Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

SETTING THE SCENE FOR BUILDING MUSCLE AND MIGHT
tions, pullup (pronated grip) and chin/chinup (supinated grip), pullover
using a machine, and overhead press.
1.99 ese core exercises are the primary ones you must focus on (only a select
few in each routine) in order to develop bigger and stronger muscles. Each
abbreviated training routine usually has between two and five core movements
in it.
Secondary exercises
1.100 e most important of these are calf raises, crunch situp, side bend, shoulder
external rotator work, back extension, and specific neck and grip work
(including finger extensions). Curls can be included if you do not get enough
biceps development from rows, pullups or pulldowns. A mix of core and
secondary exercises covers all the body.
Builders and refiners
1.101 e core exercises are the ones that will build the substance of your physique.
e secondary (or “accessory”) exercises plug the gaps left by the core
movements. But there are many isolation exercises, e.g., leg extension, pec
deck work, lateral raises, concentration curls, cable cross overs, and triceps
kickbacks that are rampant in gyms worldwide. ese are the detail exercises.
e top physiques use them, and need them, because they are working
on details.
1.102 Hardly any gym members, even very experienced ones, have built enough
muscle to be concerned with detail isolation exercises. Some of these, however,
may be appropriate for rehabilitation purposes following injury or
accident. is type of use is for a rehabilitation professional to prescribe.
1.103 Generally speaking, the detail exercises distract you from what you should
focus on if you want to get big and strong. Not only that, but they rob your
recuperative system (your recovery “machinery”) of some of its reserves, thus
restraining if not curtailing your progress in the big building exercises. Also,
because some of the detail exercises are so hostile to joints and muscles, they
can cause injuries that lead to training regression.
Safety first
1.104 Your specific choice of exercises is not only restricted by the limited number
of really productive building exercises. It is greatly influenced by which spe-
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