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  Is your chest lagging in a certain area? Here’s a list of exercises to help fill in that area of your chest… Incline Bench or Dumbbell Press: (Upper Pectorals) Bench press at an angle of 30-45 degrees above the horizontal plain. Grip should be slightly wider than that of a regular bench press. Bar or dumbbells should touch the top of the chest before going back up. Decline Bench or Dumbbell Press: (Lower Pectorals) Bench press at an angle of 30-45 degrees below the horizontal plain. Bar or dumbbell should touch right below the chest. Dips: (Lower Pectorals) Parallel dip bars should be grasped firmly with palms facing down. Push body up until arms are straight next to the body. Dips can be done hanging or by machine depending on desired difficulty. Machines are used for assisted dips to help those who are not able to dip-press their own wait. Flat-bench Dumbbell Flies: (Outer Pectorals) Holding a dumbbell in each hand vertically, there should be a slight bend at the elbows. Each d...

Finding time to exercise can be challenging, and the most important thing is to squeeze in any amount of it whenever you can. But if you want to optimize your workouts to get the widest range of benefits, you might want to try exercising in the morning. I remember a time when I was training with this very odd body builder who would only train at 5:00 A.M. in the morning. I would get up around 4:00, have a quick breakfast and head out to the gym for 4:45 A.M. For some reason, I simply could not get into the training, no matter how hard I tried. I was flat, weak, and unmotivated. Afterwards, all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. However, I had no choice but to get myself together and head off to work. Those were a couple of hard months. I'd show up to work like a complete zombie. After about my second month of this, I couldn't do it anymore. I was getting weaker. I had to tell my buddy that I couldn't do it. I soon started training at my regular time of 6:0...

  Stretching the tape at an incredible 58″, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chest had it all: size, shape, balance and definition. When he hit a side chest pose, his pecs arched so high that a glass of water could rest atop them. The chest is made up of the pectoral muscles. The pectoral muscles are shaped like a fan and spread out to cover the rib cage like the plates of an armor. The pectorals are made up of the:     Clavicular, i.e. the upper portion     Sternal, i.e. the lower portion The basic function of the pectorals involves pulling the arm and shoulder across the front of the body. The factors that contribute to the appearance of a fully developed chest are: An expansive rib cage Thick pectoral development Development of inside, outside, upper, and lower areas Prominent striations when flexing A clear separation between lower and upper portions A square look which is achieved by proper upper pectoral development. Lack of upper pec development lead...

Confused about what to eat before hitting the gym? Experts tell Lisa Antao the ideal foods We live in an age where people take working out at the gym very seriously but in numerous cases, they head to their gym on an empty stomach either because they have succumbed to the notion that one shouldn’t eat before a workout or simply because they don’t know what to eat. But this doesn’t mean that you chow down heartily before your workout either. The key is to follow a middle path i.e. eating right at the right time. Fitness expert Namrata Purohit explains, “Exercising with a full stomach is not ideal therefore eating at the right time is important. Even an empty stomach can distract a person during workout. The major source of fuel for the body is carbohydrate therefore it is ideal to have something rich in carbohydrates. Therefore, one must have easily digestible carbohydrates that can help prevent the hunger during exercise and give you energy.” Here’s a list of foods that are considered...

Has it been very long since you hit the gym? Have you no time for yourself or to exercise for a few hours every day in your busy routine? How long has it been since you went out for a walk or a jog early in the morning? How long has it been since you stretched your muscles enough and realized the need for exercise in your day-to-day activities? If you can’t recollect when was the last time you engaged in physical activity, this article is for you! A majority of us don’t get any exercise every day mostly due to the time constraints in our busy, modern lives. We wake up in the tabata intensity interval training for weight lossmorning hurriedly to the sound of our alarms, have a quick shower, and eat a quick breakfast unmindful of the need to eat peacefully for the body to digest any food. We rush to college or our work places, again in a hurry, and spend our day in highly-stressful environments. We get back late from work, sit in front of the television watching soaps or movies till it ...

While I spend most of my time educating people about sustainable approaches to getting a lean, strong, healthy physique, I do have an interest in the extreme of body transformation, or how to get ripped. There is a massive amount of confusion about how to get a ripped physique. It’s not about a specific exercise program, or diet as many would have you believe, and it’s not magic. I wanted to create this guide for you as an honest, no B.S. resource so you can understand the key elements to help you achieve a ripped, cut physique. How Ripped is Ripped? The term ripped is used to describe a very low body fat level relative to one’s bodyweight, which creates an appearance of clearly visible striations of muscle and separation between muscles. What is the body fat level you need to get ripped? In my opinion, anything under 7% body fat for a man is ripped. For more information on body fat percentages, check out Body Fat Percentage Chart: How Lean Should You Be? Are You Sure You Want to Ge...

If there’s one thing that draws people to weightlifting and maybe even bodybuilding as a whole – it’s getting bigger muscles to show off. Biceps are one of the top muscles that people want to have bulging and flexing at all times. It’s one of the main muscles that people can always see – so when you catch someone checking them out, you can wink and give a little nod of satisfaction. To help you get those massive biceps that you crave or maybe just to help you make them a little bigger than they already are – here is our list of the top five exercises to boost bicep mass. Preacher Curls Preacher curls are a fantastic exercise to help boost the building of muscle mass in your biceps. This exercise isolates your biceps allowing for full range of motion without the additional involvement of your shoulder muscles – thus maximizing work done to your biceps. Simply sit on a preacher bench and rest the back of your arms on the pad. Adjust the seat so that your armpits are in line with the t...

OK, that might be a bit of a stretch - but there's an argument to be made that your forearms are the most underrated muscle group. They are functional but also look the part too, making their development a vital part of any training programme. Take Popeye, for instance. The guy was jacked, make no bones about that - but he was all forearms and no bicep. He claimed to build them from just eating spinach, but we know there is probably more to it than that. So which exercises should feature in your forearm-building programme? Here is the pick of the bunch: Workout for Building Big Forearms 1. Pull-Ups (and dead hang pull-ups) – 3 Sets 15-12-10 Reps Most commonly billed as a back exercise, pull-ups work a whole host of muscle groups in addition to your lats. Regularly performing pull-ups will also build your biceps and forearms. Where your forearm comes into play is through grip strength. Failure on a pull-up is usually due to grip, rather than a specific muscle issue. Strong forearms...

Strength has long been a point of comparison with others and a way of rating our physical prowess in the gym. Remember: new exercise should always be undertaken with professional help, and you should consult a doctor before starting if you have any pre-existing medical issues. With the advent of Sports Science and the continued research that is being done we now know more about how to gain muscle strength fast than we have ever done in the past. Ironically there is very little that has changed except the most important discovery, which was the proof that high intensity will get faster results than normal training. We know that training for strength is the fastest way to build muscle or lose fat as well any other physical permanence like running faster or hitting harder. If strength is your primary objective then you need to start with the basics which are the big four compound movements that have proven themselves to work. The ‘big four’ are the squats, deadlift, bench-press and sho...

How to increase your deadlift without deadlifting If you are a weight trainer who is training with weights because you want to increase the amount of muscle that you carry then you will know that the only way you are going to get more muscle is to lift heavier weights. It might sound very obvious and very reasonable to assume the only way to get stronger is by lifting heavier weight with the same movements. This might apply to all other movements but deadlift is an exception to this rule. There are two components to training the deadlift efficiently and the reason why you train using the deadlift itself. The first is strength and the second is power. It all started back in 1968 when a strongman called Bill Starr smashed the world deadlift record without ever having done a deadlift before, which obviously caused havoc amongst the powerlifting community in those days. Bill explained that doing deadlift puts too much strain on your lower back. He said that heavy deadlifts with 500-600 ...

Unless you’re preparing for (or running) a race, it’s a question you might have found yourself asking, most likely during moments when you’re pounding away on a treadmill and thinking of the moment when your run will be over. After all, you’re probably not wondering if cardio is “good” for you. Any type of exercise (such as cardio) is good for your heart, your mind, and for fighting the aging process. But, you've got a goal in mind. You want to drop pounds, and you want to make sure that with your limited time you're going to see results. The quick answer: yes, cardio will help you lose fat. But, that doesn’t mean it’s the right (or most efficient) option for you. This routine is designed for beginner who wish to burn fat and improve their cardiovascular health. This is an 8 week plan, very realistic and easy. Before I get into the routine I would like to familiarize you with a scale of measurement known as RPE (rate of perceived exertion), this is a scale of exertion from 1...

Sometimes you forget things: Where the remote is. Where you left your keys. Grandma’s birthday. (Put that one in your calendar already). At the gym, it’s often those pesky back exercises. While dudes do not neglect their backs as often as they do their legs—for shame—a well-developed less-visible side of the torso will go a long way towards making you look awesome in a tank top. Aesthetic benefits aside, a strong back also helps you sit straighter, stand taller, and perform better everywhere from the gym to, yes, the bedroom. “Sitting at a desk all day forces the frontal body to tighten and shorten while the posterior chain becomes lengthened and weak,” says Alex Silver-Fagan, a master trainer at Nike. “When it comes to posture, having strong, engaged back muscles will be your savior.” Since best back exercises expect you to utilize your arms for pulls and lines to actuate the muscles, working your back is additionally incredible for focusing on your arm muscles. Use theses best bac...

We all know that exercise is important in our daily lives, but we may not know why or what exercise can do for us. It’s important to remember that we have evolved from nomadic ancestors who spent all their time moving around in search of food and shelter, travelling large distances on a daily basis. Our bodies are designed and have evolved to be regularly active. In the same way that a sports car is designed to go fast, we are designed to move. If the sports car is taken out once a week for a 3 mile round trip through a town centre then it would probably develop engine problems fairly quickly. Over time people too develop problems if they sit down all day at a desk or in front of the TV and minimise the amount of exercise they do. One of the main reasons that people opt to do a form of exercise is in order to lose weight and exercise is one of the most effective ways to do this. If you’re BMI (Body Mass Index) is between 25 and 29 you are classed as overweight. If your BMI is above ...

Overhead presses are generally seen as the best exercise for the shoulders, but they depend on your triceps, too. As you get stronger, it can be harder to lock out your elbows to finish the movement, and you may not be able to give the delts the stimulation they need to keep growing. The solution: Superset presses with upright rows. Superset 1 Dumbbell Overhead Press Hold dumbbells at shoulder level and stand with a straight back and staggered legs. Keeping your core tight, press the weights straight overhead, then lower. Barbell  Upright Row Hold a barbell in front of your thighs with hands just outside shoulder width. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and row the bar upward until your elbows are bent 90 degrees. Keep your elbows in line with your wrists at the top. Recommended Rep Range: 8-12 reps for 3-4 sets Superset 2 Seated Shoulder Press Set on a bench with it angled 90 degrees. Hold a pair of dumbbells, one in each hand. Raise the weights to either side of your head,...