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There was once a legendary bodybuilder who was called "Steve Reeves." There was something about his physique that was so mystifying compared to other bodybuilders in that era (1930s). What was it that was so polarizing about Steeve's physique? Obviously, it was his frame!
One would look at these photos of Steve and assume "Genetics" but Steve made it clear that he wasn't always this wide He did a specific exercise that stretched out the connective tissues surrounding the scapulae and by also expanding the ribcage. The reason behind expanding the ribcage, the scapula which is attached to the ribcage means that if you actually expand the ribcage the scapula would also widen, makes sense? But the broadening can also be enhanced by stretching the connective tissue.
This group of bones is obviously connected to the ribcage.
Here is before and after, Steve Reeves expanding his frame over the years
It appears his frame got wider, but no proper measurements were taken, but clearly you can see his frame got much bigger.
HOW TO GET A WIDER FRAME
The Reeves "Deadlift"
When you look up the Reeves deadlift people would say its an exercise that would work your traps it will work your forearms but that wasn't the purpose for it. To quote a fitness YouTuber "If Reeves were alive today and saw people doing it like a deadlift he would grab a 45 lbs dumbell and slap them across the face with it." This movement was a shrug not a deadlift and not for hypertrophy of your traps but a shrug! And it was a small shrug, a slight movement of the rear deltoid. Reeves claimed that this movement not only put more mass on his side deltoid but widened the skeletal frame. This makes perfect sense and has science backing it up. The more pressure you put on the clavicles/bones in your shoulder the more it will remodel and adapt just like any other part of your body.
HOW TO DO THIS MOVEMENT.
-Wide grip the barbell by grabbing the plates instead of the actual barbell as seen in the above photo.
-Raise it up like a deadlift
-Retract and protract your scapula in a shrug like motion. Raise the scapula up and down. You will stretch out the ligaments and tendons to broaden the shoulders and will workout your side deltoid. Don't do a heavy shrug as to work your traps or your back, perform this slowly and make it a small motion. Remember, most of the motion is in the scapula.
Unfortunately, there are no videos out there on how to actually do this type of exercise, the ones I found are simply doing it the wrong way or doing something entirely different. You just have to feel it, don't do it with too much weight and injure yourself.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm not sure how long it takes to see results, I imagine it will take a year to see the results you want to. The key is consistency. In the next method "Rib-cage expansion" it takes slightly less time to widen the frame.
EXPANDING THE RIBCAGE
I'll get straight to the point, here is how to expand the ribcage
EXERCISE: DEEP BREATHING SQUATS SUPERSET: Dumbell pullovers
If you don't know what Supersetting is, its when you perform an exercise right after you did the previous one.
Taking deep breaths the body will be forced to use the ribcage and diaphragm intensely, the lungs would really expand thus your ribcage will expand.
-Between Reps, deliberate deep breaths preformed
-3 deep breaths, up to 10-15 advanced lifters
-MOUTH OPEN BREATHING
-Raise upper ribs, expand chest deliberately.
Average amount of reps = 20.
100lbs for beginners.
Superset with dumbell pullovers.
Video on how to do a basic dumbell pullover to give you an idea but we are going to do it Arnold's way.
=Place your back on a bench like in the photo above
- Take a big deep breath and hold it,
- Do a dumbell pullover and sink your hips like Arnold is doing in the above photo to further expand the ribcage.
These are the ways to increase your frame. It's not easy, it takes dedication and consistency. There is no TL;Dr If you need one then I doubt you have the dedication to actually do this.
Thanks to YouTuber: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP37ob25oGKxrKEQFiZGArA
One would look at these photos of Steve and assume "Genetics" but Steve made it clear that he wasn't always this wide He did a specific exercise that stretched out the connective tissues surrounding the scapulae and by also expanding the ribcage. The reason behind expanding the ribcage, the scapula which is attached to the ribcage means that if you actually expand the ribcage the scapula would also widen, makes sense? But the broadening can also be enhanced by stretching the connective tissue.
This group of bones is obviously connected to the ribcage.
Here is before and after, Steve Reeves expanding his frame over the years
It appears his frame got wider, but no proper measurements were taken, but clearly you can see his frame got much bigger.
HOW TO GET A WIDER FRAME
The Reeves "Deadlift"
When you look up the Reeves deadlift people would say its an exercise that would work your traps it will work your forearms but that wasn't the purpose for it. To quote a fitness YouTuber "If Reeves were alive today and saw people doing it like a deadlift he would grab a 45 lbs dumbell and slap them across the face with it." This movement was a shrug not a deadlift and not for hypertrophy of your traps but a shrug! And it was a small shrug, a slight movement of the rear deltoid. Reeves claimed that this movement not only put more mass on his side deltoid but widened the skeletal frame. This makes perfect sense and has science backing it up. The more pressure you put on the clavicles/bones in your shoulder the more it will remodel and adapt just like any other part of your body.
HOW TO DO THIS MOVEMENT.
-Wide grip the barbell by grabbing the plates instead of the actual barbell as seen in the above photo.
-Raise it up like a deadlift
-Retract and protract your scapula in a shrug like motion. Raise the scapula up and down. You will stretch out the ligaments and tendons to broaden the shoulders and will workout your side deltoid. Don't do a heavy shrug as to work your traps or your back, perform this slowly and make it a small motion. Remember, most of the motion is in the scapula.
Unfortunately, there are no videos out there on how to actually do this type of exercise, the ones I found are simply doing it the wrong way or doing something entirely different. You just have to feel it, don't do it with too much weight and injure yourself.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm not sure how long it takes to see results, I imagine it will take a year to see the results you want to. The key is consistency. In the next method "Rib-cage expansion" it takes slightly less time to widen the frame.
EXPANDING THE RIBCAGE
I'll get straight to the point, here is how to expand the ribcage
EXERCISE: DEEP BREATHING SQUATS SUPERSET: Dumbell pullovers
If you don't know what Supersetting is, its when you perform an exercise right after you did the previous one.
Taking deep breaths the body will be forced to use the ribcage and diaphragm intensely, the lungs would really expand thus your ribcage will expand.
-Between Reps, deliberate deep breaths preformed
-3 deep breaths, up to 10-15 advanced lifters
-MOUTH OPEN BREATHING
-Raise upper ribs, expand chest deliberately.
Average amount of reps = 20.
100lbs for beginners.
Superset with dumbell pullovers.
Video on how to do a basic dumbell pullover to give you an idea but we are going to do it Arnold's way.
=Place your back on a bench like in the photo above
- Take a big deep breath and hold it,
- Do a dumbell pullover and sink your hips like Arnold is doing in the above photo to further expand the ribcage.
These are the ways to increase your frame. It's not easy, it takes dedication and consistency. There is no TL;Dr If you need one then I doubt you have the dedication to actually do this.
Thanks to YouTuber: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP37ob25oGKxrKEQFiZGArA
