Just Another Day At The Gym

Everyone considers the gym some time in their lives whether it’s because you see someone else that has those muscles you want or you get a reality check and realize that you are gaining way more weight than you thought you were. Either way it goes everyone has thought about or will think about going to the gym. It is almost impossible to compare or contrast exercises since each one does its own job independently on the body. Now there are too many exercises out there for just one post you are in luck, because in this post I will explain how two exercises compare next to each other and ultimately show which is my recommendation for the best workout.
The dumbbell bench press is an exercise used to get that pump into your chest muscles so that they pop out a little further. The muscle group involved is mainly the chest muscles. The secondary muscle group is the shoulders. The grip position is very simple. Once you know which weight you want to lift grasp the dumbbell with an over the hand palm grip. This type of grip is helpful when pushing the weight up because it gives you more leverage and control of the weight. You can also use this grip because it is easier to let go of the weights after a set rather than setting the weights into a stand or on a bench.
Rep timing is a term used when you are performing an exercise. It is the amount of seconds you take to push the weight up and guide the weight down. When performing the dumbbell bench press you must take about two to three seconds to push up the weight and another two to three seconds to guide the weight down to complete the rep. Now the entire point of the dumbbell bench press is to use dumbbells or any kind of free weights you can find. Free weights can consist of books, dumbbells, medicine balls, or anything that you can have a separate but equal amount of weight in each hand. That is the entire point of being a free weight. Being able to freely move your arms in the guided direction is how you will get the entire benefit from the exercise.
The barbell bench press is an exercise used to gain the mass effect of the muscles. The grip position of the barbell is very similar to the dumbbell. The overhand palm grip is used as an extra push of the weight since the thumb under grip is used so often. The over handed grip causes comfort of the wrists which you need since you’re bringing the weight down to your chest muscles. The biggest difference between the two is that you’re using a barbell instead of a dumbbell. The form used for the barbell is to use a two second rep timing and, not bounce, but tap the barbell to your chest so that you can the maximum range of each rep.
The main muscle group involved is the chest muscles. When squeezing at the full extension of the rep you will be working on the tension between the chest muscles with secondary muscle groups of the shoulders and triceps. This is how you achieve the ripple effect between the chest cavities. The weights being used in this exercise is the barbell itself and the separate weights that attach to the ends of the barbell. There are only a set number of weights that are used with the barbell but used with a bunch of them, the barbell can be very effective. When the barbell is being used you must have a spotter regardless of the weight being used. The spotter is a person who is standing right behind you with their palms facing upward just below the barbell in case you slip off the barbell. The weights are more diversified in this exercise than the dumbbell exercises.
The two exercises explained above are the dumbbell bench press and the barbell bench press. The similarities are that they work the same primary muscle groups. The secondary muscle groups are almost alike except that the triceps get involved in the barbell exercise because the arms are closer into the body. The exercises both use benches and they both can have the same handed grip positions. The grip positions are used according to the comfort of yourself. The over handed grip is used so that you wouldn’t have so much tension on the wrists and injure yourself. They both involve raising the weights above your chest and down to your body. The rep timing is sequential in both exercises and should be performed with great concentration.
As for the differences of these exercises; the form is almost identical except for the dumbbell bench press. The dumbbell weights allow you to get more of a squeeze at the top of the rep and more of a stretch at the bottom causing the muscles to rip a little further than the barbell can. The barbell is also using more than the muscles desired instead of isolating the chest for maximum effort. The barbell is great if you are performing more than one routine per day that you are at the gym. The dumbbell is the perfect choice to isolate that part of your body for maximum rip and concentration on those muscles. The differences between the two exercises make an immense impact on the way that you work out at the gym.
To conclude these explanations you can see that there are a lot of similarities such as the muscle groups involved, such as the chest and shoulders, the positions of the grips and arms above the chest, and the rep timing in which you have to perform perfectly so that you can get the maximum burn from each exercise. There are plenty of differences which include, the preferences in grip positions, weights being used, the range of the arms motion throughout the exercise, and the point of squeezing. Even though there are a lot of differences and similarities these exercises benefit the body in their own way. I personally recommend the dumbbell bench press because of the range of motion and the isolation of the chest muscles with very little shoulder work. Even though these exercises modify the same parts of the body, the exercise have their own way of working and according to your workout schedule you must choose them wisely. The dumbbell bench or the barbell bench press, compound or isolation, tremendous stress or multiple body part stress; which will you choose?

Okay, so we finally just got the exercises on the pages at the top of the page. Now when you click on a muscle group, it doesn’t just show a blank page. It shows every exercises under that category. Have fun!

Okay so you’re wondering what’s the big deal about this site and how it’s really not that different from any other bull crap information site out there right?! Well I’m here to tell you something different. I’m gonna start to add downloads, exercises and how to do them properly, and a lot more things to this plain old site. There’s really nothing that I can tell you to do but wait and remember to check out the site or the rss feeds to see the latest downloads and exercises available. It’s gonna be a while but I expect that near the end of the week we’ll be able to provide you guys with plenty of software, workout trackers, routines, and downloads that you can even imagine…. In the meantime help us out and donate or just check out those ads from our sponsors and have fun. Thanks for your patience.

Ok so you want to know what to eat and how much right? Good. Well the first thing that you gotta know is that there’s two kinds of meals that a person who works out must have to see any changes that they want to make. There’s a pre workout meal and then there’s a post workout meal. Usually the pre workout meal consists of a protein bar or a nice protein or energy shake 30-45 minutes before you hit the gym.

It’s good to have a pre workout meal in you so that you can have all the energy that you need to complete whatever workout you have planned for that day. It could be an energy bar, or a shake (I.e. N.O. Explode). When you take a pre workout meal you have to make sure that you’re eating or drinking it well before your workout. All those programs and schedules that tell you can drink it while working out is all a lie. You’ll feel bloated and out of it when you’re lifting. When you’re taking you pre workout meal before re workout your body has enough time to digest and store that energy for when you’re at the gym and you decide to exert yourself. It really comes in handy when you’re on that last rep and you come out of no where with a burst of strength and blow that weight right out of the gym. Makes you feel good about yourself too.

Ok now to the post workout meal. This meal will help you with the build of your muscles and/or toning. If you’re trying to build muscle you need to make sure that you have protein in you’re diet and also eat no less than your bodyweight in protein. That’s just a recommendation, you don’t have to eat that much but you do have to eat more than what you do now regardless cause obviously you’re not gaining weight with the amount that you are eating right now. If you are then it’s not muscle. Well anyways, how did you like the tv inspirational line up there. Back to the post workout meal. It’s critical that you put into your body what needs to be in your body. You can’t put McDonalds in it and expect a massive growth of three inches in your biceps. If you have whey protein, any kind of protein shake, or even one of those high protein salads an a shake then AFTER a workout would be the time to gulp it all down. Now let’s go over everything about a pre workout meal and a post workout meal.

A pre workout meal is basically before the workout and consists of an energy shake, food that’ll heighten your energy levels, or any supplements that you take to give you an extra boost at the gym. A post workout meal is a meal that is after a workout and is the most critical meal of the day besides breakfast. This is where your protein shakes, slim fast shakes, chicken salads, and everything else you need to either build muscle or lose weight. In my next post I’ll tell you why an how your muscles benefit from a pre workout meal and a post workout meal.

Form is what makes or breaks you in weightlifting. I’m not a professional or anything but I do know that if you don’t do your form right when you’re working out then you can eventually pull a muscle or rip something you weren’t supposed to rip. Form is how you perform an exercise. If you’re doing the military press and it tells you to raise the dumbell or barbell straight above your head with a slight bend at the elbow and slowly bring down the weight to shoulder level and then raise again. Do exactly that! Do not stretch too far down then shoot straight up cause then your muscles could over extend and you’ll pull something easy. When it tells you to slightly bend your elbows don’t just bend them all the way and then try to shoot up with all your force just for one rep cause then you’re wasting energy and your muscles aren’t getting the workout you intended to give them. When you go to the gym you’re there for one reason only and that’s to make a difference whether to build muscle, tone yourself, or lose weight, am I right? YEA! So do the exercises right and don’t forget about form! I see plenty of poeple out there that are swinging the weights up and down and not getting enough tension in the muscles or too much tension by over extending or holding a position in which they can’t rest enough for the next rep. Don’t be that guy in the gym where you suck at form and you want the best workout ever. Trust me, I did the preacher curls incorrectly and was out of the gym for a month because my biceps wouldn’t heal from being pulled so hard and long. (just a note: 90 degrees on the preacher curls and do weight that you know you can complete the allotted number of reps with). if you’re reading this post you’re maybe wondering if I’m gonna start with the whole form for every exercise and that’s not the case. You’re going to have to go to the pages up there ^^^^ and click an exercise to see how it’s done. Sorry guys but this is just a reminder post to do the form correctly so you won’t be that guy to injure yourself the first day at the gym and then de-motivate yourself to ever go back. Good luck and remember, perform the rep correctly.