With his Southern charm shining through, Olympic Weightlifting Champion Donny Shankle answers some common questions on how to get huge.
MuscleDog For Men > Article Discussion > Question and Answer From the Pros
Question and Answer From the Pros
Q: I can’t squat and wanted to know—what is the best alternative exercise?
A: Nothing, except possibly the front squat. If you want a truly demanding physique in the gym or at the beach, you need to squat. In fact, you need to squat ass to the grass frequently, in all types of repetition ranges, throughout the year. Leg presses will not cut it and lunges will not stimulate the growth you are looking for. Look at any power lifter or upper kilo weight class Olympic lifter and you will find a demanding physique all through squats!
I agree with changing up your repetition ranges and weight throughout the year
However, I feel that step ups, Bulgarian split squats, zercher squats, deadlifts, and lunges, will stimulate growth just as much.
I don’t believe that squatting is the only exercise that will give you that look. [/size]It all depends on your nutrition, supplementation gentics, intensity level, proper form and muscle stimulation.
I also agree that it is better to use barbells, dumbbells, or body weight compared to using the leg press, hack machine and other machines which do not require using your core and other stabilizer muscles.
Q: How do I get a six-pack?
A: This is mostly a diet question so go get your diet in order by hiring a nutritionist that can get you results. In the gym you need to increase the metabolic demand of your routine. Try doing a search on the Tabata method or more recently CrossFit. Both of these training regimes are taxing on your body and are the quickest and most effective method of leaning yourself out that I have ever found.
I agree 100%….You can’t see your six pack if you have high body fat. People think they can spot reduce so they do millions of crunches…Its not that’s easy!!!
There is no magic pill… Find a nutrition plan that works for you, train balls to the wall, change up your routine and diet, make sure to add recovery time, and implement high intensity interval training if need be.
Q: How do I get bigger biceps?
A: Squat, eat and then squat. Whenever I walk into a college weight room, I see lines of young men doing bicep curls of every different angle. They usually have moderately sized arm development but nothing to write home about. For each one of them, I would recommend dropping the amount of direct arm work they are doing and instead focus on increasing their overall strength and bodyweight. While isolation exercises are fine for fine-tuning your physique, they only work to a small extent in creating an overall impressive physique. To develop truly huge arms, you need a truly huge body to support them. So focus on eating more and developing the rest of your body. You will notice your arms get bigger too.
Hahahah… Yes!! I see guys doing only bicep curls, chest press, and no lower body work. They have chicken legs, it hilarious………
Your quads, glutes and hamstrings are the largest muscles groups in your body. When you train them properly, you can increase testosterone levels which may help increase overall size. …
Note: Guys, stop walking around with chicken legs, it’s embarrassing.
Q: When I dead-lift, what grip should I use?
A: Unless you are looking to compete in power lifting, use an overhand grip. The reason being that it will transfer more directly to the other lifts you should be doing, such as pull-ups, cleans, snatches and rows. Additionally, it increases the time under tension for the forearms, inducing more muscle growth. At first, you may find that you are limited by the strength in your forearms (especially at higher repetition ranges). Go ahead and use straps to assist with these, but do not change up the grip.
Interesting… when I do straight leg dead lifts I use the under over hand grip. I have such a hard time doing the over hand grip. I wonder if it is because I have small hands (like a child) or if I have a really weak[/size] grip. Sometimes I feel like I can do more reps but my over hand grip gives out
Q: What is your favorite exercise?
A: Squats!
Squats, front squats, single leg squats, sumo squats, straight leg deadlift, lunges and pull ups
A: Nothing, except possibly the front squat. If you want a truly demanding physique in the gym or at the beach, you need to squat. In fact, you need to squat ass to the grass frequently, in all types of repetition ranges, throughout the year. Leg presses will not cut it and lunges will not stimulate the growth you are looking for. Look at any power lifter or upper kilo weight class Olympic lifter and you will find a demanding physique all through squats!
I agree with changing up your repetition ranges and weight throughout the year
However, I feel that step ups, Bulgarian split squats, zercher squats, deadlifts, and lunges, will stimulate growth just as much.
I don’t believe that squatting is the only exercise that will give you that look. [/size]It all depends on your nutrition, supplementation gentics, intensity level, proper form and muscle stimulation.
I also agree that it is better to use barbells, dumbbells, or body weight compared to using the leg press, hack machine and other machines which do not require using your core and other stabilizer muscles.
Q: How do I get a six-pack?
A: This is mostly a diet question so go get your diet in order by hiring a nutritionist that can get you results. In the gym you need to increase the metabolic demand of your routine. Try doing a search on the Tabata method or more recently CrossFit. Both of these training regimes are taxing on your body and are the quickest and most effective method of leaning yourself out that I have ever found.
I agree 100%….You can’t see your six pack if you have high body fat. People think they can spot reduce so they do millions of crunches…Its not that’s easy!!!
There is no magic pill… Find a nutrition plan that works for you, train balls to the wall, change up your routine and diet, make sure to add recovery time, and implement high intensity interval training if need be.
Q: How do I get bigger biceps?
A: Squat, eat and then squat. Whenever I walk into a college weight room, I see lines of young men doing bicep curls of every different angle. They usually have moderately sized arm development but nothing to write home about. For each one of them, I would recommend dropping the amount of direct arm work they are doing and instead focus on increasing their overall strength and bodyweight. While isolation exercises are fine for fine-tuning your physique, they only work to a small extent in creating an overall impressive physique. To develop truly huge arms, you need a truly huge body to support them. So focus on eating more and developing the rest of your body. You will notice your arms get bigger too.
Hahahah… Yes!! I see guys doing only bicep curls, chest press, and no lower body work. They have chicken legs, it hilarious………
Your quads, glutes and hamstrings are the largest muscles groups in your body. When you train them properly, you can increase testosterone levels which may help increase overall size. …
Note: Guys, stop walking around with chicken legs, it’s embarrassing.
Q: When I dead-lift, what grip should I use?
A: Unless you are looking to compete in power lifting, use an overhand grip. The reason being that it will transfer more directly to the other lifts you should be doing, such as pull-ups, cleans, snatches and rows. Additionally, it increases the time under tension for the forearms, inducing more muscle growth. At first, you may find that you are limited by the strength in your forearms (especially at higher repetition ranges). Go ahead and use straps to assist with these, but do not change up the grip.
Interesting… when I do straight leg dead lifts I use the under over hand grip. I have such a hard time doing the over hand grip. I wonder if it is because I have small hands (like a child) or if I have a really weak[/size] grip. Sometimes I feel like I can do more reps but my over hand grip gives out
Q: What is your favorite exercise?
A: Squats!
Squats, front squats, single leg squats, sumo squats, straight leg deadlift, lunges and pull ups
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