Chest Exercises
Bench Press
Muscles Worked
Pectorals, front deltoids, and triceps
Execution
With a barbell - (1) Lie on a flat bench, your feet on the floor for
balance. Your grip should be medium-wide (which means that as you lower the bar
to your chest, your hands should be wide enough apart so that your forearms
point straight up, perpendicular to the floor). Lift the bar off the rack and
hold it at arm's length above you. (2) Lower the bar
slowly and under control until it touches just below the pectoral muscles. Keep
the elbows pointed outward in order to fully involve the chest. The bar should
come to a complete stop at this point. Press the bar upward once more until
your arms are fully locked out. Always go through a full range of motion unless
instructed specifically to do otherwise.
With dumbbells - (1) Lie on a flat bench, knees bent, feet flat on the
bench. Take a dumbbell in each hand and hold them straight up overhead. Turn
the dumbbells so that your palms face forward. (2) Lower the
weights toward your chest, concentrating on keeping them fully balanced and
under control. Lower them as far as you can, feeling a complete stretch in the
pectoral muscles. Press the weights back up and lock your arms straight
overhead.
Incline Bench Press
Muscles Worked
Upper pectorals, front deltoids, and triceps
Execution
With a barbell - (1) Lie back on an incline bench. Reach up and grasp the
bar with a medium-wide grip. Lift the bar off the rack and hold it straight up
overhead, arms locked. (2) Lower the weight down to the upper chest, stop for a
moment, then press it back up to the starting position. When working at an
incline, it is extremely important to find the right "groove" or you
are liable to find the bar drifting too far forward. It is useful to have a
training partner to spot you while you are getting used to this movement.
With dumbbells - (1) Take a dumbbell in each hand and lie back on an
incline bench. Clean the dumbbells and hold them at shoulder height, palms
facing forward. (2) Lift them simultaneously straight up overhead, then
lower them back to the starting position. As a variation, you can twist your
wrists as you lift so that the palms face one another at the top, then twist
them back to the starting position as you lower the dumbbells.
Parallel Bar Dips
Muscles Worked
Pectorals and triceps
Execution
(1) Hold yourself at arm's length above the bars, (2)
then lower yourself slowly as far as you can. From the bottom, press back up to
the starting position, tensing the pectorals at the top. In this movement, the
farther forward you lean, the more chest you involve, so try hooking your feet
toward the back, throwing your hips backward, which will shift your center of
gravity forward and hit the pectorals harder.
Dumbbell Fly
Muscles Worked
Pectorals
Execution
(1) Lie on a bench holding dumbbells at arm's length
above you, palms facing one another. (2) Lower the weights
out and down to either side in a wide arc as far as you can, feeling the
pectoral muscles stretch to their maximum. The palms should remain facing each
other throughout the movement. Bend the arms slightly as you do the movement to
reduce the stress on the elbows. Bring the weights to a complete stop at a
point lower than the bench, your pectorals stretched as much as possible, then
lift them back up along the same wide arc, as if giving somebody a big bear
hug, rather than coming in and pressing the weights up. Bring the weights back
up to the starting position and then contract the pectorals further, giving a
little extra flex to make the muscle work that much harder.
Incline Dumbbell Fly
Muscles Worked
Upper pectorals
Execution
These flys are done like normal dumbbell
flys, except you lie on an incline bench, with your head higher than your hips.
(1) Lie on the bench with the dumbbells held straight
overhead, palms facing one another. (2) Lower them out and
down to either side in a wide, sweeping arc, keeping the palms facing one
another and bending the elbows slightly. Lower the weights until they are below
the level of the bench, your pectorals fully stretched. Come back up through
that same wide arc, as if giving a big hug. Avoid bringing the weights in and
pressing them straight up. At the top, flex the pectoral muscles to ensure a
full contraction.
Shoulder Exercises
Seated Press
Muscles Worked
Front and side deltoids and triceps
Execution
With a barbell - (1) Either lift the barbell overhead and set it down on
your shoulders behind your head, or lift it off the rack of a seated press
bench. (2) Press the weight straight up and then lower it again,
keeping it under control, and keeping your elbows as far back as possible
during the movement.
With dumbbells - (1) Hold the dumbbells at shoulder height, elbows out to
the sides, palms facing forward. (2) Lift the dumbbells
straight up until they touch at the top, then lower them again as far as
possible. You will find that you are able to both raise and lower the dumbbells
farther than you can a barbell, although the need to control two weights independently
means that you are lifting slightly less poundage.
Lateral Raise
Muscles Worked
Side deltoids
Execution
(1) While standing, take a dumbbell in each hand, palms
facing your body. Start each repetition from a dead stop to keep yourself from
swinging the weight up. (2) Keeping your arms fairly straight, lift the weight
out and up to either side until they are about level with the top of your head.
From this position, lower them slowly back to your sides. It is important that
you keep the palms turned downward as you do this lift, so that the deltoids do
the work rather than the biceps. The correct feeling is almost as if your were
pouring water out of a kettle.
Front Raise
Muscles Worked
Front deltoids
Execution
While standing, grasp a barbell with an
overhand grip and let it hang down at arm's length in front of you. With arms
kept locked, lift it to a point just higher than your head, staying as strict
as possible, then lower it again under control.
Bent-Over Lateral Raise
Muscles Worked
Rear deltoids
Execution
(1) Stand with a dumbbell in either hand. Bend forward
from the waist about 45 degrees, letting the dumbbells hang at arm's length
below you, palms facing one another. (2) Without raising
your body, lift the weights out to the side until your arms are about parallel
to the floor. Lower the weights again under control, resisting all the way
down.
Upright Row
Muscles Worked
Trapezius and front deltoids
Execution
(1) Stand grasping a barbell with an overhand grip, hands
about six inches apart. Let the bar hang straight down in front of you. (2)
Lift it straight up, keeping it close to your body, until the bar just about
touches your chin. Keep your back straight and feel the trapezius contract as
you do the movement. From the top, lower it once more under control to the
starting position.
Shrug
Muscles Worked
Trapezius
Execution
With a barbell - Stand upright holding a barbell at arm's length
using an overhand grip. Raise your shoulders as high as you can, as if trying to
touch them to your ears. Hold for a moment at the top, then lower them back to
the starting position.
With dumbells - Stand upright, arms at your sides, a dumbbell in
each hand. Raise your shoulders up as high as you can, as if trying to touch
them to your ears. Hold at the top for a moment, then release and return to the
starting position. Try not to move anything but your shoulders.
Back Exercises
Lat Pulldown
Muscles Worked
Outer lats and biceps
Execution
Take hold of a lat bar with an overhand grip,
hands a little wider than shoulder width apart. Sit with your knees snug under
the padding. Pull the bar down
toward the front of your chest driving your elbows back.
Row
Muscles Worked
Upper and lower lats
Execution
With a barbell Ð Place your working side knee on a flat bench and
your opposite hand on the bench out in front of you. Dangle the weight down to your side and raise the weight by
pulling your elbow to the sky.
Slowly lower the weight.
With a machine Ð Sit at the Row Machine and grab the outside
grips. Move your elbows back
working your back muscles. Return
slowly to the original position.
Super-genderneutrals
Muscles Worked
All of back
Execution
(1) Lay flat on your stomach lifting both arms and both
legs straight out in front and behind you. (2) Lay flat on your
stomach alternating lifting one leg and the opposite arm straight out in front
and behind you.
Arm Exercises
Curl
Muscles Worked
Biceps
Execution
With a barbell - (1) While standing, grasp the bar with an underhand grip,
hands about shoulder width apart. Let the bar hang down at arm's length in
front of you. (2) Curl the bar out and up in a wide arc and bring it up
as high as you can, your elbows close to the body and stationary. Keep the arc
wide and long, rather than bringing the bar straight up and making the movement
too easy. Get a full flex of the biceps at the top. Lower the weight again,
following the same arc, and resisting the weight all the way down until your
arms are fully extended.
With dumbbells - (1) Sit on the end of a flat bench, or against the back
support of an incline bench adjusted to an upright position, a dumbbell in each
hand held straight down at arm's length, palms turned towards your body. (2)
Holding your elbows steady as unmoving pivot points, curl the weights forward
and up, twisting your palms forward as you lift so that the thumbs turn to the
outside and the palms are facing up. Lift the weights as high as you can and
then give an extra flex of the biceps to achieve maximum contraction. Lower the
dumbbells down through the same arc, resisting the weight all the way down,
until your arms are fully extended, the biceps stretched as far as
possible.
Close Grip Bench Press
Muscles Worked
Triceps, pectorals, and front deltoids
Execution
This exercise is performed the same way as
the regular bench press, except with the hands spaced about ten inches apart on
the bar. I prefer to space my hands just wide enough so that my hands can come
down on either side of the chest, not on top, to achieve a fuller range of
motion.
Cable Pressdown
Muscles Worked
Triceps
Execution
(1) Hook a short bar to an overhead cable and pulley,
stand close to the bar and grasp it with an overhand grip, hands about ten
inches apart. Keep your elbows tucked in close to your body and stationary.
Keep your whole body steady - don't lean forward to press down with your body
weight. (2) Press the bar down as far as possible, locking out
your arms and feeling the triceps contract fully. Release and let the bar come
up as far as possible without moving your elbows.
Triceps Press
Muscles Worked
Inside and rear heads of the triceps
Execution
(1) Grasp a barbell with an overhand grip, hands close
together. Sit on a bench and raise the bar straight up overhead, arms locked
out. (2) Keeping your elbows stationary and close to your
head, lower the weight down in an arc behind your head until your triceps are
as stretched as possible. Only the forearms should move in this exercise. From
this position, using only your triceps, press the weight back up overhead to
full extension. Lock your arms out and flex your triceps.
Lying Triceps Extension
Muscles Worked
Triceps
Execution
(1) Lie along a bench, your head just off the end with
knees bent and feet flat on the bench. Take hold of a barbell with an overhand
grip, hands about ten inches apart. (2) Press the weight up
until your arms are locked out, but not straight up over your face. Instead,
the weight should be back behind the top of your head, with your triceps doing
the work of holding it there. Keeping your elbows stationary, lower the weight
down toward your forehead, then press it back up to the starting position,
stopping short of the vertical to keep the triceps under constant tension.
Leg Exercises
Squat
Muscles Worked
Quadriceps and leg biceps (the leg biceps are
the muscles at the rear of the thigh)
Execution
(1) With a barbell on a rack, step under it so that it
rests across the back of your shoulders, hold on to the bar to balance it, raise
up to lift it off the rack, and step away. The movement should be done with
your feet flat on the floor. (2) Keeping your head up and back straight, bend your
knees and lower yourself until your thighs are just lower than parallel to the
floor. From this point, push yourself back up to the starting position. Foot
position determines which area of the thighs you work the most while doing
squats : a wider stance, with toes pointing out, works the inside of the thighs
to a greater degree, while a narrower stance, with toes facing forward, tends
to work the outside more. The basic stance is usually feet shoulder width apart
with toes turned just slightly out.
45 Degree Leg Press
Muscles Worked
Quadriceps and leg biceps
Execution
(1) Using a leg press machine, position yourself under
the machine and place your feet close together against the crosspiece. (2)
Bend your knees and lower the weight as far as possible, bringing your knees
toward your shoulders. Press the weight back up again until your legs are fully
extended. As with squats, you can vary your foot position on this exercise to
target certain areas of the thigh.
Leg Extension
Muscles Worked
Quadriceps
Execution
(1) Sit on the seat of the leg extension machine and hook
your feet under the padded bar. (2) Extend your legs
out to the maximum, making sure you remain sitting flat on the machine (don't
let yourself lift off and cheat up the weight). Extend your legs as far as
possible until they are locked out to achieve maximum contraction of the quadriceps,
then lower the weight slowly until your feet are farther back than the knees
and the thighs are fully stretched out.
Leg Curl
Muscles Worked
Leg biceps
Execution
(1) Lie face downward on a leg curl machine and hook your
heels under the lever mechanism. Your legs should be stretched out straight. (2)
Keeping flat on the bench, curl your legs up as far as possible, until the leg
biceps are fully contracted. Release and lower the weight slowly back to the
starting position.
Standing Calf Raise
Muscles Worked
Gastrocnemius (the muscle at the rear of the
lower leg)
Execution
(1) Stand with your toes on the block of a standing calf raise machine, your heels extended out into space. Hook your shoulders under the pads and straighten your legs, lifting the weight clear of the support. Lower your heels as far as possible toward the floor, keeping your knees slightly bent throughout the movement in order to work the lower area of the calves as well as the upper, and feeling the calf muscles stretch to the maximum. (2) From the bottom of the movement, come up on your toes as far as possible. The weight should be heavy enough to exercise the calves, but not so heavy that you cannot come all the way up for most of your repetitions.