Strength Training Articles

Video / Updated 08-15-2023

The standing calf raise exercise targets your calf muscles, particularly the larger, outermost muscle that is responsible for the shape and size of your calves. Performing the standing calf raise Follow these steps to perform this exercise: Stand on the edge of a step. Or, if you have a step-aerobics platform, place two sets of risers underneath the platform. Stand tall with your abdominals pulled in, the balls of your feet firmly planted on the step, and your heels hanging over the edge. Rest your hands against a wall or a sturdy object for balance. Raise your heels a few inches above the edge of the step so that you’re on your tiptoes. Hold the position for a moment, and then lower your heels below the platform, feeling a stretch in your calf muscles. Tips for doing the standing calf raise Keep these tips in mind as you perform this exercise: Lift as high as you can onto your toes and lower your heels down as much as your ankle flexibility allows. Push evenly through the entire width of your foot. Don’t push off from your big toe or the outside edge of your feet. Gym alternative: Toe press on the leg-press machine Perform a toe press on the leg-press machine at your gym as an alternative to using dumbbells for this exercise. Follow these steps to perform the toe press on the leg-press machine: Lie on the leg-press machine with your shoulders snugly underneath the pad. To lift the weight stack, straighten your legs completely, and carefully walk your feet down the foot platform until your heels hang off the end. Keeping your legs straight, rise up on your tiptoes as high as you can and then lower down until your heels are below the level of the foot plate. After you complete all the reps, carefully walk your feet back to the center of the foot plate before bending your knees and lowering the weights.

Video / Updated 08-14-2023

External and internal rotation exercises target your rotator-cuff muscles but strengthen your shoulder muscles as well. If these movements bother your neck, try resting your head on your outstretched arm. Performing rotation exercises Follow these steps to perform these exercises: Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and lie on the floor on your left side. Bend your right elbow to a 90-degree angle and tuck it firmly against your side so that your palm is facing downward. Pull your abdominals in. Bend your left elbow and rest the side of your head in your left hand. Keeping your right elbow glued to your side, raise your right hand as far as you comfortably can. Slowly lower the weight back toward the floor. This exercise is external rotation. After you complete all the repetitions, switch the weight to your left hand and lie on your back. You can also do this exercise lying on one side on the bench, with your forearm hanging off the bench. Bend your elbow so your forearm is perpendicular to the floor and your palm is facing in. Lower your hand down and out to the side as far as you can, and then lift the weight back up. This exercise is internal rotation. Tips for external and internal rotation exercises Keep these tips in mind as you perform rotation exercises: Use a very light weight. Imagine that your shoulder is the hinge of a door that is opening and closing. Keep your wrist straight. Gym alternative: Cable internal and external rotation exercises Use cable internal and external rotation exercises as an alternative in the gym. Follow these steps: Attach a horseshoe handle to the upper cable pulley and grasp the handle with your right hand so that your right arm is alongside the cable tower. Bend your arm so your forearm is in front of your body and parallel to the floor, and your elbow rests against your side. Pull the handle across your body to lift the weight, and then slowly return your arm to the starting position. This exercise is internal rotation. After you complete your reps, do external rotation with your left rotator cuff: Without changing position, hold the horseshoe handle in your left hand, so your forearm is across your waist. Keeping your left elbow against your side, pull the handle outward to lift the weight. To lower the weight, return to the starting position. To complete internal and external rotation on both arms, switch to the other side of the cable tower or turn your body around.

Video / Updated 08-14-2023

The dumbbell chest press closely mimics the bench press — the favorite exercise among serious weightlifters everywhere. This exercise works your chest muscles, shoulders, and triceps. If you have shoulder, elbow, or lower-back problems, limit the range of motion. You should lower and lift the dumbbells only a few inches to avoid overstraining these joints. Performing the dumbbell chest press Follow these steps to perform this exercise: Lie on the bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet flat on the floor. You can rest your feet up on the bench if it’s more comfortable. Push the dumbbells up so that your arms are directly over your shoulders and your palms are up. Pull your abdominals in, and tilt your chin toward your chest. Lower the dumbbells down and a little to the side until your elbows are slightly below your shoulders. Roll your shoulder blades back and down, like you’re pinching them together and accentuating your chest. Push the weights back up, taking care not to lock your elbows or allow your shoulder blades to rise off the bench. Tips for the dumbbell chest press Keep in mind the following tips as you perform chest presses: Let your back keep a natural arch so that you have a slight gap between your lower back and the bench. Don’t contort your body in an effort to lift the weight. Lift only as much weight as you can handle while maintaining good form. When pressing the dumbbells up, have them form a triangular motion; they don’t need to touch each other. Gym alternative: Vertical chest-press machine Use the vertical chest-press machine at your gym as an alternative to using dumbbells for this exercise. Follow these steps to use the vertical chest-press machine: Sit so that the center of your chest lines up with the center of the horizontal set of handlebars. Press down on the foot bar (if your particular machine's design has one) so that the handles move forward. Grip the horizontal handles and push them forward, straightening your arms. Lift your feet from the foot bar so that the weight of the stack transfers into your hands. Slowly bend your arms until your elbows are slightly behind your chest, and then push the handles forward until your arms are straight. After you complete the set, put your feet back on the foot bar and let go of the handles before you lower the weight stack all the way down.

Video / Updated 08-14-2023

The dumbbell shoulder press exercise targets your shoulders, placing some emphasis on your triceps and upper back. Use caution if you have lower-back, neck, or elbow problems. Performing the dumbbell shoulder press Follow these steps to perform this exercise: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on a bench with back support. Plant your feet firmly on the floor about hip-width apart. Bend your elbows and raise your upper arms to shoulder height so the dumbbells are at ear level. Pull your abdominals in so there is a slight gap between the small of your back and the bench. Place the back of your head against the pad. Push the dumbbells up and in until the ends of the dumbbells touch lightly, directly over your head, and then lower the dumbbells back to ear level. Tips for the dumbbell shoulder press Keep these tips in mind as you perform shoulder presses: Keep your elbows rigid without locking them at the top of the movement. Press your back against the back support without flattening out the curve in your back. Bring your arms and elbows down, keeping your elbow joints in line with your shoulders. If the bench is tall enough, keep your head against the back rest. Don’t wiggle or squirm in an effort to press the weights up. Gym alternative: Shoulder-press machine Use the shoulder-press machine at your gym as an alternative to using dumbbells for this exercise. Follow these steps to use the shoulder-press machine: Set your seat height so that the shoulder-press machine’s pulley is even with the middle of your shoulder. Hold onto each of the front handles. Pull your abdominals in tight, but allow a slight natural gap to remain between the small of your back and the back pad. Press the handles up without locking your elbows. Lower your arms until your elbows are slightly lower than your shoulders.

Video / Updated 08-09-2023

The dumbbell biceps curl exercise targets your biceps, the muscles you rely on to hold heavy objects and look buff in sleeveless shirts. Use caution if you have lower-back or elbow problems. Performing biceps curls Follow these steps to perform this exercise: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet as wide apart as your hips. Let your arms hang down at your sides with your palms forward. Pull your abdominals in, stand tall, and keep your knees slightly bent. Curl both arms upward until they’re in front of your shoulders. Slowly lower the dumbbells back down. Tips for doing biceps curls Keep these tips in mind as you perform this exercise: Keep your knees slightly bent and your posture tall. Don’t lean back or rock your body forward to help lift the weight. Keep your elbows as close to your body as you can without supporting your elbows on the sides of your stomach for leverage. Don’t rest when you reach the top or bottom of the exercise; instead, keep a constant tension on the biceps. Lower the weight back to the starting position slowly and with control. Gym alternative: Arm-curl machine Use the arm-curl machine at your gym as an alternative to using dumbbells for this exercise. Follow these steps to use the arm-curl machine: Adjust the seat so that when you sit down and extend your arms straight out, they’re level with your shoulders, and your elbows are lined up with the moving hinge or pulley of the machine. Sit down and grasp a handle in each hand with your palms facing up. Bend your elbows and pull the handles until they’re just above your shoulders. Slowly lower the handles back down.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-15-2022

If you want to get into weight training, start by sorting fact from fiction. Don’t let stories you’ve heard about weight lifting keep you from the gym. You'll reach your fitness goals sooner by getting some simple home equipment and finding a qualified personal trainer. Follow some basic etiquette when working with a trainer and using the gym, and learn some muscle terminology so you’re comfortable with weight training.

Article / Updated 12-09-2019

The CrossFit Games are a hugely popular and incredibly intense fitness competition that endeavors to crown “the fittest man and the fittest woman in the world.” The Games are so popular that over 200,000 athletes signed up for the Open competition (a five-week qualifying stage in which participants from all over the world submit their scores online), with over 1,500 men and women advancing to regional competitions. From the Regionals, about 100 finalists compete in the actual Games. But what is CrossFit? Glad you asked. What is the CrossFit program? CrossFit is an intense, multi-discipline exercise program that combines all different kinds of exercises into varied fitness routines. CrossFit trains 10 fundamental physical qualities: Cardio/respiratory endurance, strength, stamina, power, flexibility, speed, agility, coordination, accuracy, and balance. Often when people exercise, they focus on one or two activities, such as running or weight lifting or swimming. CrossFitters, however, seek to create exercise routines that include a variety of activities, called Workouts of the Day (WODs). For example, in Monday’s WOD, you might do 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 10 burpees (completing as many repetitions as possible in a given amount of time). In Tuesday’s WOD, you might do 15 sit-ups, 10 deadlifts, and run 100 meters (again, with as many repetitions as possible in a given timeframe). The goal is to do a variety of workouts that cross disciplines so that you can become as fit as possible. The CrossFit Games ramp up this philosophy to extreme levels, though — three to four days of intense competition and four grueling WODs per day, with strict and aggressive repetitions and time limits. For an introduction to CrossFit, check out this CrossFit For Dummies video. A brief history of the CrossFit Games The CrossFit Games have grown from a small, local competition to a worldwide event. Here’s how: 2007: The first CrossFit Games were held on a ranch in northern California and saw 70 CrossFit athletes compete for a $500 prize. 2008: The number of competing athletes grew to 300. 2009: The Games went global, with regional competitions across the world sending 150 finalists to compete in the Games. These Games also saw the first separate team competition, in which 100 teams competed for the Affiliate Cup. 2010: The Games moved to a larger venue in Los Angeles. Another level of qualifying was added: Sectionals, the winners of which would go to the Regionals. After Regionals, 86 finalists competed in the Games, which awarded a first prize of $25,000. 2011: Reebok initiated a 10-year sponsorship of the Games, which allowed the prize money to significantly increase — male and female individual winners took home $250,000 each. 2011was also the first year the Games were televised on ESPN. The CrossFit Games also added the Open competition (replacing the Sectionals), which attracted over 26,000 athletes worldwide. The Open competition sent the highest scorers to the Regionals, and then the regional winners would go to the games to compete for the title of “Fittest on Earth.” This was the first year that Rich Froning, Jr., and Annie Thorisdottir would win the individual men’s and women’s championships. 2012: Over 86,000 athletes competed in the Open competition in 2012. From the Open, the 60 fittest individual athletes and 30 fittest teams from each region competed in the regional competitions. From there, each of the 17 regions sent the top 3 men, 3 women, and 3 teams to the games. In 2012, the Games also sprang a major surprise on the finalists: Before the Games officially began, an extra day of competition was added, which was held at the U.S. Marine base, Camp Pendleton. Froning and Thorisdottir repeated as the individual champions. 2013: The popularity of the games continued to increase dramatically, and more than 138,000 athletes participated in the Open competition. Froning became three-time men’s champion; however, Thorisdottir had to withdraw due to injury, and Sam Briggs won the women’s championship. 2014: Over 200,000 athletes participated in the Open completion. Froning became four-time men’s champion, and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet won the women’s championship. Returning two-time champion Thorisdottir came in second place in the women’s competition. How to participate and qualify in the CrossFit Games Signing up to participate in the CrossFit Games is easy. Just go to the CrossFit Games website, create a new account (or log in with your existing account if you’re a returning participant), and answer a few questions geared toward placing you in the correct division and region. Then you can register to participate in the Open completion. Registration for the Open costs $20 for residents of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. For the rest of the world, registration is $10. Qualifying for the CrossFit Games is another story. That’s where the real work begins, and you have to be super-fit to do the workouts. Open athletes compete in five workouts over a five-week period, and they post their scores online. The workouts are posted online and must be followed to the letter and validated. There are two ways to validate your workout: Work out at a CrossFit-affiliated gym and have a person judge your workout and submit your scores online. Upload a video of your workout as evidence of the scores you post online. Competitors can make as many attempts as necessary to get the best score, as long as the score for each week’s workout is submitted by the end of the week. Then, at the close of the Open competition, the best-performing 48 men, 48 women, and 30 teams from each of 17 worldwide regions will be invited to the regional competitions. Upcoming CrossFit Games schedule The dates for the upcoming games are posted on the CrossFit Games website, but here are general timeframes for each of the three stages: The Open competition begins in late February and spans five weeks. The Regionals take place in May over a three-day period. The Games themselves take place in August over a three- to four-day time period. So you have plenty of training time between the three stages. However, the workouts that competitors perform during these stages are not posted online until the time of the competition to maintain the element of surprise.

Article / Updated 12-09-2019

A weight bench can help you get a better strength-training workout. Some benches are flat, and some are upright, like narrow chairs with high, padded backs. Others are adjustable so you can slide them to an incline or decline position. Here are some tips for using weight benches: Experiment with the angle of the bench, especially for chest exercises. Inclining the bench a few degrees allows you to work the muscle fibers of your upper chest. (But attempting chest exercises at too high an angle can put your shoulder joint in jeopardy.) Declining the bench emphasizes your lower chest. You can use a slightly different angle each workout if you want. Use a bench for support. When you’re doing overhead lifts or bicep curls, adjust the seat so it’s upright, and sit snugly against it. This position protects your back and prevents you from cheating. You won’t be able to rock your body back and forth to build momentum to hoist the dumbbell. You have to rely solely on the muscle power of your biceps. However, you’ll still have to stop yourself from arching the small of your back off the bench when the weight gets heavy. Use weight-lifting benches for one activity only: lifting weights. Never use a weight bench for step aerobics. You can, however, use your step bench as a weight bench as long as you’re not lifting dumbbells heavier than, say, 30 pounds. Keep your feet flat on the floor or flat on the bench — whichever is more comfortable. Don’t put your feet up in the air, especially if you’re a beginner. This creates an unstable position and looks like you want your stomach scratched. Instead, keep your feet firmly planted on the floor.

Article / Updated 12-09-2019

You should learn proper form to lift weights in a strength-training program. The way some people lift weights, you’d think they were in labor or impersonating a mountain gorilla. Grunting, screaming, and rocking back and forth are not indications of proper weight-lifting. When you’re lifting weights in a strength-training program, the following rules always apply: Always warm up. Before you lift a weight, do at least five minutes of aerobic exercise to get your muscles warm and pliable. If you’re going to do arm exercises and there aren’t any upper-body aerobic machines around (such as a VersaClimber, rower, or cross-country skier), you can even do a few minutes of arm circles. Good form is always more important than lifting a lot of weight. Don’t arch your back, strain your neck, or rock your body to generate momentum. Not only can these maneuvers cause injury, but they also make the exercises less effective. Increase your weight by the smallest possible increment. Jumping from a 5-pound weight to a 10-pounder doesn’t sound like a big leap, but think about it: You’re doubling the load on that muscle. If you’re using a 5-pound weight, move up to a 6-, 7-, or 8-pounder. If your health club or home gym doesn’t have interim weights, buy a pair of PlateMates — nifty magnets that you stick on each end of a dumbbell or barbell. Credit: Photograph by Sunstreak Productions, Inc. PlateMates are interim weights that you can add to dumbbells or barbells. Remember to breathe. In general, exhale forcefully through your mouth as you lift the weight and inhale deeply through your nose as you lower it. Just don’t overdo it because overly forceful breathing can leave you feeling lightheaded. Although proper breathing is important for speeding oxygen to your muscles, don’t get hung up on the mechanics. Don’t hold your breath (unless you’re a world class power lifter, aiming to lift world-record amounts of weight). You can bring about sharp increases in your blood pressure, and you can even faint from lack of air. Use a full range of motion. In other words, pull or push as far as you’re supposed to. (If you’re not sure, a trainer can show you the correct range of motion for each exercise.) Using the full range of motion enhances your flexibility. However, you don’t want to go past a natural range of motion because this can cause injury to the joint. For example, lifting dumbbells out to the side above shoulder level puts too much stress on the shoulder. Sitting down too far when you squat can cause knee injuries. Pay attention. Remind yourself which muscle you’re working, and focus on that muscle. It’s easy to do lat pull-downs without challenging your lats. And it’s easy to do abdominal crunches without really working your abs.

Article / Updated 11-21-2019

You can’t design a strength-training (or weight-training) program without knowing two terms: rep and set. Rep (repetition) is one complete motion of an exercise. A set is a group of consecutive repetitions. For example, you can say, “I did two sets of ten reps on the crunches” This means that you did ten consecutive crunches, rested, and then did another ten crunches. How many reps should I do? The number of reps you should do depends on where you are in your training (new, experienced, coming back from a long layoff) and your goals. To become as strong and as big as your body type will allow, do fewer than 8 or 10 reps per set. To tone your muscles and develop the type of strength you need for everyday life — moving furniture or shoveling snow — aim for 10 to 12 repetitions. Doing dozens of reps with ultralight weights (weights you can barely even feel) doesn’t bring good results of any kind, because you’re not stressing your muscles enough. No matter how many repetitions you do, always use a heavy enough weight so that the last rep is a struggle, but not such a struggle that you compromise good form. After about a month of strength training, you may want to go to muscular failure (that is, your last repetition is so difficult that you can’t squeeze out one more). If you have a few different goals in mind, you can mix and match the number of reps you do per workout. If you want to get bigger and stronger and also improve the endurance of those muscles, you can do a heavy workout one day and a lighter workout the next time out. Keep track of how you feel; your body may respond better to one type of training than another. Be sure to adjust the amount of weight you use for each exercise. In general, use more weight to work larger muscles like your thighs, chest, and upper back, and use less weight to exercise your shoulders, arms, and abdominals. But even when doing different exercises for the same muscle group, you’re likely to need a variety of weights. For example, you typically can handle more weight on the flat chest-press machine than you can on the incline chest-press machine. Write down how much weight you lift for each exercise so that next time around, you don’t have to waste time experimenting all over again. But don’t lock yourself into lifting a certain amount of weight every time. Everyone feels stronger on some days than on others. How many sets should I do for each muscle group? There’s no simple answer. Several studies show that doing one set per muscle builds just as much strength as doing three sets per muscle, at least for the first three or four months of training. If you’re a novice or if you’re starting again after a layoff, begin with one set of 10 to 12 repetitions, and make sure your last rep feels challenging. You should feel like you have control of the weight but if you did one more rep, you may not be able to make it all the way. Most people can increase their initial weights after two to four weeks of training; at that point, consider adding a second or even third set for each muscle group. However, if your goal is simply to build enough strength for good health, one challenging set may be sufficient. If you’re aiming for maximum strength or a physique like the ones you see on ESPN body-building competitions, you need to do at least 10 to 20 sets per muscle group!