Weight Training 101: Dumbbell Triceps Extensions

Primary Muscle Group(s): Back of upper arms (triceps)

Proper Position: Make sure that your feet are planted firmly on the ground while maintaining a natural arch in your lower back. Your neck, head and shoulders should be resting wholly on the exercise stability ball. Position your arms straight up with approximately 90 degrees of flexion between your arms and torso. Dumbbells are parallel to each other and at shoulder length.

Proper Technique: Slowly lower the forearms without moving your shoulders or upper arms. Bring the forearms down until they form a degree angle with your upper arms. Maintain shoulder's distance between dummbells lowering to either side of the head (to approximately ear level). Pause for a second to build up the eccentric tension and then return to starting position.

Essential Tips: Keep wrists in neutral position because hyperextension of the wrist could cause pain similar to tennis elbow. Avoid twisting or rotating the shoulders or wrists. Emphasize form over the weight moved. Remember to inhale on downward phase of the movement (eccentric) and exhale on the upward phase (concentric).

Phil's Notes: Take a look at your upper arms. Notice that the triceps are an overall larger muscle group than the biceps. Yet, men and women alike tend to overtrain biceps and put little effort into triceps. For a balanced looking upper arm, train both equally! As mentioned above, a tennis elbow-like injury is common for this exercise when using dumbells, and especially with a straight or EZ-curl bar (a.k.a "nose cr skull crunchers"). This injury can be avoided by using proper form. This means not overloading the weight and maintaining a fluid, controlled tempo through each repetition...AND... properly stretching wrists, forearms, elbows, upper arms and shoulders before you lift!

Exercise Description Source: Fitness: The Complete Guide by International Sports Sciences Association.

Weight Training 101: Dumbbell Curls

Primary Muscle Group(s): Upper arms (biceps) and forearms.

Proper Position: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. The knees should be slightly bent, not locked. The arms should be at your sides holding the dumbbells with a supinated grip (palms outward from body). This is the starting position. Note: The above photo shows an alternate grip with dumbbells parallel to the body. When movement starts, hands are turned to a supinated position.

Proper Technique: Contract the biceps, moving the forearm out and up through a natural range of motion with your forearm in a supine position. Isometrically contract (keep tension on) the muscle at the end of the concentric contraction and hold for a second. Return to the starting position with the elbows aligned under the shoulders and slightly bent.

Essential Tips: Avoid any twisting or rotating of the shoulders or elbows during execution. Do not allow your elbows to come forward in order to lift the weight. Remember to inhale on the downward phase of the movement (eccentric) and exhale on the upward phase (concentric).

Phil's Notes: It is important to control your tempo and keep tension on your biceps throughout the movement. I see many people hurrying through bicep curls. It's not a race! Slow it down and focus on squeezing the the life out of the bicep. Keep the same, controlled tempo on the down (eccentric) portion of the repetition. To minimize risk of neck and shoulder strain, do not look at your biceps as you curl. Face forward and use the mirror to watch your form. For better balance when standing, keep feet shoulder-width apart and bend knees slightly on the upward (concentric) movement. This minimizes lower back movement and arm swinging from the shoulders. I call this common form of cheating, "rocking the boat"! Also try alternating dumbbell curls. With either version, you can perform them standing as shown, or seated on a weight bench or exercise ball.

Exercise Description Source: Fitness: The Complete Guide by International Sports Sciences Association.

Weight Training 101: Chin-Ups

Primary Muscle Group(s): Back (latisimmus dorsi). Also works arms (biceps and forearms) and shoulders (teres major).

Proper Position: Grasp the overhead bar using a supinated grip (palms facing in) approximately shoulder width. Grasp the bar with the arms slightly bent with the elbows pointed away from the body. Spine should be neutral and head should be pointed forward.

Proper Technique: With a slight bend at the elbow joint, pull your upper body towards the bar. You thighs should be in line with your torso. Retract and adduct the scapula (shoulder blades). Pull up until your chin is elevated above the bar without moving your neck.

Essential Tips: Remember to inhale on the downward phase of the movement (eccentric) and exhale on the upward phase (concentric). Do not allow your body to swing - keep your legs stationary throughout the whole movement. Pause for one second at the top of the movement and adduct the scapula and contract the biceps. Return all the way to the starting position, but do not allow your arms to lock out at the bottom of the movement.

Phil's Notes: Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups and clearly the most effective exercises for building back strength and definition. Right up there with doing leg squats, these exercises are tough and the reason why many people shy away from them. Working out is not supposed to be easy! You will not improve on something if you do not stick with it. If you do with Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups, you will find yourself with some nice gains on back strength, width and thickness. Gains that you do not get from adhering to the comforts of just doing cable movements and using back machines. Try to include a Chin-Up or Pull-Up movement with every back routine. Kicking your legs and hips to help get your chin up over the bar is not the correct way to do a Chin-Up. For complete isolation, the lower body should be still and you want to pull your upper chest--and not your chin--to the bar. When starting your Chin-Up movement, visualize your lats doing the bulk of the the work, not your arms and shoulders. If you struggle doing 1 Chin-Up, do not quit on them or be afraid to humble yourself. If you have to, make your routine 10 sets of 1 repetition with a short rest between each set. Increased repetitions will definitely come with time.

Exercise Description Source: Fitness: The Complete Guide by International Sports Sciences Association.

Weight Training 101: Ball Dumbbell Press

Primary Muscle Group(s): Chest (pectoralis minor and major). Also works back of upper arms (triceps) and shoulders (deltoids).

Proper Position: Lay on a stability ball with your shoulders and head supported by the ball. Shoulders, hips, and knees should all be in line with one another.

Proper Technique: Press the dumbbells up towards the ceiling in an arc just short of elbow lockout. Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position and repeat.

Essential Tips: Do not allow hips to sink at any time during the exercise. Keep the feet planted firmly during execution. Do not bounce at the bottom of the movement. Remember to inhale on the downward phase of the movement (eccentric) and exhale on the upward phase (concentric).

Phil's Notes: If you have yet to use a stability ball to do chest presses, I highly recommend it! The ball contours to your neck and shoulders, minimizing the amount of strain put on these areas, which is common with a traditional flat bench. It is very important to choose a ball with the correct diameter. A properly-sized ball provides enough surface area so that when you are in your starting movement, the triceps are brushing against the ball and the arms are at a 90 degree angle. If the ball is too small, you will have to go below parallel for your triceps to touch. This is also an indicator that the ball is not large enough to support your neck, back and hips. Give yourself plenty of room to roll on and off the ball and avoid surrounding pieces of gym equipment, etc. Do not hesitate to pause midway through the exercise and properly re-position yourself. Not doing so causes imbalance and instability which decreases the effectiveness of the exercise and raises risk for injury.

Exercise Description Source: Fitness: The Complete Guide by International Sports Sciences Association.

Chewing the Fat: Mike's New Weight Training Routine

Nutrition and fitness discussions between TLN Founder Phil LeClair and Correspondent Mike Davey.

Phil: Mike, you called very excited the other day to tell me about how great your new weight training routine is working for you. Please share with our TLN readers what you are doing now, and why it seems to be more productive than previous routines.

Mike: Yes Phil, it was time to shake things up just a bit. I'd been in a rut with the workouts because I've always been guilty of sticking with what I'm comfortable with. However, after returning from vacation in December in the midst of the holiday season my enthusiasm for working out had reached a low point. Of course I wanted to work out and I did work out, but I felt like I was having too many uninspired workouts while seemingly fighting one nagging injury after another. Two clear cut signs of being in a workout rut.

So, two weeks ago I went completely outside of the box in my approach. I knew it was time to take a break from the chest/tri's, back/bi's, etc., routine. Sound familiar? Probably. I think we've all been doing that kind of routine since we first ventured into a gym! I've never had a routine of doing all upper body excercises in one day because I was afraid it just wouldn't be enough to sustain that burn you get from working out. I was sure it would feel like I just wasn't doing enough throughout the entire week. But feeling desperate to try something new and inject a little life into doing what I loved, I decided to give it a shot. Thank god I did. Read on for details on Mike's new routine!

Weight Training 101: Dumbbell Squats

Primary Muscle Group(s): Legs (Quadraceps, Hamstrings) and Buttocks (Gluteals)

Proper Position: In a ready position (above left photo), begin with legs shoulder width apart with the feet parallel or slightly pointed out. Flex the hips and knees, keep the weight over the ankles and a slight forward lean in the trunk.

Proper Technique: Begin with the knees slightly bent and slowly begin to lower the body as far as you can while maintaining a natural arch in the lower back (above photo right). Contract the gluteal muscles and hamstrings. Slowly begin to straighten the legs while keeping your weight over your ankles. Return to your original start position while maintaining proper spinal positioning.

Essential Tips to Avoid Common Mistakes: Avoid having your heels come off the floor. Have the shoulders aligned with the knees and the feet. Keep the shoulders back, with a natural arch in the lower back and the head and neck in a neutral position. Remember to inhale on the downward phase of the movement (eccentric) and exhale on the upward phase (concentric).

Phil's Notes: Playing the deserted island game, if I could only take one exercise with me, it would be squats. No leg machine will ever match the benefits of a properly done squat movement. Aside from working your leg muscles, squats help strengthen virtually every muscle in your body including lower back and abs. So many people get intimidated by squats. They immediately envision the traditional heavy squat with the bar grinding down on the back of their neck and shoulders. Hey, bar squats are great too when done properly, but dumbbells are pretty awesome in their own right (great for home gyms with tight space). Start off light and pay more attention to form rather than how much weight you can do. Heck, try with no weight for a few sets of 20 for a session or two to get the form down.

Exercise Description Source: Fitness: The Complete Guide by International Sports Sciences Association