Exercise Guide

Exercise Descriptions

CHEST

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK SCHAFF www.benpakulski.com

2

Flat Bench Press

MISTAKES

START

TIP

FINISH Key Points: ► Keep shoulders back and down (retract and depress). ► Apply intention in an inward direction on the bar. ► Use continuous motion, no stop or pause at the top or bottom. ► For maximal muscle recruitment, the spine is in a slightly flexed postion (aka crunch so your low back is flush with the pad), NOT arched. ► A wide foot position helps for stability and safety.

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3

Incline Barbell Bench Press/Smith Machine Press

FINISH

TIP

START Key Points: ► Apply the exact same principles as Flat barbell press. ► Keep in mind that a bar(or even a dumbbell) ONLY exerts force STRAIGHT DOWN. Therefore, the bar must move in a continuous movement, perpendicular to the ground.

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4

Incline Dumbbell Press

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Dumbbells allow for a slightly greater range of motion, take advantage of this. A greater stretch and contraction is beneficial. ► ALL of the key points of the barbell presses hold true here as well. ► When pressing a dumbbell, once your hands come above your shoulders, you lose tension in your chest. There is no longer any force exerting tension on the pec muscles. Keep your hands Slightly outside shoulder width to ensure continuous tension.

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5

Incline press-fly

3 START 1

2

4

FINISH

Key Points: ► Press the weight the same way you would on a dumbbell press to the top of the rep. ► For the negative, use the same motion you would use for fly motion to descend to the bottom of the rep with bent elbows. ► This allows you to use slightly heavier weight in the negative-fly portion to isolate the chest.

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6

Machine Chest Press Or “Hammer Strength” Chest Press

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Keep shoulders back and down (retract and depress). ► Apply intention in an inward direction on the bar. ► Use continuous motion, no stop or pause at the top or bottom. ► For maximal muscle recruitment, the spine is in a slightly flexed postion (aka crunch so your low back is flush with the pad), NOT arched. ► A wide foot position helps for stability and safety. ► When determining how wide to hold your hands, the most simple method is to simply observe where your forearm is positioned at the bottom of the rep. You want the forearm exactly perpendicular (90-degrees) to the bar/force that you’re pushing against. NOTE* the angle of the handle may not be straight on many machines, so be sure to notice. www.benpakulski.com

7

Dumbbell Fly

START 1

2

FINISH

Key Points: ► The goal of this exercise is to minimize shoulder and bicep recruitment and maximize pec involvement. To do this, it is necessary on the concentric portion (when contracting) to straighten the arm once you have passed the half way point. The stretch happens with slightly bent elbows for safety and increased stretch on the pec. As you ascend to the top of the movement, gradually straighten your arms and contract the chest maximally without allowing the dumbbell to pass inside the shoulder joint. Passing this point with essentially cease and tension in the pec muscles. ► Same execution on flat or incline. Always remember to keep the arch of the movement exactly perpendicular to the ground. www.benpakulski.com

8

Machine Fly/Cable fly

START 1

2

FINISH

Key Points: ► Grasp the cables in both hand and walk slightly forward so that the weight stack is elevated when you are in a fully outstretched position (arms extended behind you). This will ensure continuous tension during the movement. ► The execution is very similar to dumbbell fly except that the bottom of the rep should finish about 2 inches in front of your thighs. ► Use a high cable position. ► Try to avoid allowing your arms to stray too far in front of you. Keep them in close to your body. ► Remember: your pec is an internal rotator of the glenohumeral joint (shoulder). Bring the cables together and “touching your pinky fingers” together is actually the EXACT opposite of what you want to be doing. Don’t do it! If anything, you would want to touch your index fingers together but it is not necessary. www.benpakulski.com

9

Supported dips/Machine Dips

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Abs in a crunched position. Knees slightly in front of you and bent. ► As you descend to the bottom of the rep, pull shoulders back to ensure maximal stretch in pecs and not overstretch the shoulder. ► Always employ a 4 second negative and ensure a maximal stretch at the bottom. ► Avoid locking elbows at the top. Instead, try squeezing your hands inward, toward each other. This will increase tension on the pecs and prevent the “rest” that happens at the top. www.benpakulski.com

10


SHOULDERS


11

Seated Side Lateral dumbbell raise

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Abdominal wall is shortened (crunched), while upper back is extended up straight. Keep your chin tucked back. ► Prevent any extending of your spine (aka sitting up taller or leaning backward), this will ensure that you keep continuous tension on your delts. ► Movement (swinging) does NOTHING beneficial. It will not increase your range, although it may give the appearance of such. Learn to do things right, NOW. It will pay off long term. ► Raise with your elbows first. Avoid trying to lift with the hands of wrist first. ► The arms must be rigid. There is no movement at the elbow joint. ► ***As an advanced technique and intensifier, this movement may also be done with fully locked out elbows (squeeze tricep). This is done with minimal weight and very strict form. The benefit is that it removes tricep involvement, and takes the weight further from the body applying additional stress on the muscle. www.benpakulski.com

12

Front Dumbbell Raise

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► The same key points as seated side lateral apply here. ► The movement is directly in front of the shoulder joint. Not in, not out. The body moves most efficiently in straight lines. ► **You may also see this exercise done by extending in front you of, then subsequently bringing the dumbbells together to touch in front of the eyes. This is an advanced technique to improve activation of the front delt and pec.

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13

Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Upper body parallel with the ground. Keep the spine straight. ► Relax the arms and “protract” the shoulders. (the opposite of REtract, Retract means to pull shoulder blades back-pinch them together. Therefore, PROtract is pushing them forward). You will find it incredibly difficult to maintain this protraction at first. Keep at it. It is essential for isolation. ► Maintain slight bend in the elbow, and keep the hands in line with your chin the entire rep.

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14

Reverse Pec Deck (rear delt machine fly)

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Same execution as Bent Over Dumbbell Laterals except seated upright in a reverse pec fly machine. ► Avoid pulling your shoulder blades together and pulling with your back.

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15

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Maintain a slightly “retracted” position of the shoulder blades to avoid slouching your shoulders forward. ► Keep the spine very erect while preventing any back “arch” by contracting your abdominals. This should keep you pressing in the proper plane(directly above your head. *Arching the back shifts emphasis to a different plane of movement and therefore different muscle (pec). ► To ensure you are in the absolute optimal position for shoulder recruitment, keep your forearm exactly perpendicular(90degrees) to the floor through the ENTIRE rep. (ex/your wrist is always directly above your elbow, never in, never outside). www.benpakulski.com

16


BACK

General Principles: ► The spine should be as close to neutral as possible, with slight “extension” of the lumbar and mid back regions. (Never rounded or slouched forward). ► A FULL range of motion is a function of the protraction and retraction of the scapula(shoulder blades) NOT just an arm movement. ► The arm moves as an extension of the shoulder movement. ► The shoulders are “depressed”(pressed down, as if pushing toward your hips), and retracted(pulled back as though pinching shoulder blades together) in any movement, when contracting the back muscles. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK SCHAFF www.benpakulski.com

17

Straight Arm Pulldown

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Grasp the bar shoulder width or wider. Using an overhand or neutral grip, elbows are slightly bent, and remain this way through the entire duration of the set. ► For a maximum ROM, start with your body bent at the waist to atleast 45-degrees or further. Allow the arms to come up over your head, while maintaining a flat or slightly arched back. ► Contract the lat muscles and slowly pull the bar toward your thigh. Maintain a rigid, slightly bent arm. The ark of the movement should be large and far away from your body.

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18

Bent Barbell Row

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Bend over to 45-degrees or low and maintain this position throughout the set. ► Hip and knee movement does nothing beneficial. ► The scapula is fully protracted, and arms extended at the bottom of the rep while keeping chest up and back flat. ► The first movement occurs by retracting your shoulders. This is then followed by pulling the elbows behind you while ensuring the shoulders are pulled back (not rounded forward). www.benpakulski.com

19

One Arm Dumbbell Row

START

MISTAKES

FINISH Key Points: ► Support one arm and knee on a bench while the other foot is on the floor. ► The idea for ideal isolation is to shift your body weight so that you are minimally supported by your lower half. Your center of gravity should be somewhere in your upper abdomen or chest. This position forces the working muscle to support the dumbbell you are about the row. Instead of that additional load be supported by your larger muscles (core and legs). ► With very minimal body movement, protract, and then retract the shoulder and finish by bringing the elbow behind you. The chest shoulder remain stationary and allow for only minimal rotation at the torso. Some movement is natural. Just don’t overdo it, especially on the negative portion of the rep. www.benpakulski.com

20

Supported Row (incline bench or machine)

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Lean against the pad with your chest. For this exercise, more of your chest should be touching the pad, less of your abdomen. ► There is no swing, rock, or lean back on this movement. The only movement is the protraction and retraction of your shoulders, followed by pulling your elbows as far behind you as you can without leaning forward or back. ► Remember to keep your chest up, no slouching.

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21

Assisted Wide Grip Pull ups

START 1

MISTAKES

FINISH

2 www.benpakulski.com

Key Points: ► While maintaining a neutral spine position or slightly arched, grasp the wide handles using an overhand grip. ► Pull yourself up while trying to maintain a perpendicular angle between your forearm and the ground. Elbows pull straight down to the ground, not forward or back. ► Allow for a maximum stretch at the bottom and full contraction at the top 22

Wide Grip Pulldown

START 1

FINISH


Key Points: ► Using a straight bar, hands outside shoulder width (you know youre in the right position if your forearms are exactly perpendicular-90-degrees to the ground at the bottom of the rep) ► Extend fully, then retract the shoulder blades first before pulling the bar to your chest. 23

Reverse Grip Pulldown (incline bench reverse grip pulldown)

START 1 FINISH


Key Points: ► Using an underhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width pull the bar down to your lower chest. Focus on driving your elbows behind you and down to the ground while driving your chest up toward the bar to meet it. ► Remember to maintain a slight back arch. Shoulders are retracted NEVER slouched forward when finishing the reps. ► Try to avoid letting your elbows flare out. Keeping them in close to the body will allow for greater contraction and tension. 24

Seated Cable Row

START 1

2

FINISH

Key Points: ► Sit tall and erect to avoid any spinal flexion (rounding). ► Keep your chest up, do not slouch. ► The shoulders should remain above, or slightly in front of the hips. Never behind the hips (ie/no leaning back) ► Start from a position of protracted shoulders and straight arms, retract the shoulders and then pull the weight to your stomach. ► Multiple grips provide different benefits. The execution principles are the same.

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25


BICEPS

General Principles: ► Maintain a tall and erect posture throughout. Never allow shoulders to slouch or round forward. Always try to maintain a neutral head position, looking straight ahead. ► When the tricep is contracted, the biceps is fully lengthened. This is a key point to learn when trying to achieve a FULL ROM. This point of any exercise is most vulnerable to injury, control is a MUST. ► The elbow joint is a hinge joint. Meaning it moves in one single axis. There is very minimal need for shoulder movement when trying to isolate the bicep. So, keep the upper arm stationary. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK SCHAFF www.benpakulski.com

26

Seated Dumbbell Curl

START

MISTAKES

FINISH Key Points: ► Starting at the bottom of the rep with a contracted triceps (antagonist muscle), keep your palms facing forward and curl the weight up as far as you can without allowing your upper arm to move. ► Slowly descend down, ensuring control and minimizing any acceleration. ► Use continuous reps, no pause or stopping at the top or bottom. ► The bottom few inches of the movement will be weakest at first so exercise caution and pay special attention to the tempo at this point of the rep. www.benpakulski.com

27

Barbell Curl

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Using an underhand grip, grasp a straight bar slightly wider than shoulder width. ► Extend and contract the triceps at the bottom of the rep before beginning the movement. You will notice that in order for you to contract the triceps, your arms will have to be slightly in front of you (or the bar would hit your thighs). This will let you know you are in the exact starting position you want to be in. ► Curl the weight without moving the upper arm. ► Keep the ab wall tight and contracted to avoid any swing or backward lean. ► This position will ensure optimal tension and isolation of the biceps. www.benpakulski.com

28

Preacher Curl (Machine Curl)

START

FINISH Key Points: ► Assume a shoulder width grip. ► It is essential that the entire upper arm remain in contact with the pad throughout the entire rep/set. ► Do not, lean back and allow the elbow to leave the pad. This is cheating and will only take away from gains. ► If you cant handle a weight without having your whole body rock and move, its TOO HEAVY. ► Try to maintain a continuous motion. www.benpakulski.com

29

Cable Curl

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Using a single handle attached to a low cable. Face away from the apparatus and maintain tall posture, shoulders square and back. ► The arm should be allowed to hang slightly behind you (the elbow 2-3inches behind the shoulder). ► At the bottom of the rep, contract the triceps. ► Contract with biceps, keep elbow back and minimize movement at upper arm.

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30

Two-Arm High cable curl

START

FINISH Key Points: ► Set the cable around chest height. ► With arms extended in front of you, grasp the rope around chin height. ► Curl to forehead. Keeping elbows in. www.benpakulski.com

31

Straight Bar Reverse Grip Cable Curl

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Hands shoulder width, overhand grip. ► Stand 6 inches from apparatus, elbows in close to your sides. ► Curl up and hold for a one second squeeze at the top.

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32


TRICEPS

General Principles: ► Always keep tall posture, chest up, shoulders back. ► For a maximum shortening of the triceps, the elbows must be behind you. ► For maximum power and strength, the elbows must be in slightly in front of you. ► Maximum range of motion requires that your forearm to touch your biceps on every rep. Full extension is one of those grey areas that I will leave as such. If you feel you are under complete control and have healthy joints, then locking out is fine. Under all other circumstances, locking out is not recommended. It is also recommended to “switch it up” lock out some days, and not on other days. (*consider how heavy the weight is!!). ► Remember the body moves most efficiently in straight lines! Whenever possible… keep shoulders, elbows, wrists in a straight line for triceps.


33

Tricep cable kickback

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► This exercise may be done standing tall or bent over at the waist. ► Pull elbow(s) behind you, keeping back flat and chest tall ► Extend arm(s) until straight ensuring the elbow stays as far behind you as possible without making you twist at the waist

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34

Overhead Cable Tricep Extension

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► From a position that is slightly bent over at the waist, flat back. Start with the forearms touching the biceps. ► Extend the arms until the triceps completely contract. ► The angle of this can vary. Try the cable below shoulder height. ► Handle to be used can vary but a rope is a good choice.

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35

Lying Triceps Extension INCLINE

FLAT

START

START

FINISH

FINISH

Key Points: ► Holding a cambered bar shoulder width, start with the bar at hairline level. ► Extend the bar slightly behind you so as to maintain continuous tension (again, extending the bar straight up will only direct force/tension through the joints). ► This may be done on a decline, flat or incline bench for variety. Use flat or slightly inclined for this program. www.benpakulski.com

36

Machine Dip

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Maintain proper posture with chest up, shoulders back. ► Ensure to use a weight that is manageable and allows you to feel the contraction. ► Let the machine guide your movement while applying the rules of triceps training.

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37

Close Grip Bench Press

START

FINISH Key Points: ► Grab a straight bar slightly outside shoulder width. ► Keep the elbows “high” (shoulder level), not tucked down by your sides. ► Descend until forearms touch biceps, then push up by contracting your triceps and preventing any extraneous movement. NOTE**-This is the same execution for close grip pushups. www.benpakulski.com

38


QUADS

General Principles: When working your quads, one of the greatest considerations is the amount and degree of movement at the knee joint (called extension, and flexion). Keep the spine in a neutral and safe position. For maximum power and strength, the quads and glutes contract at the same time at the bottom of the rep to begin the upward motion. IF you can not control the 4010 tempo, the weight is too heavy.


39

Squats

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Standing under a straight bar with it resting on your upper back, take a shoulder width stance and descend to the bottom of the rep under perfect control. ► Contract the quads on the negative (eccentric) portion of the rep and maintain contraction until you reach the bottom. At this point, quads STILL contracted (to relax at this point in the range puts the joints under unnecessary stress), push the ground away from you and ascend to the top of the rep. ► Intention for quad training comes in the form of an outward “shove” against the ground. Literally just push your heals outward against the ground (without moving). You will feel the entire outer half of your leg contract. To do this while performing a rep will increase muscular activation dramatically. ► Heals down, push with entire foot(evenly distributed weight). If you have a hard time keeping heals down(height is often a factor), elevating your heals is by no means cheating or less effective. www.benpakulski.com

40

Hack Squat

START

FINISH Key Points: ► Feet shoulder width and at a midpoint on the foot platform. The lower your feet the greater amount of quad activation. ► Be sure to keep your heals down so as to push with a flat foot and evenly distribute the weight over the balls of your feet and heals. ► Keeping the quads under continuous tension will be helpful in dictating the exact range of motion for you. With tension on your quads it is almost impossible to go too low without losing that tension. www.benpakulski.com

41

Leg Press

START

FINISH Key Points: ► All of the key points of hack squats apply here as well. Simply ensure you keep proper posture and chest up. Avoid slouching or putting your neck/face forward. ► Continuous tension, and full reps is a must. If you cant do full reps, the weight is too heavy. www.benpakulski.com

42

Barbell Lunges

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Standing under a straight bar as you would for a squat, bar across your upper back. ► Take a comfortable step forward, once that food is planted firmly, bend the back leg until that knee barely touches the ground. ► Try to keep your chest up and shoulders back. Keep most of the weight over the front leg as you descend. The back is there primarily for balance and is not meant to assist in this movement. ► Once you have descended to where the back knee is at the ground, push with the front leg and lunge back to the starting position with both feet together. ► Weight shoulder be distributed relatively evenly over that front “pushing” foot. It is okay to allow slightly more force to come from the toe in this case. www.benpakulski.com

43

Walking Lunge

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Execution will be very similar to the barbell lunge except that you will now step forward from on lunge onto the next. ► Keep weight forward over the front leg at all times. ► Control on the negative portion of the rep will ensure safety and maximum tension and benefit.

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Do not let your knee go further then your toe.

MISTAKES

44

Bulgarian Split Squat

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► This is a lunge, resting the back leg on a bench or box to eliminate assistance but aid in balance. ► Facing away from a flat bench, place one foot about 12-18 inches from the bench and the other foot is placed behind you on the bench. ► Keeping chest up and weight distributed forward over the front leg, descend to the bottom of the rep so that the back knee almost touches the floor (while the back foot still rest on the bench). ► To add weight to this exercise, dumbbells, in your hands is the best option. ► A great way to selectively isolate the front leg www.benpakulski.com

45

Leg Extension

FINISH

TIP START Key Points: ► The key here is to keep ankles, knees, hips in a straight line. Patella (knee cap) pointed directly to the ceiling. This is typically easy to do for most when the legs are extended, but at the bottom of the rep, the hips and knees tend to “roll out”. Try to keep the knees in a straight line with hips/ankles by holding the inner thighs tight. ► For optimal quadriceps development a maximal range of motion is ideal. Full stretch and full controlled extension. ► It is essential to initiate with the working muscle! In this case the quadriceps. ► Try to hold your butt to the seat as best as you can. Allowing your butt to lift off the seat when initiating the movement will decrease your quad activity and shorten your range of motion. ► REMEMBER: the quad not only functions to extend your knee, but also to flex your hip. Therefore holding yourself with your own muscular power (not leaning on a back pad) in a tall position, with a slightly arched low back(chest up) with actually activate the quad from both ends. Ensuring maximal shortening of the muscle. www.benpakulski.com

46


HAMSTRINGS General Principles: In typical athletic training and muscle building, most people tend to neglect one of the primary functions of the hamstrings group of muscles. Hip Extension! We all overly stimulate the hams with knee flexion and often neglect the other main functions. It is essential to work both primary functions of the hamstrings if you want them to respond. The hamstrings are made up of very fast twitch muscle fibers. Therefore they respond better to heavy weight, lower reps.


47

Lying leg curl HIP EXTENSION

HIP FLEXION

START

START

FINISH

FINISH

Key Points: ► Lying face down on a hamstring curl machine, keep your toes pointed directly toward the floor. Do not allow for any type of rotation (internal or external). ► To Maximally shorten the hamstrings, we must first place the hips into a position of extension. This requires that we elevate the chest off the pad slightly and thrust the pelvis forward into the pad. You will know your pelvis is in extension when your glutes are fully contracted. This position must be maintain during the entire length of the set, while curling the leg. ► When your hips are in extension, you will notice that you naturally do not push your knees into the pad at all. In fact, just the opposite. You will find that your knees are slightly elevated off the pad at all times. ► Once into this position, the reps will appear to be much shorter, but the contraction of the muscle will be significantly greater. ► To extend the set, once you have fatigued the muscle while in a position of hip extension, simply allow your butt to lift slightly and drop your chest back to the pad. The will allow you to continue the set without having to drop the weight. www.benpakulski.com

48

Seated Leg Curls

START

FINISH

MISTAKES

Key Points: ► Sitting tall in the bench with knees, hips, ankles in a straight line. Curl the weight all the way back to your butt without allowing your body to move or shift. It is sometimes often to hold yourself in position with your hands. ► The natural tendency here is going to be for your butt to slide forward and to lean back. You must stabilize your body to prevent this. www.benpakulski.com

49

Stiff leg deadlift

START

FINISH

Key Points: ► Using a straight bar or dumbbells, stand tall with toes elevated on a 1inch block or plate. ► Keeping your back flat, slowly bend from the waist until you feel a comfortable stretch in your hamstrings. At this point, driving your heels into the ground, stand back up to the starting position using forceful contraction of the hamstring muscle. www.benpakulski.com

50

Leg Press-Feet Wide and High

START

FINISH Key Points: ► On a 45-degree leg press, place your feet high (comfortably high, not excessive) and outside shoulder width. Feet slightly turned out. ► Let your knees fall outward. Wide foot stance and feet pointed outward will make this occur naturally. ► Lower the platform slowly until you feel a stretch in your glutes. ► Pushing through your glutes and hamstrings, push the weight back up and stop 2-3 inches short of lockout. ► Continuous motion is important here. www.benpakulski.com

51

Standing One-leg Curl Key Points: ► This may be one of the easiest exercises to learn the concept of contracting with hip extension. ► Resting one knee on the machine, the other leg straight and prepared to curl. Keeping your chest up and preventing any type of forward lean or bend at the waist, thrust your hips forward until you feel your glutes contract. ► Once you have achieved this position, curl your leg up with controlled force. ► Keep continuous tension on the negative portion of the rep, before coming back up into contraction. ► It is imperative to keep the hips forward and glutes contracted through the entire rep. The natural tendency will be to allow your butt to kick backward into flexion (this makes the movement easier and takes tension off the hamstrings.

One Leg-Leg Press Key Points: ► Place one leg in the middle of the platform, slightly toward the top. The other leg comfortably down inside the apparatus. ► The same principles as standard leg press apply here. ► Lower the weight under control and push forcefully with your heel. Stop short of locking out your knee. ► Descend until you feel your glute and low back start to leave the seat, this is too far. Try to hold yourself down so as to prevent this back rounding. ► Use the angle of back pad that is closest to the ground to allow for greater range of motion.

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Exercise Guide

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