How many of you out there are weight lifters....either heavy bar weights or dumbbells? I used to love the stuff in high school, and kind of fell away into the "cardio" and "running" crowd for years. Recently P90X has given me a new found passion for using dumbbells and getting after the weights. I've lost more weight, I've gained more muscle, and that fear of getting overly huge...not an issue when you do the right type of workouts. I just wanted to share some info from a workout that was posted on mens fitness in regards to benching more...a good rule of thumb for fitness is we should be able to bench 1.5 times our body weight. So here is the details to maximize your bench.
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Bench More Weight
These six steps will have you putting up huge numbers on the most popular lift in the gym
1.) Lie down on the bench and back up so your head is hanging off the end. Plant your feet flat and close to your hips.
2.) With an underhand grip on the bar, pull yourself up in the air and toward your feet. Lower your head and then your shoulders to the bench, keeping your arched-back position (it’s OK if this causes your heels to come off the floor). Maintain that tight feeling of your shoulder blades being pulled together throughout the lift .
3.) Squeeze the bar hard and try to pull it out of the rack without losing the tight arch in your back. Take a deep breath and push your belly up and out. Try to drive your heels down to the floor—they may never touch, but actively pushing on them will put you in a stronger position.
4.) Lower the bar, tucking your elbows slightly to your sides. Think about pushing your chest up to meet the bar. Touch the bar right below your nipples.
5.) Drive your feet hard into the floor again (your heels still may not touch) and start pressing the bar back up. The press and leg drive must happen at the same time. Try to push your body back on the bench using your legs—you won’t move, but the leg drive generates force that will help you press. Focus on pushing the bar back as it rises so it ends up over your mouth, nose, or eyes.
6.) When the bar is halfway up, move your elbows away from your sides (lose the tucked position and flare them) to lock your arms out.
http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/strength-training/bench-more-weight
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks for reading...I hope you enjoyed the info as much as I liked sharing it. Until next time...keep up with me on www.facebook.com/extremefitnessworkout
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Weight training is essential to getting a lean body and losing fat. Doing the right strength training exercises promote lean body mass that in turn burn more calories. If you want to lose body fat, weight training is where it is at.
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for the comments gents. @Generic Viagra...a lot of that article was taken from another article (Mens Fitness). I'm not that articulate with my words, however I have learned that the more you read, and the more you write, the more creative it becomes, and so that being said, I just need to do this daily, and things will come along.
ReplyDelete@Flex Fitness LLC, love the comment, I instruct so many people that are cardio junkies, and not that I am discounting taking care of your respitory system by a cardio routine 3-5 days a week, you body has need of weight training, lifting something daily. Those who do this will be glad they did as they get older, and their muscles will keep them youthful for years to come....heck I just became friends with a female on Facebook, that has lost 90 lbs from crushing it with a great diet, and P90X. She is now a bikini model @ age 40!
Truly a Fountain of Youth I'm telling ya.