Dexter Jackson Solves Your Training Problems
Dexter Jackson Solves Your Training Problems
Q&A with the Blade
Top Off Those Traps
Your traps are some of the best I have ever seen. Were they always a strong point for you, or was there a time you really focused on them? Do you have any tips for me? My traps really need some mass so they can pop like yours do!
I assume you’ve been doing plenty of straight sets of shrugs? One thing I see a lot of with those is guys going fast and doing little bouncy reps. Take your time and bring your traps up as high as you can, and squeeze them. Let them lower slowly for a good stretch. At the end of the set, don’t relax your shoulder joints, but let the weight pull down on your traps for a good 10-15 seconds. That’s how you should do your shrugs. Also, if you have been doing the standard 8-12 reps, you should try upping your reps to 15-20. The range of motion is so short on shrugs that you need more reps to get enough time under tension to stimulate growth. Finally, straight sets might not be enough to get really stubborn traps growing. Try supersets. One that would be really good is as pre-exhaust superset. Do shrugs first to isolate the traps, then go right into close-grip upright rows (hands only about six inches apart on a straight or EZ-curl bar) so the biceps and rear delts can kick in and help take the traps deeper into exhaustion. Four of those, 10-12 reps each exercise with only a minute or so between the supersets, should have your traps pumped up to your ears!
Still Going Heavy, But Training Smarter
Jay Cutler once said, “Ronnie ruined it for everyone.” What he meant was that with all the super heavy lifts he did in his training videos, even close to contests, Ronnie gave the impression that all top bodybuilders should not only be as strong as world-class powerlifters, but that they should train as heavy as possible even in the final weeks before a show. Now, if a pro fails to meet either or both of those expectations, he is called a weakling and lazy. As someone who doesn’t try to max-out with very low reps and has never suffered a training injury, what are your thoughts on that subject?
It’s something that I’ve learned as I got older and more experienced. For about the first 10 years of my training, it was all about lifting heavy. And really, it had to be that way. You’re not going to build your base of size without getting pretty strong on all the basic free-weight movements. As I got older, I had to make adjustments and change my training. I still go heavy, but I am a lot smarter about when I go heavy and on which movements. I don’t need to squat 500 pounds anymore, and putting a barbell that heavy on my back at the age of 45 would not be too smart. Instead, I can load up a squat machine with plenty of resistance and stimulate my quads that way.
Push, Pull and Leg Workout to Build Mass
Dexter, I would love to put on a good 15 pounds over this off-season. Can you give me a good training split to follow? I’ve heard about simplifying things by just doing days for push, pull and legs— is that a good idea?
That’s a good idea, sure. It just gets tricky when you try to figure out how to structure those days. You could do all three in a row and then take a day or two off. Or, you could put a rest day after each of those. I’ve heard of even simpler off-season programs like just days for chest, back and legs. You could do any of those, or just have a more standard four-way split like this:
Day 1: Chest and triceps
Day 2: Back
Day 3: OFF
Day 4: Shoulders and biceps
Day 5: Legs
Day 6: OFF, repeat
I don’t think it really makes a huge difference. But, if you do decide to have push and pull days, I would try to keep the workouts at an hour maximum, and don’t do “full” workouts with a whole list of exercises like you would if training just one body part a day. Attempting to do your normal chest, shoulder and triceps workout all in one session is too much. Pare it down to two exercises for each of those, three at most, and no more than three work sets each. You can probably get away with doing closer to your normal back and biceps workout, but I would still cut it back a bit on each. Four exercises for back, and two for biceps is plenty. Your leg day should be about the same as always. Just try to emphasize basic movements, keep your reps around 8-10 for upper body, and 10-15 for lower.
When Taking Time Off From Gym, Eat Clean to Avoid Weight Gain
I am going to be unable to work out for at least two to four weeks. How should I adjust my diet to keep from gaining weight and losing size?
All you need to do is account for the decrease in your activity levels. You should be eating less, and eating cleaner so you don’t gain any body fat. Don’t worry too much about losing size. As long as you are still eating 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, you will barely lose any muscle. Any muscle you do happen to lose in two to four weeks will come right back in a week or two once you are able to train again.
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