Angle manipulation for increasing the effectiveness of an exercise or for starting a new training stimulus for new growth is an extremely effective method for building muscle. The most important aspect of deciding whether you have to manipulate the angle at which you are performing any exercise depends solely upon your own biomechanics, lever systems, and muscular makeup.
Most machines are constructed to fit the masses of individuals who will use them. When the machine doesn’t fit or feel right or hit the muscle the way you want the muscle to be stimulated, then you have to play around with the angles you approach the exercise with.
Angle manipulation is not just for machines either and if free weight movements make up the majority of your workouts, then taking stock of just how you are using angulation with your free weight training may induce a whole new stimulus for your muscles shocking them into newfound muscle growth. Like I mentioned already, most equipment is setup so that a one setting fits all type of adjustment, but when that isn’t good enough for you here are a few things you can do to help keep your training progressing as you grow.
Incline Bench Press
Most gyms you train at will have a least one pre-set incline bench press station that will allow you to hit the upper pecs to build that evasive pectoral thickness just under your clavicle. While this is a great option for you, disappointment may settle in quickly as you realize once you’ve set the bench to its lowest setting you’re still feeling the movement in your front delts versus your upper pecs and that’s no good at all. The reason is simply that the incline you have the bench set at is still too high for you to engage the upper pecs and you need to lower it. Most times the lowest setting on these types of incline bench press stations bottom out at a 45-degree angle, which if you’re like me, still hits the front delts far more than the upper pecs.
So what do you do if you find yourself in this situation? My advice is to take a moveable, adjustable bench and roll it over to a power cage or smith machine, set the angle to 30 degrees (most adjustable benches have that notch as an option) and complete your workout at that station. Another option for you as well is if 30 degrees is still not low enough to target the upper pecs the way you like, simply take a flat bench, lift up the end where your head will rest and stick a 45-pound plate under it. This will create a slight incline/angle that should do the trick for you.
Preacher Curls
A favorite exercise by many to isolate the biceps, the preacher curl has been a staple in many programs for years and years. When you can completely lock your body into the preacher bench and stabilize your entire upper body so that it allows for your arms to act as levers moving the bar or dumbbell from point A to B essentially eliminating any body–english what you have for yourself is an excellent biceps exercise.
This is one I’ve been experimenting with for quite some time now as there are days when I really feel this movement and other days when I have a difficult time feeling it at all and what I’ve discovered is that is all comes down to the angle at which I use when performing the preacher curl.
At one gym I train at there are three options for doing preacher curls: a free weight station and two different types of preacher curl machines. The free weight station has the upper arm pad in a fixed position set to a 45-degree angle which cannot be changed. The first preacher curl machine is a pin set cable station, and the upper arm pad is set to more than 45 degrees, I would say closer to 60 degrees. And the second preacher curl machine is a plate-loaded version with the upper arm pad in a fixed position as well set to less than 45 degrees.
After using all three, what I have found is for me is the lower the angle and the closer the upper arm pad is to being almost flat, the more I feel it in my biceps. The greater the angle, the less I feel it in my biceps and more so in my shoulders. Now, this obviously has something to do with my biomechanics, lever systems and muscular makeup but the angle on this exercise means everything to me and the effectiveness of the exercise, and it could be the difference maker for you too.
Hack Squats
There are so many variations of hack squat machines out there, and the main purpose for this is to take advantage of the angle manipulation I’m talking about to provide a different stimulus for leg training. You’ll see some cool old school hack squat machines that have you almost in a vertical position or slightly less than 90 degrees as you descend and ascend through the movement. Other more common hack squat machines have you set at a 60-degree angle which can help in eliminating some of the stress placed upon the knee-joint while performing this exercise and then there are hack machines that are set as low as 30 degrees where you feel like you’re lying down when doing the exercise. All have their advantages and disadvantages depending upon your structure, but the key is to try them all and find out which angle works best for you.
If you’re stuck with only one of these options in your gym then no problem. You can adjust the angle at which your legs receive the stress simply by manipulating your foot position either up or down to really focus in on the area of the upper leg you are working on for that workout.
Free Weight Angulation
Now as mentioned in the introduction, angle manipulation is not just available to you when you are using machines. Perhaps even more so than when using machines, the angles at which you use when performing free weight exercises might make all the difference in the gains you can make. When performing your classic free weight exercises such as lateral raises, barbell rows, skull crushers and barbell curls, you should adjust the angle at which you do these exercises every once in a while. This will allow you to continue performing the exercises you love doing and eliminate the chance of gains going stagnant.
The body is excellent at adapting to stimuli to where things stop progressing and that’s when you manipulate the angles you are using in your training to keep things moving along. All it takes is a simple biomechanical adjustment of a joint, one of your levers, a slight tilt forward or backward, side to side, a lean or bend of the body in a new direction and you have yourself a new angle to work with. Trust me when I say the easiest way to add variation to your workouts is by using some of these little tweaks in body positioning rather than looking for entirely new exercises and approaches.
Now, none of this information will matter if you’re not using it the right way and by the right way I mean the Max-OT way. Up your intensity level, hit it hard and heavy for a couple of sets in the 4-6 rep range using extreme focus and energy, get in and get out then go home and slam that MyoGenin into you to initiate the thing you’re after – muscle growth.
So if angling for muscles is what you’re into, using the recommendations above should have you landing the big ones in no time at all.
