Deltoids – importance of deltoid development

Where are the delts?

This is an old progress picture but I’ve chosen it because it immediately draws your attention to the right deltoid, highlighted in red. The delts are the most prominent muscles in this photograph and fill the width of the t-shirt creating the desirable v-taper upper body shape. 

Significance of the delts

At all levels of bodybuilding the deltoids add significant width to the physique and must not be neglected. Below is 2011-2012 Mr Olympia Phil Heath (pic from Bodybuilding.com), his delts are prominent and add explosive width. 

The deltoids add significant upper body width helping to create the v-taper body shape and must not be ignored. 

Androgen receptors 

The deltoids contain a large number of androgen receptors. Androgen receptors are receptors in the body which are sensitive to male hormones such as testosterone.  The deltoids typically develop after puberty, broadening in width when testosterone increases and subsequently developed deltoids are a symbol of masculinity. Developing the deltoids makes your physique appear dramatically more masculine helping your body to move away from “young boy” towards “developed man”. 

Why is deltoid training often neglected?

For the deltoids to develop properly they must be isolated and trained appropriately. Many bodybuilders complain shoulder training is painful and neglect it in favour of additional chest exercises which usually also target the shoulders. Most young bodybuilders rarely make the effort to learn to train deltoids properly and their delts are not significant when their physique develops. Delts should be targeted with individual exercises in addition to chest and back training. 

Dissecting the delts 

The delts consist of three heads shown below (picture from Wikipedia)

Anterior / Front delts – front raises target the front deltoids which are found nearest the pecs

Lateral / Side delts –  lateral raises target the side delts which are found between the front and rear delts

Posterior / Rear delts – often neglected, these are usually targeted by rowing exercises for the back but can also be isolated with exercises such as bent over rear lateral raises and face pulls

Until my deltoid training post I recommend checking out Dorian Yates’ training video for bodybuilding.com where he covers some solid exercises for deltoid development which have really helped me and could help you too http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dorian-yates-blood-guts-4.htm

 

BMW

Protein intake

I get a lot of questions from newcomers asking me about protein intake. This post aims to answer the bare basics. 

Why protein?

You need protein to get anywhere in bodybuilding, fact. Protein is digested into amino acids, the building blocks of muscle which are then used to build muscle tissue.

Protein and muscular development

If your protein intake is high enough and you damage your muscles through exercise your body will transport amino acids, the building blocks of muscle tissue, from your blood stream into your muscles to repair them. The body will overcompensate rebuilding your muscles bigger and stronger than they were before.

Consequences of insufficient protein 

No matter how hard you work in the gym, no matter how many calories you eat, if you don’t consume enough protein you won’t build any muscle. If your diet is low in protein and you’re working hard in the gym your efforts may even be counterproductive. If the level of amino acids in your blood is too low your body will break down muscle tissue to release amino acids into the bloodstream.

How much is enough?

BMW says 1g per pound of bodyweight, MINIMUM per day

Whilst the maximum protein intake required for athletes is touted at 0.8g per lb, think about it. Your protein intake is not going to be perfectly even and not all protein sources are created evenly (amino acid profiles). In reality you will need more protein than this in order to guarantee you will always have a positive blood nitrogen level and remain anabolic.
Muscle growth is a slow process; there is no reason to limit your progress through a poor diet. Go to any gym and tell the guys there you don’t eat at least 1g per pound of bodyweight protein per day and give them your excuse. They will tell you that’s why you’re skinny.

Calculating minimum protein intake

Bodyweight in pounds x 1

So if you weigh 175lb you need to eat 175g of protein per day. Spread this over 5 evenly divided meals and this equates to 35g protein per sitting. You need a solid protein source with every meal.

Excess protein

Excess protein is deaminated (removing the amino group, the nitrogen) and converted into fats and carbohydrates as required, producing ureic acid (which is diluted into urine) in the process. If you eat too much protein your body will simply use it for fuel or store it as fat, just as it would with fats and carbohydrates. There is no reason to skimp on protein in your diet other than cost (high protein foods are typically more expensive than fat and carbohydrate heavy foods).

RDAs and government health guidelines

Government guidelines are set for the average man who doesn’t lift a dumbbell in his life, not bodybuilders. The RDA(Recommended Daily Allowance) for protein is the minimum needed to survive based on a sedentary lifestyle not build muscle, just like the RDA for Vitamin C is only enough to avoid scurvy, not build an immune system.

Can I build muscle without protein powder? Why protein powder?

Yes you can! Just eat enough protein from food. Protein powders are simply a cheap, convenient way to get more protein in your diet. They are a supplement, not a food replacement. Your diet should also be high in protein.

High protein foods such as meat and eggs are relatively expensive. Protein powders, for the amount of protein you’re getting, are relatively cheap and they can be mixed in seconds. 

The hard line

The guys who go to the gym and never build any muscle rarely eat more than 100g protein per day. They have one shake after the gym and complain that everyone else must be on something they’re not. They waste all their money hunting out magic pill supplements when they just need some more protein in their diet. If you’re not eating enough protein, you won’t grow.

If you’re not eating 1g per pound per day you’re wasting your time and you’re not serious about bodybuilding. Simply increasing your protein intake to this level will dramatically improve your results without any extra effort at the gym. Given all the sacrifices you have to make for bodybuilding eating 1g per pound is easy!

BMW