With my hands flat facing forward under my shoulders, starting with my feet together and extended behind me. Staying on my toes, bringing my knees upwards in the direction of my chest, in a comfortable manner. Once my feet have landed up by my chest I will thrust them back smoothly to the starting position before repeating. From a squatted down position I’ll jump up taking my hands and legs out to the side. On landing, making sure I land with both feet together, lowering down back into the squat position, remembering not to allow my knees to pass over my toes.
Press-ups – Placing my hands underneath my shoulders with my fingers facing forward. Bending at my elbows, lowering my chest down, no lower than 2 inches from the floor. Aiming to make a right angle with your arms. Keeping a straight line through my spine, avoiding forcing my bottom into the air, and also arching of the back. The rhythm should be smooth, with one push every 2 seconds.
Pulsing Squat – Lying down flat on my back, with my hands under my buttocks to give me back some support. Smoothly lifting and lower my legs alternately, approximately 8 – 12 inches, keeping a slight bend at the knee. The rhythm should be 2 lifts per second, i.e. left leg up then lowered followed by right leg up then lowered each second.
Straddle Jumps – Working over a low secure step box, of 30 cm, taking my feet from the side of the step box and jumping up onto the box. Once my feet are together, jumping up and out again, taking my feet either side of the step box, making sure I avoid lowering onto the step. For safety reasons I will make sure that the step box is no wider than 16 inches.
This exercise targets the quadriceps, gluteus maximus, and hamstrings. Much like the squat, it is a “midrange” motion, and should be performed as an alternative to squats as a primary mass building exercise. It is a much simpler exercise, and I will sometimes use this with beginners until they develop a bit of a foundation before moving them into squats.
Placing my feet about shoulder’s width apart approximately in the middle of the platform. Raising the weight and lowering. NOT locking my legs. Holding the handgrip to hold me down. I will be lowering the weight slowly, about 3-5 seconds whilst breathing in. Coming all the way down until my legs are almost flat against my body. Pausing briefly, then pressing the weight to the top position, exhaling on the positive portion of the motion. The positive motion should take about 1-3 seconds. 15 reps / 72.5kg / 3 sets Bench Press Target Area: Building Mass of the pectoralis major, triceps, and anterior deltoids.
The bench press is a mid-range exercise. Mid-range exercises use muscle synergy to move larger net amounts of weights. The primary movers in this exercise are the pectoralis major, anterior deltoids and the triceps muscles. Taking the weight off the rack and holding it above the middle of my chest for a second or two. This exercise is effective for mass-building if done with relatively heavy weights. Using a wide grip. Putting my hands on the bar directly above where they are at that point. Lowering the weight slowly (over 4-5 seconds) while breathing in through my nose. Touching the middle of my chest with the bar. Raising the weight slightly faster (2-3 seconds) to a full extension, while exhaling through my mouth, but not hyper-extending my elbows.
Target muscle group: Lateral (side) deltoid – shoulders. Other muscles affected: anterior (front) deltoid and posterior (rear) deltoid. This is a stretching/contracting motion, and is usually done after exercises such as the front military press or behind-the-neck military press. Dumbbells are used in this exercise. Instructions: Starting position: feet within shoulder’s width distance apart, legs slightly bent. Starting with the dumbbells in front of me or with them at your side. Either one is a good starting position. Imagining a wall running through me from my shoulder to shoulder. This is the plane in which I want to keep the dumbbells. If I raise them too far forward you reduce the effectiveness on the lateral deltoid.
At the top of the position, if I draw a line from dumbbell to dumbbell, it should go right through my shoulders. Lower the weight slowly while inhaling, bringing my arms back to the original position. I understand that I can stretch this muscle by holding each arm straight. To start with I will be performing to the following measures: 15reps / 20kg / 3 sets Lateral raise Target muscle group: Lateral (side) deltoid – shoulders.
Other muscles affected: anterior (front) deltoid and posterior (rear) deltoid. This is a stretching/contracting motion, and is usually done after. Dumbbells are used in this exercise. Instructions: Starting position: feet within shoulder’s width distance apart, legs slightly bent. Starting with the dumbbells in front me. Imagining a wall running through me from shoulder to shoulder. This is the plane in which I want to keep the dumbbells. If I raise them too far forward I will reduce the effectiveness on the lateral deltoid and actually start on the front deltoids.