Workout 12: Chest & Biceps
Chest Exercises
- Pick up the dumbbells, one in each hand, with your palms facing inward. Sit down on a flat bench and rest the dumbbells on your thighs.
- Before laying down, lift the dumbbells in front of you at shoulder width keeping your palms facing each other. To get into position, lay back and keep the dumbbells close to your chest.
- When you’re ready, press the dumbbells out and above you so that your arms are fully extended.
- Slightly retract your shoulder blades, unlock your elbows, and slowly lower the dumbbells laterally to create a wide arc while maintaining the angle at your elbow. You should feel stretch in your chest.
- Once the dumbbells reach your chest level, reverse the movement while trying not to let the dumbbells touch.
Caution: In order to protect yourself, it is best to have a spotter to help you.
- Start by securing your legs under the brace at the bottom of the decline bench and lay down.
- Using an overhand medium width grip, lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over your chest with your arms fully extended. Your arms should be perpendicular to the ground.
- As you inhale, lower the bar toward your chest until your elbows reach a 90° angle.
- Pause for a second, then use your chest muscles to push the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in at the contracted position. Hold for a second and then start to lower the bar down slowly.
- Lie back on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand atop your thighs. The palms of your hands will be facing each other.
- Then, using your thighs to help push the dumbbells up, lift the dumbbells one at a time so that you can hold them at shoulder width.
- Once you have the dumbbells raised to shoulder width, rotate your wrists forward so that the palms of your hands are facing away from you. This will be your starting position.
- Be sure to keep full control of the dumbbells at all times. Then breathe out and push the dumbbells up with your chest.
- Lock your arms at the top, hold for a second, and then start slowly lowering the weight. Tip Ideally, lowering the weights should take about twice as long as raising them.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
- When you are done, place the dumbbells back on your thighs and then on the floor. This is the safest manner to release the dumbbells.
- Pick up the dumbbells, one in each hand, with your palms facing inward. Sit down on a flat bench and rest the dumbbells on your thighs.
- Before laying down, lift the dumbbells in front of you at shoulder width keeping your palms facing each other. To get into position, lay back and keep the dumbbells close to your chest.
- When you’re ready, press the dumbbells out and above you so that your arms are fully extended.
- Slightly retract your shoulder blades, unlock your elbows, and slowly lower the dumbbells laterally to create a wide arc while maintaining the angle at your elbow. You should feel stretch in your chest.
- Once the dumbbells reach your chest level, reverse the movement while trying not to let the dumbbells touch.
Biceps Exercises
- Grip a pull-up bar with your palms facing away from your face.
- Let your arms hang straight up and hold on for as long as you can. A good long-term target for this to build up to is 90 seconds - 120 seconds of hanging.
- Let go once your grip gives out.
- Attach a wide bar to a cable tower.
- Lay a mat on the floor next to the tower and lay on it.
- Grasp the bar with a wide underhand grip. With your arms straight, your core tight and a neutral spine, bend at the hips and knees to pick the bar up from the tower and bring it towards you.
- Keeping the elbows at your sides and your eyes forward, curl the bar up to your chest.
- Lower the bar under control. Do not let your upper back round over - consciously pull your shoulder blades together to provide a stable base for your arms to pull from.
- Do not swing - keep your core tight and a neutral spine.
- Sit at the end of a bench and place one dumbbell in front of you between your legs. Keep your legs spread apart, your knees bent, your back straight, and your feet on the ground.
- Use your right arm to pick up the dumbbell. Place the back of your arm against the inside of your same-sided thigh.
- Begin with the palm of your hand facing away from your thigh. Keep your arm extended and the dumbbell slightly above the ground.
- Make sure that your upper arm remains stationary as you contract your biceps and curl the dumbbell toward your opposite-sided pec. Continue the movement until the dumbbell is at shoulder level. Remember, only the forearms should move.
- Slowly begin to lower the dumbbell back to its starting position. Avoid swinging motions at all times.
- Perform all reps using the same arm, then repeat this movement with your other arm.
- Sit at the end of a bench and place one dumbbell in front of you between your legs. Keep your legs spread apart, your knees bent, your back straight, and your feet on the ground.
- Use your right arm to pick up the dumbbell. Place the back of your arm against the inside of your same-sided thigh.
- Begin with the palm of your hand facing away from your thigh. Keep your arm extended and the dumbbell slightly above the ground.
- Make sure that your upper arm remains stationary as you contract your biceps and curl the dumbbell toward your opposite-sided pec. Continue the movement until the dumbbell is at shoulder level. Remember, only the forearms should move.
- Slowly begin to lower the dumbbell back to its starting position. Avoid swinging motions at all times.
- Perform all reps using the same arm, then repeat this movement with your other arm.
