Strength and Physique

Q: Another hello from England! I was always led to believe that narrow grip tends to build more back thickness and wide grip builds more back width. Because of this, I've normally done a varied grip range; wide grip, medium grip and narrow grip lat pulldowns/pullups. Taking your HTE 2.0 programme with the rep range 10-8-6-15, I would go wide grip lat pulldown for 10, medium grip for 8, narrow grip for 6 and then wide grip for the flushing 15. As my grip goes from wide to narrow, I can naturally lift more weight as your programme calls for. I noticed that in your HTE 2.0 programme , you've specified pull-ups, V-bar pulldowns and seated cable rows for back exercises. The latter two are more narrow grip exercises. Is there a reason why you've gone for these two exercises as opposed to a standard lat pulldown bar? Or am I reading too much into this? Best regards! Kalwant Leeds, England My Answer: Yes you are reading too much into it.  The seated cable row with a V-bar handle...

Q: I'm currently following your Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph (HTE) programme, which is simply brilliant. It's a joy to follow, I never get bored and my body never gets fatigued because of the fourth week changing of rep ranges. I also bought and read your superb book High Tension Exercises for Muscular Growth which contains astonishing scientific information about the body and muscles. It's on another level compared to all the publications, websites and magazines I've ever read. It really is a fascinating book and has given me a far greater understanding of muscle growth and the best associated exercises and rep ranges. Thus, I have some questions. (a) You mention the benefit of the guillotine bench press, and I've been doing it. Where should my arms be when doing this? If I try to keep my arms at 90 degrees, forearms directly vertical, I can only lower the bar to approximately 18cm / 7inches off my chest. If I butterfly my arms, I can get the bar lower ...

Q:   What are other good exercises for the hamstring other than deadlift? I have a home gym but I don’t have a lying leg raise machine. Thanks. My Answer:  In the hamstring chapter of  High Tension Exercises for Muscular Growth , I list out the best hamstring builders.  They are categorized as either leg curl variations or deadlift variations.  If you don’t have access to leg curl machines, then you can still build some rather thick bundles of steel just from the floor glute-ham raise, a.k.a. Nordic curl. The Nordic curl is a body weight exercise that resembles the leg curl, but it is extremely tough to do.  It requires that you have a training partner to hold your legs down, or you can secure your ankles underneath a heavy piece of equipment.  You slowly lower your torso under control.  When your body reaches the floor, push off in an explosive manner and do another rep.  You might only do 1-3 reps.