Comments on: The Line of Pull

By: Donaldson

Donaldson — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 16:56:39 +0000

Mark, Thanks for these useful tips. I am back at the gym after a long lay-off. Lost my motivation after a bad fall. I’ll be coming to your blog often for help and clarifications.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 11:36:10 +0000

@Jesh @Allen. Conflicting body parts are chest, triceps, and shoulders. Rows don’t use biceps to any great intensity. Most of the stress is taken by the lats, so it’s not going to hamper your bicep recovery. Make sure you’re doing them as I instruct though i.e. don’t be using an underhand grip for rows.
@Allen. Fantastic. Yes it is very beneficial to have those longer breaks. We’re there to stimulate growth, it’s not an aerobic workout or an endurance contest. Those have nothing to do with stimulating increases in size and strength,

By: Allen

Allen — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 02:47:22 +0000

Yeah jesh make a good point. I just started THT5 but I remember from the THT4 book I think chest came after legs, with back on Friday. Why the change? Or am I not remembering things correctly? Lol

By the way Mark I just got back to the gym a couple weeks ago after missing six months and I’m loving THT. I used to fit in 24-30 sets in an hour and I find the less sets and longer rests help me get more mentally prepared for each set and I don’t find myself rushing to get out of the gym quicker, which probably resulted in prematurely failed sets. I used to follow everything else in your book except the sets/rests because I felt like a dogf—er in the gym but now I realize how beneficial it is! I should have done this sooner but ultimately I did because I know you’re the only source I can rely on for workout advice and you haven’t been wrong yet!

By: jesh

jesh — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 21:30:11 +0000

hey mark, you’ve said in the past there should be 48 hours between conflicting body parts when lifting. or im just assuming that but anyway in THT 5.0 arms are done wednesday including biceps then the back is worked on thursday which requires rows, which uses the biceps. im just a little confused, and great post by the way!

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 15:27:42 +0000

@Matt. You can use them for sure.Only drawback is there is no resistance at the top of the movement. Cable preacher curls or a preacher machine delivers resistance at the top i.e. the ‘peak contraction point’ as I call it. So I’d like all hackers to include this in their bicep work.

By: Matt LeBlanc

Matt LeBlanc — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:21:37 +0000

Hi Mark,

Would supinated dumbell curls suffice?

By: Cesar H

Cesar H — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:12:38 +0000

Tks, man!!!!

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:08:20 +0000

@Cesar. Make sure your grip is wide enough. Each person should assess this for themselves. Start with a shoulder-width grip and go from there. Too narrow or too wide will hurt the wrists. If this truly doesn’t help, there is the option of doing cable preachers one arm at a time, which will remove the wrist pain. You don’t need to remove EZ curls, just ensure that your bicep routine includes a fully supinated movement.

By: Cesar H

Cesar H — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:02:48 +0000

Hi Mark, I feel what you say, but what if you do feel a little “pain” in the whirst doind straight supinated curls? I do feel much more confortable with the easy bar… :o( What should I do???

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:44:44 +0000

Very helpful. Thanks for this Mark