Q&A: Trap Training

Q: Anthony, I have a hard time adding size and thickness to my traps. I do a lot of shrugs but they just wont seem to grow. Is there anything else you suggest I do?

Joe- Chicago

A:

Joe, great question. It just so happens that training Upper Back, Traps, and Neck are my favorite muscles to work. Hands down, in my opinion, the most intimidating muscle you could have is traps. Whether you are an athlete or a weekend warrior, having a set of traps bursting out of your shirt shows me you don’t mess around in the weight room.

When it comes to trap training, I would recommend focusing on doing it in the beginning of your workout. Whether you are doing snatches, cleans , or a dead lift variation, I would hit those exercises in the beginning.  I try to incorporate a trap exercise into my program at least 2-3 times per week. I wouldn’t be too intimidated by a guy with 20 inch arms but has a toothpick for a neck and no traps. Incorporate these exercises so you don’t have to be that guy.

Remember: to get big, you have to lift big. Don’t mess around with light weights and high reps for traps. Work with heavy weights in the 1-6 rep range for the compound lifts, and for your supplemental exercises aim for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps. The number one exercise for Traps is Dead-Lift. Any variation of a dead-lift will work. Some variations of a dead-lift are:

• Romanian Dead-Lift & Shrug
• Sumo Stance Dead-Lift
• Conventional Dead-lift
• Trap-Bar Dead-Lift
• Snatch Grip Dead-Lift
• Single-Leg Dead-Lift & Shrug

Rethink your training program if you’re not dead lifting. Be sure to do these lifts throughout your training program. Rotate between a few of them each week. Keep it different and train heavy!

• Barbell Shrugs
• Behind the Back Barbell Shrugs
• High Pulls
• Clean Pulls
• Snatches
• Power Shrug
• Upright Row (DB or BB)
• Band Pull Aparts ( I do at least 100 each training session)
• DB Shrugs
• Seated DB Shrugs
• Pit Pulls
• 4 way neck
• Manual neck

If you didn’t notice, ALL of those exercises involve a pulling movements. So get to pulling and start growing. Don’t forget to lift heavy and stay consistent and you’ll be well on your way to a shirt busting set of traps. I hope this helps.

-Anthony

Related articles

• Lifting Properly to Avoid Neck Pain (everydayhealth.com)
• The Core Lifts – Hang Clean (youcandomore.net)

Must Do Exercises

Bodyweight Exercises…

You don’t see a lot of these being done nowadays in the gym. It bothers me to see every cable crossover machine taken in the gym, but no one bothers to use those pull-up bars right above your head. Incorporating bodyweight exercises into your training WILL get you stronger, so don’t ignore them.  Bodyweight exercises should be the staple to anyones training program. No matter what your training goals are, I feel you should be using them. Use them in your warm-up as well as in your training.

There are three bodyweight exercises I feel should be used consistently in your training:

Dips

Push Ups

Pull-Ups

Below is a short clip of my training performing one of my sets of weighted dips!!

When it comes to performing bodyweight exercises, there are numerous variations that could be used to make them more difficult. A few variations you could use in your training as you progress are:

Stability Ball Dips and Push Ups

Weighted Dips and Pull Ups

Chain Push ups, Dips, or Pull ups

BOSU Ball Push Ups

Elevated Push Ups

Med Ball Push Ups

Hope you enjoyed this quick post, be sure to use these bodyweight exercises as well as many others in your training!

GET AFTER IT!

Related articles

• The 2 Vital Secrets You Need for Losing Your Belly Fat for Good (networkingforwealth.wordpress.com)
• 50 Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere (greatist.com)

There is NO OFF-Season

High School football playoffs are beginning all around the nation. That only means one thing: There will be only ONE state champion for each respective class in the state.

LET ME TELL YA A LITTLE SECRET…..

Championships are won in the off-season.

Workout Clip of the Week

No matter what your training goals are, whether you would like to add muscle to your frame, lose weight, improve for your sport, or be a top bodybuilder, I feel that a variation of the Squat should be one of the staples to your program. Variations include, but aren’t limited to: Split Squat, Front Squat, Overhead Squat, Back Squat, Box Squat, etc….

This weeks workout clip of the week is a clip of one of my sets of Box Squats. I am going to try to post one “Workout Clip of the Week” to give you guys a taste of the training I perform.

Benefits of a squat:

•  They work all of your major muscle groups.
• They burn lots of calories.
• They increase flexibility in the lower body.
• Increase lower back and core strength.
• They increase Knee Strength! Yeah I said it, they are good for your knees. Why? Because it strengthens the surrounding muscles around the knee.

Note to Self—-> Any exercise can be dangerous or be “bad for you” if not performed properly.

How to perform a squat:

1. Make sure you are properly warmed up.

2. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider.

3. Keep your back in a neutral position, keeping your knees centered over your feet.

4. Slowly bend your knees, hips, and ankles, lowering until you reach a 90-degree angle. Instead of your butt going straight down, focus on your butt going out. (Imagine as if someone was behind you with a rope pulling you from your lower back.) Doing this will help activate your glutes and hamstrings,

5. Return to your starting position.

Note: Look forward, Keep your chest tall, and focus on keeping your weight on your heels.

Work Hard. Be Humble.

Related articles

• Monday Workout (onlyhalfcrazy.wordpress.com)
• Bodybuilding Workouts For Mass (strengthandfitnesssite.wordpress.com)

Get The Juices Flowin’

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of interesting antics in the gym…

Being in a commercial gym atmosphere for some of my week, I see a wide variety of people.  In  this wide variety of people, I’d say that a small percentage actually warms up.  And no, I’m not talking about grabbing a ten pound weight and swinging it around a few times. No, I’m not talking about doing that classic cross body shoulder stretch either. I’m talking about taking 10-12 minutes and actually getting that blood flowing! Don’t be that guy that throws 225 pounds on the bench press as soon as you walk in the gym. Your workout will go to shit, and you’ll probably get hurt (seen it happen). Get those juices flowing prior to throwing that weight around and trust me, you’ll see a huge difference.

 

 

A proper warm-up will prepare you or your athletes for maximum efforts necessary to dominate your workout and come closer to your training goals. Performing a proper warm up will benefit your workout progress tremendously. A general warm up consists of 5-10 minutes of slow activity such as jogging or skipping. Stick to slow and simple movements and gradually work your way up to quicker, more complex movements. During this phase of the warm up we are looking to raise your core body temperature and to increase heart rate, blood flow, respiration rate, and perspiration among others.

 

Following the general warm-up, especially when working with athletes, we will move to the specific warm up. During the specific warm up, we will do more sports specific movements. This part of the warm-up is the dynamic stretching portion. This can be 8-12 minutes of dynamic stretching focusing on movements that work through the range of motion required for the sport. Dynamic stretching increases the ROM in the body parts you will be using, as well as stimulating the nervous system. Whatever you do, focus on various mobility drills and isometric holds for injury prone areas. I personally like to focus extra on my shoulders and hips prior to every workout.

Here is how I recommend your plan of attack:

Begin with 5 minutes on the treadmill, bike, jog, ergometer, etc

Foam Roll/LAX ball your entire body, examples:

IT Band, calves, glute, pirformis, hamstrings, low back, upper back, lats, etc.

( I will go into further detail about foam rolling, lacrosse balls, and myofascial release in the future. )

Below is a wide variety of warm-up exercises that I use throughout my training, pick and choose from this list and use what works for you and stick with it. Notice: the rep ranges could vary from what is listed.

Shoulder Dislocates with a broomstick or resistance band x 20

Inchworm x 10 yards

Rollovers into V-Sits x10 reps

Scorpions x5 each

Iron Cross x5 each

Front to Back Leg Swings x 5ea

Side to Side Leg Swings x5ea

Fire hydrant circles – 10 forward circles/10 backward circles each leg

Prisoner Squats- 10 reps

X-Band Walks x 10

Prone Lateral Walks

Birddog x30 seconds

Donkey Kicks x 5 each

Band Pull aparts 2 sets of 15

Push ups

Planks 60 seconds

Arm Circles (each direction) x 20

External Rotation x 10

YTWLs – x8 each

Static hip flexor stretch – 3 sets of 10 seconds

Perform each of these for 20 yards

Knee Hugs

Foot Grabs

Shin Grabs

Hamstring Marches

Walking Lunges (variations)

Lateral Lunges

High Knees

Butt Kicks

Skip (variations)

Lateral Shuffle

Karaoke

Light Jog

Medium paced jog

Run 75%

 

In summary: Spend 5-10 minutes doing your general warm-up (jogging, skipping, low intensity exercise. The purpose of this is to get the heart rate up. Then, spend 8-12 minutes on dynamic stretching. Focus on sports specific or exercise specific movements that work your range of motion. Make sure your warm up is created according to your specific needs, use it to attack your weak points and strive to strengthen them.

 

Hopefully this helped you guys, even those stubborn meatheads out there.

 

I definitely recommend you check out the  AMPED warm-up DVD by Joe Defranco and Jim Smith to maximize your warm-up even more.

 

What Are You Going to Sacrifice?

What are you going to sacrifice in order to be great?

Are you willing to sacrifice Money? How about Fame, are you willing to sacrifice that? What about sacrificing a dream of playing in the NFL to fight for your country’s freedom? In honor of September 11th, today’s article is going to be dedicated to the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our country. Thank you to all the soldiers that have been, and still are fighting for our country.

Overcoming Odds: Mike DeStefano

July 8,2009

On that very day, one of my friends, Mike DeStefano was “reborn” He was given a second chance to play in this game called “Life”

Mike, who was in a tragic automobile accident on the afternoon of July 8,2009, escaped that accident lucky to be alive, however leaving him with traumatic brain injuries and a long journey to recovery. Since that day, Mike has changed the way myself and many others look at life. Make the most out of everyday, because you truly never know when it will take a drastic change. Do what you love, make people smile, don’t hold back, and strive for greatness!  He has helped supply me with the endless motivation to make the most out of life.

Mike’s accident on July 8th, 2009 was followed by over two months of intensive care at Loyola Hospital where he remained in a coma for most of his stay. He is now undergoing extensive therapy and working toward recovery. The amount of people who Mike has inspired along his journey is amazing. He views this as an opportunity, not a problem. An opportunity to prove everyone, including Doctors that he will walk again and get his normal life back. An opportunity to motivate others, an opportunity to help others with TBI. Even though he is faced with an uphill climb every day, he views it as an opportunity to get better each and every day.

A problem is an opportunity in disguise.

An opportunity to shine, overcome, and persevere.

Drive, Determination, and Dedication:

The 3D’s. Do you have them?

Mike does. He wakes up everyday thankful for the opportunity to get better everyday. He knows it’s not going to be easy, he knows it’s going to take time, and he knows that the odds are against him.  But do you see him crawling in a corner and avoiding this challenge.

NO.

He wakes up everyday and looks this challenge dead square in the eye and tells himself HE WILL. He’s got that belief and faith that with the right mindset, no challenge is too difficult. He has that mental toughness to help push himself beyond his limits each and everyday.

So the next time you are faced with a difficult task, a difficult decision, or whatever it may be, look your “problem” in the eye and tell yourself you will overcome! View your problem as an opportunity to get better. I have this quote tatted on my body and every time things get difficult I think of it….”I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.” Don’t ask for easier problems, ask yourself to be STRONG enough to overcome any problem that is given to you. Become stronger every day, continue making  improvements, and strive for greatness. Anything is possible, and Mike is a living example that with hard work and determination, anything is possible.

For more on Mike’s story, check out:

michaeladestefanofoundation.org

Be Great, Stay Hungry, Work Hard, and HUSTLE

Football Off-Season Strength Program

With football season about to get into full swing, I am going to give you guys a typical needs analysis for the off-season strength training programs most of these guys went through. Remember this when you see Matt Forte or Adrian Peterson running over their defenders this year, the offseason is what prepared them to do that. Being a former division one athlete, I could be the first one to tell you that games are won and lost in the off-season. Teams need to gel in the offseason and create a bond and continue to build on that bond during the season. Football training related questions are never going to stop, how do I train to be a linebacker? or How do I workout for football? How do I get into football shape? The questions go on and on.

Hard Work Pays Off: Carmen Messina

Before I’m off to Detroit for the weekend, I’d like to post a shout out to my brotha Carmen Messina…

Carm is strapping it up tonight for his first NFL game for the Detroit Lions.

 This is an example to everyone that with a relentless work ethic,determination, and HUSTLE, anything is possible.

I’ve posted a short video clip of Carm performing overspeed drills. This is just a sample of the work he has put in to help get him where he is at now.

If you’ve got a dream, don’t lose sight of it, keep your eyes on the prize and strive for greatness. There will be roadblocks along the way, but it’s how you handle that adversity that will determine how high you soar. The sky’s the limit, go out and make it happen!! Don’t half ass anything in life unless you want half ass results.

“Lay Your Foundation, Make Your Mark, Leave Your Legacy. It all comes down to EFFORT” Ray Lewis

Stay Motivated, Stay Humble, Work Hard, and HUSTLE.

Grocery List Part 2: Carbs

GRAINS and NUTS

In my opinion, whether you are training heavy, participating in two a days, or an athlete of some sort, you need carbs to function. Carbohydrates help keep the body fueled and ready to perform. You need to keep a steady intake of carbohydrates throughout the day. Consuming more carbs could help increase energy stored in the muscle. The carbs will help produce a protein sparring effect, which mean the protein you consume will not be used for energy, it will be used for growth and repair!  I have provided you a list of carbohydrates to add to your grocery list. Chose a few and see what works best for you.

 

Whole-Wheat Crackers

Brown Rice

Whole Grain Cereal (Cheerios)

Rye Bread

Ezekiel bread

Whole-Wheat Bread

Whole- wheat English Muffin

Whole Wheat pita

Whole Wheat bagel

Whole Wheat pasta

Sweet potatoes

Oatmeal