Chest Workout Continued- Decline Press

The next exercise in the chest workout is the decline press. This primarily works the bottom part of the chest. Between decline and incline press there are some subtle differences which I will point out to you.

First off the angle of the bench is inverted the opposite way of the incline. Your head is going to pointed toward the ground almost as if your hanging somewhat upside down. The thing that is going to keep you in place is that at the end of the bench, by your feet, there should be an extension for you to hook in your legs for support.

When your finally hooked in and ready to do your set, you need to be aware that the way you press is going to be different. After you take the bar off the rack you are going to touch your chest and back up. However, since the angle your at is different from the incline bench exercise it's going to feel weird at first when you do your first repetition. The weight is going to try and go toward your throat and chin, but you need to use your chest muscles to stabilize it. Your aiming to touch the bottom of your chest, right around the nipple area, with the bar so you need to take that into account.

For your first couple of times that you start this exercise I HIGHLY suggest that you get someone to spot you as your doing your reps. Just in case you can't keep the bar on track for the middle of your chest and so that you won't drop it on your throat or face. The same sets and reps apply for this exercise 3 sets of 10.

Chest Workout Continued- Incline Press

Bench Press is taken care of so now we can move on to the next exercise. Incline press is a great exercise and primarily works the top of your chest. Pay attention because there are a couple differences from the bench press.

The bench itself is at an angle upward so that you are no longer lying flat on your back. You also need to be careful with how much weight you put on the bar. You are not going to press as much weight on the incline as you did on the bench. So my recommendation is that however much weight you used for bench cut that in half and start off with that for your incline. Remember that you can always add more if it's too light. If you hurt yourself trying to press to much weight before your ready there's going to be a long recovery process and possible surgery.
How far you bring the bar down is another difference. After you take the bar off the rack, bring it down to the bottom of your chin instead of touching the bar to your chest. Now if you have heard that you need to touch your chest for this exercise trust me you DON'T. If you do your only putting increased strain on your shoulders. For one repetition you have to come off the rack all the way down to the bottom of your chin and then back up again.

Remember for this exercise you still need to do 3 sets of 10.

Stereotypes

So one thing that really bugs me is people that love to put stereotypes on anyone that goes to the gym. They see a guy that has put in the work, has good tone and definition, and automatically asume that he is on steroids. Okay now I am not talking about the guy on the far right, because he is definitely on steroids. I'm talking about the guys in the middle and on the left. I know that on several occasions I have gotten accused of using illegal supplements even by my family and friends. Others see you bettering yourself and always try to put you down. I feel like there are no categories of people that workout. Just people that enjoy it and do it for that reason. However, there are so many more stereo types out there then just the cliche that guy must be on steroids. For example:

Machines

Most like to be found: doing squats
The machines are the hardcore regulars of the gym who generate an aura of respect. They normally have a single minded determination and can lift roughly a million times the amount of a normal human. They are generally friendly characters who enjoy a bit of gym comaraderie. However they do not take kindly to their session being interrupted. They are there when you arrive and will be there when you leave. It is unknown whether they have a home at all, or whether they infact live at the gym. If more than one machine meet they will usually begin to work together. Sometimes several will congregate around one machine. Often this makes an area of the gym inaccesible or intimidating for the timid gym goer who feels they are not welcome. Don't be afraid to approach, you may even learn something

Civilians

Most likely to be found: on resistance machines
Civilians are basically anyone who comes to the gym out of habbit or because their wife made them. They don't really want to be here but they feel that society demands it of them. Their lack of enthusiasm leaks from their pours

I stumbled across these and more at http://www.the-biomatrix.net/gym-characters.html. If you are are interested in reading up on them and see if your are categorized.

Bench Press

Okay now that we covered nutrition we can start to talk about workouts. Were going to take this step by step so we'll start off talking about chest workouts. The first exercise that you should start off with is the bench press. Now the main thing that you need to remember is that the bar alone weighs 45 pounds. So beginners need to know that before they put to much weight on the bar they could end up hurting themselves. If you have never used a bench press before then you need to start off with small weight so that you can judge how much you can truly lift. If you’re a man I suggest that you put 25 pounds on each side just to start. If you are a woman I suggest you start off with just the bar. Now after you have your weight on, you need to make sure that it is secure. You need to locate clamps to put on alongside of your weights to make sure that they don't slip off the bar mid rep. I have seen this happen and take it from me it wasn't pretty.

Now that you’re ready to go, ask another person in the gym if they could spot you so that if you are struggling they can help you rack your weight. Something to remember is hand placement. There should be two lines on each side of the bar. If you want to work your entire chest then you need to put your middle fingers on this line and then make a fist. If you want to work your chest and triceps then your hands need to be closer together. For this grip you will need to put your thumbs in the middle of the bar where it starts to become course and make the fist. Now take the bar off the rack and bring the bar down until you touch your chest. Now do this slowly! You don't want to drop the weight onto your chest really fast because you are liable to hurt your sternum. Now after you touch your chest with the bar, bring it back up to where you took the weight of the rack. That is one repetition. To get a good workout you need to be doing three sets of 10, which means 10 reps. Then take a small break, and then 10 more, a little break, and then 10 more. It is important that when your starting off that you do the exercises properly so make sure that your are going all the way to your chest and back up. Other wise your only hurting your own progress and results.

DINNER

Dinner is extremely important to your body. It is the meal that gets your body ready for the next day. If you have an unhealthy dinner chances are you are more likely  to wake up feeling sluggish. So my version of a perfectly healthy dinner is a serving of protein, carbs, and some sort of vegetables.

The serving of protein should be chicken or fish, since they are the best sources of good proteins. The best way to prepare them is to grill them. Now I have a George Forman, which I use to prepare a lot of my meals and it is perfect for helping to separate a lot of the fat out of your meat. It even has a nifty tray at the bottom for catching all the fat that gets grilled out of your meat. However, if you don't want to pay the 20 dollars to invest in one you could always boil your meat. But I have to warn you, that if your going to take that route your meal is going to be rather flavorless. On the flip side, red meat has a large amount of protein too. But red meat is hard for your body to move and digest. If you love steaks and eat them often you will need large amounts of fiber to help your body process it and keep you regular.

Your servings of carbs are going to pretty straightforward. Wheat pasta and brown rice are the ideal example. The more organic the carbs the more your body is going to get out of them. The best way to cook pasta is to put it in boiling water. If your going to be eating rice a lot you should look in to buying a rice cooker. Now I feel like I should also talk about the sauce that is normally put on these sides. Everyone loves soy sauce on his or her rice. The big problem with that is soy sauce is jammed pack with sodium. Now your body does need sodium to function, but indulge in too much your body starts to retain water. So the healthiest choice is to put your meat on top of your rice and let the good juices from that meat be your flavor. The healthiest choice for pasta is marinara. I know everyone’s first choice is going to be alfredo, but you need to take the time to read the nutrition facts. Alfredo sauce generally has 90 calories per serving with 80 of those from fat. So marinara will give your pasta some personality without adding to the fat that your trying to burn off.

For your veggies option is pretty up in the air. Since you could go so many ways with it. You could make a little side salad with a combination of your favorite veggies. Another option is a side of broccoli or corn both work well with the rest of your dish. A great way to cook a majority of these vegetables would be to steam them. I know that I prefer my veggies cook rather then raw. They always seem to taste better. That's the thing with vegetables, you can eat which ever one you like the best and there isn't a down side to them. Just make sure that your not putting a ton of fatty toppings on the veggies. For instance, butter on your corn, or cheese on your broccoli. Which totally defeats the purpose of having vegetables in the first place.

HD video Clip

This is my HD video clip that I shot when I took my girlfriend to Disney on Ice

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