Lie on your weight bench on your back, with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Hold the barbell over your chest, with your hands spaced evenly apart. Push the barbell toward the ceiling until your arms are straight. Lower the bar until it touches your chest. Repeat until you’ve lifted the weight 5 to 7 times. Rest for a minute, then do 2 more sets.
You can also make the standard pushup tougher by doing rotating pushups and lifting dumbbells at the same time. Start in a regular pushup position, but instead of having your palms on the ground, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lower your body to the floor, then push up up with one hand and raise the other toward the sky, rotating your body sideways as you do so. Lower it to the floor and push down again, then push up with the other hand and rotate in the other direction.
Lie on your back grasping either your dumbbells or the cables (if you’re using a cable station). Extend your arms straight toward the ceiling. Lower your hands to either side of your body, so that your arms are spread like eagles’ wings. Return to starting position, then repeat. Do 3 sets of 10 or so reps.
Keeping your back straight, “dip” your torso and butt into the gap by lowering yourself with your arms. Bend your elbows and lower yourself so that your elbows align with your shoulders, pointing straight backward. Straighten your arms to lift yourself back up. Do 3 sets of 10 or so reps.
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet comfortably planted on the floor. Hold a weight over your chest. Don’t make it too heavy; you should be able to do about 12 - 15 crunches before stopping. Use your ab muscles to lift your torso and head forward so that your shoulders lift from the floor. Don’t lift your entire back off the floor; you could strain it, and lifting it doesn’t give you any sort of advantage in terms of building abs. Lower back to the floor, then repeat. Do 3 sets of 15 crunches. Mix it up sometimes by doing side crunches; get in the same position you use for regular crunches, but crunch to one side or the other. This works out your obliques, the muscles on either side of your abs.
Lie on the floor stomach-down, with your legs stretched straight. Lift yourself up onto your forearms. Keep your elbows in a straight line with your shoulders, and point your fingers straight ahead. Lift up onto your tiptoes, so that your legs and torso aren’t touching the ground. Keep your back straight. Hold the position for as long as you can - at least a minute. Tighten those ab muscles. Relax on the floor, then repeat. You can do side planks as well, to work out your obliques. [5] X Expert Source Christopher CarreiroCertified Personal Trainer Expert Interview. 2 March 2021. Raise yourself up on just one forearm, turn your body sideways, and lift the other arm straight toward the ceiling. Hold the position, then repeat on the other side.
You can use an exercise ball instead of leg weights; simply hold it between your feet when you lift your legs.
Set a schedule for yourself so you never skip a workout. Committing to your workout regimen will increase your chances of success.
Your workout sessions should be about 30 minutes long. During that time, go all in - don’t take a lot of long breaks. Maximize your time in the gym. Don’t work out so hard that you end up injuring yourself. Your exercises will not be comfortable, but you shouldn’t be in any kind of extreme pain. If you do feel excruciating pain, stop immediately. Focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to do 10 slow crunches with good form than 20 fast crunches with bad form. [7] X Expert Source Monica MorrisACE Certified Personal Trainer Expert Interview. 18 November 2019.
Don’t be tempted to add more weight than you can handle. You could injure yourself - completely negating all your hard efforts - if you try to lift too much. If a certain amount of weight is too heavy to lift more than 5 times before giving out, you’re lifting too much.
It is very important to balance chest work with back work to prevent muscle imbalances, a rounded chest, or spinal misalignment. Lat pull downs, chin-ups, superman exercises, and rows are all good exercises to work your back as well.
The minimum amount of recommended cardio is 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise a week.
Choose hormone-free meat whenever possible. Eat lean beef, chicken, pork, fish, and other healthy protein sources, like eggs and tofu. Protein supplements, like creatine, can help muscle building as well.
Don’t eat a lot of empty calories from refined carbohydrates, sugar and trans fats. Stay away from snack food and fast food. Instead, eat wholesome, high-calorie foods that fill you up and nourish your body. Get plenty of fruits and vegetables with every meal. Eat beans, brown rice, yogurt, whole grains, nuts, avocados, olive oil, and other nutritious foods.
