When I was younger I remember frequenting the local gym(usually during the summer when sports weren’t in session) and just about every guy there was either doing bench presses or working their guns. 90% of the guys I ever saw training only worked their upper body and then it was usually just the mirror muscles anyway.
.
As time went on these guys usually got pretty good at bouncing the bar off their chest and slinging the dumbbells around during mirror curls. Some of them even pushed a decent amount of weight. Eventually though, they were out of proportion. Their chest seemed to be getting bigger while the rest of their body stayed the same size. It was rather comical and I always thought they looked a bit silly.
.
A few guys I knew developed some serious shoulder issues from their obsession with the bench press. One of my fellow teammates even tore his rotator cuff and got the pleasure of undergoing arthroscopic surgery. Tough love between the bench jockey and his horizontal pressing.
Aesthetically Symmetrical
Looking great in the nude requires that balanced physique. Many like to reference the Greek statues for a perfect example of an aesthetically pleasing physique; I am one of those people.
.
In my personal opinion the statues resemble the most coveted physique for the modern gym rat. I don’t really believe many desire the overdone, overly huge bodybuilder look that is popular in the IFBB currently. I know I don’t desire the distended belly that Ronnie and many other pro’s pimp on that grotesque, bikini bottomed stage of behemoths.
.
Anyway, I don’t believe that physique to be highly regarded as attractive nor is it symmetrical. It’s rather disgusting in my humble opinion. I believe that most of us are after that balanced look: think of the beefed up sprinter or the NFL linebacker. The ladies might think of Jamie Eason or Jennifer Nicole Lee.
Structural Balance
Now we must talk about what’s under the hood. That beautiful physique must be in harmony with gravity and it should always be a pleasure to display rather than be in agony every single second. Ask the aged powerlifter if he knows about constant aches and pains.
.
The way we take care of our structural balance is through proper form, stretching, mobility work and by paying attention to our development. Stretching is important for more reasons than one. Being limber can aid in injury prevention by increasing range of motion and alleviating tense muscles. Stretching can also aid in recovery by providing better circulation throughout the body.
.
Mobility drills will aid in improving range of motion as well as activating the CNS before intense training sessions. Mobility drills are often important for activating and loosening up tight spots such as the glutes or hamstrings. I know when I was struggling with my tight hips/glutes, in order to prepare for an intense workout I had to spend time getting my glutes to fire. Mobility drills and foam rolling were my cure. Then once my glutes were firing, squats and deads became productive movements once again, hence helping me continue building that balanced physique.
.
Finally, you must pay attention to what you see in the mirror. Everyone has a few body parts that grow rather quickly and others that need more attention. My quads will grow if I have a dirty dream about walking up the stairs but my lats and shoulders need some extra TLC.
.
Every training cycle you need to ask yourself a few things. How well are you developing? Are some areas developing faster than others? What areas need work? All these are important questions when your goal is to build a well balanced physique. Eventually, as you advance, you will reach a point of diminishing returns. Gains will come to a halt and you will be forced to revert to specialization routines, but that is another article for another day.
Balance is a Good Thing
In order to build that balanced physique, your training must be up to par. You simply cannot be the bench jockey training chest, arms and shoulders and nothing else 3x per week. Like everything else in life, if there is no balance, disaster is sure to follow. This applies to training in every aspect. If you don’t balance your training with ample time to recover, things get wonky. If you spend too much time at the gym, start becoming OCD about food intake and lock yourself in the apartment, your social life suffers.
.
When you look at the human body, the musculature is nothing but a myriad of cooperating muscle groups. For example, when doing a dumbbell curl the bicep muscle is the agonist(prime mover) while the triceps muscle is the antagonist. Another example: the quads and hamstrings.
.
Over time, when folks are doing nothing but bench presses and arm curls these particular muscles develop and strengthen whilst the antagonist muscles lag behind. It’s fairly common and will eventually result in imbalances and possibly injury.
.
Take my good friend who underwent arthroscopic surgery a few years back. Bench press was his favorite movement. He benched 3x per week whilst only working his back once on Wednesday’s and it was very light work. He never gave any other muscle group the attention they deserved and one day he just broke, literally. He felt a pop in his shoulder with a sharp pain soon after. A few hours and a few doses of morphine later he was walking out of the hospital in a sling.
Pushing and Pulling
He had a lot of time to sit and ponder exactly where he went wrong. After lots of thought he figured it out. He was a very strong presser so it couldn’t be a lack of strength in his chest and shoulders. It had to be something else. He then realized one of the main reasons he injured himself was due to his weak back and rear deltoids. He was not devoting as much attention to his back and rear delts as he was his chest, thus creating an imbalance.
.
He soon learned the importance of balancing his pushes and pulls. A general rule of thumb is for every push you perform, you should do a pull and vice versa. If you perform a vertical press(shoulder press) you should do a vertical pull(chins). If you’re doing rows, you balance them out with dips, bench press or any other horizontal pressing movement. It’s just that simple.
.
Take a look at just about any of the most popular strength and bodybuilding programs and you will find they all incorporate a fairly equal amount of pushing and pulling exercise.
.
The only time I would ever advise someone do more of one or the other is during a specialization cycle which lasts no longer than about 4-6 weeks or if they are rehabbing a bum shoulder. In the case of injury, I suggest doing more pulling movement’s to balance out the shoulder girdle. After many rows, band dislocates and face pulls the upper back and rear delts should be balanced with the chest and front delts.
.
In any program design, balance is crucial to your success with regards to building an aesthetically pleasing physique as well as protecting yourself from injury.
this is the approach I try to take with my fitness. I don’t focus on my biceps, because big arms and small legs just looks weak. I don’t want to be a gym rat douchebag.
I hit the big muscles first (legs, chest, back) then refine with the smaller groups. I think this is the most effective way of increasing mass.
word. it’s the way I do it too. Some days I don’t even train arms.
Great post JC, it certainly rings true for me. I spent far too long training my chest / biceps and neglecting the posterior chain. Balance is essential for avoiding injury… and looking like a doorman!
Also most of the guys who just do bench/curls won’t tap into all that growth potential. I think that the best way to have a balanced physique is to train for a power/endurance sport, eg rowing, rugby, american (certain positions) etc. That way you get the muscular side of power but the leanness from the endurance.
Good article.
My right hamstring has been tight for 3 months now. It’s really uncomfortable at times and I thought maybe I wasn’t stretching it enough, but now I suppose it could be an imbalance issue. I still haven’t bought a foam roller. (ugh)
could be. what have you been doing for lower body work?
and get on buying that foam roller.
I love to do squat(s), but barely any dead lifts. My thighs are genetically enhanced so I shy away from the legs at times for fear of further enlargement.
well, if you are talking about your quads(when you say thighs), squats are mainly quad dominant, unless you are a low bar squatter. Deads put more emphasis on the posterior chain. These are what builds the thick booty and huge hamstrings.
I completely understand you about the genetically enhanced thighs.
Good points but some guys at the gym will still train that way (only chest, arms and abzzz…). Even though there are a lot of advice against it on the net and even from trainers… They will end up with upper body rounded forward and legs like sticks… Good luck for them!