The Protein Corner

Table of Contents + Overview Instructions Expert Tips My Favorite Grip for the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown What to Do if Your Lat Pulldown Machine Doesn't Let You Do Single-Arm Pulldowns Single-Arm vs. Two-Arm Lat Pulldown: Which Should You Do? How to Add the Single-Arm Lat Pulldown to Your Routine Want More Content Like This? Overview The single-arm lat pulldown is a back exercise performed on a lat pulldown machine. You attach a single handle to the cable, grab it with one hand, and pull it down to the side of your chest before reversing the movement back to the fully stretched starting position. Instructions Attach a single handle to the lat pulldown machine and adjust the thigh pad so it locks your lower body in place when seated. Grab the handle with your right hand while standing, then sit down and let your body weight pull the handle down with you. Nudge your thighs under the pad and plant your feet flat on the floor. Sit slightly behind the cable rather than d...

The dumbbell fly is a pec isolation exercise performed lying on a bench. You hold a dumbbell in each hand above your chest, lower them out to your sides in a wide arc, then reverse the movement to bring the weights back together. It’s a staple in bodybuilding chest workouts because it lets you train your pecs even when your shoulders and triceps are tired from pressing. It also trains them through a longer range of motion than most presses, with a deeper stretch on the chest—something research suggests is important for muscle growth. Table of Contents + Dumbbell-Fly Instructions Expert Tips A Dumbbell Chest Fly Workout to Grow Your Pecs Who Should Do the Dumbbell Chest Fly? How to Feel Your Chest When Doing Dumbbell Flyes Why "Squeeze Your Pecs at the Top" Is Bad Advice Dumbbell Chest Fly vs. Other Fly Variations Want More Content Like This? Instructions Sit on the edge of the bench with the dumbbells standing on end on your thigh...

The best exercises for building your forearms are ones that rely on grip strength to hold or pull a heavy weight—deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, pull-ups, shrugs, and all heavy rows.  And most of the time, these classic strength training exercises are all you need to build a pair of proportionate, strong, muscular forearms.  Nine times out of ten, when someone claims their forearms are “undersized,” the culprit is a lack of heavy pulling, not a lack of dedicated forearm exercises.  That said, if you feel your forearms are lagging despite your heavy pulling, there are two things you can do about it: Use weightlifting straps sparingly.   Weightlifting straps make it easier to hold heavy weights, especially on deadlifts, rows, and lat pulldowns.  This prevents your grip strength from becoming a limiting factor in your sets, but it also reduces how hard your forearms have to work.  I recommend you use straps sparingly to get the best of both worlds. Specifically, I recommend usi...

You’re probably here because you want to get defined six-pack abs, and you’ve heard you need to train your obliques to achieve this. I’ll explain the best exercises for training your obliques and how to put them into a workout, but before we get into that, it’s worth knowing the truth about getting a six-pack: You must lose body fat if you want to see your abs and obliques. No amount of oblique training will give you V-cut abs if your body fat percentage is too high. Get lean—that’s the only way your obliques will ever show. You don’t need dedicated ab exercises to get a six-pack, much less specific oblique exercises. That said, the idea that you should avoid training your obliques because it’ll make your waist look “blocky” is also misguided. For most people, the abs are sufficiently stimulated by compound exercises (squats, chin-ups, etc.) to get a six-pack. No direct ab work required. All of that said, the abs (including t...