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Bodybuilding Anatomy

Bodybuilding Exercises and Anatomy

If your objective is to be a serious bodybuilder then you need to spend some time learning about muscles, how they work as well as each of the major muscles origins and insertions. This basic anatomy is something that you cannot do without in order to know what you are doing.

Knowing about simple things like how a rotator cuff works will help you directly in developing your deltoids. A good example is that Arnold would begin his shoulder presses by holding a dumbbell in each hand with his palms facing his body and the weights at shoulder height. As he pressed the dumbbells to overhead extension, he twisted his forearms so that his palms faced away from his body at the top of the move.

Another example is to do the famous Steve Reeves pinch-grip deadlift. He would put 45-pound plates on a barbell in the reverse position so the numbers faced out. Reeves grasped the rim of the weight plates rather than the barbell itself, bending at the knees and hips.

He would then drive through his lower body, and maintaining the integrity of his lower back, he would pull the weight off the ground until he was standing. Then lower the weight by bending at the waist and knees until the weights returned to the ground.

Another example is the Dave Draper curl and press. You do this by lying on a low incline bench (15-20 degrees - about the height of a cinder block under one end). Hold a moderate-weight dumbbell in each hand, with your arms extended and below the bench.

Using a slow action, curl the weights up until they're close to your armpits. Then twist the weight and begin to press the weight above your chest, performing an incline press. "Keep your form meticulous and perform 10-12 reps per set," Draper says.

There are many other examples where we can learn from the old great bodybuilders that have passed us by and left us with precious gems of innovative exercises. But if you know your anatomy and a decent amount of physiology you will easily be able to distinguish what works and what does not work.

All you need to know is where the origin of the muscle inserts and how it is connected to the complex array of connective tissue attached to all muscles. All muscles obviously also have an insertion where the insert into the joint or bone via connective tissue called a ligament or tendon.

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