Tag: FITNESS
Seated Lateral Raises for Big Delts
Boulder Shoulders Start with Seated Lateral Raises
What is a key component in creating the iconic v-taper physique? Shoulder size. So you want to give your shoulders that 3-dimensional look, you want broad rounded shoulders, you want them to really stand out to make your physique look complete. Without those big shoulders, what will you look like? Sure your arms can be big, but without Death Star delts, they will not look fully developed. But, how do you build them?
The shoulder is composed of three different parts, the anterior deltoid, lateral deltoid, and posterior deltoid. The anterior is your front, lateral, is your side, and posterior is the rear.
There are so many exercises to do to blow your shoulders up like barbell military press, the Arnold press, rear delt flies, but you cannot forget to throw in the classic and simple, but largely effective exercise: the seated lateral raise.
In this article we are going to cover just exactly how to properly perform the seated lateral raise; what you need for the exercise, sets and reps, everything you need to know to build that broadness.
Table of Contents
How to perform the seated lateral raise
Benefits of the seated lateral raise
Who should use the seated lateral raise
FAQs
How to do the Seated Lateral Raise
There are a few things to cover as far as completing the exercise. Let’s start by checking out what you need.
The Tools
Starting off with the equipment you need to complete the seated lateral raise, there are a few simple things on the list. For starters, you need a bench. It is a seated exercise, so the bench is key here, because well, that is what you’ll be sitting on during the exercise. Next, you’ll need some dumbbells, or kettlebells if you so desire.
The Setup
Setting up the Seat: You can put the bench vertically so your back will rest against it, or you can lay the bench flat so you will be sitting upright with no back support.
Grab Your Dumbbells: You can do this exercise one handed or use both
Sit Upright: Place your feet flat on the floor and arms at your sides. Your body should be in an L shape
Raise the Weight: Raise the dumbbells, or dumbbell if you are doing a single arm variation. Bring them up to shoulder height, your hands should be level with your shoulders
Reset and Repeat: Control the weight back down to your sides and repeat this motion.
Pro Tip: For a visual representation of the exercise check out this video from Tiger Fitness on the seated lateral raise:
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Sets and Reps
The seated lateral raise is not a lift to be going too heavy on. It is something you want good form, and controlled reps (for the most part but we will cover this later). In fact, it is more often recommended to go lighter, with higher reps and more controlled form. The medial head of the deltoid is not a large muscle, so it does not require massive loads to grow.
Simply put, you can try out 3-4 sets of 15-20 controlled reps. If you are more experienced and have a good mind to muscle connection, you can increase the weight and focus on sets of 12-15 reps.
If you are more advanced, you can maybe even kick it up a notch and do sets of 10-12, then take your sets to failure, or do partial reps after your full reps are completed. It all depends on your goals as far as strength and hypertrophy.
Benefits of the Seated Lateral Raise
There are plenty of benefits that stem from such a simple movement. The seated lateral raise brings not only size and isolation, but also health benefits to the table. Let’s dive in.
Muscular Hypertrophy
As stated before, if hypertrophy is your goal and you want to build boulder shoulders, the seated lateral raise is a great incorporation. There are so many exercises that blast the front and rear delts, but seated lateral raises build up that middle part of the delt, the part that is heavily associated with creating a more v-tapered look in the physique.
Specific Muscle Targeting
Being that the shoulder is made up of three distinct parts, all of them need to be hit individually in order to grow. The seated lateral raise is a great isolation exercise for the middle part (lateral deltoid) of the shoulder, which can be tricky to hit sometimes. If you are performing your seated lateral raises properly, that middle part of your delt will get absolutely demolished and have no choice but to grow.
Shoulder Health
You always want a healthy body. Healthy shoulders are a huge plus because you use your shoulders for so much throughout the day, maybe even without realizing it. Someone with perfectly healthy shoulders is able to perform all ranges of motion painlessly and with stability.
The seated lateral raise challenges and stimulates shoulder stability, in the rotator cuff in particular, as well as the range of motion. This contributes to overall shoulder health.
Who Should Use the Seated Lateral Raise?
Quite honestly, there is no real limit or restriction on who should or should not incorporate this exercise into their regiment. Still, let’s explore the different demographics.
Bodybuilders
A bodybuilder is judged on their physique, and if that physique is not complete, then the judging will more than likely not be in their favor. One thing sought after in the sport of bodybuilding is the v-taper, and as discussed before, the v-taper is greatly contributed to through developed shoulders. The seated lateral raise can be a key component in developing the hypertrophy of the shoulders and pushing them to become more filled out to achieve that iconic v-shape.
Weightlifting Athletes
The weightlifting demographic can be comprised of powerlifters, crossfitters, Olympic lifters; athletes that are overhead pressing weight in some way. Being that the seated lateral raise can contribute to overall shoulder health, it could be a good idea for athletes that focus on heavy overhead presses to incorporate these into their programming. The seated lateral raise can also serve as a nice alternative to overhead pressing to still gain/maintain muscle in the shoulders without beating down the shoulders as much as a movement like an overhead press.
The Average Gym Goer
Sure, athletes like bodybuilders and weightlifters can benefit from the seated lateral raise, but what about the people just in the gym to stay in shape, be healthy, or look good? Yes! The seated lateral raise is something that everyone can benefit from, no matter your status in the gym. Training shoulders can be intimidating to some as there are so many movements to hit all three heads. The lateral raise is great, simple movement for getting started and getting those shoulders pumped up and developing the overall muscle.
Seated Lateral Raise FAQs
The seated lateral raise is a relatively simple exercise, yes, but you still may have some questions surrounding the movement that you want answered. So, let’s take a look.
Partial Reps and Sets to Failure
Is it a good idea to perform partial reps, or even take your sets to failure when performing the seated lateral raise? Actually, on this movement, it could be beneficial to perform partial reps and sets to failure.
Once you are fatigued from completing the movement with a full range of motion, you can perform partials. This is done by moving the weights six to eight inches from your sides but keeping the tension on the lateral head of the shoulders. You can do this for a set number of reps, or do it until you cannot anymore.
Training Tip: Check out this video from the late John Meadows on doing partial reps during side lateral raises:
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How Often can I do Seated Lateral Raises
This is heavily dependent on your experience in the gym. If you are new to the gym, one to two times per week for the movement is plenty of stimulation to a muscle that is rather small. As you grow more experienced in the gym, you may need to increase frequency to see progression. But, if you are too sore, it is best to rest before hitting some seated lateral raises again!
More on Shoulders
Seated lateral raises are only one movement for your shoulders, but there are plenty more to choose from! Don’t miss out on the rest of our shoulder workouts:
Side Lateral Dumbbell Raise – Exercise Guide
Front Dumbbell Raise – Exercise Guide
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press – Exercise Guide
References
Deltoid muscles: What are they, anatomy, Location & Function. Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21875-deltoid-muscles
Ferri, B. (2022, July 4). The anatomy of the deltoid muscle. Verywell Health. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.verywellhealth.com/deltoid-muscle-anatomy-4688693
MuscleMeds Stemtropin Review
Everything you need to know about MuscleMeds Stemtropin
Product Overview
As we age, our muscle mass declines, and we experience muscle atrophy. Of course, muscle atrophy is a normal part of aging, but what if there was a way to combat that? Well, stem cell therapy is a popular therapy for helping people prevent age-related muscle loss. In addition, stem cell therapy is also beneficial for building muscle and regeneration, making it perfect for athletes and fitness enthusiasts looking to pack on more gains.
However, stem cell therapy is expensive and comes with its risks. But there’s a quality natural dietary stem cell supplement that provides you the same benefits, MuscleMeds Stemtropin. Stemtropin is the first natural nutritional supplement to increase the production of stem cells and HGH (human growth hormone). This article will dive deeply into how the natural dietary supplement Stemropin can help you build more muscle, prevent muscle loss, and help with muscle regeneration.
Main Takeaways
Stemtropin is a natural dietary stem cell and growth hormone booster that helps with muscle hypertrophy (growth) and prevents age-related muscle atrophy.
It increases your stem cell production by 20% and HGH by 72%.
Stem cells help with muscle regeneration to help athletes recover from injuries such as sprains and muscle tears.
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MuscleMeds Stemtropin is the first natural dietary supplement that increases stem cell and GH production. A 72% increase in GH and a 20% increase in stem cells is a pretty drastic increase, so it should provide you with all the benefits GH and stem cells offer, including increased strength and muscle growth, muscle regeneration, and fighting age-related diseases.
What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are cells that haven’t differentiated–dividing into multiple cells known as differentiation. Since stem cells are undifferentiated, they can develop into cells that serve different purposes for bodily functions. For example, you can use stem cells to grow and repair tissue, e.g., muscle growth. Most cells are differentiated cells. Differentiated cells are cells that have already been divided for a specific task. For example, a red blood cell’s job is to carry oxygen through your blood. So stem cells allow you to multiply cells for a specific purpose you want, such as muscle regeneration.
Stem cells can help increase your HGH. HGH is produced by your pituitary gland, promotes growth, and helps regulate muscle and bone growth. And some sources claim HGH can slow the aging process.
Stem Cells Help Promote Muscle Growth and Regeneration
Although stem cells can be used for various purposes, including cancer and blood-related diseases, they can also help spur muscle growth and help repair muscle tissue (1). Muscle stem cells are activated in response to muscle injury and create new skeletal muscle cells to regenerate damaged muscle tissue (2).
MuscleMeds Stemtropin Highlights
Stemtrompin uses groundbreaking research on stem cells’ ability for muscle growth and muscle regeneration. Stemtropin has shown a 20% increase in your body’s production of stem cells. Stem cell treatments are costly and risky, but Stemtropin is the first natural dietary supplement to provide the same benefits as stem cell treatments.
Image via courtesy of MuscleMeds
This supplement’s effects amplify when you combine it with resistance training—the ingredients combined with taking this product before a workout has the power to increase HGH by 72%. The increase in stem cell production and GH can combat age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia. Stemtropin is an effective supplement for athletes looking to build muscle, boost athletic performance, and recover from injury.
Image via courtesy of MuscleMeds
Ingredients to Build Muscle
Stemtropin contains the natural herb buckthorn, responsible for increasing stem cells by 20%. In addition, it has the herb Safled Musli, the tropical legume Mucuna pruriens, and melatonin.
Safled musli may prevent swelling, and Mucuna Pruriens may improve your testosterone levels. Moreover, melatonin has antioxidant properties that can protect your muscles by reducing exercise-induced oxidative stress.
Other Ingredients
Stemtropin has hypromellose, rice flour, magnesium, stearate, and silica. And magnesium has been shown to boost exercise performance and has anti-inflammatory benefits (3). In addition, a study of 2,570 women concluded that magnesium intake increases muscle mass and power (4).
Featured MuscleMeds Stemstropin
Stem cell treatment is expensive and has potential risks. However, Stemstropin provides you with all the benefits of stem cell therapy by natural dietary means, making it safe but effective for building muscle, losing body fat, and recovering from workouts.
Stemstropin Benefits
Stem cell and growth hormone booster
72% increase in GH
20% increase in stem cells
Supports muscle building, strength, and recovery
Boost stem cells and GH in 2 hours
Combats age-associated muscle loss
Enhances athletic performance
Improve recovery from injury
Stemstropin Properties
Sea Buckthorn 500 mg
Safed Musli 500 mg
Mucuna Pruriens 375mg
Melatonin 5 mg
How to Best Use Stemtropin
MuscleMeds Stemtropin recommends consuming two capsules (one serving) daily. And they make it a point to say you shouldn’t exceed taking two servings daily. It’s also best to take this product before exercise for improved athletic performance. To help with muscle recovery, Stemtropin can be taken at night before bed, especially since it has melatonin, so it may help you sleep.
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MuscleMeds Stemtropin is the first natural dietary supplement that increases stem cell and GH production. A 72% increase in GH and a 20% increase in stem cells is a pretty drastic increase, so it should provide you with all the benefits GH and stem cells offer, including increased strength and muscle growth, muscle regeneration, and fighting age-related diseases.
Overall Value
MuscleMeds Stemtropin is the first natural dietary supplement that increases stem cell and GH production. A 72% increase in GH and a 20% increase in stem cells is a pretty drastic increase, so it should provide you with all the benefits GH and stem cells offer, including increased strength and muscle growth, muscle regeneration, and fighting age-related diseases. So if you take your gym gains seriously and are always looking for a way to level up your gains and bust past plateaus, this supplement is worth consuming.
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References
Shadrach, J. L., & Wagers, A. J. (2011). Stem cells for skeletal muscle repair. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 366(1575), 2297–2306. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0027
Ruparelia, A. A., Ratnayake, D., & Currie, P. D. (2020). Stem cells in skeletal muscle growth and regeneration in amniotes and teleosts: Emerging themes. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Developmental biology, 9(2), e365. https://doi.org/10.1002/wdev.365
Nielsen F. H. (2018). Magnesium deficiency and increased inflammation: current perspectives. Journal of inflammation research, 11, 25–34. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S136742
Welch, A. A., Kelaiditi, E., Jennings, A., Steves, C. J., Spector, T. D., & MacGregor, A. (2016). Dietary Magnesium Is Positively Associated With Skeletal Muscle Power and Indices of Muscle Mass and May Attenuate the Association Between Circulating C-Reactive Protein and Muscle Mass in Women. Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 31(2), 317–325. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.2692
The 8 Best Triceps Exercises for Thick Arms
These are the best 8 triceps exercises to build massive mass in your arms.
Thick arms are manly, and nothing screams masculine more than robust and massive triceps. That’s because your triceps make up two-thirds of your arms. Therefore, it’s critical to focus more on your triceps than your biceps to build burly arms. There are various exercises, but this article will cover the 8 best triceps exercises.
Best Triceps Exercises
Bench Dips
Dips
Triceps Dumbbell Kickback
Seated Triceps Press
Skull Crusher
Cable Triceps Extension Pushdown
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension
Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension
Bench Dips
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As the name implies, bench dips are dips performed on a bench. All the resistance you need for this movement is your body weight. Your triceps will have to work hard to push your body weight. And you’ll be able to get a greater range of motion since the height of the bench will allow you to dip down lower.
Benefits of Bench Dips
It allows you a greater range of motion for your triceps.
This exercise tests your ability to lift and move your body weight.
You’ll be able to perform higher reps on this movement, which builds more endurance in your triceps.
How to Do Bench Dips
Face perpendicular to a bench, put your palms down on the bench with your fingers firmly gripping the edge of the bench (glutes facing the ground). For beginners, place your feet on the floor with your hips flexed at a 90-degree angle. Advanced lifters can have their legs straight out with their heels on the ground for support.
Dips
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Dips test your relative strength (strength for your body weight) and will challenge your triceps ability to lift your entire body weight. This movement is a compound exercise that will also target your shoulders and chest muscle. And you can add extra weight by attaching a load to a belt, increasing the resistance you lift.
Benefits of Dips
Dips are a compound movement that targets your chest and shoulders too.
You can attach weight to a belt to lift more than your body weight.
It will get you strong for your size.
How to Do Dips
Grab parallel bars, jump up, and extend your arms to get into the starting position. Next, lower your body down until your arms create a 90-degree angle, then push your body up.
Triceps Dumbbell Kickback
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Triceps dumbbell kickback emphasizes the lateral head of your triceps, the most visible of the three heads. It’s a great isolation movement to add volume to your triceps. It also increases your shoulder and arm stability and flexibility.
Benefits of Triceps Dumbbell Kickback
This exercise isolates your most visible tricep head.
It increases your shoulder and arm stability.
How to Do Dumbbell Kickback
Bend over and use a bench or dumbbell rack for support with one arm. Then, with your back straight, bring the other arm to your side holding a dumbbell, keep your elbows stable, and use your triceps to “kick” the weight back.
Seated Triceps Press
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A seated triceps press is performed on a triceps pushdown machine. The machine will allow you to use heavier loads than other triceps exercises. Plus, it’s safer than free weights since it’s a machine.
Benefits of Seated Triceps Press
It’s safer than free-weight triceps exercises.
The machine facilitates a more significant load than other triceps isolation movements.
How to Do Seated Triceps Press
Find a triceps pushdown machine and sit down with your back and feet in points of contact with the bench and foot support/ground. Push the weight down until your arms are fully extended, and then bring the weight back up until the machine plates touch.
Skull Crusher
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The skull crusher is arguably the most effective triceps exercise. That’s because the skull crusher is done using a barbell, allowing you to use a heavy load with free weights. It’s best to perform this exercise with an EZ bar to comfort and protect your wrists.
Benefits of Skull Crusher
Skull crushers allow you to use a heavier load with free weights to gain size and strength in your triceps.
It challenges your core stability.
How to Do Skull Crusher
Lie supine on a bench and extend an EZ bar over your head. While keeping your elbows stable, use your triceps to lower the barbell to your forehead, then extend the barbell back to the starting position.
Cable Triceps Extension Pushdown
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Cable triceps extension pushdown is an excellent movement for keeping tension on your triceps through each degree of the extension since it’s performed on a cable machine. Grasping the cable will improve grip strength and engage your core, back, and shoulders.
Benefits of Cable Triceps Extension Pushdown
This movement engages your core, back, and shoulders.
It keeps the tension the same throughout the entirety of the exercise.
This exercise strengthens your grip strength.
How to Do Cable Triceps Extension Pushdown
Set a cable machine to its highest point. Make sure the extension is a small cable bar. Grab the bar with a pronated grip and push down until your arms are fully extended; keep your elbows locked. Lastly, bring the barbell back up until the plates touch for a full triceps extension.
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension
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Dumbbell overhead triceps extensions target all three triceps heads and allow a full range of motion. It also increases your shoulder and elbow stability. Plus, you can use decent weight since you’re using two hands.
Benefits of Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension
This exercise gives you a full range of motion with moderate weight to target your triceps.
It increases your shoulder and elbow stability.
This movement activates all three triceps heads.
How to Do Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension
Sit on a bench with an upright posture. Lift a dumbbell over your head with both hands, grasping the top end of the dumbbell (dumbbell perpendicular to the floor). Lower the dumbbell until your triceps are as far down as they can go comfortably, then fully extend the dumbbell back overhead.
Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension
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Cable rope overhead triceps extension targets the long head of your triceps and is an exercise that requires focus to improve your mind-muscle connection. The cables provide constant tension on your triceps through the entire range of motion. And this study concluded that overhead triceps extension builds more muscle than pushdowns (1).
Benefits of Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension
It keeps the tension the same on your triceps.
This exercise targets the long head of your triceps.
Cable rope overhead triceps extension improves your mind-muscle connection for more significant muscle growth.
How to Do Cable Rope Overhead Triceps Extension
Put a cable machine at its highest point with a rope attachment. Grab the rope, and turn the opposing away in a staggered stance for support. Then, bend over slightly and extend the cable rope overhead. Next, return the cable rope down to the starting position.
About the Triceps
The triceps muscle is the antagonist of the biceps muscles on your arm. And it’s composed of three heads: medial, lateral, and long, which explains why your triceps make up ⅔ thirds of your arm. Your triceps is responsible for extending your arms. And different triceps movements will target other heads of your triceps more, depending on the exercises (2). For example, cable overhead triceps extension targets more of your long head due to the elevation.
You use your triceps on pushing movements (anything that extends your elbows). And it plays a crucial role in big compounds chest movements, such as barbell bench press, since it’s a secondary muscle targeted during pressing exercises.
How to Get Your Triceps Stronger
It would be best to get your triceps stronger as you would for bigger muscle groups like your chest–increase the weight you lift as often as possible. However, since your triceps is a smaller muscle group, you won’t be able to advance in weight as fast. Therefore, you’ll want to focus on higher reps and more volume via more sets to increase the size and strength of your triceps since you’ll be using lighter weight.
We recommend you perform 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps for your triceps exercises if you’re doing a split routine that includes a bigger muscle group and tricep movements at the end. So, for example, if you’re training your chest and triceps one day, you’ll perform two triceps exercises after your chest movements and do 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps for each exercise. And if you have a separate day just for arms, then you can do three triceps exercises (and three biceps exercises) and perform three sets each in the 12-15 rep range.
Rules to Follow
Keep Your Elbows Fixed
It’s easy to swing your arms on triceps movements to use heavier weight, but that takes the tension off your triceps. Using a lighter weight with your elbow in a fixed position better targets your triceps.
Warm-Up
Although your triceps is a smaller muscle group compared to a bigger muscle group like your chest, it’s still important to do a thorough warm-up to increase your triceps strength on exercises and prevent injury. If you’re training your chest on the same day, the chest exercises you do will act as a warm-up since you use your triceps as a secondary muscle for pushing movements. However, if you’re training your triceps on separate days, we recommend you perform 2-3 sets with lighter weight before using heavier weights on your first triceps exercise.
References
Maeo, S., Wu, Y., Huang, M., Sakurai, H., Kusagawa, Y., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, H., & Isaka, T. (2022). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European journal of sport science, 1–26. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2022.2100279
Kholinne, E., Zulkarnain, R. F., Sun, Y. C., Lim, S., Chun, J. M., & Jeon, I. H. (2018). The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension. Acta orthopaedica et traumatologica turcica, 52(3), 201–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aott.2018.02.005
How to Eat Clean Like A Professional Bodybuilder
Having a healthy diet is one of the most impactful things you can do for your fitness.
Other than time spent in the gym, a healthy diet is the best way to promote your overall health and muscular conditioning. Supplements can be deceiving and many packaged foods at the supermarket are loaded with artificial colors and ingredients that can make you feel bloated and sluggish.
If you’re looking for inspiration on how to get started with clean, healthy eating that promotes fitness, look no further. Here’s a quick grocery list of 10 foods to help get you started with shopping and eating clean like a professional bodybuilder.
10. Dark Leafy Greens
Dark green vegetables, such as kale, broccoli, collard greens, and spinach, are extremely nutrient-rich and low in calories. They act as a great supplement or base to a heartier plate of chicken or fish. These are probably the best natural source of things like vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, fiber, vitamin K, folic acid, and so many others. It cannot be overstated what an essential source of nutrients these are in your diet.
Recommendation: Keep a bag of kale or a bag of broccoli in the fridge at all times. The kale makes a great base for a salad, while the broccoli works great in a veggie stir fry. Or switch it up based on what you like!
9. Eggs
Eggs are a versatile, protein-rich food that can be incorporated into almost any meal you could think to make — so use them! Eggs are a bodybuilder’s staple for good reason. They pack a huge punch in terms of protein (which allows your body to build muscle) without having too many calories. They’re also a great option if you’re trying to avoid an unhealthy breakfast. Eggs are completely natural — no saturated fats or unhealthy additives to slow you down.
Recommendation: Keep a carton of eggs in the fridge. You can have them for breakfast or add them to a shake for a quick protein boost.
8. Wild-Caught Fish (Salmon, Cod, Tuna)
Fish are an essential source of omega-3 fatty acids and a core component of any pro’s diet. Fish that is caught in the wild tends to have the highest amount of omega-3s, so aim for that if possible. Salmon has a higher fat content than other types of fish and can help you feel fuller for longer, potentially staving off cravings.
Recommendation: Keep salmon, cod, or tuna in the fridge and have once a week. You can bake or pan-sear as an entree, have it over rice, or put it in a salad.
7. Quinoa or Brown Rice
These grains (okay, quinoa isn’t technically a grain) make a great healthy base for a meal. They’re high in amino acids, which are essential for building muscle. If you like both, great, if not, you can easily substitute one for the other. These are also a versatile “building-block” type food like eggs that can easily be combined with other healthy foods for clean, healthy eating.
Recommendation: Keep a bag of quinoa or brown rice in your pantry. You can have chicken or fish over rice or put the rice into a salad with leafy greens — the possibilities are endless.
6. Chicken
Chicken is another bodybuilding essential. It has an astronomical protein-level for something with a comparatively low amount of fat. Again, the key here is to pick foods that can help you avoid the additives, oils, and unhealthy fats associated with processed foods. Cooking your own chicken at home with vegetables, lentils, quinoa, or brown rice is a filling, protein-rich meal.
Recommendation: Keep chicken in your fridge to have for dinner throughout the week. Combine with brown rice, collard greens, quinoa, or broccoli for a healthy dinner.
5. Dry Beans and Peas
Things like black beans, pinto beans, split peas, and lentils are all great additions to a bodybuilder’s diet. They’re easy to combine with a healthy source of protein like fish or chicken to create a meal. They’re also rich in iron and zinc which can increase joint strength.
Recommendation: Keep two bags of your favorite type of beans or peas in the pantry. They make a healthy, filling side in any meal that will keep you from snacking on unhealthier foods.
4. Greek Yogurt
An essential snack food for when you’re in-between meals, Greek yogurt is a healthy and filling option that promotes gut health and the absorption of other nutrients and minerals. Not to mention Greek yogurt is an essential source of protein.
Recommendation: Keep a pack of your favorite Greek yogurt in the fridge for snacking. You can add honey or some walnuts to add flavor and texture.
3. Olive Oil, Avocado Oil (Oils > Butter)
Try to avoid butter, which is high in saturated fats. Opt instead for cooking with olive oil, avocado oil, or another type of cooking oil.
Recommendation: Keep your favorite type of cooking oil in the pantry instead of using butter to reduce saturated fat consumption.
2. Fruits
There are a lot of different categories of fruit, but pretty much all of them are great for you. Apples, bananas, pears, and berries are high in natural sugars but ultimately much better for you than any artificially sweetened snack.
Recommendation: Keep one or two types of your favorite fruits in the kitchen to snack on, use in a salad, or make a smoothie.
1. Whey Protein
Probably the most popular protein additive in the bodybuilding world. Whey protein is clinically proven to increase gains and help the body develop muscle mass faster.
Recommendation: Keep whey protein in the kitchen. You can add it to tea, water, or as part of a healthy smoothie.
This is Why You Should Never Eat Cheat Meals
This is Why You Should Never Eat Cheat Meals
After bicep days, cheat days are the second most favorite day of the week for most fitness enthusiasts. Just like some people work for the weekend, most lifters train for the cheat meal.
For the uninitiated, cheat meals are a planned overindulgence (at least in some cases) that can help undo some of the side effects of being in a calorie deficit. To be honest, most lifters use it as a break from their bland chicken breast and rice meals.
Why You Should Quit Cheat Meals
To understand the concept of cheat meals better, you need to know about Leptin and Ghrelin. Leptin and ghrelin are hormones found in the body that work together to bring about hunger harmony.
Leptin makes you feel full after a meal and ghrelin makes you feel hungry when you haven’t eaten. When you’re following a calorie deficit diet, your body responds by reducing the amount of leptin you produce.
When your body limits the leptin production, ghrelin runs wild which results in you feeling hungry more often. While broscientists sell cheat meals as a way to fix this hormone issue, they aren’t as effective because –
Cheat Meals Encourage Over-consumption & Binge Eating
The first and one of the biggest problems is that some people turn the cheat meals into cheat days. The others turn the meal into a three-course dining experience. They start with a hamburger but have the cravings for fries in the middle of the meal and want to finish with an ice-cream.
Many people can’t control themselves when they are around food that has been deemed forbidden by their diets. Dining-in is a terrible idea for cheat meals. You should rather consider takeaways or ordering food to your home.
They Reinforce the ‘Good’ Food vs. ‘Bad’ Food Mindset
If people don’t do it already, they start categorizing food as good or bad as soon as they embark on their fitness journey. Creating this divide between different foods is not healthy or ideal.
Sure, knowing which foods are ‘good’ and which are ‘bad’ can help you make better food choices. However, the reality is that labeling food this way is distorting your relationship with them. This habit is also giving you unhealthy, unproductive and unnecessary eating habits.
Cheat Meals are Ineffective at Raising Leptin Levels
Some people have the illusion that cheat meals are helping them in restoring their leptin levels, reducing hunger and increasing metabolic rate. In reality, they are nothing more than for you to escape your shitty weekday diet.
Cheat meals are usually full of fat which has no notable effect on leptin levels. A study shows that not only do carbohydrates raise Leptin levels but carbohydrate overfeeding also increases energy expenditure over 24 hours, whereas fat overfeeding does not.
The Fix – Refeeding
Refeed days are what you should replace the cheat meals with. A refeed day constitutes of planned meals to consume more calories throughout the day. This helps counteract the negative effects of being in a calorie deficit and restores your Leptin levels.
In a refeeding meal, you have a calorie goal that you need to adhere to. Meaning – even though you will indulge and eat more than normal, you’re given a structure to stick to. Cereals, popcorn, pancakes, syrup, pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, and oats are some of the approved carbohydrates options for refeeding days.
Which is your favorite cheat meal? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
Level Select CBD Immune Support Gummies Review
Everything you need to know about Level Select CBD Immune Support Gummies
Product Overview
It’s critical to have a strong immune system. A robust immune system will fight off diseases such as the common cold and flu. And give you the energy you need to keep building muscle and losing body fat. But, of course, if you’re sick, lifting weights will be challenging. And a weak immune system will cause fatigue and your workouts to suffer.
Strengthening your immune system from diet and exercise is great, but you can give your immune system an additional boost through quality supplements. And the correct supplement will not only support your immune system but will also provide additional support, such as increased pain relief and mental health benefits.
Most immune support supplements only contain vitamins and minerals like vitamin C. And although vitamin C is a critical nutrient for immune support, blending it with other vital ingredients like CBD and Turmeric works best. That’s why we recommend Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies. This product has the critical components for a robust immune system–CBD, Turmeric, and vitamin C.
Main Takeaway
CBD has many beneficial effects, including immune support, pain relief, anxiety reduction, and sleep improvement.
Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies contains CBD, Turmeric, and vitamin C, all proven to strengthen your immune system.
This supplement will help prevent common illnesses like the common cold and flu.
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a natural chemical found in hemp, aka the marijuana plant, cannabis Sativa. This plant contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ingredient that causes a psychoactive high. But it also contains CBD, which doesn’t cause any mind-altering effects. THC can have health benefits, but many people avoid THC due to its high and increased risks for side effects, such as anxiety and paranoia. Therefore, CBD is an excellent alternative since it has abundant benefits, including reducing the potential adverse effects of THC, like anxiety.
Benefits of CBD
CBD has healing effects for post-workout soreness, anxiety, pain, and sleep. It can also improve your immune system.
Immune support: CBD has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that protect your immune system. Some CBD supplements have other immune support ingredients, such as vitamin C and Turmeric.
Post-workout soreness: Studies have shown that CBD is an effective herb for helping with muscle recovery, especially if using CBD Roll-ons (1).
Anxiety: CBD has calming effects that help relax and ease your mind.
Pain: Research concludes that CBD provides pain relief (2).
Sleep: CBD ingested 20-30 minutes before bed is an excellent sleep aid.
Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies is a premium product for immune support with the unique proprietary blend of CBD, vitamin C, and Turmeric, making it potent for fighting illnesses.
Level Select CBD Immune Support Gummies Highlights
Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies are formulated with the highest quality ingredients to strengthen your immune system. It has 25mg of CBD, 5mg of vitamin C, and 5mg of Turmeric per serving. CBD has many beneficial properties, including supporting your immune system. And vitamin C helps keep your immune system strong. Moreover, Turmeric has antioxidant properties.
Ingredients to Strengthen Immune System
Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies contain a powerful trio blend of CBD, vitamin C, and Turmeric to keep your immune system functioning correctly.
CBD: CBD has many health benefits, including improving your immune system since it’s anti-inflammatory. In addition, data proves that CBD is effective for treating diseases that attack your immune systems, such as multiple sclerosis (3).
Vitamin C: Vitamin C is a powerful nutrient for increasing blood flow, which is excellent for cardiovascular health. This 2017 study also shows it provides immune support by aiding cellular functions of the innate and adaptive immune systems (4).
Turmeric: Turmeric is a spice that can contain curcumin. Curcumin has potent medicinal elements such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects help manage diseases (5).
Featured CBD Level Select CBD Immune Support Gummies
There is a variety of CBD available products on the market. However, we only support and review the utmost quality with research-backed ingredients. We recommend these gummies for a CBD supplement to support your immune system. This CBD product has the elements necessary for strengthening your immune system.
Level Select CBD Immune Support Gummies Properties
25mg of CBD per serving
5mg of Vitamin C per serving
5mg of Turmeric per serving
Natural citrus flavor
How Level Select CBD Immune Support Gummies Support Your Immune System
Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies help your immune system with the powerful blend of CBD, vitamin C, and Turmeric ingredients. These substances are proven to support your immune system. CBD and Turmeric are anti-inflammatories that prevent your immune system from weakening. And vitamin C helps the cellular functions of your immune system. This supplement’s potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects can prevent common illnesses like the flu, common cold, sinus, and sore throat.
Are CBD Gummies Safe to Take?
Generally, CBD gummies are considered safe to take. However, users have possible side effects, such as diarrhea, dry mouth, reduced appetite, drowsiness, and fatigue. Also, be aware that not all CBD products are THC-free. So make sure your CBD product doesn’t contain any THC if you want the benefits of CBD without any mind-altering effects.
How to Best Use Level Select CBD Immune Support
You’ll consume a serving size (2 gummies) daily. Since it’s an edible and not an oil, it will take longer to digest since it has to go through your digestive tract. Also, store it in a dry, cool place away from direct sunlight.
Wrap Up
Studies show CBD has a host of health benefits, including immune support. A robust immune system will give you the energy you need to crush your workouts and continue to make progress with your physique. Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies is a premium product for immune support with the unique proprietary blend of CBD, vitamin C, and Turmeric, making it potent for fighting illnesses.
Level Select CBD Immune Support gummies is a premium product for immune support with the unique proprietary blend of CBD, vitamin C, and Turmeric, making it potent for fighting illnesses.
Generation Iron may receive commissions on purchases made through our links. See our disclosure page for more information.
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References
Isenmann, E., Veit, S., Starke, L., Flenker, U., & Diel, P. (2021). Effects of Cannabidiol Supplementation on Skeletal Muscle Regeneration after Intensive Resistance Training. Nutrients, 13(9), 3028. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093028
Argueta, D. A., Ventura, C. M., Kiven, S., Sagi, V., & Gupta, K. (2020). A Balanced Approach for Cannabidiol Use in Chronic Pain. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 561. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.00561
Nichols, J. M., & Kaplan, B. (2020). Immune Responses Regulated by Cannabidiol. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 5(1), 12–31. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2018.0073
Carr, A. C., & Maggini, S. (2017). Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9111211
Hewlings, S. J., & Kalman, D. S. (2017). Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 6(10), 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods6100092
Contrast Sets for Maximal Muscle Growth
Contrast Sets for Maximal Muscle Growth
Goal of contrast sets: Increase total power potential through utilization of dynamic/explosive exercises combined with compound strength movements. And of course maximize muscle growth.
The traditional path to building muscle is 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps for 4-6 different exercises. Do this consistently while prioritizing your sleep and protein intake, and you’ll see noticeable gains. While this approach is proven to be effective, overtime it can lead to stagnation or even regression in a lifter’s program due to the lack of strength and power development.
Why Strength and Power Matters for Muscle Mass
When it comes to building muscle, an athlete should prioritize getting stronger and increasing their total power output. Strength training combined with dynamic/explosive movements results in increased muscle fiber recruitment and CNS (central nervous system) stimulation. An increase in muscle fiber recruitment results in greater potential for hypertrophy.
Since power is the fast display of strength, you can’t be powerful without being strong first. Or as Louie Simmons said, you can’t shoot a cannonball out of a canoe.
Power = Force x Velocity OR Strength x Speed
Power potential enhances neurological efficiency and your ability to generate force quickly. Force is dependant on your ability to recruit the high threshold motor units (HTMU) required for a specific movement pattern (1). So in order to stimulate these HTMU, power/explosive training should be incorporated into your programming.
One of the most tried and true methods for increasing total power output is using what’s known as contrast training or contrast sets.
What are contrast sets?
A contrast set is a strength movement followed by a dynamic/explosive movement. The strength exercise involved in this pairing acts as a “primer” for the explosive movement. By performing a max or sub maximal effort lift for 2-4 reps, your CNS is “heightened” and your ability to express force in the form of a dynamic movement pattern is enhanced. This is what’s known as post-activation potentiation.
Post activation potentiation is a theory that states that the contractile history of a muscle influences the mechanical performance of subsequent muscle contractions (2). The idea isn’t to fatigue your muscles with long duration exercise, but instead utilize higher loads for fewer reps to enhance subsequent muscle performance.
Most traditional “bodybuilding” rep ranges fail to enhance the lifter’s neural drive or total power output. Overtime, the lifter may experience plateaus or regressions in their strength and muscle “gains” since they’re not exposing their muscle fibers to a higher degree of output.
What’s more, our power and cognitive function decline as we continue to age. So it’s imperative to incorporate explosive and dynamic exercises into a lifter’s program to not just delay the inevitable effects of aging, but to improve intramuscular coordination.
Contrast sets don’t just make you more powerful, they lay the foundation for hypertrophy gains to continue (especially as we age).
Training Guidelines for Contrast Sets
Focus on building strength first. Remember, power is strength x speed. You can’t display strength quickly if you’re not strong! Contrast sets are reserved for those who have been lifting consistently and have a solid foundation of strength. This is an advanced training method.
Always warm-up. I know, you want to just to get into it. I get it. Even so, make sure you warm-up beforehand. You’ll get more out of your training.
Use similar movement patterns for exercise pairings. For contrast sets to work, both of the exercises should be similar (to a degree) in terms of movement pattern while utilizing similar muscle groups. For example, it wouldn’t make sense to do a heavy bench press and then squat jumps. Instead, something like explosive push-ups or med ball tosses would pair well with a bench press given the movement and muscle recruitment similarities.
Lift 80-85% of your 1RM for 2-4 reps. This is a general guideline. The idea of the strength movement is to treat it as a strength movement for maximal muscle fibre/CNS recruitment before performing the following explosive exercise. It wouldn’t make sense to do 10 back squats and pump a bunch of blood to your legs before box jumps. That’s how you fuck yourself up (sorry CrossFit).
The strength movement should be no longer than 10-15 sec in duration. Piggybacking of that last point, the initial strength movement is meant to “excite” or “heighten” your muscles and nervous system, not completely gas them out.
Move the weight FAST. To quote Louie again, you can’t move a heavy weight slowly. It may look like it’s moving slow, but you need to be thinking fast. Focus on lifting with maximal effort and moving the weight as fast as possible during the concentric portion of the lift with optimal form and technique.
Do 2-4 reps for the explosive/dynamic exercise. Your ATP levels (your muscle’s energy source) deplete rapidly as you perform high intensity activities like plyometric or ballistic training. Fewer reps will allow you to focus on quality and
Only do contrast sets 1-2 x per week. Training for power has a toll, and the fee is hefty. 1-2 contrast workouts per week is plenty. Be sure to recover between sessions with good sleep and eating.
Don’t immediately jump into the explosive exercise. This is a general rule of thumb when I program supersets for most of my clients anyway, but this especially applies to contrast sets. You don’t want to do the subsequent explosive exercise huffing and puffing or in a state of fatigue. Your form will break down and you won’t perform to your potential. This isn’t a race and you don’t get a medal for sprinting to the next exercise as fast as you can. Take at least 10-15 seconds to regroup before performing the second exercise. But note that taking too long of a break between exercises can be detrimental to your performance as well since your “heightened state” (aka post activation potentiation) begins to fade roughly beyond 15 sec.
Recover between contrast sets. Contrast sets pair a strength movement and an explosive exercise together, which means it takes a lot out of your body (and nervous system). Rest at least 3-5 minutes (maybe even slightly longer) between sets.
4-6 total contrast sets for 1-2 different pairings is plenty. Top that off with 1-2 small accessory exercises (delts, biceps, triceps…whatever you’re training that day) and you’re good to go.
Examples of Contrast Sets
A1. Box Squat x 3
A2. Box Jump x 2
Both movements are knee-dominant lower body exercises in a bilateral setting, so the pairing here makes sense.
B1. Heavy Sled Push x 20 yards
B2. Sprint x 40 yards
Ever push a heavy ass sled? It sucks. But it’ll make you tough and pack meat on your legs. The heavy sled followed by a sprint is a good pairing since both movements involve projecting the body forward unilaterally (one leg at a time).
C1. Bench Press x 2
C2. Explosive Push-Ups x 4
You should be doing more push-ups. Everyone should be. Try doing a heavy bench then some explosive push-ups and thank me later. You’ll get stronger and your shirts will fit better.
D1. Deadlift x 3
D2. Kettlebell Swing x 4
Both are hip-dominant hinging patterns with similar muscle recruitment in the glutes, hamstrings, and muscles surrounding the core/lower back.
E1. Deadlift x 2
E2. Overhead Med Ball Throw x 2
An overhead med ball throw pairs well with a heavy deadlift since it involves extension of the knees and hip (both seen in the deadlift), but in an explosive setting.
Summary
Contrast training or contrast sets are one of the best ways to develop power and induce hypertrophy as we continue to age given the neurological benefits associated with it.
References
STRENGTH; Joe Defranco, Jim Smith. 2014; 287
Robbins DW. Post-Activation Potentiation and its Practical Applicability: A Brief Review. J Strength Cond Res. 2005; 19: 453–458
The 9 Best Chest Exercises to Build a Superhero Chest
These are the 9 best chest exercises that will build you the chest of Thor.
Every gym bro’s favorite exercise in the gym is the bench press. The bench press is one of the big three lifts, along with squats and deadlifts, and it’s a good indication of one’s overall strength. And you use your chest muscles to push most of the load in this movement. Although the bench press is a crucial component of building a chiseled chest, there are a variety of chest exercises that will develop and strengthen your chest. Plus, they’ll improve your bench press. The problem is choosing the correct movements and omitting the rest. This article will cover the 9 best chest exercises to build a chest like Thor.
Best Chest Exercises
Barbell Bench Press
Wide Grip Bench Press
Decline Barbell Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Incline Barbell Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Flyes
Dumbbell Bench Press
Cable Crossover
Barbell Bench Press
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The barbell bench press is the most popular chest exercise. It’s part of the “big three”–along with squats and deadlifts–and it’s a good indicator of one’s overall strength. The barbell will let you load up on a lot of weight to vastly improve your chest and strength size compared to other exercises like the dumbbell fly (1). Plus, the shoulder-width grip will balance the weight of the barbell, further enabling you to use heavier weights. You’ll also target your shoulders and triceps as secondary muscles.
Benefits of the Barbell Bench Press
This movement lets you use heavy weight since you’ll be able to use a shoulder-width grip and barbell.
It’s a compound movement.
This exercise targets your triceps and shoulders as well.
How to Do the Barbell Bench Press
You’ll load a barbell with plates on either side. Then, you’ll lie flat on a bench and grasp a barbell shoulder-width apart. Next, lift the barbell and lower it to mid-chest level. Once the barbell touches your chest, press it back up.
Wide Grip Barbell Bench Press
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The wide grip bench press is similar to the barbell bench press with a medium grip (shoulder-width); however, as the name suggests, you’ll grab the barbell with a wider grip. A wider grip will engage more of your chest muscles. You’ll also bring the barbell through less range of motion and increase shoulder stability.
Benefits of the Wide Grip Barbell Bench Press
It’s less range of motion.
This movement recruits more of the muscles in your chest.
The wider grip stabilizes your body more.
How to Do the Wide Grip Barbell Bench Press
Lie on your back on a flat bench and set your eyes to look directly at a fixed barbell. Grab the barbell wider than shoulder-width and lift it off (starting position). Lower the barbell to your mid-chest, then press it back to the starting position.
Decline Barbell Bench Press
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The decline barbell bench press is done with a medium grip but with a bench set at a decline. This decline will target your lower chest muscles. Also, the angle of the bench allows lifters to press more weight than the standard barbell flat bench press. Moreover, the downward slope of this exercise places less strain on your shoulders.
Benefits of the Decline Barbell Bench Press
The decline bench press activates your lower pecs.
You can lift more weight on this movement.
You’ll have decreased shoulder stress.
How to Do the Decline Barbell Bench Press
Secure your feet into the decline bench set up and lie flat back on a bench at a decline. You’ll then grab the barbell with a medium grip and lower the load to your sternum. Next, press the barbell up without locking out your elbows.
Incline Dumbbell Flyes
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The incline dumbbell fly is performed with dumbbells at an incline. The incline will engage your upper pecs, and the biomechanics of the movement will isolate your chest muscles. It’s great for adding additional volume to your pectoralis major (pecs).
Benefits of the Incline Dumbbell Flyes
This exercise isolates your chest muscles.
The dumbbell incline fly targets your upper chest muscles.
How to Do the Incline Dumbbell Flyes
Set a bench to an incline to a 30-45 degree angle. Then, grab dumbbells and sit them on your thighs. Next, lie flat and lay your shoulder blades against the bench with your head resting on the seat, and straighten your arms to put the dumbbells overhead. Keep your feet balanced on the floor and lower your arms in an arc angle until you feel a stretch in your chest, then bring the dumbbells back up to the starting position. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows to reduce tension in your shoulders.
Incline Barbell Bench Press
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The incline barbell bench press is between a standard barbell bench press and a military press. As the name implies, you’ll bench press a barbell at an incline. The heavy load of the barbell at an incline will strengthen your upper pectoralis major (largest chest muscle). Also, the incline will be more taxing for your shoulders.
Benefits of the Incline Barbell Bench Press
It will target more of your upper pecs compared to the flat bench.
You’ll engage your shoulder muscles.
How to Do the Incline Barbell Bench Press
The barbell incline bench press is performed the same way as the flat bench press, except at an incline. First, find a barbell rack with a bench set at a 45-degree angle. Next, unload the weight, bring the barbell down in a controlled manner to your upper chest and then push the load up.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
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The incline dumbbell bench press is performed just as the barbell incline bench press is done, except you’ll replace the barbell with dumbbells. Dumbbells will allow you to correct any muscular imbalances and challenge your stability muscles and core more. Again, as with the incline barbell bench press, this exercise activates your upper chest muscles.
Benefits of the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
The incline dumbbell bench press targets your upper chest muscles.
The dumbbells with increase core activation and activate your stability muscles.
How to Do the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Fix a flat bench to a 45-degree angle and grab two dumbbells (one in each hand). Lie supine on a bench and raise the dumbbells above your upper chest. Next, lower them down below your clavicle until the dumbbells are just above your chest on the outside. Then, press the dumbbells up toward the center of your chest.
Dumbbell Fly
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The dumbbell fly is an accessory chest exercise that increases your chest definition, core strength, and muscular balance. It’s a chest opener movement, so it may reduce back pain and improve your thoracic range of motion. Also, it will activate your biceps (2).
Benefits of the Dumbbell Fly
It opens up your chest to reduce back pain and increase your range of motion.
This exercise adds size to your chest.
How to Do the Dumbbell Fly
Find a flat bench and sit on it while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Then lie down supine and extend your arms, almost parallel to the ground. Engage your chest muscles to bring the dumbbells above the center of your chest in an arc motion. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows.
Dumbbell Bench Press
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The dumbbell bench press is the barbell flat bench press with dumbbells instead of a barbell. So like the barbell bench press, this compound exercise targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. However, dumbbells will activate your stabilizers and core more and require more balance and coordination. Moreover, this 2021 study found that it can produce similar strength gains compared to the barbell bench press (3).
Benefits of the Dumbbell Bench Press
This movement will build mass in your chest, triceps, and shoulders.
It activates your core and stabilizers.
This exercise improves your proprioception.
How to Do the Dumbbell Bench Press
The weight will be heavier with a dumbbell bench press than with dumbbell flyers, so once you sit down on a bench with the dumbbells held in each hand. Place them perpendicularly on your thighs, then kick back one leg at a time while falling back to lay flat on the bench. Next, bring the dumbbells to your side without flaring your elbows. Lastly, press the weight up.
Cable Crossover
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The cable crossover is an exercise that squeezes your chest muscles together. Since it’s done on cables, it keeps tension on your pecs throughout the movement. Plus, it increases your range of motion. And the motion will hit your lower pecs more.
Benefits of the Cable Crossover
The cable crossover targets your lower pecs more than other chest exercises.
It will keep the tension equal through the full range of motion.
You’ll experience a greater range of motion.
How to Do the Cable Crossover
Fix two cable pulleys at the top. Grab the pulley on either side and keep your arms straight, with a slight bend in your elbows. Then, in a downward arc motion, bring the weight down until your hands meet in the middle and you feel your chest squeeze together.
About the Chest Muscle
The chest (pectoralis) muscle comprises four muscles: pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and subclavius. The pectoralis major is the dominant fan-shaped muscle of your chest that stretches from your armpit to your collarbone and connects with your sternum. It’s responsible for moving your shoulder joint and attaching your arms to your body.
Specific movements will target different parts of your chest muscles more than others. For example, the barbell bench press will target your mid-chest the most, the barbell decline bench press will hit your lower chest the most, and the barbell incline bench press emphasizes your upper chest. In addition, a barbell will let you load your chest with more weight, and dumbbells will fix lagging chest muscles and activate your core and stabilizers more.
How to Progress Your Chest
It depends on your fitness level and goal when looking for ways to progress your pecs muscles. A beginner should start slow and keep the volume and intensity low. Advanced lifters can increase the volume and intensity as they continue a chest workout program. In general, it’s essential to increase the weight, volume, or reps to keep your chest growing and getting stronger.
Training Volume and Frequency
Beginners: Beginners can start targeting their chest muscles once a week and performing 4-5 exercises and 2-3 exercises each set.
Intermediate: Intermediate lifters can train their chest up to twice a week, except they should only perform 3-4 exercises and 2-3 sets each chest workout.
Advanced: Advanced lifters can train their chest muscles multiple times a week or have one or two big chest days, e.g., performing four sets of 3 different exercises twice a week. However, it’s still crucial for advanced lifters to be cautious of their recovery since resting is imperative for muscle growth.
Whether you’re doing a full-body workout or a split routine will determine how many chest exercises you do in a day. For example, a beginner may have three separate full-body workouts spread out throughout the week and only perform one chest exercise per workout. In contrast, an advanced lifter may have a particular chest day and perform 4-5 sets of 5-6 movements.
Rules to Follow
Protect Your Shoulders
When performing chest workouts, it’s essential to pay extra caution to protect your shoulders. That’s because your shoulders are involved in pushing/chest movements. Also, your shoulders are one of the most mobile joints in your body. And the more mobile your joints are, the more likely you are to get injured.
Warm-Up
A proper warm-up will increase the weight you’ll be able to lift on your chest exercises and protect your chest, triceps, and shoulders from getting injured. Start with light cardio for five minutes on a cardio machine of choice, e.g., elliptical, treadmill, etc. Then, perform 2-3 warm-up sets of the first exercise of your chest workout with a lighter weight.
Keep Your Elbows From Flaring Out
Flaring out your elbows during chest movements will increase your risk of injuring your shoulders. Therefore, when performing chest presses, such as barbell bench press and dumbbell bench press, keep your elbows in and don’t let them flare too far out. Keep in mind that the more inward they are, the more the exercise targets your triceps and the less it’s targeting your chest.
References
Solstad, T. E., Andersen, V., Shaw, M., Hoel, E. M., Vonheim, A., & Saeterbakken, A. H. (2020). A Comparison of Muscle Activation between Barbell Bench Press and Dumbbell Flyes in Resistance-Trained Males. Journal of sports science & medicine, 19(4), 645–651.
Solstad, T. E., Andersen, V., Shaw, M., Hoel, E. M., Vonheim, A., & Saeterbakken, A. H. (2020). A Comparison of Muscle Activation between Barbell Bench Press and Dumbbell Flyes in Resistance-Trained Males. Journal of sports science & medicine, 19(4), 645–651.
Heinecke, Marc L.1; Mauldin, Matthew L.2; Hunter, Monica L.3; Mann, J. Bryan4; Mayhew, Jerry L.3 Relationship of Barbell and Dumbbell Repetitions With One Repetition Maximum Bench Press in College Football Players, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: February 2021 – Volume 35 – Issue – p S66-S71 doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000003539
How The Back Extension Machine Can Promote Great Growth
This exercise will strengthen your back and is a great way to enhance those much larger lifts.
When you walk through the gym, many machines stand out. Of course, a squat rack, leg press machine, or the pec deck all look familiar. But think about how many machines you pass having never even noticed, or at the very least never thought of trying. The back extension machine is one of those machines often tucked in the corner, away from the glitz and glamor of those big lifts, like the squat and deadlift. It shouldn’t be. While this isolation exercise certainly has its fair share of strain on your low back, when done properly and effectively, the results to your back growth are enormous.
The benefits to having a strong back are not necessarily overlooked, but they certainly don’t take as much priority as they should. A strong back is imperative for preventing injury and assisting in everyday tasks and activities that keep us healthy and active. Along with a strong core, a solid back can provide stability and balance for any lift or exercise and will improve posture so we eliminate those rounded shoulders. The back extension machine works to target your back in a way where technique is key and should be used to properly enhance that back growth.
Let’s take a look at the back extension machine and see what this is all about. From what it is, to muscles worked, and the benefits of this exercise, you may just want to start including this in your routine when you’re done reading.
What Is The Back Extension Machine?
The back extension machine, also known as the Roman chair, is a machine used to target the lower back in an isolation exercise to promote huge growth. Usually performed as a bodyweight exercise, this machine is highly debated and controversial in that poor technique can lead to injury. This is due to the increased strain on your back this exercise causes. As we will see in the How To section, this exercise requires bending at the waist which can put that added tension on your low back. This shouldn’t deter you because with practice and proper form, this machine can work wonders with the back extension exercise.
Muscles Worked During The Back Extension Exercise
This exercise mainly works your lower back muscles, especially your erector spinae. You will find that with an engaged core, your abs will also be worked since they are used as a balancing aid, but also to promote better form. As an isolation exercise, this machine really targets your low back and can offer great benefits to your overall growth and gains.
Benefits Of The Back Extension Machine
Enhances Posture
A strong back is essential in maintaining good posture and working to keep your shoulders upright, as opposed to rounded. Not only will this give you the edge with other exercises, but it will also work to boost your confidence (1). There is something to be said about an elevated posture and you will be a force in the gym with your shoulders set back as you lift those massive weights we all know and love.
Great Low Back Isolation Exercise
Finding a good back exercise can be difficult, although many do exist. Exercises like the squat and deadlift are great for working your back, in particular your low back, but what you’ll find is the back extension is a solid isolation exercise to really challenge you.
Promotes Stabilization & Core Control
By building those larger back muscles, as well as those smaller stabilizers, you start to give yourself the edge with balance and increased stabilization when it comes to a variety of movements. Since this works your core as well, you not only strengthen your abdominal muscles, but work on core control, ensuring the movement on this machine is tight and controlled to not only target muscle growth, but also prevent injury (2).
Protect Against Back Injury
While this exercise does put some added strain on your back, when done properly and with solid technique, it will strengthen the muscles around your spine and work to target those low back muscles so you build up protection against injury. This may seem hypocritical in a way, but this is where the debate for this exercise comes in. Knowing how to do it and how to properly manage the movement, like any exercise, can work to your benefit as opposed to your detriment.
How To Perform This Exercise
Here are the steps for performing the back extension exercise:
Place your feet in the pads and make sure they are secured. Bend over the pad at your waist and find a comfortable position for your lower body. Engage your core and fold your arms over your chest. Slowly bend at the waist over the pad so your lower body is near a 90-degree angle. With a controlled movement, extend back to the starting position and repeat for your desired number of reps.
Important Note: Make sure this movement is controlled and not too fast. You don’t want to put that added strain on your back that causes injury. Also, squeeze your glutes and avoid arching your low back. A tight and engaged core will help with this.
Wrap Up
The back extension machine is a great machine to provide the perfect back isolation exercise. Working to not only enhance back growth, but also prevent injury and promote stabilization and core control, this exercise is one to definitely add to your routine. A large back can add to that stellar physique and give you benefits to enhance all aspects of your everyday life. Ensuring proper form and the right approach to technique is key in avoiding unwanted pain and strain, but once nailed down, this exercise has amazing benefits to improving your training and performance, as well as your physical health. Give the back extension machine a try and really see what it can do for you today.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Harvard Health Publishing Healthbeat (2015). “Why good posture matters”. (source)
Hibbs, Angela E.; Thompson, Kevin G.; French, Duncan; Wrigley, Allan; Spears, Iain (2008). “Optimizing performance by improving core stability and core strength”. (source)
Best Ab Exercises You’re Not Doing
The Most Underrated Ab Exercises You Should Be Doing
Abs are the unsexiest thing ever, said no one ever. Go around and ask people around you if they want abs. Most people will answer in a yes if they’re being honest. Over the years, a ripped set of abs has become the symbol of fitness.
Abs are one of the most desired muscles, and yet only a few people have the classic dashboard abs. Adding a few ab exercises to your arsenal can take your abdominal gains to the next level.
Reverse Crunches
Reverse crunches are the opposite of the orthodox crunches. The reverse crunches work the lower abs and can help you shed the lower belly fat and tone up the muscles. Lie down on an exercise mat with your torso facing the roof.
Place your hands under your hips and place your feet flat on the floor by bending your legs at the knees. Breathe in, lift your legs off the floor and bring your knees to your chest. Return to the starting position while exhaling and contracting your abdomen.
Landmine Twists
The obliques are one of the most overlooked muscles when it comes to ab training. The obliques are the fish gill-like muscles on the side of your abs. A set of abs can’t be deemed complete without a pair of chiseled obliques.
Place one end of a barbell in a corner so that it doesn’t move as you perform the exercise. Grab the other end with both your hands and hold it in front of your chest. While keeping your elbows locked in a position, twist your torso to your right side without turning your lower body. Return to the starting position and repeat on your left side.
Ab Wheel
Ab wheel is one of the most insane ab exercises and will set your abdomen on fire. The key to having a six pack is to have a strong core and the ab wheel can help you achieve a rock-solid midriff.
Get in position by kneeling down on the floor and holding the ab wheel with both your hands. Bend over and place the wheel on the floor so your arms are perpendicular to the floor. While keeping your core tight, roll the wheel forward until your arms and torso are fully stretched out. Return to the starting position and repeat for the recommended reps.
Decline Bench Crunches
Most people treat their ab training like accessory work and thrown in a few sets of crunches at the end of their workouts. If you want a shredded abdomen, you’ll have to prioritize ab training and add new exercises to your arsenal.
Decline bench crunches can prove brutal for your upper abs and can help unwrap the abs from underneath the fat. Sit on a decline bench, take a deep breath and go down until your back touches the bench. Return to the starting position while breathing out and repeat for the recommended reps.
TRX Knee Tucks
If you haven’t tried the TRX knee tucks, you are leaving a lot of ab gains on the table. The TRX helps in improving core stability, strength, and conditioning. We should also acknowledge the fact using the TRX looks completely badass.
Get into a planking position on the floor and place your feet inside the TRX loops. Get the help of a spotter if you’re a beginner. Your body should be in a straight line at the starting position. While keeping your core tight, bring your knees to your chest. Return to the starting position while breathing out and contracting your abs.
Header image courtesy of Envato Elements
How often do you train your abs? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.