More exercise information

It's shoulder and back day!!!! Shoulder Dumbell Exercises Seated Shoulder Press Works all 3 heads of the deltoid (shoulder) muscle. 1. Sit upright on the end of the bench with the dumbells extended directly above your head. Make sure your back is not rounded. Adjust the bench so it forms an upright chair to support your back if necessary. 2. Lower the weights slowly and under control to your shoulders. 3. When your arms are bent to 90 degrees, press the dumbells back up without locking your elbows and repeat. Lateral Raises Most dumbell exercises are superior to the machine equivelent. This one is no exception. Out of all the dumbell exercises described this is also the one that is invariably performed badly. If you keep good form you cannot lift a heavy weight. 1. Stand upright, knees slightly bent and shoulder width apart, holding the dumbells at your sides. 2. Bend you elbows slightly and raise the dumbells out to the side. Keep you elbows slightly bent as you do this. 3. When your arms are parallel to the floor, slowly lower the weights back down and repeat. 4. If you catch yourself arching your back, dipping your knees or bringing your shoulders back use a lighter weight. Reverse Flies Works the posterior (rear) deltoid. The exercise is performed as its name suggests. It's simply a chest fly in reverse. 1. Sit on the edge of a bench, feet flat on the floor and knees bent at right angles. Bend right over so your chest is almost resting on your thighs. 2. Hold 2 dumbells next to your feet and bend your arms slightly. Open your arms out in an arc keeping your elbows bent. 3. When your arms are parallel to the floor slowly lower the weights back to the ground with the same motion. 4. You can and should only use a light weight for this exercise. If you find it places too much strain on your lower back try this variation... Adjust the bench as though you are about to perform an incline dumbell press. Lie face down and let your arms hang down so your knuckles brush the floor. From here perform the movement described above. Front Raises Isolates the anterior (front) deltoids. 1. Stand upright, knees slightly bent and shoulder width apart. Hold the dumbells at against your thighs. Your palms should be towards your body. 2. Starting with your weaker side and keeping your arm straight, raise the weight directly in front of you. 3. When your arm is parallel to the ground lower the weight slowly back to the starting position. Repeat with the other arm. 4. Avoid the tendency to arch your lower back on the last few repetitions. You will be able to handle more weight on the concentric phase (lifting the weight up) of this exercise. Make sure you can lower (eccentric phase) the dumbell under control before you progress to a higher weight Back Dumbell Exercises It's difficult to work the latissmus dorsi (large back muscle) with dumbell exercises. If you plan to do these dumbell exercises at home consider a chinning bar. They are inexpensive and an excellent way to isolate your lats. Bigfitness.com sell them for less than $30 with Free Shipping. Chin Up Bar at Bodytrends.com Dead Lifts Works the lower back and hamstrings. Be very careful with this exercise. If you have a history of back pain leave this one alone. 1. Stand upright, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold 2 dumbells against your thighs. 2. Use your lower back to lower the weights down your leg. Your back must remain flat, the lower back arched inwards slightly. Do not round it. Keep your head up, right throughout the movement. 3. Only lower the weights as far as is comfortable even if that's only as far as your knees. 4. Stand upright using your lower back, maintaining a flat back and bent knees and keeping your head up. Single Arm Row 1. Stand upright with the bench next to your left leg. Bend your left leg and rest it on the bench. Bend from your lower back and support yourself by placing your left hand on the bench. Your upper body should be parallel to the ground. 2. Hold the weight in your right hand and let it hang down so it's just off the floor. Your palm should be facing towards the bench. 3. Keeping your elbow tucked into your side raise the weight up to your midsection. 4. Slowly lower the weight to the start position and repeat. After the desired number of repetitions repeat for the other arm. Lying Bent Over Row This is the same movement as the single arm row except you can work both arms at once whilst supporting your back. 1. Set the bench to a 30-45 degree incline. 2. Lie face down. Holding 2 dumbells let your arms hang down so your knuckles brush the floor. Your palms should be facing towards your feet. 3. Pull the dumbells up towards your chest and to the sides of the bench. 4. Slowly lower the weights back down and repeat. Do ya feel the burn yet? Dee Dee

Honestly Sandra - starting out I would start MUCH lighter....especially on the smaller muscle groups....use vegetable cans or soup cans to start with..... 8lbs is VERY HEAVY to do reps with for smaller muscle groups. (The larger muscle groups are the legs....and abs - but I don't typically use many weights when doing ab work) Realistically you should do a LOT of reps with much lighter weights. I would even better suggest doing the motion for a few days WITHOUT weights until you are used to it before you add ANY weights. Hope this helps! Dee Dee

With deadlifts we should also make sure to keep the weight in our heels, right? Sometimes I put my toes up on a 2/3 pound dumbbell to isolate the correct muscles. Hey DeeDee-you running yet? Peachtree is only 8 months away!!!