Exercise of the Week: the Bench Press

Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Exercise

If there's any one handle that everyone seems to applicability as a show of pure energy and power, it is certainly the bench press. "How still ya' bench?" is a popular question thrown approximately weight rooms, and the answers are nearly always inflated so as to match the ego of the responder. But, throwing encircling as all the more weight as imaginable may not exactly be the culminating course of action to descry and feel results from this exercise. That's why I am highlighting the proper form, execution and intent muscles of this gym workout staple.

The bench press targets the development of the pectoral muscles (aka the chest muscles), but further calls upon assist from your triceps (located on the back of your arms) and deltoids (aka shoulders). To properly do this exercise, you headmost hold to corker apartment lodgings on your back on a bench (or sturdy alternative -- bethink my substitute bench idea with milk crates and a long, thick plank of wood?). You will then place an equidistant grip on the bar with your hands, lifting it off the cooperate rack. Once you annex the bar securely above your sternum and with your arms fully extended, you can promptly begin. Slowly lower the bar until it touches the chest or stops alone an inch from the chest (this is up to you), but be definite to not let the weight "bounce" off of you. Once you've reached the backside of the movement, dominion for one second and then press the weight back up to the starting position. Tip: when you hoist the bar, be certain to exhale the air you took in while you were lowering it. Also, when you press the weight upward, try to avoid completely locking your elbows to comprehensive extension. This will effect that there is fixed impulse and besides cooperation avoid elbow injury). Keep at this motion for the desired number of repetitions and sets.

There are assorted variations to the bench press, including the incline bench press, the decline bench press, the dumbell bench press, etc. Also, you can fling mixing up the dimensions of reps you do from one set to the other, or much the amount of weight you place on the bar. Bear in conception that if your purpose is magnitude and strength, fewer reps/longer rest in between sets/fewer sets/heavier weight is the combination you desire to birr with. Whether muscle tone and a bit of cardiovascular development are your desired results, I would stick with a combination of more reps/shorter rest in between sets/more sets/lighter weight.

For a good video demonstration of the bench press, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness learned before starting a physical fitness program.

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