Brachialis
physique. All of the muscles mentioned
in this article are definitely trained using
the full arsenal of lifts and movements
that every bodybuilder uses, and they
will often come out in their full splendour
when conditioning is right and the athlete
‘dries out’. However, sometimes they may
need a little extra attention. Before that
remember, the foundations and x-frame,
BRACHIALIS
This muscle runs underneath the biceps
and is visible on the outside of each
upper arm. It works with the biceps as a
flexor of the elbow joint but, unlike the
biceps, does not have a role in supinating
the forearm – as occurs in the outward
rotation during supinating (also known as
twisting/rotating) dumbbell curls.
WHY WORK IT?
The brachialis adds width to your arms.
When the biceps are flexed a well-developed
branch bulges out as an impressive knot on
the outside between the biceps and triceps,
offering greater density, depth and detail. We
probably don’t have to sell you on growing
a crucial part of your guns, but since you’re
already hitting brachialis when you work
biceps, do you need to do more? Yes, because
in rotating or supinated curls the biceps are
doing the brunt of the work. To maximise
brachialis development do one type of curl
movement that focuses on this
muscle in each biceps session.
and everything else needs to be in place
before worrying about the detail. You can’t
paint a house before building it.
Those who are serious about dominating
a line-up have read this all before, but
sometimes it is the small things that need
to be re-emphasised. Here are five smaller,
“uncool” muscles that can take a good
physique and make it excellent.
HOW DO I TRAIN IT?
To target the brachialis curl a weight with
either a palm-down (reverse) grip or a
thumb-up (neutral) grip. For the former,
do barbell reverse curls with a medium
grip, either standing or on a preacher bench.
For the latter, do hammer curls with two
dumbbells, simultaneously or alternating.
Three or four sets of 10-12 reps should sting
the brachialis and because both of these
exercises work the forearms (especially
the brachioradialis) more than palm-up
(supinated) curls, you may want to do them
at the end of the bicep routine, just before
wrist curls and reverse wrist curls (which you
should be doing if you have no forearms -
keep reading).
SERRATUS ANTERIOR
The serratus anterior lies atop the
outer sides of the highest eight ribs
and connects to the upper, inner area
of the scapula. The “finger-like” ridges
are visible just below the outer edges of
the pectorals. The main function of the
serratus anterior is to pull the scapula
forward, like at the top of a bench press
movement when you let your shoulders
come off the bench to raise the barbell
higher than is customary. This muscle
also works to stabilise the scapula and
assists in rotating it upward.
WHY WORK IT?
Visually, the serratus anterior muscles
set off the pecs and abs, and ties the
front to the back. At lean body weights
development of this muscle group gives a
physique that “finished” look. Okay, that’s
snazzy and all but, as with brachialis, you
may assume you’re already stimulating the
serratus anterior by doing pullovers and
pulldowns. In fact, those exercises don’t
do much for the serratus anterior, other
than give the muscles a good stretch. This
is because, contrary to popular belief,
the motion of pulling your arms from an
overhead position towards your waist
is not a direct function of the serratus
anterior.
HOW DO I TRAIN IT?
Hold your arms straight out in front of you,
reaching as far forward as possible until
you feel your scapulas rounding. This is the
primary function of your serratus anterior
muscle. To duplicate this do some chest
presses with the same exaggerated range
of motion. Don’t do this on your maximum
sets. Rather incorporate it into your warm-
up sets and, as you grow stronger, the
lighter sets of a pyramid. You can also do
push-ups with the same scapula-rounding
contractions and barbell front raises while
maintaining this posture.
Serratus
anterior
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