Elite athletic performance and general fitness are sustained through structured hypertrophy strategies, sport-specific conditioning, and rigorous adherence to injury prevention protocols.
Hex and round dumbbells are fixed-weight dumbbells for use in commercial and in-home gyms. Both types of dumbbell are made of cast iron and offer a large selection of weights. However, hex and round dumbbells have different designs and features, each with advantages and disadvantages in the weight room.
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Towel pullups are more difficult than standard pullups because you have to grip a towel to do the exercise. This works your forearm muscles, which are your gripping muscles, making them stronger and thicker. Use different types of towels to make it more or less difficult to hold on during a pullup.
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When asked to flex a muscle, you'll most likely flex your biceps by bending your elbow. Although the biceps muscle is involved with flexion of the elbow, contrary to popular belief, it's not always the most active elbow flexor.
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The deadlift is a total-body strength exercise that works several muscle groups in your upper and lower body. The trap, or hex, bar is a specialized training tool that lifters use for two exercises: the deadlift and the shrug.
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Three primary muscles are responsible for the movements of your shoulder joint: the anterior, or front, deltoid; the posterior, or rear, deltoid; and the lateral, or side, deltoid. The anterior deltoid is responsible for lifting a weight to the front of your body, but it also assists in other movements.
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The lat pulldown isn't a glamorous exercise. It's not overly complex and it doesn't require a lot of agility or coordination to perform. Using a lat pulldown cable machine doesn't exude rawness or fierceness like performing a barbell bent-over row or a dead hang pullup does.
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The quest for six-pack abs marches on with a long line of in-home abdominal training devices. The AB Roller is one-such device. Although the AB Roller alone will not give you a lean, ripped mid-section – spot reduction is not possible -- if you use it properly, it can help you strengthen your core muscles.
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A dip and leg raise machine allows you to do body weight exercises that target your upper body. You can do leg raises for your abdominal muscles and dips for your chest, triceps and shoulder muscles.
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Exercise bikes offer a low-impact cardiovascular workout. They are available in an upright design, which mimics a standard road bike, and a recumbent design that offers a semi-reclined riding position and full back support. All exercise bikes offer varying levels of pedal tension.
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Biceps are the muscles on the front of your upper arm -- they are considered the "show" muscles. If asked to flex your muscles, you are likely to intuitively flex your biceps. No standards exist in the fitness world for how big your biceps should be. Having "big"
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A treadmill is a significant financial investment. However, the spending isn't over after you purchase your machine. You might have considered the cost of maintenance and repairs, but what about the cost of running your treadmill?
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Because you work one leg at a time, performing the lunge properly requires considerable balance, agility and more leg strength than other lower body exercises that target the same muscles, the quads, hamstrings and glutes.
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Pushups are a fundamental exercise that target several muscle groups in your upper body. One of the many benefits of pushups is that you can change the feel and emphasis of the exercise simply by adjusting the position of your hands.
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The leg extension is an isolation exercise that targets your quadriceps, the muscles on the front of your thigh. It is a simple movement, which occurs at only one joint -- your knees. The leg extension strengthens your quadriceps. and if done correctly, is not hard on the knee joint.
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Although push-ups are touted as an effective and convenient upper-body exercise, they don't work all the muscles in the upper body. Push-ups target the pressing muscles of the torso: the chest, shoulders and triceps. They do not target the back and biceps, which are the pulling muscles.
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The diamond pushup is a challenging close-grip pushup variation. All pushup exercise variations work the triceps muscles to some degree, but the diamond pushup not only works the triceps, it targets the deltoids, traps and pecs.
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A dumbbell curl targets your biceps, the muscles on the front of your upper arms. There are many versions of a dumbbell curl, including alternating and standing, which are not mutually exclusive, since an alternating dumbbell curl can be done standing.
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The biceps curl is a fundamental exercise targeting the biceps muscles, the muscles on the front of your upper arm. No other muscles are directly involved in a biceps curl, although several muscles assist during the movement.
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You might think the only way to perform dumbbell shoulder presses in a sitting position, but you can also perform them in a standing position. One benefit of the standing version is you engage more core muscles to maintain your balance and control the weight.
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Treadmills are relatively simple workout machines; however, you still need to know how to use them correctly to get the most out of your workout and to avoid injury.
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