When working out, you have the option of using machines or free weights. According to the Mayo Clinic, free weights are versatile, inexpensive and they simulate real-life lifting situations and promote whole-body stabilization. The difference between good and bad free weight exercises is in the way you perform them. Execute each exercise in a steady and controlled motion, hold each contraction for a second to emphasize the muscle you are working and never rely on momentum to move the weights.
Pectoral Exercises
Pectoral muscle exercises include bench presses, dumbbell flys and pullovers. The pecs are found in the chest. To do pullovers, lie face-up on a bench while holding a barbell above you with your elbows slightly bent. Keeping your arms in this position, move the bar behind your head and toward the ground in a curving motion. Carefully raise the bar back up and repeat. This exercise not only works your chest, but it also targets the upper latissimus dorsi muscles, which are found on the back.
Traps and Delts Exercises
The trapezius is the large muscle found on top of your collar bones and the deltoids are the smaller muscles that encapsulate the shoulders. A good trap exercise is the shrug. To do shrugs with a barbell, hold it in front of your thighs with your hands shoulder-width apart and lift and lower your shoulders. Perform the same exercise with dumbbells held at your sides for a variation. In both exercises, squeeze your traps forcefully at the top of the movement and do not move your shoulders in a circular motion.
Front raises, lateral raises and reverse flys are good exercises for the anterior, medial and posterior delts. To do front raises, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, dumbbells in your hands and palms facing your thighs. Keeping your arms straight, raise the weights in the air in front of your body until they are at least parallel to the floor. Slowly lower them down and repeat.
To do lateral raises, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or sit in chair and hold the dumbbells at your sides. Lift them up laterally until your arms parallel the floor and lower them back down.
Reverse flys work the posterior delts and also the rhomboids which are found in between the shoulders. Perform these the same way as lateral raises, except from a bent-over position.
Rows
Barbell and dumbbell rows work the lats, rhomboids and erector spinae, which are the lower back muscles. To do these, hold the bar or dumbbells in front of your thighs with your feet spaced shoulder-width apart. Bend forward until your back is close to parallel to the floor, and pull the weights up toward your belly. When doing this, keep your arms tight to your sides. Pinch your shoulder blades together, slowly lower the weights and repeat.
Arm Exercises
Close-grip bench presses work the triceps, which are found on the back of the upper arms, and barbell curls work the biceps, which are on the front of the upper arms. To do close-grip bench presses, lie face-up on a flat bench while holding a barbell above your chest with a slightly less than shoulder-width grip. Slowly lower it down to your chest, keeping your elbows in tight against your sides. Push the bar back up and repeat.
To do barbell curls, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip and lift it up toward your chest. Once your palms are facing your chest, squeeze your biceps forcefully. Slowly lower the bar and repeat. It is important to keep your upper arms still and tight against your sides throughout.
Leg Exercises
Conventional squats work the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings, and they are done with dumbbells or a barbell. To do barbell squats, hold the bar across the top of your back and shoulders, and stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Slowly move yourself up and down by bending your knees. When doing dumbbell squats, hold the weights at your sides. With both variations, keep your core tight, back straight and eyes looking straight ahead. When lowering your body, try to get your thighs parallel to the floor without letting your knees move past your toes.
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