Towards A Healthy Economy + Marketing World

One of the most important camping in Europe tips is to consider car camping. By car camping you can drive through almost any city or country in Europe and find rest stops along the road to stop and sleep. Of course you will want to do a little research before you set off on your adventure, but European rest stops are generally safe places to stop and sleep. They are very popular for travelers along the busy highways of Europe and offer a variety of amenities including movie theaters or even discos in some countries.

If you are searching for car camping in Europe tips you can find all kinds of information on the internet. There are all kinds of toll roads in Europe so you will want to look into that before you set out. Germany has very few tolls so it would certainly be a good country to visit in your car camping vacation. When you have your own car there is really no end to the areas of the country that you can visit and places you can see. Bring a tent with you and you can camp out in the more remote areas of Europe and not just in your car.

Working as a fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice - abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first response to this question is always - “Why in the world would you want to isolate it?”

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing. However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts. On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation. Believe me, focusing on how well your body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters. Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens and tell me who wouldn’t want a physique like those guys.

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle isolation’ mindset to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat. The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

Visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Training-and-Nutrition-Articles.html to receive your own personalized metabolic rate calculator as well as 4 of my secret hard-body workout routines - both FREE, with no purchase necessary.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of “The Truth about Six Pack Abs” ©2004-2005.

WHY CAN’T YOU GAIN WEIGHT?

Though there may be many reasons why you may be thin, the most apparent reason is because of your genetics. If your parents are naturally thin or have a small body frame, then you will most likely have the same small body type.

To some degree, your size can also be controlled by your metabolism. If you have a difficult time gaining weight of any kind (fat or muscle) then you most likely have a fast metabolism. That simply means that your body burns calories at a faster than normal rate. You must take this into account whenever you are considering a particular diet or training program. Is it geared towards someone with your metabolism and goal?

Now as you know, there are many ways to train. Hundreds, thousands even. Some work and some do not, but for the specific goal of gaining weight, there are a few UNIVERSAL things that all skinny guys must do.

Though much of the information I cover here is not as “magical” as you may like, I consider these rules to be the basics with regard to weight gain. These are not all of the answers, but they are definite elements that MUST be addressed in any successful weight gain program.

You should be able to easily integrate these rules into your current program to make it more suitable for your particular body and goals.

GENERAL RULES

1.Get the proper information that pertains to your SPECIFIC condition and goals.

The first big problem I find in most people is the lack of correct information. Yes you are motivated and doing things, but your effort is wasted on incorrect dieting and training information. Basically, skinny guys are taking advice from people who have never had a weight gain problem. Want to know how to gain weight? Then find someone who has walked your shoes. Someone who has been where you are.

2.Set a specific goal and create a plan of attack.

If you were to drive cross country to another city, would you just start driving randomly, or would you plan a route that would get you quickly and efficiently?

Think of your plan as a road map and your goal as your destination. Without a plan and a specific goal you will be without focus and can easily get lost or side tracked. This happens more often than you know. I see many people in the gym just doing whatever, or just eating whatever — no plan or specific goal. They wonder why they don’t make progress. They have no focus.

Having a specific program to follow allows you to take action each day. This action is focused on specifically getting you to your destination quickly. There is no thinking, debating or guessing. You just do it. A specific plan provides necessary daily structure that not only keeps you on the road moving forward, it also helps to develop good eating and training habits that will benefit you long after you have reached your destination.

3.Have confidence in yourself and belief in what you are doing.

Let’s face it; we live in a cruel world. Hate and jealously is everywhere. For most people who begin a fitness program to improve themselves, getting started will be half the battle. The other half will be staying motivated throughout the constant onslaught of negativity from others. A few negative words can do serious damage if you allow it.

The most insulting things you hear may be from friends, co-workers and acquaintances at the gym. People hate change. It makes them insecure, because they suddenly discover there’s more to you than they were probably willing to admit. They fear that you may actually achieve your goal. It makes them look less “superior”.

Once you have begun your plan, you must have faith and believe in what you are doing. Stay focused and avoid overly critical or negative people. If you have to, keep your business to yourself. When I first began my program, I stopped talking about what I was doing because I got tired of hearing things like “you can’t do that”, “that’s impossible”, “you’re wasting your time and money”. Funny thing is, now those people are constantly bugging me for advice.

It’s your life. It’s your body. It’s your dream. Don’t allow your success or failure to rest in the hands of others.

In Part 2 of this article, I will cover your workout rules and guidelines to MAKE SURE you gain muscle.

Former “skinny guy” Anthony Ellis is the creator of the most widely used weight gain program in the world. This unique program designed to help people gain weight and build muscle, is currently being used in over 90 countries. For more information on how to gain weight and build muscle, check out his website at www.fastmusclegain.com

Maybe you want to build up your muscles for your health, or maybe you just want to look good - there’s nothing wrong with that. Whatever your reason, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. The truth is, any kind of mass building program is beneficial to your heart as well as to your muscles. But if you’re trying to build up your muscles, there are particular muscle building workouts that are designed specifically to help you.

In order to increase the size of muscle, the muscle must be stimulated. One way of providing the stimulation your muscles need is to exercise so your muscles will grow in size.A muscle building tip that has helped many to attain their goal is to begin training with free weights. Strength and resistance exercise will also help by motivating your muscles to develop.

A workout routine of lifting weights combined with strength training exercises will begin to gradually bulk up your muscles. Muscle building workouts done on a regular basis will not only develop muscle mass but will add to your overall health. If you are a beginner, you will want to start out with lighter free weights and slowly increase the amount of weight you lift and the number of repetitions you perform.

Free weight training along with strength and resistance training will gradually help your body develop muscle. You can use this muscle building tip to your advantage if you remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your muscles won’t be built in a day either. Building muscle is a slow process, but perseverance is the keyword to success. Anyone who has gone through the process of building up their muscles will confirm that they have been discouraged by the apparent lack of progress, but eventually they reached and maintained their goal.

Mass building workouts along with strength training will further enhance your chances of success in building muscle. Bench presses, pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and/or other exercises that target specific muscles are very effective in building muscle. It is important that you rest in between muscle building workouts to allow your muscles time to recover.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro, one common occurrence while doing muscle building routines is the possibility of muscle spasms. A muscle spasm occurs when a voluntary muscle (those you can control)bunches up and tightens. Muscle spasms can occur for several reasons or no reason at all, with the result being a painful muscle contraction, or muscle spasm. Muscle spasms can sometimes be relieved by resting the muscle, massaging it or by moving around. The best way to avoid these painful spasms is to do proper warm-up exercises, and let your muscles rest in between workouts. If you want to be successful in your efforts to build muscle mass, it is important to follow these and other muscle building tips when you begin your muscle building routine.

Everyone will inadvertently hit a frustrating plateau in their training at one time or another. You’re cruising along for a while, gaining strength, losing fat, looking better, and then all of the sudden it hits. Suddenly, you find yourself even weaker than before on your lifts, or you find that you’ve gained back a couple of pounds. It happens to everyone. Most of the time, these plateaus occur because people rarely change their training variables over time. Many people stick to the same types of exercises for the same basic sets and reps and rest periods with the same boring cardio routine. Well, I hope to open your mind and bring some creativity to your workouts with this article!

There are many ways that you can strategically modify your training variables to assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if they even think about changing their routine at all. However, other variables that can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, and training frequency per week. Sounds like a lot of different training aspects to consider in order to obtain the best results from your workouts, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where a knowledgeable personal trainer can make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn’t get stale. Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative and result producing workouts.

Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring! Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine.

•Try 10 sets of 3, with only 20 seconds rest between sets.

•Try using a moderately heavy weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.

•Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets.

•Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise

•Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes. With this example, you could try sets of 5 reps at a moderately heavy weight every 2 minutes until you reach 20 minutes.

•Try a workout based on all bodyweight exercises such as pushups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, step-ups, etc.

•Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises.

•Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order.

•Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.

•Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week.

•Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).

There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. I hope this article gave you some ideas on methods for you to take your body to the next level. Keep in mind that no matter what style of training you are using at any given time, progression on subsequent workouts should be your goal. Work hard and train smart and watch your body change!

Visit truthaboutabs.com/freenewsletter.html to receive a free “Training & Nutrition Secrets of a Fitness Junkie” ebook as well as your own free personalized metabolic rate calculator.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of the internationally-selling The Truth about Six Pack Abs ©2004-2006.

Effective Chest Training, Like Everything Else,
Begins With The Proper Mindset

An attitude of always wanting more, never being
satisfied, is a key element in becoming successful
in whatever you do. There’s always a higher level
of development to achieve—if you’re constantly
searching for it.

Having that mindset is essential to lasting
success. It’s also the cornerstone of the habits
you need to develop if you want to maximize your
chest training. You’ll also need to cultivate such
winning characteristics as optimism, patience,
perseverance, determination and flexibility.

A number of physical factors can also affect your
mental attitude, including the frequency of your
chest workouts, the number of sets you use, the
number of repetitions you set out to perform on
every set, the amount of weight you use and the
length of time you spend in the gym. When you
overtrain physically it gives your mental well
being a serious blow, too.

Train to Absolute Failure The ultimate goal of
every single set in your chest workout must be to
train to absolute failure.

By that I mean you must give 100 percent effort
during every set. You shouldn’t have anything left
in reserve at the end of the set. This is very
taxing, mentally and physically, which is why you
can’t withstand many sets and why you need to work
on your mindset. You need to control or get rid
of that litte voice in your head that is always
telling you to settle.

That requirement is crucial to efficient chest
training.

Obviously, you’ll need a training partner, or
the proper equipment such as a power rack, a
machine, or using dumbbells, if you’re going to
train to absolute failure and train safely.

For now, let’s throw out any well-known, legitimate
reason you could come up with that takes your
training success or failure out of your own hands.

Whatever program you use, the important thing is
to put all the effort you can into your training.

One thing that is very important is to go over what
it is you are trying to accomplish. I briefly review
in my head what I want before I do each set of my
workout. What’s my goal in the set? What will
accomplishing the set goal mean to my other goals?

Now, about that intensity - you probably think you
know what intensity is,right? You train hard, right?
But is training hard the same as training with 100%
intensity of effort? If you polled the people in your
gym, 99% of them would tell you they workout extremely
hard.

I’m the same way. And yet when I look back on my
workouts, I always realize I could’ve trained a
little harder. But that’s okay, because I am
constantly improving my effort every time I workout.
I’m always striving for a higher level of effort and
increasing the quality of each workout.

You Can Increase the htensity of Your Chest
Training Now

Before we can achieve more we must constantly
be raising our own standards.

Train Your Chest Less Frequently

I know, the thought of training less worries
many people that they will not only stop progresssing
but will lose what they have. This just isn’t so.

Use it as a powerful motivating tool. The thought
of training your chest less frequently creates a
feeling of uneasiness, or what I call a sense of
urgency. It dramatically increases the magnitude
of every workout.

The benefits have a far greater effect than just
bolstering my mindset.

Training less gives you adequate time to recover
from your intense workouts.

Use Fewer Sets

Knowing that you’re going to do only a few sets
in your chest workout creates this same sense of
urgency, allowing you to bring a lot more focus
into each rep and set that you do.

Although I always change things up from time to
time, a typical chest workout for me is as follows:

After warming up sufficiently and doing two heavy
sets of bench presses, I complete my chest workout
by doing one set each of three different chest exercises.
Many lifters give themselves two, three or even
four sets of a particular exercise to get it right.
If you give yourself four chances at anything,
you’ll have less of a sense of urgency to get it
right the first time. You will pace yourself and
hold back for those other sets. It’s only human
nature.

Anything less than 100 percent effort is a
wasted set in my opinion. Have you ever noticed
that when you get yourself in the right mind-set,
you can pump out more reps on the last set of an
exercise than you did on the first one?

It should be just the opposite. If you were really
giving your all during the first couple of sets,
you wouldn’t have nearly as much energy left to
meet or exceed that rep range on the last one.

If you truly train with the proper mindset, then
you’ll need less training to build your chest.
If your training is less than animal-like, you’ll
need more sets. Be honest with yourself. Only you
can determine what’s best for you.

Spend Less Time in the Gym on Chest Training

The ability to focus and put forth your best
effort in chest workout after chest workout, month
after month is what will bring you results.

The less time you spend in the gym, the easier
it becomes to focus, and because you’re training
chest less frequently, using fewer sets and fewer
reps, your time in the gym will be much shorter.
It will surely make it a lot easier to focus on
building an awesome chest. Now, all you have to
do is shut up and train!

Proper Recovery Is Critical

Recuperation is probably the most important
yet most-often-neglected component of
building muscle efficiently. Recuperation means
to recover fully from your intense
workouts. Only when your muscles have fully
recuperated are they ready to grow larger and
stronger. If you train again before this process
is complete, you will short circuit the growth/recover
mechanism and your gains will come to a
screeching halt and that’s exactly what you want
to avoid.

Develop your new chest routine with these steps
in mind and see if you don’t ignite new growth
and more strength in your chest.

Written by: Gregg Gillies, www.buildleanmuscle.com

Gregg Gillies is the founder of http://www.buildleanmuscle.com where he publishes a free newsletter available. He is the author or two books, as well as being a regular contributor to Body Talk magazine. His writing has also appeared in Ironman Magazine.

There are as many varied opinions on what “plan” one should follow to build muscle, as there are people who have those opinions. On one thing they do agree, however. You must have a regimen.

· You can begin by defining your objective.
· Why are you interested in body building?
· What do you hope to accomplish?
· What is your ultimate goal?

It’s all about commitment and belief. There is an abundance of information about how to begin and conduct your journey, but without a burning desire to achieve, you are doomed to inevitable failure.

The following tips are not intended to be a “one size fits all.” Take from it what you will. In that light, consider the following list:

1.Before beginning any serious weight lifting or body building regimen, consult your physician.

2.Set your goals. Define what you expect to achieve with your new bodybuilding campaign within a realistic time frame. If you create goals that are unattainable you are setting yourself up for failure. You can become bored, disappointed and disillusioned to the point where you may give up. This is a very sad outcome to what might have been the best decision of your life. Don’t sell yourself short. Set your long-term goals, of course, but also set short-term goals that are achievable. And, don’t forget to reward yourself when you do achieve them.

3.Consider the costs. If you don’t already have a budget, create one. Then, determine what amount of discretionary funds you have available for your bodybuilding program. This will determine whether you can afford to have a home gym or if your needs would better be served by joining a club. Joining a club is still a good short-term introduction before spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment that might not be appropriate for your needs.

4.Don’t forget some of the low cost alternatives to purchasing your bodybuilding equipment. If used equipment is still functional why spend the extra dollars just for a little glitz! Good, brand name used equipment is every bit as functional as something right off a showroom floor.

5.Consider combining a home gym along with a membership in a public facility. Purchase less expensive free weight equipment for use at home and join a gym to have access to the more expensive equipment. You can design your entire workout routines around a combination such as this.

6.Eat healthy! This can’t be stressed enough. The only true bodybuilding aids are good nutrition. Consult a licensed dietician. Watch your local community calendar for free seminars on diet and nutrition. Learn all you can about what nature freely provides that can help you to develop a healthy diet.

7.If you choose to use dietary supplements, make certain that you know what you are putting in your body. Follow the packaging guidelines we outlined above. Ask your physician for his/her recommendations based on the regimen you have selected. No friend, coach or acquaintance can take the place of your physician. In fact, you may even investigate finding a physician who specializes in sports wellness.

8.Be kind to yourself. Yes, it’s important to push to achieve your goals, but it’s very easy to tip the scales in the other direction and create a nightmare for yourself. Obsessive, compulsive behaviors are not conducive to a healthy bodybuilding lifestyle.

Nishanth Reddy, is an author and publisher of many health related websites. For more information on how to gain mass, build muscle, body builders routine and tips on bodybuilding visit his website at www.fitness-wellness-guide.com

Everyone wants to look the best we can and often we focus on the lower half of the body. We want to ensure that we have nice looking leg muscles and a flat, well toned abdomen. But the upper body also needs attention. Well toned arms and chest will round out the appearance and give the impression of a fit and healthy symmetrical body which is pleasing to the eye. There are many types of exercises that will help accomplish this.

You need to be sure to use all your muscles in your upper body when working out with weights. This includes arms, back, shoulders and chest. Your chest and back muscles can typically handle more weight as they are larger muscles. The arms and shoulders should be used to tone and build muscle but will usually use slightly less weight than the chest and back.

When you work out your upper body you should do so two to three times per week but do not do it on consecutive days. It is important to give your muscles a rest between workouts. A good rule of thumb is to alternate lower body and upper body if you are working out on consecutive days and to let the entire body rest for a day or two. This is perfect for people who like to work out during the week and have the weekends free for rest and relaxation.

Make sure you do sets that include repetitions in the amount of weight that is suitable to just finish. If you are looking to tone, use lighter weights with more repetitions. If you are looking to build muscle, use heavier weights with fewer repetitions. Also, make sure you do not get into a rut with your work out routine. You do not want to continually do the exact same exercises each time. Instead, change it a bit so you do not get bored.

Uncovered After 80 Years of Dormancy, Pilates is Far From Dead.

In a way, he’s a lot like Edgar Allen Poe. The famous writer had been deceased for many years before he miraculously cracked super-stardom, his once-buried work revamped from the ashes to be relished by millions and millions of literature fans.

Well, Joseph Pilates is not Edgar Allen Poe. The German immigrant is hardly a household name in 1999, but just like Poe, some thirty-two years after his death, his lost treasures are now being discovered as genius works of art.

You’ve seen the countless infomercials in the middle of the night, boasting this piece of exercise equipment and that toning apparatus. They usually get a famous retired athlete like Joe Montana to endorse it and swear by it. You’ll actually watch for a minute and a half before realizing that you just wasted 90 seconds of your life.

But the word is out that the Pilates Method is different. This one actually works.

That’s why, if you look around, Pilates studios are cropping everywhere throughout the United States. Many health clubs are offering Pilates classes on a regular basis and more and more Pilates machines are filling household closets where those dusty sets of golf clubs used to rest.

Upon arriving in New York City from Germany, Mr. Pilates primarily created his method of fitness to benefit the dance community, as it was a success along Broadway in the 1920’s. The exercises provided dancers with that much-needed agility and grace.

Now, in New York City alone, there are about 40 different studios where the Pilates Method is taught with more cropping up every day.

But the Pilates Method has not been restricted to just exercise outlets. All kinds of hospitals, clinics, and health centers are pulling in these machines to treat patients with spinal injuries, back ailments, and shoulder cuff problems, just to name a few.

The Pilates Method is essentially an exercise that combines toning and stretching, utilizing a series of rhythmic movements to achieve balance and grace. It does not have the effects of heavy free weights or Nautilus machines. The exercises you perform are very smooth and controlled and require specific movements from isolated muscle groups.

The common Pilates apparatus, called the Universal Reformer, looks almost like a magic carpet. Depending on the exercise, your body weight will rest on the padded platform, which moves along the base of the machine through a series of pulleys. The motions are performed with cables and a series of different handles, depending on what motion you’re performing.

These exercises are not performed in sets, really. It is a long, continual motion that will target balance and flexibility, every bit as much as it targets strength and conditioning. You can do an exercise for nearly a half-hour, if you’d like.

What’s interesting about Pilates is that there are no weights involved. No adjusting the resistance, no sliding that pin down a couple of plates. The resistance is you! When your pulling the cables in toward your chest, the weight that your pulling is simply your own body weight. And the magic carpet takes away the use of gravity during the exercise; only your specific muscles being worked is what creates any sort of movement and stability.

Aside from toning up the torso, the Pilates Method also helps you achieve healthy breathing and relaxation while vastly increasing stamina.

With the benefits seemingly unlimited, perhaps the Pilates Method is a wise choice for an alternate route if you’re becoming worn out from those pounding aerobics classes or squeaky Nautilus machines. Or perhaps you’re always one to jump on the latest fitness craze, and for thousands of Americans and patrons worldwide, Pilates is certainly that.

Apollo Supplements.com - http://www.apollosupplements.com - Copyright ApolloSupplements.com - MuscleMaster, Inc.

Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuiders’ training regimes.

It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better.

In this article we’ll take a close look at the flat bench press using a barbell.

MUSCLES TARGETED: pectoralis major

STARTING POSITION

Assume a supine position on a bench.
Grasp the bar with a closed, pronated grip.
Grip slightly wider than shoulder width.
Place the bar over the chest with the elbows fully extended.
This is the starting point for all repetitions.

DOWNWARD MOVEMENT

Lower the bar to touch the chest at nipple level.
Keep the wrists rigid directly above the elbows.

UPWARD MOVEMENT

Push the bar upward until the elbows are fully extended.
Keep the wrists rigid directly above the elbows.
Do not arch back or raise chest to meet the bar.
Repeat or finish set.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Exercises to learn more about the issues covered in this article.