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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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