Strength Sunday

Leg days are my favorite days at the gym, but we cannot just work on the lower body and ignore the upper body. So one exercise that I enjoy doing for the chest is the incline bench press.

Now I know a lot of people say that they find the incline much harder than decline and regular bench press. I actually find that I like the incline the best. I feel like I do not struggle with it quite as much. Maybe I'm just weird :) Now of course it is definitely a good idea to have someone spot you when you are bench pressing. I try to spot my husband, but he says I seem scared when I do because he is lifting much more weight than I do.


Now this exercise is not complicated at all. First set your weight up. Typically the bar used weighs 45 lbs. If you want more weight than that add the same amount to each side of the bar to keep it level. Lie on the bench and take the bar off the rack and lower the barbell to your chest then press it up. Repeat this for 10-15 reps and replace on the rack. I typically try to do 3 sets of 15. Of course that last set I am struggling with more than the first set. The person spotting you should be standing behind the rack ready to grab the barbell if you need help. You also want to make sure that your grip is not too wide on the bar so you don't compromise your range of motion.


There is a lot of good information about the incline press on bodybuilding.com
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/schultz51.htm

Strength Sunday

I know I have stated quite a few times how much I love strength training. Well my favorite day is legs day!! I can lift the most weight with my legs, I love all the leg exercises, I love feeling the new muscles in my legs after a good workout. One of my favorite leg exercises is the leg press machine.

 

 

 

When I first saw this machine I thought what kind of torture device is this? Well it is actually wonderful. While doing the leg press yes I do think to myself I hate this machine so much, but as soon as I am done I think wow I love this machine. You can put as much or as little weight on there that you like. I am trying to up my weight on it. Today I did the most weight I have done on it yet, and it felt fantastic. To do this machine you do exactly what it says. You are pressing  with your legs. You lie on the seat put your feet on the foot plate. Brace the abdominal muscles and push the platform away with heels and forefoot by extending the knees and hips and pushing the back into the seat pad. The heels should remain flat on the foot plate and the front of the foot or toes should not be used exclusively to move the pad forward. Do keep the head steady and back against the seat. Don’t lock out the knees in an explosive fashion but do express a full range of motion. Return the foot plate to the starting position by allowing the knees to bend under control while maintaining the feet flat on the surface. Repeat the exercise. As the (diagonal) leg press involves pushing a weight along an inclined track, rather than lifting it vertically, it is possible for strength trainers to press very heavy weights, compared to the weight they might use for other exercises.

 

 

The leg press works your hamstring, quadriceps, gluteus maximus and your calves (partially) Varying the angle between the sled and the backrest and/or the position of the feet on the plate puts more emphasis on one or the other muscle group. So go do some leg presses you will love it!