groups at the same time and perform exercises with free weights. We are talking about exercises such as squats with a barbell, deadlifts and the less common snatch with a chest reception these days. When doing exercises on simulators, testosterone production does not increase so much. Testosterone is an anabolic, and the more it enters the body, the stronger you become and the easier it is to build large muscles.

But in bodybuilding, the shape of the muscles is no less important than their size and strength. Free weight exercises give the experienced bodybuilder the opportunity to isolate individual muscles and open up space for creative work with the body in a variety of ways. They also allow people of different heights, weights and physical proportions – long arms, short arms, long legs, short legs, and so on – to develop all parts of the body harmoniously, while many machines are geared towards the needs of the so-called “average” health club clients.

I want to emphasize once again that I am not against simulators. Joe Gold, a real wizard in the invention and design of sports equipment, filled his World Jim hall with many useful devices and mechanisms. These days, when I go into the gyms and use the many different machines, they seem like marvels of modern technology to me. We've outlived the vogue for water or air resistance trainers, and now we're back to the old designs, but the new models are a hundred times better than the old ones. The people at companies like Cybex and Hammerstrens work hard to create devices that work well and are easy to use. Gone are the days when an exercise machine manufacturer simply welded pieces of metal together and told customers to use a mechanism that worked badly, forced them into awkward positions, hit stops midway through the motion, and often broke down.

I пользуюсь многими тренажерами в своих тренировках. For example, it is impossible to achieve full development of the thigh muscles without machines for power bending and stretching of the legs or completely isolate the internal muscles of the chest without the use of blocks and mechanisms for pulling in a vertical plane. You can give the body a push to accelerate development if you occasionally use a device or devices that you are not used to after regular free weight exercises for that body part. But I believe that a good bodybuilding program should include no more than 30-40% (maximum) of training on machines. Of course, elbow curls work best with dumbbells or with a barbell due to the way the biceps are isolated and stimulated, but it's hard to properly work the lats or triceps without moving bar bands.

If you think about it, the mechanisms maintain the required level of resistance in only one plane, which means that the muscle must move the way the machine works, or not at all. When there is no need for balance and control over the degree of resistance, only a certain part of the muscle fibers come into play, and muscle building slows down. But the whole idea of ​​bodybuilding and strength training is to use as many muscles as possible.

Indeed, the muscle does not know what kind of resistance it has to overcome. In this sense, any resistance is the same. But a muscle does respond differently when it is constantly subjected to a load from different angles and directions—as opposed to a load that always follows a predictable line. Franco Colombo говорил мне, что в его опыте мануального терапевта большая часть мышечных растяжений и травмированных связок возникает в результате использования тренажеров, подвергающих тело неестественным нагрузкам, «запирающих» человека в жесткой позиции.

Muscles developed in order to overcome the force of gravity. If we lived on the Moon, we would need only one-sixth of the amount of muscle needed on Earth. On Jupiter, we would need a giant physique to move at all! When we lift something, it gives us a feeling of heaviness. Pushing the weight along the rails is something else. Pretty much the same thing happens when you push against an immovable wall: the resistance is overwhelming, but the wall is not "heavy". All это означает, что ваши мышцы реагируют не в полную меру своих способностей.

If you are training in a place where there are no barbells and dumbbells needed for work and there is nothing you can do about it, use any material at hand to work with free weights. The bottom line is that the training is complete, and how you achieve this is no longer so important.

SHOES

The value of training shoes lies in the stability of your feet and improved balance. In this regard, there are different types of shoes. Many running shoes are too light and flexible; it's fine if you're going to run ten miles, but they don't offer much support when stationary. Professional strength athletes doing deadlifts usually wear very thin-soled slippers because even a fraction of an inch can mean the difference between success and failure when trying to lift a huge amount of weight off the ground.

You can also find tight athletic shoes with thick soles and good arch support. I видел культуристов, работавших в туристских ботинках, армейских ботинках с высокой шнуровкой и разной другой обуви. Be aware of the amount of pressure that is placed on your feet and instep when you do weight-bearing exercises like the barbell squat. Therefore, choose shoes that are most suitable for the exercises that appear on your workout schedule.

GLOVES

Many serious bodybuilders wear gloves while exercising to protect their palms. Others use pieces of rubber cut from thick rubber hose to improve their grip. It's okay, but I've always trained with bare hands and used talcum powder when my palms started to slide over the bar. Strength athletes work with huge weights and yet do not use assistive devices. If you have very sensitive skin, if you are a surgeon, pianist or other profession where you need to take great care of your hands, be sure to wear gloves. However, I recommend that most bodybuilders handle the weight with their bare hands so that the palms become rough and calloused enough. Don't worry about such things as sponges, gloves and other nonsense.

BELT LOOP

Loops are fastened at the wrists and then wrapped around the bar to secure the grip, although in my opinion the use of such means interferes with the natural and full development of muscular strength. Loops are used because they are naked it is sometimes difficult to hold the weight with your hands, which creates a really big load on the muscles of the back. However, weightlifting champions do not use loops, although they work with huge weights. Franco and I often resorted to the help of loops on some exercises with a heavy barbell. If you do not use loops, your grip strength will gradually increase; if you use the loops all the time, you will not have the opportunity to develop this kind of tension. Be that as it may, the use of belt loops in weight exercises is a matter of personal choice.

ПОIСА

Wearing a heavy belt is designed to support the muscles in your lower back when you are lifting very heavy weights. Initially, such a belt was used by power athletes who performed heavy presses and pullovers [Lowering the bar back and down behind the head (the term is adopted in Russian literature). (Note per.)]. However, heavy barbell squatters or calf trainers often find it necessary to wear a belt.

Research over the past few years indicates that a heavy belt does not protect the spine as much as previously thought, although it does help stabilize the upper body by increasing pressure on the abdomen. However, in my opinion, too many bodybuilders wear a belt all the time while working in the gym, which has a numbing effect on the psoas and prevents them from developing to the required size. This is a high price to pay for an illusory sense of security, which is why I recommend wearing the belt only when you think it's really necessary - for example, to lift very heavy weights, and not as a fashion accessory for a bodybuilder.

ELASTIC BANDAGE

Elastic bandages are used to protect weakened or damaged muscles and joints. You will sometimes see a bodybuilder with bandaged elbows for flat or incline presses, but more commonly bandaged knees for heavy barbell squats. However, bandages are not an accessory that you use every day. Unless you have an injury or articulation problems (in which case you should seek medical attention), then you do not need to bandage your knees until you get to the stage of working with very heavy weight. The bandages are applied tightly, but not too tight, around the area that is subjected to the greatest load. Remember that every time you bandage an area tightly enough to strengthen it, you also limit its flexibility.

HEAD STRAPS

A few years ago, it was customary among bodybuilders to use a kind of "harness" worn on the head, to which an additional weight was attached so that the athlete could perform progressive strength exercises for the muscles of the neck. The Barbarian Twins, David and Peter Paul, once dazzled Gold Jim gym goers with huge neck weights; sometimes they even attached a head strap to the car's bumper and dragged the car across the parking lot.

This type of exercise is now out of fashion, although perhaps in vain. If you think that your neck is too weak, find any suitable way to train it. Some companies now produce exercise machines specifically designed for this purpose.