A Growing Jock

Back consists of a warm up of single arm lat pulldowns and pullovers from a pulley to activate lats and serratus and increas mind muscle connection. Then there are four basic motions - a wide pull down motion, a narrow pull down motion, a wide row pull motion, and a narrow row pull motion. I’ll alternate and vary the hand grip, such that if i did a prone grip on the wide i’ll do a supinated grip on the narrow, etc. Otherwise i try to make sure that the exercises are not all done using the same type of equipment. for example if i dide the wide grip pull down with a pulley-rope macine, i’ll do the narrow pull down free on a bar if needed (like a pull up, but weighted down), and then the narrow row with free weights and the wide row on a machine. And maybe the next week, i’ll do wide gripped pull ups, narrow pull downs on a machine, rnarrow grip rows on a cable, and wide grip bent over rows using barbells. etc. etc... 

Bodybuilding is a mindfulness exercise. It’s almost like yoga, but instead of the mindfulness focusing on breath and fluid motion, you’re bringing your mindfulness to muscular contraction and relaxation. It’s tempting to think that it’s just about lifting heavy, going big on the weights, and of course some of that is true, and so is total volume. But a heightened mind-muscle connection recruits a lot more units by really activating all the neuronal input firing into the muscle, and will reflect in increased output, strength and eventually more hypertrophy. There’s a few tricks to increasing neuronal activation. In general, make sure you are not too distracted during your workouts - no phone use, music is ok but not if it’s drifting your consciousness away from the specific sensation of the muscle contracting, and keep your focus on your workout - don’t let your mindfulness drift to events of the day, plans for the next etc. in that sense again bodybuilding is much like a yogic, meditative exercise. Hone in your mind on the muscle you are contracting, and this is easier to do with lower weights, where you can control the movement precisely. Bring your mindfulness to the negative portion of the exercise, and make sure that this is as controlled as the positive portion. 

For chest, start with flies at a manageable weight, not too heavy, something you can comfortably do. I find a really good tip is If you have a fly machine, do single arm flies, with your other hand on your pec, really feeling the pec as it contracts, allowing your mindfulness to really be present and experience that muscle contraction. 

Your back is the hardest to engage and activate mindfully. If you have a machine that allows you to do single arm pull down, do these at low weights, with your other hand on the lat, feeling it contract and engaging your mind in that contraction. Do this again with a single arm pull at low weights. A bar pullover from a pulley is also very useful to this, it engages your serratus and your lat dorsi. This is my favorite back activator, and as i do the exercise i will often step backwards after a few reps to change the angle and activate more fibers. 

I think setting a goal is where everything starts. Goal setting has to be realistic, and take into account other aspects of your life  and all the asks and demands being placed on you. Sure, you can spend an extra hour at the gym every day - but it will detract from time spent with your dad, which may be equally important to you. Having a good understanding of what you are willing to sacrifice is key to setting and reaching a realistic goal.