VIDEO

This time we suggest paying special attention to the chest muscles. It is this zone that many athletes want to pump, but it is not so easy to do and one classic chest press is not enough. Chest muscles are one of the most complex and largest muscle groups. Therefore, competent training must be a combination of basic and isolation exercises. Only in this way, it will be possible to load the muscles at different angles. Exercises with barbells are suitable for increasing muscle mass, and with dumbbells, on blocks and training machines - for improving the form and detailed elaboration. These exercises also activate the stabilizing muscles. Imagine that the chest muscle is a rubber band that connects the shoulder, collarbone, and sternum. If you lift your arm to the side and then pull the elastic band, it will move your shoulder forward. You do this movement all the time in your normal life like when you close a door, push something away with force, or elbow your jaw. Most pectoral muscle exercises repeat this movement. The only difference is that they also use a barbell, dumbbells, or crossover slings to create extra resistance. The chest muscle has two heads: an upper head (clavicle) and a lower head. Their functions are slightly different, and this is important. In order to have a symmetrical chest, you need to pump both heads. The fibers of the clavicular head are directed upward, so you need to move the shoulder forward from the bottom to the top for additional exercise. Many people believe that the more they pump their chest, the faster their muscle mass will increase. In fact, this has a negative effect on muscle growth. The muscle gets bigger during rest when the tissues are recovering from an active workout. There are a few tips on how to properly pump your pecs and not overtrain: Exercise no more than 2 times in 7 days. In between do physical exercises on other parts of the body; Do not exercise for more than 45 minutes, as this may cause muscle size and strong growth to regress. Exercises that help you to pump the chest muscles include: push-ups. bench presses. triceps push-ups. To pump your muscles evenly, alternate your exercises. The bench press is great, but you don't have to do it in every workout, because there are other good options. Choose the weight so that the last reps in an attempt are difficult. If you find it easy and your muscles don't tire, they won't grow. Avoid flying in the clouds during the workout: concentrate on the muscle work. It really helps you to pump it better. Perform 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps. Do not use weights that are too heavy. Especially at the beginning if you do not have a good command of technique.

The hips are some of the strongest muscles in the human body. They keep the torso upright, control the hip and knee joints, and are engaged during various activities and even at rest. Their proper functioning is extremely important, and anyone should know how they function. The muscles located on the hip are involved in both hip and knee movements, providing different positions of the hip in space depending on the proximal or distal support. Topographically, the hipі are divided into three groups. The anterior group includes the flexors: the quadriceps and the tailor muscle. The medial group consists of the hip drive muscles: the comb, the long, short, big adductor, and the thin muscle. The posterior group includes the hip extensors: biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semi-perineal. The lateral outer and inner thigh muscles are considered antagonistic pairs: while one group is working, the other group relaxes. The abductors, including the middle gluteal, small gluteal, thigh broad fascia tensor, pear, and tail muscles are responsible for your leg movements from the middle of your body. Essentially, whenever you take a step to the side or turn your foot on the bed, you are activating the abductors. The inner thigh muscles, particularly the large adductor, small adductor, short adductor, and long adductor muscles perform the opposite task, working whenever you move your leg toward the center of your body. Strong and injury-resistant athletes have well-trained hip muscles. This is very important when it comes to fast sports with a lot of lateral movements, such as tennis or basketball, but also when you want to work out without pain. If your goal is to strengthen your hip muscles, which is really important, but you don't have your favorite leg workout, we will share some great exercises with you. Wide Squats. Every leg workout should include different variations of squats. This exercise targets the lower body, including the inner and outer thighs. But to really engage your thigh muscles, you should do deep squats with your legs turned outward. Sumo Deadlift. The Sumo deadlift is based on a similar leg position as in the wide squat. However, it is the external rotation of the thigh muscles that results in increased involvement of the inner and outer thighs. Side Leg Raises. A 2005 study published in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy found that side leg raises without weights are just as effective as other weighted exercises. Side Leg Pull-Ups. The pull-up exercise can be done anywhere because you don't need anything but a comfortable mat. This is a great exercise that you can add to your daily home workout routine.

Hamstring muscle training is often neglected, but for most athletes, however, it is very important because strong hamstrings help avoid many injuries. They are a group of powerful muscles that extend from the pelvis to the knee at the back of the upper leg. Their two main roles are to extend the leg (pull it back) and bend the knee, movements we use both in mountain walking or running and in everyday life. We engage and overuse them more than we realize, which creates tension and can lead to acute or chronic injuries due to overuse. For example, when you run or hike up a mountain, it may seem like you are primarily using your quadriceps, but you are also straining your hams, especially if you are overzealous or taking a big step to navigating over rocks or roots. These muscles consist of three parts: the semi-tendon muscle, the biceps femoris muscle, and the semitendinosus muscle. Together they form a large group of muscles that work at the base of the thigh. Their main function is to bend the leg at the knee joint. Before performing any strength exercises, it is important to warm up and stretch the hamstring muscles well, because the muscles are often in a contracted condition. Training It is better, to begin with, a 5-10 minutes light workout. This can be cycling, running, etc. Such workouts are good for warming up before stretching, after which you can proceed to the main workout. Training cool muscles is not a good idea. Wise advice for beginner athletes who want to train with extra weight - use a lighter load and more reps at first to gradually develop muscle strength. There are many exercises that do not directly target your hamstrings, but where they help your hamstrings, such as pull-ups, lunges, and squats. However, to develop them well, it is also important to do some isolation exercises where you focus directly on your hams. To help you on your way, we decided to list the most important exercises below. Hamstrings Compression helps relieve pain and tightness. Stretching relieves stress and helps strengthen the ligaments in the back of the knee as well as the hamstrings. Quadriceps stretching with support. This exercise will strengthen your hams instead of your quadriceps. It also improves knee mobility. Leg lift with resting on arms. Lifting one leg is aimed at pumping the glutes, as well as strengthening the hamstrings. Wall Squats. Such squats will strengthen your knees and also reduce pain if any. The exercise works all the muscles that are connected to the knees. Lunges also engage your hamstrings, glutes, inner thigh muscles, and calves. The strength of these muscles determines the strength of your knees. The stronger they are, the more tension they will absorb, thus preventing injury and pain. Exercises with a roller are a perfect way to massage and relax your muscles.

The anatomy of the human foot is complex. This is a part of the leg with many muscular compartments that perform functions such as balancing, maintaining stability, softening the impact of steps, creating solid support. Its structure allows us to see how evolution has adapted our body to an efficient way of movement - upright walking. Anatomically, it is similar to the hand. The anatomical structure of the foot is quite complex, due to the need for a small support area to support the weight of the human body. There are two parts distinguished in the foot: a plantar surface (which is in direct contact with the ground) and an opposite - dorsiflexion. All parts of this very complex mechanism work together to provide us with balance when we walk and exercise. The lower part of the limb is built from bones of different sizes connected into a single structure. It allows the weight of the body to be supported when moving and is capable of bearing enormous loads. The bones of the fingers include fourteen phalanges and their connecting articulations. Each finger is formed of three phalanges, except for the thumb, which contains two. They are connected with the parts of the skeleton forming the metatarsus through the articular cartilage. The function of the toes is to distribute the weight of the body equally and to improve balance. The foot includes sesamoid bones. These are small formations of rounded shape, their number is individual. And there are people who do not have these bones. Their option is to increase the curvature of the transverse arch. The muscles on the dorsal side are responsible for extending the toes and foot. The plantar side muscles are responsible for their flexion. They play an important role in the formation of the correct arch and take on a huge load when moving and jumping. Everyone needs to take care of their feet, not just people who like to run. Problems can arise from a sedentary lifestyle, excessive weight, or constant work 'on your feet'. The most common problem is flat feet. It can be not only congenital but also acquired at any age. Because of changes in the arch of the foot loses cushioning, while walking, shock load is transferred to other joints, causing problems in the knees and lower back. You can avoid ankle pathologies and injuries if you do special exercises. We have collected the best, in our opinion, sets of exercises to strengthen the foot, its muscles, ligaments, and joints. You do not have to do everything just choose exercises that you like, make your own complexes. Training your feet even 1-2 times a week will help prevent injuries, become more athletic and run faster.

The shoulder muscles are divided into two groups. The anterior group consists of flexors: the coracohumeral, the brachialis, and the biceps brachii. The posterior group includes the extensors: the triceps brachii and ulnar. The coracohumerals start from the coracoid process of the scapula fuses with the short head of the biceps brachii and pectoralis minor and attaches to the humerus at the level of the upper edge of the brachial. The brachials start from the lower half of the anterior surface of the humerus and the intermuscular septa of the shoulder and attach to the tuberosity of the ulna and its coronal process. The biceps brachii has two heads starting on the scapula from the supra-articular tubercle (long head) and the coracoid process (short head). It attaches to the forearm to the tuberosity of the radius and the fascia of the forearm. It belongs to the bicarticular part. Concerning the shoulder joint, the biceps of the shoulder is the flexor of the shoulder, and the elbow is the flexor and instep support of the forearm. The triceps brachii is located on the back of the shoulder, has three heads, and is a bicarticular. It participates in the movements of both the shoulder and the forearm, causing extension and adduction in the shoulder joint and extension in the elbow. The ulnar starts from the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and radial collateral ligament and the fascia; it is attached to the upper part of the posterior surface and partly to the olecranon of the ulna in its upper quarter. The function of this is to extend the forearm. The bundles of the deltoid muscle perform different functions, so it will not work to load them all with one exercise: you will have to include at least three movements in the training. All exercises are divided into three parts: for pumping the front, middle and back beams. Pick exercises from our list below and add them to your workouts. The weight is necessary so that the last repetitions in the approach are given not easily, but without compromising the technique. You can train your shoulder straps both at home and in the gym. But it is necessary to have a bar and a gantry. Weight must be chosen in such a way that in every set it was possible to raise the average 8-10 times. This is how you can increase the volume and mass. If the same goal is set - to increase the strength, to train in the face of more severe conditions. In this case, the number of repeats will be 5-8. The number of reps is 4-5. Barbell bench press. Take the shell on your chest, bring your elbows forward, tighten your abs, buttocks, legs. Squeeze the bar up, lower it back and repeat. When the bar passes your face, do not lift your chin, but squeeze it in yourself: this way the bar will go along the optimal trajectory. If the projectile remains in front of the body at the top point, and not above it, the load on the lower back increases. Therefore, try to take the barbell behind your head. Standing dumbbell press. Raise your arms with the selected weight to shoulder level, turn your palms forward with your fingers. Squeeze the dumbbells up and take them slightly behind your head, and then lower them to the starting position and repeat. Do three to five approaches 10-12 times. Seated Bent-Over Dumbbell Routing. Sit on a bench, tilt your body with a straight back, as far as flexibility allows, hold the dumbbells in your lowered hands. Without changing the position of the body, spread your arms with the taken weight on the sides to shoulder level. Slowly lower the dumbbells to the starting position and repeat.