SOME MAJOR EXERCISES:

1. BENCH PRESS

What's The Bench Press? Lie on an upright support bench or a bench inside a Power Rack. Unrack the weight & lower it to your chest. Press it back up until your arms are locked. You've done a Bench Press.


Benefits of The Bench Press. Why should you Bench Press? Here are two reasons to do the exercise.

• Builds Muscle - Bench Press if you want a big chest, as popularized by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 70's. Front Shoulders & triceps work too.
• Builds Strength - The Bench Press is the strength training exercise that lets you lift the most weight using your upper-body muscles.

Bench Press Safety. Most injuries in the gym happen when doing The Bench Press. One reason is of course because it's the exercise done the most. Other reasons are not using the following tips.

• No Thumbless Grip. Use your thumbs when doing the Bench Press. You don't want the bar to slip out of your hands.
• Start Light. Add weight gradually. You'll get a feeling of what you can & can't handle while learning proper Bench Press technique.
• Ask Someone to Spot. Spotters will help you if you get stuck with the bar on your chest. If you don't have a spotter, read the guide on how to Bench Press safely when you're alone.
• Bench Press & Shoulders Pain. Shoulder pain from doing the Bench Press is common. Switching to dumbbells or quiting the Bench Press avoids pain, but doesn't solve your shoulder problem. What you should do:

• Improve Technique. If you don't Bench Press with proper technique you'll injure yourself sooner or later. Read on.
• Fix Posture. You can't Bench Press with proper technique if you have slouching shoulders. Start doing shoulder dislocations. Focus on bringing your chest forward & squeezing your shoulder-blades.
• Avoid Muscle Imbalances. The Bench Press works your front shoulders more than the back ones. If you don't strengthen these by doing the Barbell Row & Overhead Press, you'll get a muscle imbalance. Causing bad posture & thus bad Bench Press technique.
• Correct Bench Grip on the right: bar in hand palm.
• Bench Press Setup . You need a strong base to press the weight from. Tighten your upper-back. Grip the bar hard: try to break it apart like breaking spaghetti.
• Grip Width. Too narrow & you'll lose strength. Too wide & the distance the bar travels shortens. Grip width should be about 55-71 cm /22-28" depending on your build. Forearms perpendicular to the floor when the bar touches your chest.
• Gripping the Bar. Secure the bar with your thumbs by rotating your hands in. Put the bar in the palm of your hand, close to your wrist. If you put the bar close to your fingers, you'll get wrist pain.
• Tight Upper-back. Squeeze your shoulder-blades before getting on the bench. Keep your shoulder-blades back & down at all times like on the picture below. This gives your body a solid base to press the bar from.
• Chest Up. Don't allow your chest to go flat or shoulders to roll forward. You'll lose upper-back tightness, losing power & increasing risk of shoulder injury. Keep your chest up at all time.
• Feet. Use a wide foot stance to increase stability on the bench. Feet flat on the floor, weight on the heels, lower leg perpendicular to the floor. This prevents extreme arching of your lower back.
• Tight upper-back, squeezing the shoulder-blades. 
• The Bench Press. Remember to keep the tight position during the Bench Press from start to finish. Squeeze the bar, keep your upper-back tight & your chest up. Unrack the weight with straight arms. Bench.
• Bar to Chest. Touch your chest where your forearms are perpendicular to the floor when looking from the side.
• Press in a Straight Line. Don't look at the bar. Fix a point at the ceiling. Press the bar in a straight line above your chest, not towards your face. Keep the bar above your elbows during the whole lift.

Common Errors. The following Bench Press errors are either inefficient or potentially dangerous. Avoid them at all costs.

• Unracking with Bent Arms. Don't risk the bar falling on your face. Your arms are strongest when your elbows are locked. Unrack & bring the bar above your chest with locked elbows.
• Pressing to Your Face. The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. Press in a straight line. Fix a point at the ceiling where you want the bar to go. Don't look at the bar.
• Bending Your Wrists. This will get you wrist pain. Put the bar in the palm of your hand. Close to your wrists, not close to your fingers. Squeeze the bar so it doesn't move.
• Elbows. Too high is bad for your shoulders. Too low is inefficient. Put your elbows between perpendicular to & parallel with your torso.
• Shoulders Forward. Don't let your shoulders roll forward. It's bad posture, bad technique & a guaranteed way to get shoulder injuries. Keep your chest up, shoulder-blades back & down and upper-back tight.
• Glutes off the Bench. This makes the distance the bar travels shorter & thus the Bench Press easier. However it puts pressure on your back, especially when the weight gets heavy. You're more stable when your glutes are on the bench. Keep them there.
• Pushing Your Head into The Bench. You'll injure your neck. Tighten your neck muscles, without pushing your head into the bench.

2.  SQUATS

What Are Squats? Bend through your knees with the bar on your back until your hips come lower than parallel. Once your hip joint is lower than your knee joint you Squat up again.

Why Should You Squat? Every muscle works when you Squat: your legs move the weight, your abs & lower back stabilize it, your arms squeeze the bar, etc. The Squat is NOT just a leg exercise, it's a full body exercise. 

• Build Muscle. Muscle size is directly related to strength. That's why the best bodybuilder ever,  Arnold Schwarzenegger, could Squat close to 500lbs. Getting stronger at Squats is the fastest way to gain muscle.
• Gain Strength. Squats strengthen your legs by working them through a full range of motion. This helps all sports but also daily activities. No more bending over to pick up an object, you can just Squat.
• Gain Flexibility. Squats are proof that weight training doesn't make you inflexible. You need flexibility to Squat, and regular Squatting will help you maintain that flexibility. Especially if you sit a lot at work.
• Strengthen Your Knees. Unlike what ignorant people will tell you, Squatting CORRECTLY will strengthen your knees by strengthening their surrounding muscles. 

Won't Squat Blow My Knees? If you do them wrong for months, they will. Just like any other weight training exercise (or movement!) will get you injured if you do it wrong long enough. Many idiot personal trainers and "highly educated" (but dumb) doctors will tell you to do half Squats to keep your knees safe. This is the WORST advice ever - you'll HURT your knees if you do what they say.

Here's why: your knee joint is strongest in a fully flexed/extended position, not the positions in-between. On top of that, partial Squats only strengthen your quads, not your glutes and hamstrings. That will result in muscle imbalances and injuries. Half reps are also less effective for strength and muscle gains.

If you use common sense, you'll see that Squatting parallel is the logical thing to do. Here are some examples to get you on the right track...

In many parts of the world, Squatting deep is "normal" and people do it a lot. As an example, watch this video of the Asian Squat.

Babies sit in the bottom Squat position all the time without injuring their knees. The fact that most guys lose this ability over the years, doesn't mean that Squatting parallel is bad for your knees.

Thousands of weightlifters Squat deeper than described here and with heavier weights than most guys will ever handle. Nonetheless, weightlifting has the lowest rate of injury compared to any other sport.

How to Avoid Injuries. Always Squat in a Power Rack. Set the safety pins so they can catch the bar would anything go wrong. The rest is technique - start light, add weight gradually, and remember form always comes before weight.

How to Unrack The Bar. ALWAYS STEP BACK to unrack the bar, never forward. You don't want to injure yourself stumbling over your own feet while walking the weight backwards into the uprights after a draining set.

• Set the bar in the Power Rack at about mid-chest level.
• Position your feet directly under the bar.
• Squat under the bar and put it on your back.
• Tighten everything and Squat up to unrack the bar.
• One step back with one leg, one step back with the other leg.
• Squat.

The Squat Setup. You'll have to think about a lot of things at first. Study the tips below, start with an empty barbell, focus on your technique.

• Chest Up. The low bar position becomes easier with a low bar position. You can also tighten your upper-back better as a result.
• Forward Look. Look at the ceiling and your neck will hurt. Keep your head inline with your torso, but don't start looking at your feet.
• Bar Position. Put the bar low, below the bone at the top of your shoulder-blades and on your back muscles - NOT on your spine.
• Grip Width. Narrow grip makes it easier to tighten your upper-back. Do lots of shoulder dislocations if this position feels uncomfortable.
• Tight Upper-back. Bring your shoulder-blades together. Tightening the upper-back gives the bar a solid base to rest on. Remember your back supports the weight, not your hands.
• Foot Stance. A narrow stance doesn't work for the low bar Squat because your belly will be in the way of your legs. Heels should be shoulder-width apart.

How to Squat Down. You have unracked the bar correctly. All your muscles are tight and ready to Squat. The key to the Squatting correctly with a low bar position are your hips: you must have tension in your hamstrings at the bottom.

• Knees Out. Never allow your knees to buckle in unless you want to injure them. Push your knees out as you Squat down.
• Hit Parallel. Your hip joint must come lower than your knee joint. Ask someone to judge your depth or tape yourself. No Partial Squats.

How to Squat Up. Your hip muscles will be stretched when in the bottom position if you Squat correctly. Use that stretch to bounce out of the hole. If you Squat this way, you'll be lift a lot more weight while keeping your knees safe.

• Push Your Knees Out. Same as for the way down: don't let your knees buckle in. Push your knees out as you Squat up.
• Squeeze Your Glutes At The Top. Power comes from the glutes. Squeeze them hard as you lockout the weight. It will also keep your lower back safe.
• Always use free weights for Squats. Machines are not only less effective for muscle and strength gains because they balance the weight for you, they also force you into fixed/unnatural movement patterns. 

                                                                      

3. DeadLifts

The Deadlift is the most important exercise next to the Squat because it works all your muscles with the heaviest weights possible. Deadlift's will also teach you to pick up an object with a straight back - this will prevent injuries like hernias which usually result from repeatedly lifting with a round lower back.

How to Deadlift. As a 500lb drug-free raw Deadlifter who started his strength journey not even able to do a single Push-up, I've found correct technique to be crucial for Deadlifting big weights and eliminating lower back pain.

                                                                                                                                                                                              

Always start with the bar on the floor. Pulling from the safety pins is a Rack Pull. Deadlifting top down is a Romanian Deadlift. With conventional DEADlifts the bar must always start on the floor. Here's how to Deadlift in 5 easy steps:

• Stand with the bar above the center of your feet - your stance should be a bit more narrow than shoulder-width to give your arms room.
• Grab the bar overhand so your arms are vertical to the floor - if your hamstrings are tight, do Squat 2 stands to boost your hip flexibility.
• Bend through your knees until your shins hit the bar which must remain above the middle of your feet. Shoulder-blades directly over the bar.
• Lift your chest but don't squeeze your shoulder-blades like on Squats. Just put your shoulders back & down, head inline with rest of your spine.
• Pull - keep the bar close to your body, roll it over your knees and thighs until your hips and knees are locked. Do not lean back at the top.
• And that's all there is to it. Lower the bar by pushing your hips back first, and then bend your knees once the bar reaches knee level (NOT before otherwise the bar will hit your knees). 

4. OVERHEAD PRESS

What's the Overhead Press? Press the bar from your front shoulders overhead until your elbows are locked. Your knees and hips must remain locked through the whole movement otherwise you're doing Push Preses. Stance should be shoulder-width apart (heels together is Military Press, which is harder).

Is the Overhead Press Safe? If you can't press the bar overhead, lower it back on your chest & put it on the floor like in the above Overhead Press video. You'll never find yourself stuck under the bar like with the Bench Press.

Like with any barbell exercise, you'll have problems finding balance the first time you try to Overhead Press. Start light, focus on your technique & add weight progressively. You'll improve.

4 Reasons To Overhead Press. You can lift more weight with the Bench Press than with the Overhead Press. But the Overhead Press has many benefits over the Bench Press. Some examples:

1. Full Body. The Overhead Press works your body as one piece. Your trunk & legs stabilize the weight while your shoulders, upper-chest & arms press the weight overhead.
2. Builds Muscle. Abs & back stabilize the weight. Shoulders, upper-chest & triceps press the weight overhead. The Overhead Press builds the physique of old-time strongman like Eugen Sandow.
3. Healthy Shoulders. The Bench Press works your front shoulders more than your back shoulders. The Overhead Press works all shoulder heads equally. Alternating the Overhead Press with the Bench Press minimizes risks of shoulder injuries caused by muscle imbalances.
4. It's Fun. Picking up a weight from the floor & pressing it overhead is more fun than pressing the same weight while lying on a Bench.

Overhead Press Setup. Put the bar on your front shoulders by taking it out of the uprights of your power rack or by Powercleaning the weight on every set.

• Foot Stance. Don't put your heels together (that's a Military Press) but shoulder-width apart. This will increase stability and thus strength.
• Grip Width. About shoulder-width apart. The larger your build, the wider your grip. Hands should never touch your shoulders.
• Gripping the Bar. Grip is same as for the Bench Press. Bar close to your wrist, in the base of your palm. Not close to your fingers.
• Chest Up. Make a big chest & lift it up. Makes it easier to use your back muscles & shortens the distance the bar has to travel.
• Elbows Forward. Elbows in front of the barbell when looking from the side. Not upper-arms parallel with the floor, it's not a Front Squat.
• Look Forward. Looking up is bad for your neck. Look forward, fix a point on the wall before you.
• Squeeze Your Glutes. Makes it impossible to arch your lower back, thus increasing safety. Squeeze your glutes hard.

Performing the Overhead Press. Press the bar overhead in a straight line, that's the shortest distance from start to finish. Unfortunately your head is in the way. So you'll need to move your head & torso during the Overhead Press.

• Tilt Head Back. Quickly tilt your head back so the bar can pass your chin/nose without hitting them. Keep looking forward.
• Shift Torso Forward. Once the bar reaches forehead level, shift your torso forward. Continue pressing the weight overhead.
• Head Forward. Your chin should almost touch your chest when the weight is overhead. Look forward, not down.
• Lock Everything. Squeeze shoulders, traps & back. Lock your elbows. End position should look like in the picture below.

Tips to Improve Your Overhead Press Technique. Common errors you'll make while learning how to Overhead Press with correct technique.

• Elbows Forward, Chest Up. You'll forget to reposition yourself between reps at first. Start each rep with elbows in front of the bar & chest up.
• Bar High. The higher the bar on your chest, the shorter the distance it has to travel. Put the bar close to your clavicles. Quickly tilt your head back & forth. Clavicles might hurt at first, your skin will adapt & thicken.
• Go Forward. You'll miss reps if you stay back vs. getting under the bar. Shift your torso forward when the bar reaches forehead level.
• Breathing. If you breathe at the top, you can bounce the bar off your chest making the next rep easier. Breathe at the bottom & you'll press from a dead stop, making the next rep harder. The former allows more weight. The latter makes the exercise harder, making the former easier.

Teenage Bodybuilding

During many people’s years as teens is when they first start to get interested in physical fitness and additionally when they can start seeing true results as their bodies begin to develop into their adult physiques. This is also the time when many people start taking their athletic training more seriously as it may mean possible scholarships and contracts for the future. Aside from this, these years are often very formative in creating lifelong physical fitness habits that will benefit these young person’s for the rest of their life.

However exciting these developments may be, teenage bodybuilding takes a lot extra work and education in order to give them the right foundation and to keep them safe. If you are a trainer or a teen yourself, remember that a natural abundance of energy can often be a bit hazardous. It may make you over confident and expose you to great physical injury. Not only is that bad on it’s own, but because teen bodies are not as developed, they are at greater risk of severity of injury as well. Proper education is vital to making sure this isn’t a problem.

Nonetheless, if done right, this can be great time to start a physical fitness program. Balance any weight training program with an aerobic workout program as well. Not only will this help to improve weight training, but it will also be part of a larger goal of setting up a lifestyle that is healthy for teens. This, in addition, to a healthy eating program will definitely give them the healthy habits their growing bodies need. 

Natural Bodybuilding Tips and Diets

There has been a lot of bad press in recent years about the negative side of the weight training community that engaged in a lot of bad behaviors including taking steroids to help improve muscle growth very quickly. This of course has great results with seriously terrible side effects that can be very dangerous. Simply put – it’s not worth it. However, there has also been a boom in substitutes that aren’t steroids, but many of which have side effects that can be seriously damaging to one’s health. For athletes looking to avoid these problems, natural bodybuilding tips and diets are an extremely important part of not only improving their build, but also staying very healthy at the same time.

For starters, planning how one trains is an extremely important way to see significant results in a very natural way that has nothing to do with chemicals supplements or cutting edge research. The most basic ideas in the realm of planning are to do two things. First, don’t train everyday. Your body needs a day off after training a muscle to help it grow. This isn’t just simply to rest a muscle because it’s sore. Instead, you actually need this time to let the body do its growing. The second piece of planning is to incorporate aerobic exercise into your workout routine. These exercises will greatly improving the function of your lungs as well as your metabolism, which will help you to train better when you are under a regime. Though it may not build muscle, it will definitely give you internal system support that will.

How you eat is also a huge component of the results you see. It’s become very popular to eat supplement bars instead of eating regular food. These can give you a huge burst of energy, but they are a tough piece of food for your body to digest. Instead of eating these products, make a few steps forward in the right direction. Cut out all the really complex sugars from your diet. These slow down your metabolism and decrease energy levels. With these gone, fill in the energy gap with a lot of natural foods. These will give you more nutrients you need and fill in the gap created by providing you with healthy sources of energy.

Additionally, cut out those energy drinks and simply hydrate a lot. There really isn’t too much to creating a healthy diet, which is natural. Proper planning and monitoring your body’s need may be all it takes to give yourself the energy and the resources to see the results you want.