LIFT
TRAINING STYLES
What follows are some of the
best small-angle methods for
diversely attacking each body part.
Legs From narrow to sumo-
style, barbell squats can be done
with a variety of stances. Hack
squats, Smith machine squats,
and leg presses can be
performed with both different
stance widths and your feet
positioned anywhere from under
your hips to far out in front. You
can arrange your toes in, out, and
straight during leg extensions, leg
curls, and any calf exercise.
Back Pulldowns and cable
rows can be done with a variety
of grips, from very wide to
parallel and narrow. Similarly, you
can also alter your grip on barbell
SMALL-ANGLE
TIP SHEET
A portable, adjustable
bench can be positioned
at a variety of angles for
exercises you may not
have considered, such as
pulldowns (facing away
from the cable).
A Smith machine bar set
at varying heights is great
for body-weight-inverted
rows or triceps
extensions.
A kind of dropset can
be done by repeatedly
changing the angle but
not the resistance. For
example, progress from
dumbbell presses on an
incline to flat to a decline
without resting.
this is a progression from harder
to easier, such as dumbbell chest
presses that go from a high
incline to a low incline to flat to a
low decline to a high decline. In
that way, you can use the same
weight as you progress, and with
adequate rest between sets, you
can get the same or more reps
each time.
Let’s go over a small-angle
progression for pulldowns. Start
with a wide grip. The next set use
a shoulder-width grip. Then
switch to a parallel grip on a
medium-length bar. Finally, clip on
a V-handle for your final set. The
changes in hand and arm position
will work the upper back in a
subtly distinct way each set and
activate more fibre than four sets
performed the same way.
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FLEX | JANUARY 2018