Muscle Specific Hypertrophy
Muscle Specific Hypertrophy: Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders
by Menno Henselmans 10/14/2011
https://www.t-nation.com/training/muscle-specific-hypertrophy-chest-triceps-and-shoulders
Chest
- The pectoralis major is composed of approximately 60% fast twitch fibers.
- It's strongest when the shoulders are internally rotated (elbows pointing away from each other during presses) and is best isolated by flaring the elbows maximally out to the sides.
- Try medium rep flys with a pronated grip.
Triceps
- The triceps is composed of 67% fast twitch fibers, so train it according to the adage, "go heavy or go home."
- The long head needs to be trained with overhead work.
Shoulders
- Traditional shoulder programs emphasize the anterior deltoid at the expense of the rest of the scapula-humeral muscles.
- Overhead presses are generally plenty of work for your anterior deltoids.
- Add incline side raises and reverse flys with your shoulders internally rotated to balance the program and round out your delts.
- Use medium to high reps.
Muscle Specific Hypertrophy: Biceps, Back, and Lower Body
by Menno Henselmans 10/27/2011
https://www.t-nation.com/training/muscle-specific-hypertrophy-biceps-back-and-lower-body
The Biceps & Brachioradialis
- Stick to standard curls with your elbows at your sides before worrying about emphasizing the brachialis and biceps peak.
- Use a supinated grip and medium reps for biceps work and a neutral grip and lower reps for the brachioradialis.
The Forearms
- In accord with their heavy usage, most forearm muscles are slow twitch dominant, so use high reps. Also, be careful of doing more wrist flexion than extension in your programs.
The Lats & Teres Major
- Include both shoulder extension and adduction in your programs.
- Think about your grip and shoulder rotation for your exercises.
- The lats respond best to medium volume.
The Traps
- Your traps are important. Train them fully, and train them more than your pushing muscles.
The Glutes, Hamstrings, and Lower Back
- Flexing the knee during hip extension takes the hamstrings out of the movement.
- Use straight leg movements (or leg curls) for low reps to train the hams and medium to high reps with bent knees to train the glutes and lower back.
The Calves
- The long, deeper calf muscle, the soleus, keeps you upright all day and is correspondingly close to 90% slow twitch, so don't bother with reps below 15.
The Front Thighs
- For quad training, use a large variation of reps with an emphasis on the lower rep ranges.
The Midsection
- I think beginners should do low rep anti-extension exercises, like planks, rollouts and reverse crunches, to strengthen the anterior core.
- After that phase, heavy compound exercises, such as vertical pressing and pulling and anterior load carriage, may be sufficient training for bodybuilders, depending on exercise selection and individual preferences.
by Menno Henselmans 10/14/2011
https://www.t-nation.com/training/muscle-specific-hypertrophy-chest-triceps-and-shoulders
Chest
- The pectoralis major is composed of approximately 60% fast twitch fibers.
- It's strongest when the shoulders are internally rotated (elbows pointing away from each other during presses) and is best isolated by flaring the elbows maximally out to the sides.
- Try medium rep flys with a pronated grip.
Triceps
- The triceps is composed of 67% fast twitch fibers, so train it according to the adage, "go heavy or go home."
- The long head needs to be trained with overhead work.
Shoulders
- Traditional shoulder programs emphasize the anterior deltoid at the expense of the rest of the scapula-humeral muscles.
- Overhead presses are generally plenty of work for your anterior deltoids.
- Add incline side raises and reverse flys with your shoulders internally rotated to balance the program and round out your delts.
- Use medium to high reps.
Muscle Specific Hypertrophy: Biceps, Back, and Lower Body
by Menno Henselmans 10/27/2011
https://www.t-nation.com/training/muscle-specific-hypertrophy-biceps-back-and-lower-body
The Biceps & Brachioradialis
- Stick to standard curls with your elbows at your sides before worrying about emphasizing the brachialis and biceps peak.
- Use a supinated grip and medium reps for biceps work and a neutral grip and lower reps for the brachioradialis.
The Forearms
- In accord with their heavy usage, most forearm muscles are slow twitch dominant, so use high reps. Also, be careful of doing more wrist flexion than extension in your programs.
The Lats & Teres Major
- Include both shoulder extension and adduction in your programs.
- Think about your grip and shoulder rotation for your exercises.
- The lats respond best to medium volume.
The Traps
- Your traps are important. Train them fully, and train them more than your pushing muscles.
The Glutes, Hamstrings, and Lower Back
- Flexing the knee during hip extension takes the hamstrings out of the movement.
- Use straight leg movements (or leg curls) for low reps to train the hams and medium to high reps with bent knees to train the glutes and lower back.
The Calves
- The long, deeper calf muscle, the soleus, keeps you upright all day and is correspondingly close to 90% slow twitch, so don't bother with reps below 15.
The Front Thighs
- For quad training, use a large variation of reps with an emphasis on the lower rep ranges.
The Midsection
- I think beginners should do low rep anti-extension exercises, like planks, rollouts and reverse crunches, to strengthen the anterior core.
- After that phase, heavy compound exercises, such as vertical pressing and pulling and anterior load carriage, may be sufficient training for bodybuilders, depending on exercise selection and individual preferences.