Q: I’ve been using your Stretch-First POF Workout [pages 71-72 in Old Man, Young Muscle]. I’ve grown more in six weeks than most of last year. Doing the stretch exercise first is the bomb. It’s giving me some sick gains. One question: You’ve mentioned how bench dips for triceps are bad for shoulders, but you have it in the workout as the ending contracted move. Do you still do those?
A: Sick gains! That fits because it’s SIC—Stretch-Ideal-Contracted.
As for your question, I do still use bench dips, one set to finish. Interesting that even with my bum shoulder, the exercise doesn’t give me any pain. Notice that I don’t go down low to avoid joint rippage.
The above photos illustrate the efficient Stretch-First POF triceps workout from OMYM, 20 seconds between all sets…
Stretch: Overhead extensions, 1 x 20
Ideal: Decline extensions, 2 x 10, 7
Contracted: Bench dips, 1 x 10
I sometimes use kickbacks instead of bench dips for the contracted-position exercise, as it provides more resistance at full flex. That’s unique; however…
Bench dips also provide a different line of pull to finish off the triceps, so I try to alternate between the two.
And I usually do the bench dips or kickbacks in Speed Set style (1.5 seconds per rep).
While the dumbbell decline extension is classified as the ideal move, best of the bunch, variation in fiber recruitment says the others contribute, adding different “layers” of mass…
A recent study showed that overhead extensions, the stretch move, produced more triceps mass than pushdowns. (Maeo, et al. Euro J Sports Sci. 2022)
It’s one of the many studies showing that training the target in its elongated state against resistance is the key get-bigger trigger.
And it’s why the Stretch-First POF, or SIC, workout is giving you such spectacular gains. Stretch first for a sick mass burst.
GROW like never before: Get the complete Stretch-First POF Pre-Ex Workout as well as the Base-STX Workout, which both include the ideal exercise for each muscle and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves for mass, in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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