have its back now and not run for the hills simply b/c of a name-change. It didn't become the YMCA or Curves, so for once let the hardcore lifters help pay the bills. We always whine about how these fitness pipsqueaks get all the love at gyms, well now is not the time to abandon a ship that actually wants us on board.

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Final Word

Check out the site a bit later-- some more changes in store. I'll be in the gym tomorrow (at around Noon/1pm to train Chest & Biceps -- no Hawk this week :( , but I'll be ok. Anyone that wants to talk -- gimme a ring! And thanks to all of you that reached out and were concerned I was leaving.

Don't ever listen to anyone that says 'this is just a blog' -- or -- 'this is just a facebook group' -- we're NOT! 'The Family' is only going to get bigger and baDDer in time! There's nothing mediocre about us. Only the strong survive, so train hard & shut up, lol.

Decline Pectoral Exercises

There's certain exercises that are well known but seldom performed by the vast majority of gym-goers today. But what makes an exercise fall from such favor? We often hear about stimulating the muscle and addressing it from as many angles as possible; however, when dealing with pectoral development, at least, it seems that the emphasis is limited to the upper and middle portions of the muscle, with the decline execises like the decline bench press and decline flyes falling further and further into general disfavor.

So in an effort to tackle this phenomenon, I posed the following question to Blake Selby, Josh Castillo, and a few other of the notable members of the StrengthAddicts Facebook group -- but none replied. I am aware that people have lives and other commitments, but beyond the latter and the former I am also aware of how potentially-complicated this poll question.

I am very happy to present my question, followed by an excellently written response by one of our newest members on the Facebook group! He is an avid weight-lifter, coach, and has trained alongside Cassie Bishop on several instances. So without further adeu...

Christian Duque: What's your take on decline bench press, and how importantly would you rate this exercise with regard to sound pectoral development?

"In my opinion, decline bench presses are useful for only 2 reasons:

1. As a substitute to flat bench presses when you are nursing a shoulder injury. The unique biomechanical advantage of the decline bench press allows you to place less stress on the anterior deltoids, and put primary focus on the chest and the supporting triceps muscles.

2. For the same biomechanical reason listed above, decline bench press is also useful if your anterior deltoid strength is so strong that it takes away from your pectoral strength. You are able to utilize the decline bench press as a strategy to take the workload focus off of the shoulders, and place it more on the chest where you want it.

HOWEVER you must also keep in mind that just because decline bench press takes some load off the shoulders and directs it toward the chest, does not mean that it will help you develop the chest muscles to a greater level. Declines work primarily the lower chest, and to a lesser degree, the middle chest, and almost insignificantly the upper chest.
The majority of people already develop a great chest simply from flat bench press and incline bench press. Incorporating declines into your program will create a somewhat blocky look, due to diminishing the narrow separation between the pectoral muscles and the wall of the abdomen/sternum.

So in conclusion... if your shoulders are suffering from injury or if they are significantly stronger than your chest muscles, then substituting flat bench press for decline bench press may be a good idea. But if your shoulders are healthy and balanced, stick to flat bench and incline bench."

Brandon Mutti
Certified Strength and Fitness Coach
Redford/Detroit, MIchigan

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KARSON LATTIMORE

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Obsessions, Ponderings, Stats, & MoRe!

Quads: Front Squat University

Ok, the secret's out of the bag - I'm totally into leg training and developing size, strength, and definition in every StengthAddict's own set of wheels. There's no slice of scorn for those injured or otherwise in therapy -- but age, bodyweight, discomfort, and laziness (or inertia, lol) are not excuses. Any momo can bench press and do arms -- but you start seeing the boys/girl separate from the men/women when the training grows more demanding and the pain -- oh there's pain -- becomes more excruciating; I'm talking delts, quads, and backk!. Any idiot can do well on chest, arms, and calves -- it's what everyone does, from your 20yr gymrat to your Abercrombie & Fitch, metro-sexual gym poser that joins up to scope out the opposite sex and dabs his/her face with a Downhy fresh, little white towel. (These tools usually come out during New Year's first two weeks - and of course - during the hot summer months, lol).

(Note: these pipsqueaks are the deathknell of hardcore gyms, so promote this group and groups like it so bodybuilding and powerlifting remain on the business radar of gym management.

So back to the point of this entry -- legs. While I think people are privvy to the fact that for legs, squats are king! People are also aware that the silver medal goes to Leg Presses, with the bronze being awarded to Leg Extensions. However, there's at least one supplemental exercise that should not be discounted or excluded from your routine -- the almighty, devastating Front Squat!

What I like most about Front Squats are the control they demand from the athlete; unlike squats where the back, arguably, comes into play, the FS requires most of the overall balance to come from the quadriceps. And according to a great article published on StrongLifts.com, front squats require less spinal load, meanwhile are performed with less torque and spinal flexion that back squats.

In the coming weeks, I hope to be able to gather your thoughts on this excellent quad-building exercise, as well as hopefully taping a few of you at work on it! The photos in this section (from top to bottom) feature: Jake Hawkins, Karson Lattimore, and yours truly - Christian Duque.

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The Joys of Dieting

It started with a handshake and a really nice greeting, "hey Christian, how are you buddy?" We clasped hands as my mind went racing. And this was no ordinary shot, this run made the Winston 500 seem like a back alley drag race.

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The Women Need Role Models

The gymnasium is a place where bodies are carefully modified according to each athlets's seemingly clear mental blue print. But you're not going to be able to achieve hardly anything if your head's not screwed on properly. People need friends, inspiration, and motivation most definitely in places like the gym.

We all learn through trial and error, but everyone wants a role model, and the real-life kind always beat out the magazine and television stars that seem light years away. But even in a gym with several women considering competitive Figure contests and getting themselves into lean shape, I do not believe these persons to be accessible to the general membership.

This is why I'm very happy to announce that StrengthAddicts.com will be featuring local, Mighican female figure, fitness, and bodybuilding athletes, that have accomplished superb physiques, and continue to retain some sense of humility and at the same time, a true desire to help those that want to be helped, without being made to feel inferior in the process.

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Covers & Stats

StrengthAddicts can be found on a great many forums all over the internet, but are most popular mediums are: Facebook, Myspace, Badoo, and YouTube. Members will be featured on the cover of our accounts, based on statistical information (e.g. video views, club activity, and subject matter). Gracing the cover of our Myspace, Facebook (group photo), and/or YouTube channel will mean that you will be the face of the 40+ men and women of the group. It's the cover of Time Magazine, but it's a great honor for those of us pushing through reps in the gym.

Great movements begin with just a few enlightened men and women. I don't dream small and I don't half-ass it - anywhere. This time (as opposed to 2008), StrengthAddicts will not stand down.

Current Coves

Myspace.com -- Mike "the Tank" Ivancevic

YouTube.com -- Karson Lattimore

Facebook/GR -- Spencer Range

For those of you wondering "wtf is badoo?" -- it's like Facebook, but it's huge in Southeast Asia and Latin America. I have many goals for this site (one of which is creating small fanbases around the world for all of you). I'm very proud of every StrengthAddict, and I want y'all to be seen :)

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Casting Call: Gymrats Needed for Mighty Forearms!

One of the many forgotten muscles that are an integral part of every bodybuilder and powerlifter's arsenal are forearms. Use straps much? Use chalk? These are both great accessories for the modern lifter; however, they both soon become obsolete the stronger one's form's become. The human body gives us the tools to create an Iron-Grip and our very hands provide for the best stability and control conceivable -- in the form of calluses. So why do forearms gets lost in the shuffle on a day that may include triceps and/or biceps training?

Well, the answer is clearly in sex. Think of Sex and Sex Appeal in the same context. How many guitarists play their instrument with the oppposite sex in mind? How many heterosexual actors apply makeup on the set and/or have face-lifts at 40yrs of age? And how many athletes hit the gym to have aesthetically-pleasing guns, abs, and pec, meanwhile their back, legs, and delts look like dogshit?

When you lift for yourself - every muscle group is addressed, including distinct heads that are usually never isolated in [mainstream] compound movements. However, the athlete that trains for sex appeal, hits only those muscles that are in demand -- some guys would train their inner thighs and wear Strongest Inner Thigh Monster t-shirts around town if they figured it would score them points with the ladies. And some women are guilty of this phenomenon as well -- let's get out of the Victorian Age shall we -- women can be just as intelligent, sick in the head, and trendy as their male counterparts. Being Metro is an equal opportunity laughable phase in life.

So as of today -- I'm putting the call out -- if you want to train forearms and show the others a few tricks up your sleeve -- drop me a line - StrengthAddicts@yahoo.com -- and if you live internationally and have a video on youtube, you may also contact me.

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