Muscle Specialization Workouts

Last week I was hanging out with Elliott Hulse from http://www.LeanHybridMuscle.net

Elliott is a professional strongman competitor and one hell of a strength and conditioning coach. He works with a lot of amateur and professional athletes who are looking for that extra edge, as well as average guys who just want to get in their best shape physical shape.

Now as a strength and conditioning coach Elliott focuses more on strength and athletic performance, not so much on muscle specialization workouts. Most of his training is based around working the body as a whole unit with lots of full body workouts.

Total body training is very effective. But when you have a stubborn lagging muscle group you need to do more than just “total body workouts” to target that specific muscle group and bring it up to par with the rest of your body.

Elliott asked me to help out one of his coaching students with some specialization tips for building wide muscular lats and that’s exactly what I cover in the video below…




Now I have a question for YOU…

What are some of your stubborn body parts that you would like help with developing?

You see to help Elliott out with his new Lean Hybrid Muscle Training System I’m going to put together a special “Muscle Specialization Guide” that will show you how to target your stubborn muscle groups and perform specific exercises to help bring them up to par with your stronger muscle groups.

So in the comments section below please let me know exactly what are your most stubborn muscle groups that you would like to get specialized workout programs for?

I’m sure everyone reading this has at least 1 body part that they’d like to improve, so I’m hoping for at least 100 comments to this blog post.

Than based on the feedback I get here I’m going to pick the most popular ones and create a complete “Muscle Specialization Training Guide” for those specific body parts.

So take a minute right now and post your comments below…

About The Author

leehayward

Lee Hayward is a former competitive bodybuilder and muscle building coach who has been online coaching people since 1997. His work has been featured in several international magazines such as: FLEX, Muscle Insider, Muscle Mag International, Testosterone, Ironmag, and Forbes. Lee's main focus right now is with helping men over 40 - who don't want to be fat anymore - lose the gut, build muscle, and get back in shape. If you're ready to "Start Again" for the last time and finally build a lean healthy body that you can be proud of, just e-mail Lee to discuss a realistic action plan that's right for you... lee@leehayward.com

392 Comments

  • Gary

    My calves are probably the hardest part to build.

  • Richard Osmond

    Hay lee i would have to say my chest, my right side is much smaller than left side and triceps and forarms

  • Craig

    Calves and Biceps

    Cheers Lee!

  • Tom O'Rourke

    Traps, arms in general, and calves

  • quinn

    my calfs are a real problem wen i do standing calf raises i get cramp in mt left hamstring then its game over

  • kamran

    biceps and triceps…

  • Andy

    i think on this 1 for me it has to be back and chest even though i have trained hard on these areas

  • Richard Osmond

    hay lee i would have to say my chest and my left side seems to be a lot bigger than my right side, and forarms and triceps ,delts a help with that would be great.

  • Alan

    If this is a supporting document for Eliot then it’s not really about muscle size but which body part fails when completing different full body exercises. So for heavy squat it’s my core and the pressure on my arms to keep the weight in place. For the skull crusher it’s pain in my right elbow. Dead lift its my grip. For the bench press holding back in position and then shoulder. I don’t know but for any given exercise is their a common failing body part.

  • Liam

    Im finding my calves a very stubborn muscle to grow,though i know i should be training them for often than other muscle groups. Would put legs second after calves.

  • Andy

    abs for sure! i wanna lose some fat on them 🙂

  • Jorgen

    My back is by far the weakest part of my body. It’s difficult to train it with heavy enough weights to build mass and power.

  • joe

    HEY LEE. GREETINGS FROM CLOGGIELAND I HAVE TO SAY THE ABS. IT MORE WITH THE LAST OF THE BELLY FAT.

    JOE

  • I would have to say my calves, I have thin ankles (long connective tissue) so this may be the problem as I train them fine, I even used to play football at least 3 times a week.

  • Peter

    thighs, calves, lats, chest – in that order…

  • Donnie Stevens

    As far as gaining size goes, definately my biceps….as far as builiding strength goes, my chest

  • Solomon

    chest, calves and ABS!

  • Rusty Graham

    Calves, lats, thighs. biceps.

  • sid

    My chest is the least developed in comparison to other muscles. This is not because i dont work it out. i work it out twice a week sometimes, but still my other body parts look much better in comparison.

  • Cecil

    I would say my back and abs cause its seems that they just dont wanna work with the rest of my body

  • Labrasco

    My back doesn’t responds too well. I never seem to be able to go till failure. No burning sensation there at all….as a result no thickness and lat spread. I would love to hear some of your insights on that.

  • Patrick

    Chest, Biceps, Calves

  • Morning Everyone, My two poorest areas of muscle growth are the top half and bottom half of my body, But as a specific area I would have to say core muscle group as I haven’t see my abs for about 8 years due to lousy diet and little training. Can you assist me please encouragement required…

  • Frank Johnson

    The hardest body group that lags for me is the chest.

  • Travis

    I have to say Chest! with my biceps being a close second,and calves third. I just cant get my chest to shape up right at all. Maybe this is I never before have done heavy weight before . Now I have started and I know its going to take a little time but I just cant get anything to response to it unlike other body parts.

  • Jon

    Bicep and shoulders

  • sjaak

    Traps, rear delts and calves !

  • nathan

    hi im 16 and mine would be my biceps my chest is big i can bench 110kg, 1 rep so i stay on 90kg few reps off, i have a bit off body fat aswell so my biceps look big but really they arent so yes my biceps 🙂

  • Adrian

    I think it’s abs. Because it need more dedication to see it glowing up. GOOD DIET + HARD WORK!!

  • Chun

    1. Chest
    2. Back
    3. Shoulder
    4. Bicep
    5. Tricep
    6. Leg

    But actully all is important because cannot train only one part without other’s

  • David JB

    This has to be a list:
    – Stomaches to big by about 4-6 inches.
    -legs not bad but need toning.
    – Need more shoulder muscular growth.
    – Most of all I need to grow my arms ie. biceps, triceps and forearms.
    At my age (67) any improvement is a bonus.

  • David JB

    joel berger,

    David JB: This has to be a list:
    – Stomaches to big by about 4-6 inches.
    -legs not bad but need toning.
    – Need more shoulder muscular growth.
    – Most of all I need to grow my arms ie. biceps, triceps and forearms.
    At my age (67) any improvement is a bonus.    

    David JB,

  • Cody Fekete

    i find it almost impossible to work my lower abs and obliques

  • Dinakar Wadhwa

    Arms are most difficult
    Second most difficult are forearms.

  • David

    I have found that working my calves, forearms, and abs at the end of every workout have brought the most success to those areas. The part that is lacking are my lats. Thanks for the video tip.

  • bob G

    Lee – From what I see I have to agree with many of the above – ABS and Arms are the 2 weakest areas. ON a side note – losting the last 15 lbs of fat around the middle is #1 for me!.

  • Eliakim

    I think my lats, arms (mostly on triceps), and delts…..thanks….. 🙂

  • Bhupinder

    I think, my Calves are weeker than my overall legs size.

  • Jim Davis

    For me, it’s my chest — I have a devil of a time putting any mass on it at all. I don’t know if it’s my long arms, large ribcage, or what, but my chest is my most stubborn bodypart by far. My legs have a long way to go, because I’m coming back from losing most of the muscle in them due to nerve impingement, fixed by surgery in 2007, but they’re coming. I can -see- progress there. I can’t in the chest.

  • samuel

    Need chest like slabs.

  • david

    Eliakim,

    Try doing hang or power cleans. IMHO there is nothing better for the develpment of your upper back and traps then those exercises.

  • paul

    my forearms and the middle of my chest

  • iftikhar-ali

    definitely my traps and back,
    both-back-and-triceps-to-be-much-stronger-in-power-lifting

  • Dan

    Calves and lower back.

  • Sean

    Delts by far. They never seem to get “round”. I’m naturally narrow, and my clavicles seem to point slightly upwards as opposed to directly out towards my delts, so maybe it’s just a bone structure issue?

  • Dan B

    ARMS BICEPS ABS for me

  • ian

    Would like thicker chest and calves have onlys been skinny (though i have seen some change over the last few months).

  • Hi Lee, I take this opportunity to appreciate your effort sharing your schedules with enthusiasts like me.
    Shoulder muscles…. even with extensive work outs it’s not developing a bit. Any advice please?

  • Fareed Seechan

    I would have to say my abdominals…It’s the most stubborn body part that don’t want to show up…

  • Michael H

    Probably my shoulders. I especially have trouble with increasing my shoulder press, which stinks because my goal for next year is to increase it by 50-100 pounds. :-/