Your chest is a large muscle muscle group the more scientific term is the pectoral muscles. The funny thing is that for most people the chest is undeveloped because we really don’t use it as much as a arm muscle or leg muscle.
The best chest exercises are Bench Presses and Flyes.
There are also different ways to hit the chest muscles using angles. Think about bench presses as an example. If you change the angle of the bench so that it is higher at the end then it will put more tension on the upper pecs, flat bench presses are great for hitting the entire pectoral muscle. If you can find a decline bench then bench presses on this will really hit the bottom part of your chest. You will find declines are easier to do heavier weights with and this is because there is just more muscle there. Read the rest of this entry »
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I have been meaning to start off a series of articles on the best exercises for each bodypart and a bit of a write up on each muscle group but I just found a great page with little animations of 70 core exercises
As you are probably aware the core of your body, your midsection has a lot of muscles. You use core muscles for bending over, getting up, standing, walking leaning to either side. an a host of other ways as well.
So check out the exercises. They may help a bit with weight loss, they will definitley help your posture and how large you look and these exercises are critical for getting you in better physical condition
If you are bored of your exercise routine or are too busy to spend long hours in your local gym, or if you are simply terrified at the very mention of exercises, then this article is for you. In this article I will tell about some simple workouts that won’t take much of your time and yet will help you lose a lot of weight very quickly!
According to this exercise plan, you will need to do about two exercises. The first one requires you to spend just five minutes per day, which I hope is not too much for you. The second one requires you to spend twenty minutes per day for three or four weeks which again, I hope, is manageable. Okay, let me now get down to the facts straight.
Like they say, age gracefully. No matter how old you are, would you like to have wrinkles, age spots, uneven and sagging skin? Definitely not! Everyone wants to hide their age as much as possible, and celebrities are more ‘at fault’ in this regard than us. Look at Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz-do they really look their age?
Time was when anti-aging tools were the prerogative of the celebrities. Not so any more! Today anyone can use them! In fact, I will tell you of a simple way to look more beautiful and hide your age.
You already know that exercises can help you lose weight and become fit. However, do you know that there are also special types of ‘facial exercises’, which would help you fight against aging? If you do these facial exercises regularly, you will look several years younger! In this article I will tell you about them.
1. Neck exercise: Tilt your neck backwards and then in a roundabout way. This is a great exercise for quickly shedding the extra pounds from your face; plus your blood circulation would also improve with this exercise. Make sure you do not move your neck in a jerky way or in any awkward position as it can cause neck injuries.
2. Jaw exercise: Open and drop your jaw, then open and close your mouth. Do this at least 20-25 times. This is yet another way to get rid of facial fat, particularly the fat around your chin and neck! For best results, jaw exercises should be done early in the morning.
3. Smiling: Not the half-heated smiles; I mean, smiling with a wide open mouth - smiling like that can help you get rid of facial fat.
4. Other things: While these facial exercises can work on their own, there are other things you need to take care of. For example, you need to watch your diet! If you can survive only on juices then there is nothing like that! Fruit juices are good for your health since many of them are rich in vitamins! A strict fruit-juice diet would help you achieve a glowing skin quite fast.
If you cannot survive on a juice-only diet then you can eat vegetables and fruits. If possible, eat fruits and vegetables in their raw forms; if not, you can boil them! Junk foods are obviously a strict no-no. Sugar and salt intake should obviously be reduced and regulated.
Looking young is not all that hard! You don’t need to buy the latest and greatest cosmetics or go under the knife in order to look beautiful! Just follow the four simple tips I outlined above and relive your youth.
Motor fitness is a more inclusive term than physical fitness.
Physical fitness combines strength, stamina, and cardiovascular reserve. Motor fitness includes these and adds agility, balance, “explosive” power, and speed. This concept has more limited value for the sportsman but approaches an even higher level of general fitness. Because more parameters are measured, these tests tend to become increasingly complex and complicated.
Perhaps the simplest of these is the JCR Test. This is intended to assess basic motor skills such as jumping, chinning, running, and dodging which presumably require power, stamina, speed, and agility.
The J of JCR stands for the vertical jump. This is performed by having the subject stand erect, reaching as high as he can without standing on tiptoes, and making a mark
the wall.
Next, he squats down and then leaps as high as he can—making another mark on the wall. The distance between the two chalk marks is recorded.
The C is for chinning. With palms facing forward, the subject grasps a bar above his head. He then chins himself as many times as possible, making sure that his elbows are straight before each chin. Wiggling, kicking, and jerking are not allowed.
Running accounts for the R in JCR. This is a hundred-yard shuttle run. The subject runs a ten-yard course ten times—back and forth between two walls ten yards apart. His time is then measured in seconds.
In all types of fitness measurements, experts generally deplore self-testing. Unintentionally the subject may count partial movements as complete. Or the ability to time oneself may be askew. However, these objections do not apply to sportsmen provided that they always perform the test in the same manner, under the same conditions, and are measuring for comparison—improvement or deterioration. The sportsman competes only against himself in fitness tests; he is not concerned with what other individuals or other groups can or cannot do. He is checking his own progress.
Position: A supine position on the bench or on the floor with a low box or stool under the shoulders. The arms are held with locked elbows straight over the chest and a dumbbell is grasped in each hand.
Action: Keeping both elbows locked, the weights are lowered directly to the sides until the hands or weights floor. They are then brought back to the starting position over the chest, keeping the elbows locked during the entire movement.
Breathing: In this exercise, as in the Straight Arm Pull Over, the breathing is very important. As the arms are lowered, the lungs must be filled with air, and the air must be expelled as the arms are raised to the starting position.
Progression: This movement should be started with 10 counts and 2 counts added each week until 20 have been performed, then 2½ lbs. should be added to each dumbbell and the movement begun again at 10 counts.
Goal: Girls and women should work up to a resistance of 10 lbs. in each hand. Boys and men should work up to a resistance of 20 lbs. in each hand.
Results: The results from this exercise are the same as from the Straight Arm Pull Over but in addition has a more direct effect upon the development of the muscles on the front of the chest (pectoralis major and minor) .
Comments: In this exercise, also, it is better not to use too much weight on the dumbbells, but to concentrate on the breathing and the stretching of the chest. Few children will be able to use over 10 lbs. in each hand until they are over fourteen years of age.
Note: Instead of starting with both arms over the chest, have only the arm on the low side over the chest. The other arm is kept straight out to the side holding to a dumbbell or other object on the floor. We then lower out to the side and down to the floor the arm over the chest. Breathe in as it goes down and out as it is raised. The movement is the same as with both arms except that one arm (the one on the high side of the chest) is kept extended to the side with the hand or dumbbell kept on the floor. The other arm (the one on the low side) is raised and lowered the required number of counts. In this manner the lower side will be developed and raised to balance the higher side.
These three exercises, the Straight Arm Pull Over, the Lateral Raise on Bench or Stool, and the Alternate Dumbbell Pull Over will bring about a fine development of the rib box.
All back and leg exercises aid in chest development by placing a demand on the muscles of inspiration to meet the great need for oxygen in the tissues. This movement, like the two before it, should follow a back or leg exercise in a program for best results.
Position: A standing position with the feet from 12 to 18 inches apart, the toes pointing outwards slightly and the barbell held on the shoulders in back of the neck.
Action: From this position, the knees are bent until the body is lowered to a full squat position, but the heels are not permitted to leave the floor. The erect position is then regained by the effort of the hips and legs.
To keep the heels down, it is necessary to lean slightly forward as the knees are bent. If the heel cords are short or if the ankles are stiff it will be necessary to bend very far forward. This extreme position necessary to keep the heels on the floor and reach a good knee bend position places much effort on the lower back rather than on the hips and legs where it should be.
Usually with practice and attention to resisting the accented forward inclination of the trunk, the heel cords will stretch enough to permit good position. In the low position, the back will not be perpendicular to the floor, but will be inclined forward to some extent. The low back should be kept flat, not rounded. Some individuals can go into a very low knee bend and in doing so, will round the lower back considerably. Such a person should go only as far down as he can and still keep the lower back flat. Many can keep the lower back flat in a quite low position and others will be able to keep the back in good position only by going just low enough for the top of the thighs to be parallel to the floor. In either case, the exerciser should not go so low that the low back is rounded and is subjected to much of the effort. During the entire movement the back should be kept as flat and straight as possible.
In some cases it will be found that it is not possible to keep the heels on the floor and do an adequate knee bend. When we find this condition, the heels should be blocked up with a couple of books, a piece of board such as a 2 x 4, a couple of the plates, or shoes with heels. As soon as the heels are raised, there is no need for so much stretch in the heel cords and it is easy to keep good position. Even though it be necessary to start the motion with the heels blocked up, practice will give more flexibility to the ankles and the motion can be performed later without the heel supports.
Breathing: Exhale as the knees are bent and the body is lowered into the full squat position and inhale as the erect position is regained.
Starting Resistance: Most women will find 15 lbs. on the shoulders adequate and most men can begin with 35 lbs. on the shoulders.
Progression: Begin the movement with 10 counts, adding 2 counts each week until 20 have been performed for three periods, then add 5 lbs. to the bar and begin again at 10 counts.
Goal: Girls and women should work up to a resistance of 40 to 50 lbs. on the shoulders.
Boys and men should work up to 100 lbs. or more on the shoulders for 20 counts.
Results: This is a simple direct exercise for the large muscles of the hips and legs. It will build great strength in those muscles, but because the muscle mass involved is large, strong demands are made on the cardiovascular respiratory systems with the higher repetition from 15 to 20. By concentrating on the high counts (sometimes up to 30), and using a substantial weight resistance, all the demand desirable can be made on the cardiovascular respiratory systems and under perfect control. This has been a “key” exercise for individuals who have been very thin. The effort of the large muscle groups has a strong effect on the improvement of the appetite and the assimilation of nutrition for the tissues.
Comments: There are other exercises that have the same effect upon the improvement of the body, but this one is the easiest to perform for most people. Its demand of effort is under complete control and can be increased in proportion to the ability of the individual to respond to it.
Considerable effort is required at the higher counts with resistance, but the results are very gratifying. This movement should form part of every exercise program for all who can perform the movement. It is of particular value for the growing child.
Position: A standing position with the feet fairly wide apart, the arms at the sides with a dumbbell grasped in each hand. Action: From this position, the dumbbells are swung to the front, then between the knees, bending the knees as they near the floor.
From that position, the dumbbells are swung upward in an arc to straight arms’ length overhead, by the strength of the legs, back, and arms and shoulders together. Keeping the arms straight, the weights are permitted to descend back to the position between the knees and close to the floor and again swung to arms’ length overhead. As the weights descend, the knees are bent so that the lower back is kept relatively flat.
This Hat backed position is maintained both as the weights are swung overhead and returned toward the floor. As much of the effort as possible is made with hip and leg muscles.
Starting Resistance: Most women will find this comfortable to begin with 7½ lbs. in each hand and most men can begin with 15 lbs. in each hand.
Progression: Begin this movement with 10 counts, adding 2 counts each week until 20 have been performed for three periods, then add 2½ lbs. to each dumbbell and begin again at 10 counts.
Goal: Girls and women should work up to a resistance of 15 lbs. in each hand for 20 counts.
Men and boys should work up to a resistance of 30 lbs. in each hand for 20 counts.
Results: This motion will strengthen the muscles the entire length of the spine. It also will aid materially in the development of the hips and legs.
The use of these large muscle groups places a strong demand on the cardiovascular respiratory systems which is so important. The demand for oxygen thus created has a strong influence on the development of the lungs and rib box.
Comments: This is one of several combination developmental and physiological exercises. It is of great value in bringing about a full coordinated development of the entire body.
Through its demands on the organic functions, it has a powerful influence on general body growth and physiological capacities.
Position: A supine position on the floor with the knees straight and the heels together. The bar is held at straight arms’ length over the chest with the elbows locked.
Action: From this position, the arms are lowered overhead, keeping the elbows rigid or locked. The moment the knuckles touch the floor the bar is returned to the starting position over the chest.
Breathing: Inhale as the bar is lowered to the floor and exhale as it is raised over the chest.
Progression: The movement should be started with 10 counts and 2 counts added each
week until 20 have been performed for 3 exercise periods. Then 2½ lbs. should be added to the bar and the motion begun again at 10 counts with the repetitions increased as before. It is well not to exceed 25 lbs. resistance in this exercise. If a heavier weight is used, the ribs will become fixed to act as a base or origin for the
muscles to raise the weight and the rib box will not be expanded for the desired effect.
Goal: Girls and women should work up to a resistance of 15 lbs.
Boys and men should work up to a resistance of 25 lbs.
Comments: The breathing in this movement is very important. When the bar is lowered, the lungs must be full of air when it touches the floor. The purpose is to stretch the walls of the chest, not to lift a heavy weight. If a heavier weight than 25 lbs. is used, the elbows must be bent to relieve the shoulders of unnecessary strain and to permit full expansion of the rib box.
This movement with the elbows bent is used as an advanced exercise and the weights used can be worked up to 50 of 75 lbs.
Rather than to use a heavy weight, it is better for the individual to keep using the 15 to 20 lb. bar and place a low stool under the shoulders. With the body in this position, the bar can be lowered further and the ribs stretched a little more. This is quite severe and should not be used until the chest is thoroughly accustomed to the pull over in the regular manner.
In arranging a program, this movement should follow an exercise for the back or legs, for those movements stimulate the volume of breathing making the stretching of the rib box more effective.
It is not uncommon for youngsters to gain as much as 3 inches in the normal chest circumference in as short a time as six weeks.
Position: A supine position on the inclined board with the feet uphill. The knees are straight but the feet are not under the strap. The hands should grasp the sides of the board.
Action: Keeping the knees straight and the feet together, the legs are raised until they are at right angles to the board. The movement is then continued until the legs are well over by the head. Some will be able to bring them over until the toes touch the board or the floor. Keeping the knees straight, the legs are returned to the starting position, exhale as they are carried overhead, inhale as they return to the perpendicular position and exhale as the heels return to the board.
Starting Resistance: In this movement, the weight of the legs provide the necessary resistance.
Progression: This movement is best begun at 5 counts with 1 count added each week until the desired maximum is reached, which may be anywhere between 20 and 50 counts.
Goal: All should work up to at least 20 counts in this movement.
Results: This exercise aids in strengthening the lower section of the abdominal wall. As the legs go beyond the perpendicular position to overhead, the lumbar curve in the lower back is straightened, relieving pressure on the spinous processes and inter-vertebral discs.
Comments: This is a comparatively mild exercise and is a good one to use at the beginning of a program. Because if its value as a movement to relieve pelvic pressure and congestion and low back discomfort, it is especially recommended for girls and women.
Because of poor posture and abdominal tone, the pressure of abdominal viscera may lie quite heavily on the pelvic organs. This overhead movement will aid greatly in restoring the abdominal organs to better position which will relieve the pressure on the pelvic organs.
In cases of malposition of the uterus, it will aid greatly in restoring it to proper position. Many cases of faulty menstrual function have disappeared entirely with an improvement in posture and abdominal tone.
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