Q: I need some POF exercise clarifications. In some of your POF leg workouts, you have hyperextensions for hamstrings. I thought hyperextensions are more for your lower back. Also on the Heavy/Light Ultimate 10X10 Mass Workout, you have incline one-arm lateral raises and leaning one-arm lateral raises. Aren’t incline and leaning lateral raises the same thing?
A: We understand the occasional need for POF exercise clarifications. Hyperextensions are often classified as a lower-back exercise; however, if you keep your lower back flat throughout the stroke, you will hit your hamstrings hard with help from your glutes. Make an effort to really feel your hamstrings elongate as you lower to the bottom position; force them to bear the brunt of the resistance. Remember, don’t allow your lower back to round at the bottom…
If you do allow your lower back to round, resistance will fall off the hamstrings and your lumbars will become more engaged in the action as a prime mover rather than as a stabilizer. So for hamstring work keep your lower back locked flat (as in stiff-legged deadlifts).
As for incline one-arm laterals, those are done with your nonworking side against an incline bench. It’s a stretch-position move in Positions-of-Flexion training because your arm moves down in front of your torso…
One-arm leaning laterals are performed by leaning out, the opposite direction of incline laterals; for example, you put your feet next to the upright base of a crossover machine, grab the post with your nonworking arm and lean out till your support arm is straight. Now you do laterals with your free arm…
Leaning laterals work more of the contracted position—the top end of the lateral-raise stroke. The exercise provides a unique squeeze on that key head that most bodybuilders never get…
So that’s a very complete two-way routine for the medial-delt head. You get stretch with the incline one-arm laterals and then contracted-position work with the leaning laterals, training the full stroke against resistance. You could even superset the two for a gigantic pump.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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