NUTRITIONAL BASICS FOR BODYBUILDING SERIES. Part One: Realising the importance of nutrition. By Vic Goyaram

NUTRITIONAL BASICS FOR BODYBUILDING SERIES

Part One: 

Realising the importance of nutrition

Researched and composed by Vic Goyaram

I wanted to write about macro nutrient basics for bodybuilding but my intuition told me to start this series with a more fundamental issue: the realisation of the importance of nutrition. When it comes to building muscle, resistance training tears down the muscle and nutrition is one of the essentials to repair the muscle and allow it to get bigger and stronger. If you don't feed the body properly then you aren't going forward. 

"Do you eat as hardcore as you train?"

More often than not you will see people who train very hard but fail to work as hard when it comes to their nutrition. Chances are that many of us fall in such a category too.  Please take some time and reflect on these questions:

• Do you step out of the house everyday with your meals packed for the day?
• What's in your lunch bag today? Have you even packed lunch?
• You have planned a hardcore arm workout today but will your eating be as hardcore?
• You just ingested that pre-workout. What will you have post-workout?

The reality is that most people over-train and eat inappropriately.  Building muscle requires great efforts both in the gym and in the kitchen/ meal table as proper nutrition will account for your bodybuilding success or lack thereof. Always think of the bicycle analogy: The two wheels of a bicycle represent training and nutrition. If one of the  wheels is faulty or inadequate, the bicycle will be dysfunctional. Likewise, training and nutrition are intimately related. I know too many people who train really hard but fail to progress. In 99.9% of the time it is simply because their nutrition is inadequate. It is not because they lack hormones in the body or stuff like that. 

Meals packed for the day to fuel growth!
(I wished this could be my kitchen top)

"But it is damn expensive to eat properly"

For sure, food is getting really expensive and there is little we can do about it. Some have limited incomes, others are in debt or are still studying and have no income. While some of you reading this have no problem with money, many others do struggle. I understand them because I do face difficulties too, all the time. What you must do is focus on the things that you can do rather than focus on the things that you can't do. Do whatever is possible to bring in the cash for food. If this means working harder to earn more money, studying harder to get a job that earns well, working part time to get some income, applying for a higher paying job or going to study to improve qualifications for a better job, then do it. Do not sit in your comfort zone. 

"Food for fuel, not comfort"

When you go shopping for food with limited cash, you may be tempted to buy a lot of unnecessary stuff. That's the way shops work, enticing you to buy more things. We can't blame them, it is their business. But as a bodybuilder, buy the type of food that will help your physique. Buy something if it is really necessary for your goals. When stepping into that shop, tell yourself that you're going to buy only what will bring you closer to your goals and get the hell out of there. I personally buy mostly mixed vegetables, oats, eggs and chicken breasts whenever I go grocery shopping. I am never going to buy custard powder or a packet of biscuits even though I sometimes want it. 

No matter how much I want that nice triple razor blade to shave my head, I won't buy it. I'll instead buy a cheaper disposable one that still does the job so that I can spend more money on food. No matter how I want to do like the well-off people and buy salmon fillets, chicken fillets and the best cuts of meat, I can't. I have to buy untrimmed chicken breasts day in day out and trim it myself at home. (Well, at least for now)

My shopping: chicken for two days, oats and mixed vegetables for 1 week

Do whatever you can: my three solid meals for the day.
Oats and bananas and chicken breasts.

Seriously?

"Bodybuilding is 70, 80, 80.5, 90.75, 95%...of nutrition"
Bodybuilding has never been 80% Nutrition and 20% training. It does mean that if you slack in your training but eat properly you will only be 20% short of your desired progress. Likewise, it doesn't mean that if you train hard and slack in your nutrition you will make only 20% of your desired progress. Your progress may be 0% or you may even regress. This percentage thing must be interpreted carefully because what it simply serves the purpose of highlighting the importance of nutrition in your bodybuilding progress. 

Don't have time to eat
If you are serious about building muscle then you must find time to eat. Even if you are at work and your boss is constantly on your back you must find the time to eat. 

The bottom line

• Nutrition is a key ingredient
• Do not overlook the importance of feeding your body properly
• Focus on the things you can do, rather than on the things you cannot

Future articles in this series will deal on more specific topics of nutrition. 

Follow us on our Facebook page for daily discussions on bodybuilding

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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is protent on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties. Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com

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GYMOCRACY PART II: THE SOCIAL CONTRACT AND THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN

Hobbes’ proposal to exit the state of nature was through the formation of a “social contract”.  To greatly summarize his intent, the idea was that a collection of people realize that life within the state of nature is not worth enduring, and that they are willing to sacrifice all of their liberties in order to ensure their freedom from that existence.  The state of nature was one of absolute freedom, and as man discovered, their human nature compelled them to exercise this freedom toward terrifying ends, thus safety can only be ensured in the absence of this freedom.  To guarantee this security, all rights are forfeit to a sovereign, essentially a leader or government, who in turn ensure the safety of the members of the social contract.  It is important to note that the “contract” of the social contract only exists between the members, not the members and the sovereign.  The sovereign has no vested interest in the individuals in the social contract, simply in maintaining the security of the members from the state of nature.  Those who feel that life in the social contract is worse than the state of nature are free to leave, but that is their only freedom.

What does this mean for you the gym goer?  You too must sacrifice all your freedoms and liberties to a sovereign in order to be secure and stable.  This means you relinquish your ability to make and modify plans so that you can follow with blind intensity the teachings of at least one author or school of thought.  The intent here is that you remove yourself from the equation and place all your faith and trust into the man and the system.  You attack it with full ferocity, knowing it will work and that you are growing.  If you question the sovereign, you are free to leave the social contract or die.

Sometimes, depending on who you follow, the outcome is the same

What is the benefit of this contract?  Much as in the case of Hobbes’, you are granted stability.  Rather than being a victim of your own devices and stagnating or declining, you are granted the stability of consistent gains that are afforded by sheer hardwork and (if fortunate) intelligent programming.  By having a “sovereign”, you are now following the orders of a higher being, which means you can abandon your own thinking and leave full faith and confidence in this being.  As conflicting as this may be with the western notion of “rugged individualism”, the benefit of this arrangement is that no further justification or understanding is necessary in order to press on with the program, which means you don’t have to worry yourself sick about if you are making optimal gains or if your movement selection is ideal.

How do you know who to select as our sovereign?  For this, we turn to Socrates via Plato.

AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE SERIES Part One: Basic Science of amino acids. By Vic Goyaram

AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE SERIES

Part One: Basic Science of amino acids

Researched and composed by Vic Veeraj Goyaram

Exclusive for Bodybuilding Mauritius

Fig. 1: Amino acid supplements are numerous and varied. 
This article attempts to give you a background on amino acids 
and help you find a way in this maze.

Introduction 
The term "Amino acid" is one which is very commonly encountered in bodybuilding. At the same time amino acid supplements are very common on supplement shop shelves and in supplement cabinets worldwide. Most bodybuilders have used an amino acid supplement during the course of their career. Indeed amino acids are among the top 5 most common supplements in sports nutrition and there are various types and formulations of amino acid supplements (Fig. 1) in commerce today. Amino acids are theorised to enhance performance in several ways as listed below. 

(a) Increasing the secretion of anabolic hormones
(b) Modifying fuel use during exercise
(c) Preventing the negative effects of over-training
(d) Anabolic properties 
(e) Preventing fatigue
(f) Improving blood flow during exercise

However, not all users of amino acid supplements know what amino acids exactly are and how they differ from proteins. Furthermore, many supplement companies assume that everyone has a degree in Biology and thus indulge freely in loading supplement labels with technical and scientific jargon that may add further confusion. 

In this series of articles, we aim to give you a basic understanding of amino acids, their functions, the various types of amino acid supplements on the market as well as more in-depth analysis of specific amino acids. This will help you to make informed decisions.  In the first series we will explain the basic science of amino acids in order to equip you to read and make sense of the terminologies used on amino acid supplement labels. 

Fact #1: What amino acids are

Amino acids are molecules that make up proteins. Just like a wall is made up of individual bricks joined together by cement, proteins are made up of amino acids joined together by special forces called “peptide bonds”. Amino acids are thus the building blocks of proteins. Therefore, amino acids are the constituents of all proteins in the body like protein hormones (e.g. insulin), enzymes, muscles, etc. 

Amino acid molecules join together by peptide bonds to form proteins

When you eat a protein meal, your body will break down the protein with the help of enzymes called “proteases” (digestion). The proteins are converted into shorter chains called “peptides” and then into the single amino acid units. Amino acids cannot be digested further. Your intestines will then absorb these amino acids into blood circulation and the different body tissues will use them (assimilation) for making new proteins or in some cases, for energy.

Fact #2: Chemical Structure of amino acids

Unless you are a biology student there is no reason to learn the structure of amino acids in detail. It suffice to know that amino acids contain Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen that are joined together in a special way (Fig. 2). Each amino acid has a unique “R group”. For example L-Glutamine has a different R group from L-Leucine. Furthermore, the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are so called because they have R-groups that have a branched structure (Fig. 3)

Fig 2: Basic amino acid chemical structure

Fig. 3: amino acids differ from each other by their R-groups

Fact #3: Not all amino acids form proteins

There are 22 different amino acids that form proteins in living organisms. These are known as proteinogenic amino acids. When you drink a protein shake or eat a piece of chicken, for example, your body will receive these proteinogenic amino acids after digestion of the protein. 

However, there are also some amino acids that do not form part of proteins but serve other important functions in the body. As bodybuilders have probably heard of L-Carnitine, Beta-alanine, Citrulline and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). These are the non-proteinogenic amino acids and are manufactured by the body. These are also available from supplements. Remember that proteinogenic amino acids can be obtained from food sources and supplements whereas non-proteinogenic amino acids cannot be obtained from food. These are made by the body and obtained from supplements. 

Fact #4: Essential v/s Non-essential amino acids

Your body can make some amino acids. These amino acids that can be made are called “non-essential amino acids”. However, some other amino acids cannot be made by the body and should be obtained from the diet. These are called “Essential amino acids” and there are 8 such amino acids in all. The branched chain amino acids (Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine) form part of these 8 amino acids. As a side note, the ability of whether certain  protein foods can provide the essential amino acids in the right amounts determines whether it is a "complete" or "incomplete" protein.

Fig 4: Essential and non-essential amino acids

The table below gives the essential amino acid content of common forms of supplemental protein. You can see that soy protein fares very well compared to animal-based proteins. 

Fig. 5: Essential amino acid content of common supplemental protein sources. Values are grams/ 100g protein

There is sometimes a confusion when it comes to the essentiality of amino acids. If an amino acid is essential it means simply that it must comes from the diet. It does not mean that supplementation is essential. Just like we've seen in a discussion on our facebook group lately regarding BCAAs, the latter are essential amino acids but it does not mean that free-form BCAA supplementation is essential under all circumstances otherwise your progress will stall. This topic is further discussed in this article (click to read)

Fact # 5: We have L- and D- amino acids

When reading supplement labels you will see that all amino acids start with L. The L simply refers to special chemical characteristics of these amino acids. All the food amino acids are in the L-form.

Fig. 6: L and D-amino acids are mirror images of each other

Basically the L- and D-amino acids are mirror images of each other. The L and D forms of a particular amino acid will have the same molecular formula (same number of each of C, H, O and N atoms). We call them "isomers". If you are really curious, the term L and D originates from the different abilities of amino acids to rotate plane polarised light in different directions. L means Laevorotatory (Left rotation) while D means Dextrorotatory (right rotation).

Some D-amino acids also exist as free amino acids in human tissues but not part of proteins. They do serve important functions. For example D-Serine is a brain neurotransmitter. D-Aspartic acid is found in some tissues where they have quite recently been found to be involved in testosterone release. Needless to say, the supplements industry have already started to fill the shelves with D-Aspartic acid products although little conclusive data exists from trials on athletes. So our friends should expect to see some D-form amino acids on the shelves.

Fig. 7: D-Aspartic acid sold as a testosterone booster

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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

Disclaimer:

The Content on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties. Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com

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GYMOCRACY PART I: THE STATE OF NATURE

GYMOCRACY

I have an idea kicking around in my head that I want to flesh out.  My educational background is heavily influenced by political theory and philosophy, due to having both my bachelors and masters in political science with a minor in philosophy.  As a result, it tends to be how I understand most concepts, regardless of their actual background.  What I am going to attempt to construct here is an extended metaphor that plays off of western and classical political theory as it applies to lifting.  For the sake of the reader, I will explain the metaphor and its roots as I progress, rather than leaving the subject matter assumed, but if you want to dive deeper and political theory interests you, it would behoove you to read Hobbes’ “Leviathan”, Locke’s Treatises of Government, Machiavelli’s “The Prince” along with his discourses, and Plato’s “Republic”.  Additionally, I will not be citing my work here, as this is not an academic paper, but credit is due to all the above.

I will be releasing this in multiple parts, so bear with me.

THE STATE OF NATURE

In “Leviathan”, Thomas Hobbes presented to us the state of nature, to mean the state of man without government.  In the state of nature, the state of man is one of war, as man fights with each other over resources.  Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short, as there is no security against those who desire your resources, and even those few men that are powerful by nature of their genetics still fall victim to fragile alliances formed by others whose greed compels cooperation until they are able to defeat the immediate threat.  This is due to the fact that human nature is self-serving and greedy, and that man is primarily concerned with their own survival and possession of resources rather than the betterment of their fellow man.

I'm just saying

When we start training, we are in the state of nature.  We have no knowledge or experience to guide us, and simply stumble around in the dark grasping at straws.  We battle for the resource of knowledge, and it is a clumsy battle waged out of greed and fear rather than one strategically fought.   We chase after the latest fads like home exercises DVDs, or we follow old dogma about high reps for cutting and low reps for bulking, or we take routines from magazines or we just wing it.  We program hop from gimmick to gimmick, like man rushing from resource to resource.  The end result is the same, as our gains are both poor and short lived.

In Hobbes’ cases, it was human nature that resulted in the state of war, but what is to be blamed for our state of nature in the gym?  It is still the fault of human nature.  Instead of avarice though, we are dealing with the sin of pride.  Admitting that we know nothing is a humbling experience that few wish to willingly engage in.  In our “everyone is a winner” culture, people feel ashamed to not be great at everything always.  We feel that, as intelligent human beings with the ability to reason, we should easily be able to craft our own training routines from the start with zero snags.  The reality is though, we all start somewhere, and as novices, we require help for us to be able to know how to progress. To quote Mitch Hedberg “I tried to teach myself how to play guitar, but I didn’t know how to play, so I was a bad teacher”.

We miss you man

So how do we move out of the state of nature?  By developing a social contract and employing a sovereign.

AM I NEEDY?

"You don't need to load creatine."

"You need to lift 3 days a week."

"You don't need to deload."

"You need to eat 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight."

We all know these statements.  The internet and the gym are rife with them.  Everyone is looking out for your best interest and letting you know what you need and what you don't.  It's all bunk.

Unless you are talking to your coach, no one knows what you need, nor do they care about you.  They are expressing to you what "you" need so that they in turn can justify their own decisions.  Coincidentally enough, what you "need" happens to be exactly the same things that they do.  If some guru never loaded creatine, then clearly no one needs to do it.  If someone never squats, then no one needs to.  Etc, etc.

Seriously, avoid gurus whenever possible (Sorry Mike)

I grew up on Pavel Tsastouline.  From him I learned Pavel's 3-5 and deloading.  Whenever I deloaded, I would grow sustainably stronger.  But then, I learned that I didn't need to deload, and that the time I spent deloading was a waste.  I took this new found knowledge and rushed headlong into 3 years of stalling.  Once I started deloading again with Jim Wendler's 5/3/1, I started to progress again.  Funny isn't it?

Know what I've never needed to do?  Mobility.  No matter how much the world tells me that I need to do mobility drills or else my knees will explode, I seem to continue to get stronger and stronger.  Meanwhile, many will continue to train mobility while forgetting the entire reason why they are doing it: to get stronger.

Just need a little more mobility and THEN I'll be ready to squat

The reality is, needs are going to be entirely user dependent.  Dan John probably gave us the best basic idea of what movements one needs to do

1. Push
2. Pull
3. Hinge
4. Squat
5. Loaded Carry

And from here it's a whole world of possibilities and quirks that are altered due to the circumstances of the user.

This means you will sadly be required to enter the terrifying realm that is self discovery via trial and error, but those who are brave enough to undergo that journey are those who in turn are able to prosper.  If all you ever do is listen to the talking heads of the world, you will remain average and unaccomplished, because the reality is, the people who talk the most are the ones who train the least.  Those that are out there busting their asses are too busy breaking records to be able to engage in a 4000 post long flamewar on the net or a debate at the gym.  And honestly  who would have the balls to argue with someone like Derek Poundstone or Matt Kroczaleski on what it takes to get bigger and stronger?  Only those that are protected from their own inadequacies via the anonymity of the internet.

*Artist's depiction of event

Once you've taken the bold step of finding out what works, it becomes vital to shut out those little voices that are going to tell you that what you're doing isn't actually working.  If you are getting bigger and stronger from Xbox, don't change a damn thing, because it's working.  If something just plain does not work for you, quit trying to put the square peg in the round hole and just move on to what works.  If it was all so easy and obvious, we'd all be doing the same routine.  Find out what YOU need and do it.

Compendium of Old School Exercises/ Part One: Shoulders. By Vic Goyaram

Mauritius Compendium of Old School Exercises 
Part One: Shoulders
Researched and Composed by Vic Veeraj Goyaram

Exclusive for Bodybuilding Mauritius

Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia

"Old is gold"

In this series we bring you a collection of old school exercises that are definitely worth to be included into your training routine. Many of these exercises are very rarely performed in gyms nowadays and what a pity should some of these exercises disappear. The first article deals with deltoid exercises. 

Many of the exercises that are described here are those that have been used extensively by two of my "shoulder heroes", namely Arnold Schwarzenegger and Larry Scott. I admire them not because they have had to find ways to overcome shortcomings in their shoulder structure. Larry was not blessed with a wide shoulder structure and therefore had to find ways to build his deltoids to give him an appearance of width. He enlisted the help of Vince Gironda for this (check out our article titled Gironda Shoulder training Gems). 

Arnold on the other side, although not naturally narrow in the shoulders had a "hanging look" to his shoulders and he had to find ways to overcome this. I quote from Arnold's Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding "Reg Park was not narrow but his traps and shoulders sloped downwards. My own shoulders have this same sort of hanging look, so they look much narrower when I stand relaxed than when executing a pose like a lat spread, where the real width becomes apparent."

Arnold's "hanging shoulder" look more evident when standing
relaxed. Compare his structure to that of Don Howorth (below)

Don "Duke of Delts" Howorth, a Vince Gironda pupil

1. PRESS BEHIND NECK
You may be wondering why on earth am I starting with a dangerous exercise. The press-behind-neck is one which is unlikely to be featured in modern books of training exercises because it has been held responsible for more wrecked shoulders than any other shoulder exercise. However, poor technique is often the underlying cause than the exercise itself. All exercise have their risks and granted the behind-the-neck press may be more risky than others. A lot of old-school bodybuilders built their delts with this exercise and a lot of reckless lifters wrecked their shoulders on the same exercise. 

Franco Columbu blasting delts on behind-the-neck presses

Purpose of exercise:
Elbow positioning dictates what deltoid head get greater emphasis. When performing behind-the-neck presses the elbows move out to the sides. This involves the medial (outer) deltoid head to a greater extent. Conversely, when doing presses to the front, the elbows are drawn forward and this works the front deltoids to a greater extent. 

Execution and pointers:

• Grab barbell with an overhand grip about shoulder width apart. 

• Lower the barbell behind the head to about ear level

• At the bottom position your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor, otherwise adjust your grip. Taking a wider grip won't give you wider delts.

• Press the barbell up just short of lockout.

• Keep torso as straight as possible. 

• Be careful not to compromise form for poundage. A good superset would be behind-neck-presses and seated side laterals. 

2. BRADFORD PRESS

The Bradford press has a reputation of being another dangerous exercise but nothing can be further from the truth. Improper execution is to blame for damaged shoulder joints rather than the exercise itself. The Bradford press is in fact a good exercise for rotator cuff rehabilitation and for increasing shoulder joint mobility.  The Bradford press was invented by the weightlifter Jim Bradford who was famous in the 1960s. The movement is fairly simple and it involves alternating between a front and a behind-the-neck barbell press every repetition. 

Arnold performing Bradford presses. Note the weight he is using

Execution:

• Begin by taking a shoulder width grip on a barbell and then lift the barbell up to chin height. This would be your starting position. 

• Press the barbell to a point which is about 4-6 inches above your head. 

• Do not go to full lock out position because it will relieve tension on the deltoids, defeating the purpose of this exercise. 

• Once that position is achieved begin to lower the barbell as in a behind-the-neck press until you reach the height of your ears. 

• There is no need to go lower and "cheat" by resting the barbell on your neck. Once that position is attained press the barbell back up. 

• Go until the reps get harder and harder. In that case move the barbell just enough to clear your head until you reach failure. 

Purpose of exercise and pointers:

The Bradford press intends to keep constant tension on the deltoids. Secondly, the exercise is very helpful in developing shoulder flexibility and strengthening your rotator cuff. Alternating between a front and behind-the-neck press makes sure your side delts are also getting work because they are involved to a greater extent in behind-the-neck presses. Alternating position during each rep ensures that you stick to proper form as well as it disrupts any rhythm that may develop if you were to perform either front or rear presses. It is important to select a weight which allows you to perform 10-15 reps. Do not be overzealous and take too heavy. 

3. THE GIRONDA DUMBBELL LATERAL SIDE SWING
The Gironda dumbbell swing is one of the Iron Guru's deltoid moves to grill the deltoids. Unfortunately, it is a forgotten exercise because I have never seen anyone perform this movement. Everybody is into machine and cable lateral raises these days. Call it a two-in-one exercise as it works both the side and front deltoid heads at the same time. 

The Iron Guru performing lateral side swings

Execution and Pointers: 
To perform side swings, one arm moves in a traditional lateral raise motion while the other arm is swung up across the front of the body, tight to the torso, to keep continuous tension on the shoulder and help get a deeper contraction. The movement must be performed as strictly as possible and torso must always be stationary and facing forward. It helps to maintain a brief pause at the top of the movement.

4. THE INCLINE BENCH LATERAL RAISE
This exercise was one that the late Steve Reeves used to perform a lot to build his deltoids to heroic proportions. Larry Scott was also a proponent of this exercise. Arnold was also seen doing this exercise and I am sure you have all seen pictures of him doing side laterals lying on a slant board. When it comes to deltoid training, Larry Scott is my hero because he was challenged in terms of shoulder structure but devised ways to bring up his deltoids to Olympia winning calibre. 

Larry Scott performing the Incline bench lateral raise

Purpose of Exercise:
The purpose of side laterals is to work the side deltoids to a greater extent. As you all know, side deltoids give the shoulders greater width and contributes a lot to your V-Taper. This variation attempts to overload the side deltoids even further by minimising involvement of other muscles that may "steal" from this movement, like the trapezius. When done properly this exercise is almost pure side deltoid work.  On normal side lateral raise I get a bigger pump in my trapezius than in my side deltoids and this old-school variation has helped me tremendously. 

Execution and Pointers:

• Weight is of minor importance in this exercise. Form is paramount for best results and to avoid wasting your time and energy.

• Do not lock the arm during the movement. Instead, keep a slight bend in it. 

• Move the dumbbells upwards and sideways rather than in front of your body. Your palms should be orientated in such a way that your little fingers lead the way rather than your thumb. The latter will instead work the front deltoids more and this is not what we are after. This will limit the amount of weight used but maximise the stress on the side deltoid. 

The late Steve Reeves was very fond of this exercise

5. THE NUBRET SIDE LATERALS
The credits to this unconventional way of doing side laterals go to the late Serge Nubret.  It was also made popular by Arnold (and what didn't Arnold make popular in bodybuilding?).  Side laterals work the side deltoids to a greater degree and having personally tried this movement I can say that the involvement of the traps, which can steal a bit from side laterals, is nearly non-existent. The side deltoids are also involved in this movement. 

Nubret performs side laterals on the floor

Execution and Pointers:

• Lie on you side and holding one dumbbell in one hand, lower it to the floor.

• Raise the dumbbell all the way over your head, keeping arms straight.

• It is crucial to do the reps slowly and controlling on the negative.

• At the top of the movement contract the delt rather than resting it. Hold the contraction for 1 second and then spend 2-3 seconds on the negative part.

• Special pointer: you can raise the dumbbells 2/3 of the way up and then maintain a static hold for 2 seconds and then continue raising to the full range.

• You can do these on an abdominal board on a slight incline to increase the range of motion as Arnold does

Arnold does this movement on a slight incline to increase
the range of motion

6. THE INCLINE LATERAL RAISE WITH TWO ARMS
To quote Larry Scott himself: 

"The weight used in this movement is not too important, but the form is. Remember, these courses are designed to help you achieve proper performance of the exercises, and feel the chosen muscles working to the maximum. In doing that, you will prepare yourself for the more advanced work ahead and gain some of the muscle you desire as well.

Don't try to cheat in this exercise at all . . . lie with your chest flat against the incline bench (facing the high end), and don't try to raise it at any time during the movement. Just raise the dumbbells as high as you can, out to your sides.

If you prefer, turn your head to the side for a bit more comfort. And, if you think the puny weights you're using aren't doing any good, you're wrong. The burn you get from this exercise alone makes it worth it weight in muscle . . . keep it up and you'll get some really sensational results"

7. THE LARRY SCOTT DUMBBELL PRESS

Larry Scott's version of the shoulder press has quickly become my favourite. I decided to adopt this style of pressing to solve a dilemma I have always had with shoulder pressing: feeling presses more in the triceps rather than deltoids (in spite of having tried every possible pressing styles).  This shoulder exercise was in fact invented by Vince Gironda to help bring up Scott's lagging shoulder for the Mr. America contest. 

Purpose of Exercise:
This variation of the shoulder press aims to isolate and keep constant tension on the deltoids. The movement is performed by not completely extending the arms (no complete lockout) and not letting the dumbbells drop too low in the bottom position. Thus, only the middle 3/5th of the range of motion is used. This, according to Scott, is because the top portion of the movement is mostly triceps and the bottom portion of the movement is mostly traps. 

Elbows starting in front of the body, pinky higher than thumb
Press dumbbells behind the neck at the top.

Execution and Pointers:

• Start with dumbbells resting on top of your shoulders. Elbows are kept in front of the body. The palms facing each other and the pinky fingers facing up and higher than the thumb at all times.

• Press the dumbbells such that they move from in front of your neck in the bottom portion of the rep to behind the neck at the top of the movement (remember, top doesn't mean full lockout). The rationale of this positioning of elbows is explained in the picture below.

Positioning of the elbows and the absence of any lockout are very important
points in this exercise. 

Pinky fingers should be kept higher than the thumb throughout the movement

Furthermore, Scott suggests this important tip:

"Remember, you don't actually press the dumbbells. You press the elbows. Sounds crazy but, your deltoids don't care what's happening to either the dumbbells or your wrists but they do care what's happening to your elbows. It's the arc of the elbows the shoulders sense"

8. THE ARNOLD FRONT RAISES 

I am sure if you perform your front arm  raises like this someone may try to correct you thinking you are doing it all wrong. The reasons would be that "the delts stop working as you bring the arms high up" and "you should keep the tension on the delts". Most people bring the dumbbells up until their arms are parallel to the floor which is a fine way of doing this exercise.

Arnold is known for his particular "tweak"
on the front arm raises

However, the delts are still actively involved in this exercise as you bring the dumbbells high up, past the point where your arms are parallel to the floor. I recently read that the delts are still active as you bring the arms 40degrees above the parallel. As you bring the dumbbells past this point, you also start engaging the middle traps muscle, a muscle which adds a lot to your back development. Arnold's middle traps were testament to this exercise's effectiveness.

Arnold in action in a seated version of the raise

Execution and Pointers:

• Start with dumbbells in front of the body, palms facing the thighs. 

• Raise the one arm in an arc until the dumbbell is in above the head

• As you lower the working arm start raising the other arm

• Make sure the elbows don't stick out so that the dumbbells pass in front of your face. There is another variation of the front arm raise called the Hatfield raise which allows this (see below)

• Barbells can also be used for this movement. A seated position can also be used to minimise cheating.

Arnold's middle traps benefited a lot from this movement

WARNING! I guard you against using excessive weight on this movement and then use the whole body to swing the weight up. Do not do this. Maintain strict form. Look at the weight that Arnold used, I am sure he could have used 70lb dumbbells if he wanted to. The only reason that going above parallel is not recommended is if you have a shoulder injury or some other shoulder problem. The only reason that going above parallel is not recommended is if you have a shoulder injury or some other shoulder problem.

9. THE GIRONDA HIGH PULLS and WIDE GRIP UPRIGHT ROWS
These were Vince Gironda's favourite exercises for the side deltoids, along with wide grip upright rows. If you study videos of these movements you will see that the elbows move the same way as in side lateral raises. It is only the positioning of the hands which is different from side laterals. These wide grip movements are thus ideal for working the side deltoids to a greater extent. I will lay particular emphasis on these movements because they are fantastic movements that are somewhat underutilised by bodybuilders. Gironda credits the wide grip upright row/ pull component of cleans rather than the pressing component for the outstanding shoulders of weightlifters.

The execution of the High Pull is as follows:

• Hold barbell at shoulder width

• Pull barbell upward until it is at the same level as the top of your head. If you have hair like Don King do not go all the way up. Stop slightly above forehead level. 

• The barbell should be held forward at about 30 cms from the body throughout the movement except at the bottom portion.

Illustration of form in the Gironda High Pulls

Note how far ahead in front of the body the barbell is

Don Howorth was built by Gironda.
He was known as the "Duke of Delts"

In the case of the Barbell wide grip upright row the bar is kept closer to the body, as described below  

Extract from Vince Gironda's book

Wide grip upright rows can also be performed using dumbbells and one arm at a time although I have not seen any old-school bodybuilder perform it this way (correct me if I am wrong). I have seen a video of bodybuilder Jim Cordova performing wide grip upright rows one arm at a time. Working one arm at a time allows greater focus on the working delt. Make sure to give these a try as well.

Jim Cordova performing one arm wide grip upright rows with dumbbells 

10. THE HATFIELD DUMBBELL FRONT RAISE
This exercise is "Pure front delt power" as the contraction you feel in the front delt is magnificent. There is a bit of chest involvement as well in this exercise. Start with dumbbells at your sides. Tilt slightly to the side as if you're doing an oblique side bend, then raise the dumbbell using a hammer grip. Maintain a peak contraction of 1 second at the top of the movement and slowly bring down the dumbbell. Repeat for the other arm. Arm should be very slightly bent. No cheating or swinging is allowed. The movement can also be performed seated although I personally prefer the standing variation. This movement is credited to legendary powerlifter Dr. Fred Hatfield, also known as "Dr. Squat" probably to build front deltoid power to aid his bench presses. 

The Hatfield dumbbell front raise

11. "One-Up" dumbbell shoulder press
The aim of this exercise is to reduce the involvement on the triceps and keep constant tension on the deltoid, much like the Larry Scott shoulder dumbbell press. However, here we subject the deltoids to greater time under tension because it differs from conventional alternate dumbbell presses. This is because you begin with both arms above the head. The initial position is in fact the overhead contracted position.

The One Up press differs from conventional alternate presses

The execution of this exercise is as follows:

• Start with both dumbbells overhead (dumbbells slightly above the head rather than in a lockout position)

• Lower one arm until the dumbbell nearly touches the shoulder

• Bring back the same arm upwards at the same level as the other arm. Maintain the dumbbell there. This keeps constant tension.

• "Send the other arm to work" by lowering to shoulder level and press up.

• Elbows must point out and the pinkie finger should be higher than the thumb.

One of my favourite bodybuilders
Tony "Michael Jackson of Bodybuilding" Pearson

I hope you enjoyed the article and are eager to try these exercises in the gym for your next shoulder workout

References and acknowledgements:
I acknowledge the following sources for material for writing this article. I spent a lot of time reading, studying and testing their material to enable me to write this article. Although I have a lot of experience in training my parents were still adolescents during the golden era.  

1. Anthony Ditillo's blog website for illustrations of Larry Scott's exercises. http://ditillo2.blogspot.com. Ditillo was a writer for Ironman.

2. www.ironguru.com. Unleashing the wild physique. Website on Vince Gironda

3. Arnold Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

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