Q: I’m on the Size Surge 2.0. I’m loving it! Feeling bigger already, but I have a question about shrugs. I started with dumbbell shrugs, 4X style. Then I went to barbell shrugs and got a whole new soreness in my upper back. The exercises don’t feel that different. Why did I get so sore?
A: Amazing how one little tweak to an exercise can trigger new soreness. It’s all about angle of pull and restriction vs. non-restriction.
With hands out “pinned” to a bar through the entire range of motion, you get more of an inward pull. That hits fibers running more horizontally.
A more straight up-and-down motion, as with the dumbbell shrugs, hits fibers angling upward. In this shot of Mike Mentzer’s back, notice how the traps have fibers running every which way…
That’s why you should use dumbbells sometimes and a barbell others. We often superset barbell shrugs with dumbbell shrugs for a full trap pump.
Even pulldowns and behind-the-neck pulldowns hit trap fibers, ones angling downward.
Our colleague and exotic-exercise expert Nick Nilsson does a dumbbell shrug standing in the middle of a cable crossover machine with a low cable attached to each wrist. That gives him both inward and upward resistance. Strange, but he says it’s the ultimate trap move.
The bottom line: For a beastly back, it’s all about a multi-angular attack.
NOTE: The X-traordinary SIZE SURGE WORKOUT 2.0 with the M4X system and mass finishers is available HERE <==
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Testosterone prescriptions do more HARM than good for older men
Millions of men are struggling with the problems associated with low-T in today’s world, such as extra belly and chest fat, low energy and stamina, lack of sexual desire, ED problems, and loss of muscle.
Sadly, millions of men also turn to Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) to try to overcome these problems and try to feel like a new man again…BUT there are some VERY concerning problems with TRT that every man NEEDS to know.
After reading the article below, you might want to consider alternate routes of boosting your T levels naturally instead of through something that’s potentially as harmful as TRT…
–> Why Testosterone Replacement Therapy can do more HARM than good (for any ladies reading this, please pass this on to your husband or boyfriend if they are using or have considered using TRT)