Top Exercises
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bench press
A bench press is an exercise that can be used to strengthen the muscles of the upper body, including the pectorals, arms, and shoulders. Depending on your goals, there are different variations of bench presses that work slightly different muscles, too. For example, a narrower grip bench press will put extra emphasis on the triceps and forearms. Other benefits of adding bench presses to your weight-training regimen include increasing upper body strength, improving muscular endurance, and even preparing your upper body to do movements like pushups. They also can be an effective strengthening exercise for sports like sprinting, hockey, and football.
pull ups
A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands, gripping a bar or other implement at a distance typically wider than shoulder-width, and pulled up. As this happens, the elbows flex and the shoulders adduct and extend to bring the elbows to the torso.Pull-ups build up several muscles of the upper body, including the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and biceps brachii. A pull-up may be performed with overhand (pronated), underhand (supinated)—sometimes referred to as a chin-up—neutral, or rotating hand position. Pull-ups are used by some organizations as a component of fitness tests, and as a conditioning activity for some sports.
barbell squats
A squat is a strength exercise in which the trainee lowers their hips from a standing position and then stands back up. During the descent, the hip and knee joints flex while the ankle joint dorsiflexes; conversely the hip and knee joints extend and the ankle joint plantarflexes when standing up. Squats also help the hip muscles. Squats are considered a vital exercise for increasing the strength and size of the lower body muscles as well as developing core strength. The primary agonist muscles used during the squat are the quadriceps femoris, the adductor magnus, and the gluteus maximus. The squat also isometrically uses the erector spinae and the abdominal muscles, among others. The squat is one of the three lifts in the strength sport of powerlifting, together with the deadlift and the bench press. It is also considered a staple exercise in many popular recreational exercise programs.
bicep curls
The bicep curl mainly targets the biceps brachii, brachialis and brachioradialis muscles. The biceps is stronger at elbow flexion when the forearm is supinated (palms turned upward) and weaker when the forearm is pronated.[1] The brachioradialis is at its most effective when the palms are facing inward, and the brachialis is unaffected by forearm rotation. Therefore, the degree of forearm rotation affects the degree of muscle recruitment between the three muscles. A bicep curl usually starts with the arm in a fully extended position, holding a weight with a supinated (palms facing up) grip. A full repetition consists of bending or curling the elbow until it is fully flexed, then slowly lowering the weight to the starting position. The torso should remain upright instead of swinging back and forth, as doing so transfers the load away from the biceps and onto other muscles, reducing the effectiveness of the exercise. The elbows are also usually kept stationary at the side of the torso, as allowing the elbows to move in front of the weight's center of gravity removes tension on the biceps before full contraction is achieved.[2]
dips
A dip is an upper-body strength exercise. Close grip dips primarily train the triceps, with major synergists being the anterior deltoid, the pectoralis muscles, and the rhomboid muscles of the back. Wide shoulder width dips place additional emphasis on the pectoral muscles, similar in respect to the way a wide grip bench press would focus more on the pectorals and less on the triceps. Usually dips are done on a dip bar, with the exerciser's hands supporting their entire body weight. For added resistance, weights can be added by use of a dip belt, weighted vest, or by wearing a backpack with weights in it. A dumbbell may also be held between the knees or ankles. For less resistance, an assisted dip/pull-up machine can be used which reduces the force necessary for the exerciser to elevate their body by use of a counterweight. One may also use resistance bands hooked under their feet to help if they lack the strength to properly perform a dip.
Incline bench press
An incline elevates the shoulders and lowers the pelvis as if reclining in a chair; this variation emphasizes anterior deltoids with little emphasis on the upper (clavicular) head of the pectoralis major. This variation is called the incline bench press. The incline bench press is a variation of the well known flat bench press. Like all variations of bench pressing the workout is done for strength training, gaining muscle mass, and for sports. The incline bench press focuses on the upper chest, and part of your shoulders. The workout can be done to increase flat bench press, and to have a fuller chest.
Machine Fly
A machine fly, alternatively called a seated lever fly or pec deck fly is a strength training exercise based on the free weight chest fly. As with the chest fly, the hand and arm move through an arc while the elbow is kept at a constant angle. Flyes are used to work the muscles of the upper body, primarily the sternal head of the pectoralis major. Because these exercises use the arms as levers at their longest possible length, the amount of weight that can be moved is significantly less than equivalent press exercises for the same muscles (the military press and bench press for the shoulder and chest respectively). Denie Walter is credited with calling it the Peck Dec back in the 1970s
Deadlift
The deadlift exercise is a relatively simple exercise to perform, a weight is lifted from a resting position on the floor to an upright position. The deadlift exercise utilizes multiple muscle groups to perform but has been used to strength the hips, thighs, and back musculature. It was believed that the mechanics are similar to the squat, however, there are several differences. First, the deadlift the force production is not assisted with a stretch-shortening cycle as in the squat. This means that the deadlift starts with a concentric contraction and ends with an eccentric contraction[1]. Another is the load is applied perpendicular to the body and loaded on the horizontal plane. The squat is loaded in the vertical plane. This means that the deadlift could have benefits for horizontal plane activities such as sprinting and long jumps
Lat Pulldown
The lat pulldown works the latissimus dorsi, the largest muscle in the back, as well as your biceps, rear delts, rhomboids and traps. This movement gives you the opportunity to train many muscles at the same time, and develop overall strength in your back and upper body. These muscles play an important role in posture, as well as allowing you to develop pulling strength, and pull yourself up and over an object, like you would do in activities like rock climbing.
Lunges
A lunge can refer to any position of the human body where one leg is positioned forward with knee bent and foot flat on the ground while the other leg is positioned behind.It is used by athletes in cross-training for sports, by weight-trainers as a fitness exercise, and by practitioners of yoga as part of an asana regimen. In contrast to the split squat exercise, during the lunge the rear leg is also activated