Strength Training: Incline Leg Press

Hello! Welcome back to my blog, and sadly, my final post. I hope everyone's day is going well and hopefully you are enjoying your Sunday. Today in this post, I will be informing you on how to properly use the incline leg press. Personally, I love to use the leg press machine because it helps strengthen my legs for basketball, and strong legs are critical to playing defense. This machine is fantastic for strengthening the quadriceps, gluteal muscles, and hamstrings.

Having strong legs is very important in a multitude of sports and activities. So, individuals who seek to strengthen their leg muscles, this exercise is for you. To complete this workout follow these steps. First, determine how much weight you want to lift. However, start light and slowly increase to heavier weights because you do not want it to be to heavy to the point where you can't complete reps properly (Delavier 135). Next, lower your body into the seat of the machine and sit comfortably with your back properly against the backrest of the machine. Keep your feet slightly apart on the platform of the machine. Your legs should be straight and not bent. Then, inhale, release the safety bars and bend the knees completely so your thighs are almost touching your chest. After that, return to the initial position exhaling at the end of the repetition. I recommend to complete 3 sets of 15 reps and keep in mind that more reps of a lighter weight is more beneficial than doing more reps of a heavier weight.



The way in which you position your feet on the foot plate determines what muscles you are working out. You can switch the location of your feet on the foot plate to target different muscles. There are a total of five different foot positions that I will be going over. The first foot position is with your feet high on the foot plate. This position targets the gluteal muscles and the hamstrings. Another way, you can place you feet is low on the foot plate. Placing your feet low on the foot plate works your quadriceps. You can place your feet far apart to strengthen your adductors. Place only your toes on the foot plate to strengthen your calf muscles. Finally, put your feet close together on the platform to strengthen your quadriceps.

Utilizing the incline leg press machine is good for people who have endured back injuries. Delavier writes "People with back pain who are unable to perform squats can do this exercise. However, they must never lift their back off the back pad" (Delavier 135). Using the incline leg press machine is a excellent replacement to squats if you suffer from back pain. 

When you are in the gym exercising you always have to keep your safety in mind. Always be cautious and safe. Some tips and reminders that you should remember while using the incline leg press are, when you are done with a set always remember to put the safety bars back on. Also, don't add to much weight because increased weight raises the chance of getting injured or overworking a muscle. Finally, make sure to always have proper foot position because you don't want to lose your footing and have the foot plate come down on you. However, if this does happen there are bars that will stop the weights from crushing you. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate it a lot! This has been a fun and great experience, and I am sad that it has to come to a end. However, I hope the workouts I have written about help you reach individual fitness goals and build strong muscles. As you already know, I enjoy doing this exercise to strengthen my legs for basketball. So, my question for you is, what exercises do you like to do that help you perform the sports or activities you love? 

Works Cited 

Delavier, FreÌdeÌric. Strength Training Anatomy . Third ed., Human Kinetics, 2010.

Strength Training: Low-Pulley Front Raises

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog.  I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy during this rainy weather. Today, in this post I will be educating you on how to perform low-pulley front raises. This workout works many muscles which are both the middle and anterior deltoids and the pectorals.

The pectorals or, also known as pecs, are the major muscles that make up your chest. Low-pulley front raises strengthen the pectorals along with the deltoids and also make the muscles more toned and firm when flexed. In order to do this exercise follow the following steps. First, stand shoulder width apart with your arms by your side holding the dumbbells with a semipronated grip. A semipronated grip is the same grip you use to hold a hammer. To grasp the dumbbells in a semipronated way you lay the dumbbell in the palm of your hands and then form a fist around the dumbbell (Delavier 47). Next, inhale and slowly raise the arm forward up to eye level so your arm is parallel to the ground. After that, exhale and slowly lower the dumbbell to the starting position. I would recommend to do 10 reps each arm when you begin this workout and you can slowly increase until you are completing 15 reps each arm.

Low-pulley raises are great to improve the strength of your deltoids. Delavier writes "This exercise is excellent for people who have difficultly developing the anterior deltoid. The semipronated grip engages the humerus in external rotation, which at the beginning of the movement stretches the anterior fibers of the deltiod, allowing you to feel them working" (Delavier 47). Which means that this exercise improves the deltiod muscles. Also, the way in which you grip the dumbbells stretches the anterior fibers of the deltoid making the burn you feel from the workout more dramatic and makes you aware that you are performing the exercise properly.

After performing this workout, I learned some tips that may be helpful. When doing this workout it is important to extend your arms but don't over extend them. You want to still be able to bend your elbow. Do not lock your elbow because it can cause pain after completion of the exercise which is a sign of overuse. Another, helpful tip is make sure to contract your abdominal muscles because you want to maintain good posture to avoid back pain. Finally, a variation of this exercise is wearing a harness. Wearing a harness helps keep your abdominal muslces contracted to prevent back injury.

Ultimately, I enjoyed doing this workout for the most part. I liked the burn I felt due to the semipronated grip because it truly shows you are gaining something from this workout and strengthening your muscles. However, I did have some elbow pain after completing this exercise from overextending and locking my elbow. But, with more experience and practice this will no longer be a problem for me and the exercise will be truly enjoyable and beneficial. Thank you for reading yet another one of my blog posts. I hope you can use this exercise during your next trip to the gym. I am appreciative of your support and interest in my writing. Now that you know I injured myself from improper technique, have you ever suffered a injury from performing a exercise improperly?

Works Cited
Delavier, FreÌdeÌric. Strength Training Anatomy . Third ed., Human Kinetics, 2010.

Strength Training: Side-Lying Lateral Raises

Hello everyone! With 2018 approaching quickly many of you have probably developed a New Year's resolution. Resolutions can be anything, but many people choose to focus on increasing their physique. If this is your resolution I can help you! Today, I will be informing you how to correctly execute the side-lying lateral raises exercise, which helps develop the deltoids. 

The deltoid is the main muscle located within your shoulder. This workout will strengthen and will also assist with making the muscle more toned. To do this workout, you must first lie on one side on the floor or a bench, if you own one, and clench the dumbbell with an overhand grip. Remember to prop yourself up off the ground with your elbow parallel to the ground. Next, while inhaling, raise your arm to a vertical position. After that, exhale and lower the dumbbell back to your side ending the rep. Doing 10 to 12 reps is recommended, anything more puts you at risk for injury and can possibly strain your muscles.

                                                              

Helpful pointers and tips: Support your back and avoid a back injury by tightening the abdominal muscles so your back will be supported. Also, having a weight lifting bench is very helpful because it prevents your elbow from becoming sore. Additionally, having a bench allows your workout to be more beneficial because you do not have to worry about balancing. However, doing this workout without a bench strengthens your core and your abdominal muscles. Finally, changing your dumbbell position from either beginning in front of the thigh or behind the thigh helps with working out different areas of the deltoid. Delavier writes "Varying the initial position (dumbbell in front of or behind the thigh) allows you to work all the deltoid fibers" (Delavier 45). This means that switching up your starting dumbbell position will help you strengthen all the deltoid fibers because there are three deltoid fibers in all which are the anterior deltoid, deltoid multipennate or middle deltoid, and the posterior deltoid. So by altering the dumbbell starting location you can work all three of these deltoid fibers.

In front of thigh dumbbell starting position.

Behind thigh dumbbell starting position.

Thank you for reading my blog I appreciate the time you spend reading my posts! I hope this exercise that I have showed you today will assist you in strengthening your deltoids. Hopefully, this workout can help you reach the physical goals that you have set for yourself. Personally, I prefer to do this workout without the bench because it helps strengthen my core muscles along with my deltoids,but what method do you guys prefer?

Works Cited
Delavier, FreÌdeÌric. Strength Training Anatomy . Third ed., Human Kinetics, 2010.

Strength Training: How to Properly Stretch Before Arm Workouts

Hello, welcome back to my blog! I hope all of you had a fantastic time celebrating this holiday season. Today, I will be writing about stretching and how to properly stretch before working out. There are various stretches you perform to warm up certain muscles. While some stretches work better for some then others, today I will be focusing on my personal favorite arm stretches.

Arms are frequently used in strength training, so they are very important to stretch. The first arm stretch is stretching your triceps muscles. In order to perform this stretch you need to stand shoulder width apart with your back straight. Raise one arm vertically beside your head and bend your arm at the elbow and touch the top of your back with our hand. Next, with the other hand grab the elbow and slowly pull it behind your head and stop when you feel a good stretch of the muscles. However,  remember not to pull to hard to where pain is felt because this can lead to injuries. This stretches multiple muscles which are the teres major, the triceps brachii, and the latissimus dorsi and is important in preventing tricep injury. Delavier writes, "These stretching exercises for the triceps help avoid tears, which may occur with heavy lifting on the triceps, but also when executing heavy pullovers or heavy vertical pulls" (Delavier 31). This shows that performing this stretch is very important when trying to avoid tricep injures while lifting heavy weights. 

 Another stretch is one that stretches the deltoids, trapezius, and neck. While stretching the deltoids and trapezius is important in preparation for arm workouts, stretching the neck is extremely important in preparing to do ab workouts. Stretching the neck is essential because some individuals depend on the strength of their neck in order to complete workouts such as sit-ups. This is very bad and can strain your neck, but if you stretch your neck before performing abdomen workouts, neck injuries can be prevented. To do this workout stand with your legs slightly apart and your back straight. Next, place one arm behind your back and grasp the wrist with your opposite hand. Slowly pull the arm down towards the outside of your body  to feel the stretch in your deltoid and trapezius. While pulling the arm that is being stretched bend your neck to the side opposite of the shoulder being stretched. Make sure to stop when you feel a stretch in your neck that does not include pain.

To conclude, there are multiple way to warm-up and stretch your arms before a workout but these are just a few ways you can do so. I enjoy performing these stretches before a workout and also before I play basketball. I believe they are a great way to stretch the muscles in the arm and to prepare me for a workout. Since I shared my favorite arm stretches, what are some of your favorite ways to warm up your muscles before working out?


Works Cited
Delavier, FreÌdeÌric. Strength Training Anatomy . Third ed., Human Kinetics, 2010.

Strength Training: Hammer Curls

Weight lifting and strength training can provide many benefits such as improve physical health, increase strength, enhance athletic performance, and can even help individuals mentally by improving self confidence. However, if bad techniques are practiced injuries can be endured. Within these blogs I will provide pointers to ensure correct techniques and will also share my experiences  performing these exercises.

The book I chose to use to complete this project is Strength Training Anatomy Third Edition by: Frèdèric Delavier. This book gives exercises that you can perform while at the gym or in your own home. Along with the exercises the book also provides diagrams of what muscles the specific exercise is strengthening and includes instruction on how to perform the exercise properly. While reading this book I noticed that I was practicing poor technique and form while weightlifting particularly while I was doing hammer curls. Throughout this blog post I will inform you how to correctly do hammer curls and how to practice proper form to avoid injury.

To begin start with one dumbbell in each hand and with your feet shoulder width apart. For beginners I recommend to use 15 pound dumbbells or less so you can master proper procedure before moving on to heavier weights. Inhale and lift the dumbbell so it is parallel with your shoulder. After that, slowly release the dumbbell to your side and remember to exhale. Breathing during exercise is key because your muscles need oxygen.

According to the author "This is the best exercise for developing the brachioradialis. It also develops the biceps brachii, brachialis, and, to a lesser degree, the extensor carpi radialis brevis and longus" (Delavier 9). So, this workout is very beneficial because it strengthens multiple muscles in     your arms.

Proper angle to begin hammer curl. 

While I was performing this exercise I learned several things about improper technique and how to prepare yourself for this work out. The first thing I learned is to always keep your elbow at a 90 degree angle as you raise the dumbbell up towards your shoulder (Delavier 8). If you do not keep a 90 degree angle this can lead to elbow injuries because without the proper angle you are putting too much stress on your elbow.

Another thing I learned during this exercise is it is essential to keep a good posture and to tighten your abdominal muscles while doing this exercise. This is extremely important because if you don't you may injure your back from leaning back and using motion to lift the dumbbells.

Finally, I learned that wearing shoes is also very important even if you are exercise in your home. If you are worried about damaging your carpets I recommend that you buy a exercise mat so you can preserve your clean carpets and keep your parents happy.

Overall, I enjoyed performing this exercise because it is beneficial for improving strength and helps build arm muscle. Since dumbbell curls and hammer curls work the same muscles, which exercise of the two do you prefer to perform?

Works Cited
Delavier, Frédéric. Strength Training Anatomy . Third ed., Human Kinetics, 2010.