All too often, a personal trainer or instructor will isolate a particular muscle so much that it becomes detrimental to the workout. You may be asking, “How can you isolate a muscle too much? Isn’t that what all the magazines say to do?” Yes, that is what a lot of magazines tell you to do, and I agree it’s good to isolate the muscle being worked. I’ll even go one step further and say that it is not only good but also absolutely necessary for optimum muscular growth. However, many instructors and fitness enthusiasts are so concerned with isolation exercises that they’re neglecting form and function.
How does form and function relate to triceps training? Let’s look at what the triceps actually do. The triceps extend, or straighten, the arm. For example, without your triceps it would be virtually impossible to grab a beer from the fridge. That would truly be a tragedy. Without triceps, your arm would be in a constant flexed state. This having been said, exercises that stress movement only at the elbow (such as triceps pressdowns) are solid movements. However, I am starting to see less and less multi-joint movements used in workouts. Examples of multi-joint movements for the triceps would be close grip bench presses, dips and a few others. These exercises involve not only the elbow joint but the shoulder joint as well.
Category: Weight training (Page 24 of 26)
Those in a time crunch or fortunate enough to have a home gym might want to check out a set of adjustable dumbbells.
I purchased a set a few months ago and after giving them a complete test run, I fully endorse them. I won’t even say the name I purchased to show I’m not trying to pimp a certain brand. Besides being a bit pricy (mine were about $250.00), there are several benefits to having a set:
1) Work out in the comforts of your own home.
Let’s face it, many of us are busy and sometimes running to the gym for an hour or two isn’t an option. Even on the busiest of days, anyone should be able to hammer out a couple sets using these dumbbells without waiting for certain weight to become available.
2) No waiting.
To expand a bit on benefit #1, there’s no waiting for weight to become available. How many times have you either gone up to an uncomfortable weight or stayed at a weight that wasn’t challenging enough because you had to wait for dumbbells to become available?
3) Space.
Not all of us have the space to set up a full dumbbell rack. A set of adjustable dumbbells can fit neatly under a bed or in a closet.
4) Complete your home gym.
In order to get a more complete workout, one needs to mix dumbbell exercises with barbell movements. Those who already have a weight bench, pull-up bar, dip machine, treadmill?and/or a full cable set, could easily complete their home gym with a?pair of adjustable DBs.
Like I said, they’re expensive and the more weight you want, the more you’ll pay so don’t have sticker shock if you look into a set. However, they’ve done wonders for me, especially considering I don’t have the space or time to get full workouts in as much as I would like. So check a set out, there are plenty of sites that give reviews of adjustable dumbbells on the net. ????
Common knowledge tells us that if we want to pack on muscle, weights – and therefore a gym for most of us – are necessary to accomplish our goals. However, using weights doesn’t need to be the end-all-be-all to get in shape.
Here’s an article by Men’s Health.com that shows you five ways to get stronger without lifting weights. In the article, you’ll find ways to add stress to your muscles doing the simplest of movements, develop better balance, and incorporate multiple muscle groups while doing exercises like lunges, sit ups and pushups.
I’m not encouraging anyone to ditch your weight lifting routine for this workout, instead incorporate this into your regular regime as a way to maximize your gains.
Due to time limitations or a busy schedule, people tend to jump right into a workout without properly warming up. It’s well advised to not only ride a bike or jog for five minutes, but also stretch so your muscles warm enough to begin a full workout. Injuries in the weight room are usually due to not properly warming up or stretching.
MSN.com posted an article from “Best Life” on the five best warm up moves for any workout:
90/90 Stretch: This exercise will stretch your torso and back muscles, which is especially important for rotational sports such as golf and tennis.
Hip Crossover: This exercise is designed to build mobility and strength in your torso by dis-associating the hips and shoulders.
Hand Walk: It’s a great exercise prior to just about any sport.Forward Lunge, Forearm to Instep: You’ll feel a stretch in your groin, your back-leg hip flexor, and your front-leg glute and hamstring.
Pillar Marching: It’s perfect for preparing for the demands of running.
For a complete description (the above is a very brief review of each warm up) as well as diagrams of each stretch, click here to read the entire article.
Being a writer, the majority of my day is spent sitting at a desk and starring at a computer all day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining – I love my job. The only problem is sitting at a desk all day is apparently limiting my gains in the gym, and now I am complaining.
I stumbled onto this article at MSN.com about posture in reference to your shoulders and chest. Human instincts tell us to slouch forward while typing or reading at a computer and with that, our heads also come forward, putting more weight on our neck, upper back and shoulders. Our chest is also affected:
If your shoulders are slumped forward for long periods of time, your chest muscles become shortened. That is, since these muscles attach to your upper arms, the distance they need to extend when you slouch is less than when your shoulders are drawn back. Over time, the chest muscles adapt to this position as their natural length, pulling your shoulders forward. As a result, many of the shoulder’s stabilizers are overstretched, which makes them weaker.
Now why the hell are we going to log so much time on the bench press if we’re just going to waste that effort the next six or so hours sitting behind a desk? The article recommends doing “10 standing shoulder retractions every hour when working at a computer.” Stand and pull your shoulder blades together – while also keeping your head and shoulders above your pelvis – for 3 seconds. This movement forces your chest muscles to extend, which prevents them from becoming permanently shortened.
The article also gets into ways to strengthen the muscles around our shoulders (i.e. rear delts, rotator-cuff, scapular), which we tend to ignore because we don’t see them when we look for gains in the mirror. Doing some of these recommended exercises will in turn grow the muscles will can check out in the mirror, as well as keep our posture straight so that doesn’t effect our workout gains. Plus, as a general rule of thumb, you should always be working out the surrounding muscles in every group, not just your shoulders.
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