Bodybuilding purist aside, muscles bulging out of a guy’s body every which direction have not always brought ooohs and aaahs of admiration. Leaving the very small percentage of Ronnie Coleman’s’ and Dorian Yates’s aside, big slabs of corded muscles piled high on every body part should not even be that all desirable.
I remember an article way, way back where Larry Scott stated that when his arms went to 21 inches, it hurt. It hurt his shoulders; it hurt to put his forearms on the table; and it wore on him. By the way, I never have had that problem, and I never will (I think my envy is showing).
Okay, so what is desirable? What is aesthetically pleasing made be in the eye of the beholder, nevertheless, I think a lot has to do with the X of the body and the forearms.
Draw a line from right shoulder to left ankle. Draw another line from left shoulder to right ankle. This is your X. There are three elements that deliver a great X. First is wide shoulders; the second is tight abs; and the last is great calves.
Whether in a polo shirt and a pair of slacks for a casual night out or strolling along a boardwalk; the guy with the great shoulders, tight abs, and great calves always brings admiration. Have you seen the guy with tree trunk thighs and skinny calves or Pecs that stick out a foot but nothing for shoulders? For the last finishing touch, build great forearms – big meaty forearms like you have been swinging an axe all day.
Exercises that build nice shoulders:
- Seated press behind the neck – bring bar as far down as possible, right to base of the neck. And keep the elbows back, sacrifice weight if need be to maintain form.
- Standing Lateral Raise – always keep the back of the dumbbell higher than the front.
- Wide Grip Pull downs behind the neck – all the way to the base of the neck.
Calf Exercises:
- Do wind sprints up a hill; about 200 meters – walk down and repeat – guaranteed your calves will be in pain! Do as many as possible before collapsing in agony.
- Standing Calf raises with slight bend in knees
Abs:
- Hanging Leg raises to side – just imagine trying to hit your left shoulder with your right knee.
- Always perform your abs exercise with a twist.
Forearms:
- Alternating Zottman curls – Curl the dumbbell in like you want to touch your right hand to your left shoulder. In the up position, twist your wrist and out to your side, so that you are basically doing a circular motion. As you lower one side, do the other. Get a rhythm going but do not swing, control.
- Superset wrist curls and reverse wrist curls – These will blow up forearms.
Prioritize your shoulders by doing them first, then back followed by biceps and forearms. Work calves before you attack your upper legs. Wide shoulders, tight abs, and good looking calves supplemented by meaty forearms are a good look.
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