The bench press has got to be one of the most popular strength training exercises.  What?  You haven’t heard about it?  Well, you must be living under a rock, but today is your lucky day because I am going to explain what it is.  You start off laying on your back and you lower a weight to your chest, then you raise it back up until your arms are straight and your elbows are locked (or as close as they can get).  That is it.  You just do that over and over.  Also, some other dude (or dudette) stands over you.  They are called a spotter.  They are pretty much there to help you just in case you fudge up.  You wouldn’t want all that weight on your neck now would you?

Bench presses focus on the development of the pectoralis major muscle (that is the chest for all you non-rocket scientists), and it also works a couple other supporting muscles including the anterior deltoids (shoulders), serratus anterior (upper ribs), Coracobrachialis (upper middle arm), and the triceps.  The bench press is one of the three lifts of powerlifting (squat and deadlift are the others).

So, question of the moment, how much can you bench press?

A very big mistake a lot of people make when starting out is seeing some pro body builder or even an athlete and immediately aspiring to be them and want to imitate their training.  This is a big no no.  First of all, do you really want to be someone you aren’t?  That’s really a sad thought, and you might want to find a therapist or something if you are just sitting around wishing you were other people.  But secondly, and more relevant to this discussion, pros have a completely different workout regimen than most people.  Their bodies are just naturally different, and a lot of them are just freaks of nature.

Their training is naturally different as they at genetically gifted – and on top of that – they didn’t start training that way!  Doing their routines will not build muscle at the rate you want to.  In fact, they will probably strain your muscles and overtrain you both mentally and physically.

What you want to do is start out nice and slow.  Think of weight training as when you first tried to ride a bike.  You didn’t just jump into it: you had training wheels and parents pushing you and then finally they let go.

If you want to get some killer legs, you have got to know how to get them.  And, what do you do to get legs rippling with muscles?  That’s simple, you train them!  Duh!  The most important exercise for your legs is squats.  Squats actually work your entire body too, so there is even more benefit to using them then just getting ripped legs.  You’ll look dramatically different if you can build up to squat 1.5 times your weight.  That’s right – you’ll be a total stud.

When doing deadlifts and squats, all of your muscles will tense up.  They will work your body nicely and allow you to lift more weight.  Infact, don’t even bother with bicep curls.  You can just deadlift and squat your way to bigger arm muscles.  I’m am only joking about the ignoring arm exercises, but that last part is actually true.

Well, then… I bet you are wondering what other types of exercises you can do besides squats and deadlifts.  I will list them by compound and isolation types.  Squats and deadlifts are both compound, by the way.

Compound

1. Leg Press
2. Leg Raise
3. Lunge

Isolation

1. Leg Curl
2. Leg Extension
3. Calf Raise

These exercises will get you those legs you desire.

This blog I am going to type a bit about weights in general.  Using weights is a great way to get stronger, and getting stronger is a great way to build muscle… thus, using weights is also a great way to build muscle.  I hope I didn’t lose any of you with that semi-confusing statement.

You can lift the heaviest weights with the help of barbells.  The more weight you lift, the more stress you receive, and that stress builds muscle.  Pretty simple, right?  You don’t want to start off with too much weight though.  That could lead to both mental and physical over training.  So, your best be is to start small.  Like a lot of people start with an empty bar and just learn the techniques.  From then on, they add weight each workout.  It is a good thing to keep the body out of the comfort zone.

Stay away from machines – they will force you into motions and movements that are not very natural, and that could lead to injury.  Free weights, on the other hand, will lead you to control and balance the weight, thus making it more efficient.  This will also build more muscle than machines will, so double win.

Working out is a must if you want to build up nice big muscles.  Sometimes when starting out, it can be confusing about what to do.  Believe me, I’ve been there.  There are so many workouts and ways to work out, it can get pretty intimidating if you aren’t sure what you need to do.

First thing you need to learn is to work your muscles right.  If you don’t split your time right, you’ll overwork muscles, and well, that wouldn’t be good.  For instance,  Chest, triceps, and shoulder exercises all use triceps (pretty much all chest and shoulder exercises also work out triceps muscles secondary).   So don’t work those out back to back to back days.  Instead, work them all out the same day so that it isn’t triceps overload.  Also, you can work back and bicep muscles out on the same day.  Doing this will make it OK to work secondary muscles that day because you are already working them.

Another bit of advice is to not work out everyday.  You could pretty much only workout every other day on only week days, and get plenty of rest and exercise while not straining any muscles.  You also get the weekend off.

This advice is in no way mandatory or necessary, but it can help a lot – especially to beginners.

Getting flatter abs is not as hard as you would think, but to make things clear, there is no one secret formula.  Flatter abs can be had in many, many ways.  You will just have to find what works for you.  This might seem like a  huge task, but generally, belly fat is the first fat to go when losing weight.  Despite how much weight you have in other places, you’ll most likely lose a lot more in your stomach than others.  It’s probably a very high percentage – like 90+%.  That may be an exaggeration, but it’s not too far off.  Also, the upper body in general seems to lose more weight.

Why is this?  Well, for one, fat around the abdominal region, and deep in your waist – known as Visceral fat – is easier to burn and lose than subcutaneous fat because it is more metabolically active.  Also, the more weight you have to lose, the more likely you’ll see more noticeable results in the stomach area first.  So, to put it bluntly, the more obese you are the quicker you will lose belly fat.  If you just have a little spare tire around your stomach, it might take just a bit longer.

So, for whatever reason, you want to begin weight lifting (we all know despite the reason you have, it’s really for the kickin’ bod).  Weight lifting can be quite rewarding if you do it right.  It will be a challenge at first, but once you get into the swing of things, it will become easier and easier.  And, I will warn you right now, do not let that eventual ease and confidence lead to you over working your muscles (and, well, be careful about that when starting out too).

Besides weight making your muscles ripped and making you stronger, there are actually a lot of other positives.  What can compare to those two things already named, you ask?  Well, for one, weight lifting reduces age- related muscle loss.  Without weight training, adults lose a few kilograms of muscle every decade, and pretty much only weight lifting will prevent it.  What else is weight lifting good for?  It also increases bone density.  Studies have even led to conclusions that it can reduce bone fractures and osteoporosis.  Some more benefits include reduced body fat, blood sugar/cholesterol/fats, and reduced injury.  They can also improve some more things, such as posture, psychological well-being, and (kind of an obvious one here) appearance!