Building Muscle 101's
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Incline Dumbbell Press
This is an excellent exercise for the upper pectoral muscles of the chest.
Let’s get into position for the incline dumbbell press. While seated in an incline bench, grasp two dumbbells in an overhand grip. Carefully lie on the incline bench bringing the dumbbells to the sides of your torso at chest level. Position the dumbbells to the outside of your chest, keeping the elbows wide and the forearms perpendicular to the floor throughout the movement. Make sure each palm is facing forward.
Your Feet should be planted firmly on the floor.
To perform this exercise, inhale and slowly press the weight upwards until your arms are extended. The dumbbells should be held directly over your chest area, with your palms facing forward. Squeeze and hold for a one count and than, slowly exhale while lowering the weight back to the starting position.
Do not bounce the weight from the chest and keep your elbows out and away from the trunk of your body. Remember to keep the movement fluent, slow, and controlled.
Try doing 2 sets of 12 repetitions.
A rest period of 40 seconds in between sets is generally enough to allow the muscles to recover.
Once the incline dumbbell press exercise is complete, we can head over to our last exercise, which is the pec deck fly.
Pec Deck Flys
This is a great finishing exercise for the chest that hits the upper and inner pectoral muscles.
Let’s get into position for the pec deck. Adjust the seat of the machine to a level where your elbows and shoulder joints form a line that is parallel to the floor when your arms are placed on the pads.
To perform this exercise, inhale and squeeze your pectoral muscles to move the arms to a position where your wrists and elbows come together. Your elbows should be directly in front of you. Hold this position for a one count and squeeze your pectoral muscles. Exhale and slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position.
Try doing 2 sets of 15 repetitions for this exercise.
Rest about 30 to 40 seconds between each set.
Alright, that’s it for our beginner chest routine. Now, I would suggest doing another 5 to 10 minutes of light cardio to cool your body down from the training routine.
For those of you who don’t yet know what some of the terms are in the video, let’s go over the basic ones:
• What Is A Repetition?
One repetition consists of a series of muscle contractions with a weight or movement such as one sit up or push up. A series of repetitions is called a set. For example, 10 repetitions of push ups is considered one set.
• What Is A Set?
A set is a series of repetitions. For example, 10 repetitions of sit ups for example is considered 1 set. 10 repetitions followed by a brief rest and another series of 10 repetitions is called 2 sets of 10 repetitions for a total of 20 repetitions. Often indicated as: 2 x 10 repetitions, as in the video.
• How Much Water Should I Be Drinking?
You should have at least 2 eight ounce glasses of water 20 to 30 minutes before you workout. Drink one cup of water for every 15 minutes of exercise and more in extreme temperatures. Make regular water breaks a part of your training.
In terms of drinking water after your exercise, you should drink 2 to 3 cups of water within two hours after exercise. Continue to drink and additional 30 to 50 percent more fluid for the next 3 to 4 hours.
• How Should I Be Breathing?
Inhale going up and exhale going down. This is very important! You must practice breathing properly when you are exercising. Really concentrate on your breathing.