It is never enough to just do a movement and expect results. The movements must be done correctly. I am going to share 3 tips that will make every exercise more effective and help you maximize its potential.
Elbows
In almost every upper body movement, your elbows will dictate whether that movement will be effective or not. When you get sloppy or begin to cheat, your elbows will drift either inward or outward depending on the movement. For pressing movements, elbows tend to drift inward. During curling exercises, the elbow will drift outward.
Not allowing the elbows to drift will keep the tension on the muscles being worked. During bench presses, you must keep your elbows slightly behind the bar. This slight position keeps all the effort on the pec muscles and maximizes stretch at the bottom. Those who cheat will allow the elbows to move in front of the bar. This will bring more shoulder and triceps action into play. You also have less control requiring even more body english to complete the movement.
The more you control your elbows, the more effective an exercise will be. It is just that simple.
Grip
The harder you grip a bar, the more poundage you will be able to move. It's amazing what a strong grip will do for you. Obviously, gripping hard will be great work for your forearms. But more than that, gripping hard focuses your efforts and "magically" makes you stronger. Of course, there is nothing magical about it.
Next time at the gym or where ever you work out, you should make a conscious effort to really, really grip hard during every exercise. Grip hard when you are squatting. Just because the bar is sitting behind your shoulders is no reason to just use your hands to keep it from sliding down. Grip that bar hard and feel the energy; you will be able to crank out 2 or 3 more repetitions.
Tense Your Body
As you exercise, tense your whole body. In particular, tense and flex your legs as you exercise. Whether you doing a prone bench press, bent-over rows, or standing curls; you should tense your torso and envision your legs as pillars of strength that you can call on for added help. Before you start curling, tense and flex your legs.
There is a synergy that comes from tensing your whole body. And you are less prone to injury when you activate all the muscles in your body instead allowing some to be just passive. When you squat, your entire body is flexed. It needs to be. Deep in the well of a heavy squat, your body is in a fight mode to get up. Having the whole body flexed keeps you from injuring yourself, among other things. You should be in the same mode when curling or pressing.
These 3 tips will help you crank out one more repetition. And that is the key. One more repetition may be what you need to break through the plateau or help you get to the next level.
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