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Exercise: Barbell Bench or Chest PressBegin by lying on your back. Your knees should be over your ankles and the same height as your hips and shoulders. Grasp the bar wide enough so that your arms form a right angle when your elbows are at the same level as your shoulders. Thrust the bar upwards until just before locking out completely – this is important, your arms will be straight but do not lock them, as this places undue stress on the elbow joint. When you perform this exercise with dumbbells, your palms should face your feet.
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Illustration: Dumbbell Bench PressPerforming a dumbbell bench press
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Exercise: Dumbbell FlyeGrasp a dumbbell in each hand. Lie on the bench on your back. Your knees should be over your ankles. Keep the chest up and out to align the spine. Start with your arms stretched straight above you, with a slight bend in your elbow. Your wrists should remain over your shoulders or just inside them – do not “touch” at the top (this will take tension off of the chest). Now, slowly spread your arms and maintain a slight bend in your elbow until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Your elbows should be slightly below your shoulders. From this position, contract your chest muscles and squeeze to bring your arms back up and complete the rep. Variations include incline and decline. For these, you will move the weight in a plane perpendicular to your body (so, for incline, your arms will be slightly in front of you, and for decline, your arms will be slightly over your head).
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Exercise: One-armed Dumbbell RowGrasp a dumbbell in one hand. Position yourself on a bench so that the same leg as the arm holding the dumbbell is on the bench. Your other leg will be slightly bent, and your opposite hand will grip the bench for support. Keep your chest up and out to align your spine, and look straight ahead. You should maintain lordosis throughout this exercise. Focusing on your back, pull the dumbbell up. Keep your elbows tight by your side. Raise the dumbbell as far as it will comfortably go, then return it to the start position. You should not let your arm “hang” at the end, but maintain a slight bend to keep constant tension on your back muscles.
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Exercise: Lying Hamstring CurlLie on your stomach on the bench. Place your knees on the pads and hook your ankles underneath the machine. Keep your chest up and out, and either look down or straight ahead. Your hips and shoulders should remain in-line throughout this exercise – do not raise your rear or hips from the bench (if you must, you are using a weight that is too heavy). Point your toes and keep them pointed. Contract your hamstrings and curl the weight up. Start with your ankles slightly above your knees; do not return to a straight-leg position until you are through with the exercise (this will keep tension on your hamstrings). Curl up as far as you can go (many people can touch their lower backs at the top of the curl movement), then return to the start position with your ankles above the level of your knees.
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Exercise: Seated Leg ExtensionSit in the leg extension machine. Adjust the bench so that your knees are in line with the pivot on the extension, and the pads fit comfortably over the tops of your feet. Keep your chest up and out and look straight ahead. Flex your quadriceps and bring your legs forward so that your ankles are slightly in front of your knees. This is the start position – you should not go any lower than this until you are done with the exercise! Now, extend your leg so that it is straight. Unless you have any type of condition with your knee joint, you may lock at the top, but keeping your legs slightly unlocked will increase tension and the effectiveness of the exercise. Return to the start position to complete the rep.
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Control Drill: Scapular RetractionScapular Retractions – grasp light dumbbells (5 pounds) in both arms. Lie face down on a bench. Bring your arms up as far as they will go, in a rowing motion (bending at the shoulder and elbow). Now, keep this “upper” position, and focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold the squeeze for a full second then relax without lowering the arms. Repeat this ten or more times.
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