Incline bench press in the simulator. Press from the chest in the hammer - we form the pectoral muscles

The bench press in a hammer or lever simulator is an exercise aimed at developing and polishing the shape of large pectoral muscles. The design of such a simulator rigidly fixes the trajectory of the movement of the hands when performing the movement. This has both its pros and cons. Let us analyze in more detail the mechanics of performing a chest press, its features and indicate the place of the exercise in chest training.

Exercise features

The chest press in the simulator, unlike the bench press, is considered an isolating exercise. Leaning back on the bench, you push two handles independent of each other in front of you. The amplitude of movement of these handles is clearly defined. Because of this feature of the simulator, movement occurs only in the elbow joint. As for the distribution of the load, it concentrates as much as possible on the muscles of the chest. The stabilizer muscles, which are actively involved in the work when doing presses with free weights, are practically not involved in this case.

Chest press in the simulator while sitting in an inclined position.

The chest press in the lever simulator is used to finish off the chest after completing basic exercises.

Advantages of the bench press in the simulator:

Accentuated load on the pectoral muscles, minimizing the work of the muscles of the stabilizers.
The ability to work separately on the right and left side of the chest, thanks to the independence of the handles of the simulator from each other. This is useful if there is some asymmetry of the musculature.
The safety of the exercise in terms of the likelihood of injury. Subject to the technique and avoidance of exorbitant weights (which, in principle, are not used in this exercise).

However, the same lever design of the simulator, in addition to the advantages, gives rise to some disadvantages:

There is no way to perfectly fit the simulator for yourself. You can only change the height of the seat. The inclination of the arms in relation to the body is rigidly set. Since all people have different proportions of the torso, it is far from always possible to sit comfortably in the simulator.
The impossibility of using large weights in the exercise follows from the previous paragraph. To give the maximum result with significant weights, you need to take an absolutely comfortable and natural posture. However, based on the purpose of this exercise (finishing), in principle, large weights are not needed here. Therefore, this disadvantage can be considered conditional.

Muscle work

As already mentioned, doing a bench press in a hammer helps to purposefully work out the pectoral muscles, eliminating the stabilizer muscles as much as possible. The load distribution looks like this:

Large pectoral muscles. Which part of the chest receives the greatest load is determined by the angle of the bench and the direction of the press (this depends on the model of the simulator). It's all by analogy with the bench press. If your hands are perpendicular to the body, the middle part works, if the press vector deviates up, the top turns on more, down - respectively. If we talk about the outer and inner edges of the chest, then in this exercise the external one is loaded more.
Triceps and front bundles of deltas work on an additional principle.

In order to load the chest to a greater extent, it is necessary during the exercise to concentrate on the movement of the elbows towards each other.

Execution technique

First of all, adjust the height of the seat of the simulator to your own height. You should be comfortable doing the bench press. The technique for performing a bench press in a hammer is as follows:

Sit with your back firmly against the bench, look straight ahead. The shoulder blades should be brought together and pressed to the body, the chest is open. Place your feet firmly on the floor or on a footrest.
As you exhale, gently push the handles of the simulator forward. The elbows should be directed to the sides, you do not need to press them to the body, otherwise you will load the triceps to a greater extent. Do not straighten your arms at the extreme point to the end. Concentrate mentally on the movement elbow joints to each other, contract the chest muscles as much as possible. Hold in the extreme position for 1-2 seconds.
As you inhale, slowly return your arms back, trying to open your chest as much as possible and stretch your muscles. However, do not allow a deflection in the back - the spine is pressed.

Perform bench press 10-15 times in 3-4 sets. In training, it is better to put it immediately after basic chest exercises.

Avoiding Mistakes

In order for the exercise to bring maximum benefit and not adversely affect your health, follow these recommendations:

During the press, do not bring your shoulders forward. Sitting in the simulator, you keep your back pressed all the time, and the shoulder blades are brought together.
Spread your elbows out to the sides. They should not stick to the body, as during triceps exercises.
Try to perform the movement as efficiently as possible and without jerking. First comes the development of technology, then the increase in load. This is a universal rule.
In the initial position, the pectoral muscles should stretch as much as possible, and in the extreme - contract. Pay attention to mental control. When you are aware of the work of the muscles during the execution of the movement, this makes your workouts much more effective.

Performing bench presses in a lever simulator allows you to perfectly polish your muscles. It is recommended to use this exercise to complete the chest workout, as a final chord. It also helps overcome muscle asymmetries that sometimes occur.

Good luck and outstanding sports results!

Squeezing out less than the best that you are capable of - you sacrifice your muscles.

Brief description of the simulator

The pectoral muscle simulator, to which I would like to devote this article, is designed to simulate a dumbbell bench press on an incline bench. It allows you to work with more weight than you normally would with dumbbell presses and therefore provide more stress to the target muscle group. Another advantage of the simulator is that when used correctly, you can reduce the load on the shoulder joints.

In the simulator, you can adjust the height of the handles, which allows you to adapt to arms of any length. The height of the seat is also adjustable - you need to choose it so that the handles are approximately at the level of your shoulders.

Some people believe that the lower we lower the weight, the more the pectoral muscles will be “loaded”. In fact, this is not the case - excessive lowering of the weight will cause the load to be transferred from the pectoral muscles to the shoulder joints, which is highly undesirable, as it increases the risk of injury. Lowering the weight too low also increases the risk of injury to the pectoral muscle itself, so it is not recommended to lower your arms below the level at which your shoulders will be parallel to the ground (that is, in the lowest position, your arms should be bent at the elbows at an angle of 90 degrees) .

Despite the fact that the simulator allows you to work without the help of a partner, when using large weights, help is very desirable. It may be required both when “breaking” the weight and bringing it to its original position (at the very beginning your hands are in the final - lower position), and when returning the projectile to the racks - in order to avoid overstrain in the shoulder joints and prevent excessive stretching of the chest muscles.

Ideal for the technique of Yuri Spasokukotsky

The simulator is an almost ideal solution for training the pectoral muscles according to my method: firstly, it allows you to achieve an extremely targeted load, and secondly, it reduces the risk of injury. Of course, when used correctly!

Newcomers to strength training it is recommended to select a weight with which they can perform approximately 15 repetitions; Three sets are enough to get you started. More experienced athletes may be advised to work in the 5-8 rep range; the first two sets should be warm-up - with a gradual increase in weight, another 2-3 - workers with a full load. Rest between sets should be at least 2-3 minutes so that you can fully recover for work with more weight. If you are preparing for a competition, then the number of repetitions in the set can be increased, and the rest between sets can be reduced.

Exercise technique:

1. Sit in the simulator and go to starting position, with the help of a partner or a special pedal to facilitate the weight output to the top position.
2. Inhaling air and slowly lower the weight down until your elbows are bent at an angle of exactly 90 degrees.
3. After exhaling, simultaneously press the weight up with a powerful and quick effort.
4. Make sure that the head and the shoulder blades brought together rest against the bench.

Video - Bench press in a lever simulator for pectoral muscles with a weight of 200 kilograms. December 2008

Bench press champion, master of sports in powerlifting Anatoly Baklazhko evaluates the simulator " incline press lying ”designed by his friend Yuri Spasokukotsky.
According to experienced Anatoly, the design is more successful than the "Hammer" version. Comfort in the area shoulder joints plus the feeling of the strongest “pumping” of the upper chest!

The leg press trains all the muscles of the legs without exception. Working muscles: quadriceps, biceps femoris, buttocks, adductors of the thighs, calves.

Target muscles in the classic version - quadriceps thigh.

Leg Press: 4 Technique Options [Video]

Leg press - basic exercise, aimed at pumping the front and back muscles thighs and buttocks. It is performed lying on a special simulator with an inclination of 45 degrees. Depending on the position of the feet on the platform during the exercise, one or another target muscle receives the maximum load. Further in the article, we will talk about 4 basic techniques for doing the leg press in the simulator, how to do the exercise with a narrow and wide staging legs and what muscles are involved in the classic version.

site 2017-11-26 Technique for performing leg press while lying in the simulator, correct positioning of the legs

What muscles work with the classical setting of the legs: load on a 10-point scale

Application of the exercise "Inclined leg press in the simulator"

To whom. Everyone from beginner to master, men and women.

When. At the beginning of a leg or butt workout. After the leg press, do isolated exercises on quadriceps and biceps.

How many. 4 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 reps.

How to do a leg press (classic)

Starting position: sitting in the simulator. The legs are on the platform shoulder width apart. The knees are slightly bent. Hands hold on to the handrails.
Inhale and lower the platform down until your hips touch your chest.
Slowly lift the platform up to the starting position while exhaling.

Attention! To avoid heavy load on knee joints, at the top of the movement, the knees are always slightly bent.

The main mistakes when doing the exercise:

Full leg extension. Not allowed! It is a dangerous movement, you can break your legs. Never straighten your legs completely. When fully extended, the leg muscles relax. The entire load is transferred to the knee joints.
Incorrect position of the body in the starting position. The back is bent or the pelvis is not in the seat. Try to sit on the seat and rest your back against the back of the simulator tightly. Fix this position.
Bringing the knees inward. In the classic version, keep your knees symmetrically at the level of your feet. It is not allowed to bring inside.
Incorrect range of motion. Sharp and swinging movements are not allowed. Shortened amplitude - not welcome. Do all movements smoothly.

Platform leg options

Depending on the target muscles, they are isolated different variants doing the exercise. Choose the option that suits your workouts and perform the exercise according to the fitness trainer's instructions.

Leg press with an emphasis on the buttocks (narrow stance)

Target muscles in the exercise: buttocks and rear surface hips. It is performed as a classic bench press. The position of the legs is different.

Differences:

Foot stance: feet together on top of the platform, knees together. When lowering, do not spread your knees.
Pushing the platform with the heels. We rest with an emphasis on the heels, the toes of the foot are slightly stretched over ourselves.
The amplitude of movement is individual for everyone. It all depends on mobility. hip joints. If flexibility allows, do a full range of motion. Otherwise, give preference to a shortened one.

Errors:

Breeding the knees to the sides.
Platform toe press.
Low stance on the platform.

Target Muscles- Quadriceps of the thigh.

Differences:

Positioning of the feet from the bottom of the platform. The distance between the feet is 20-30 cm.
The main emphasis of the foot falls on the socks. It is allowed to slightly tear off the heels 0.5 cm.

The errors are the same as in the classic version.

Advice. This exercise puts a lot of stress on the knee joints. If there is discomfort in the knees, refuse to perform.

Adductor Hip Leg Press (wide stance)

Target group- adductor muscles of the thigh.

Differences:

The stance is wide. The feet are turned to the sides.
When lowering, we spread our knees to the sides. Breeding and bringing the knees together is a mandatory movement.

Errors:

Incorrect positioning of the legs.
Lowering and lifting weights without breeding and bringing knees together.

Place the bench on the Smith machine so that the bar of the bar is in line with the top of your chest.
Set the slope of the bench at an angle of 30-40 degrees.
Spread your knees and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Press your back, shoulders and buttocks firmly against the bench.
Grab the bar with an overhand grip shoulder-width apart. In the starting position, the forearms are laid aside at an angle of 45 degrees to the body.
Inhale a little deeper than usual, hold your breath and begin to squeeze the bar up.
When you go through the most difficult part of the lift or at the moment of full extension of the arms, make a forced exhalation.
Straightening your arms, try to squeeze the weight even higher, raising your shoulders.
Pause briefly at the top and return to the starting position. The speed is moderate, all movements are controlled.

The incline bench press on the Smith machine puts a lot of pressure on the upper pecs when you work with a slightly narrower grip and set the bench at a 30-40 degree angle.

Ronnie places his hands on the bar a little wider than shoulder width apart, presses his back firmly against the bench, and does 12 - 15 repetitions with a relatively light weight, never lingering in one point.

NOTES

Make sure that the angle of inclination is 30-40 degrees. A lower slope shifts the emphasis to the middle of the chest, a higher slope to the deltas.
Don't apply too much wide grip: this prevents the maximum inclusion of the top of the pecs.
Always fully extend your arms in the top position! The more complete the extension, the more powerfully the working muscles contract.
Do not exhale until you reach the most difficult part of the lift. “Premature” exhalation weakens your position and leads to loss of stabilization, which can cause injury.
Don't take too much heavy weight. Overload involves auxiliary muscle groups and forces the buttocks to tear off the bench. For the deltas to work effectively and safely, put your feet on the floor and press your back, shoulders and pelvis to the bench.
During the movement, do not strain the press much.
As you inhale and hold your breath, the rectus muscles contract to keep your torso and spine in a stable position. A strong contraction of the abs weakens the rectus muscles and causes the shoulders to “round out”.
Do the exercise at a moderate pace. Too slow and too fast movements equally overload the joints.
The main advantage of the incline press is that it allows you to “highlight” the upper parts of the chest as much as possible.
If you want to gain serious volume, always achieve maximum stretch. From the bottom point, I squeeze the barbell up to 99 percent extension of the arms, keeping a constant tension on the chest.
I never do "partial" repetitions: they do not give a full contraction, which means they inhibit growth.
I like to work with a slightly wider than shoulder grip. But I put my feet exactly shoulder-width apart - for reliable stabilization. » The angle of the bench I set at 40 degrees. When the slope is greater than, say, 45 degrees, it is difficult to lowest point to achieve a touch of the chest, and the top of the chest is not loaded to the maximum.
During the movement, I make sure that the back does not come off the bench - sometimes I even specifically “press” it into the bench. Never arch your back when doing an incline press - this can lead to injury.
I work with a relatively light weight that allows you to do 12-15 repetitions - this gives a great “pump”. In addition, the incline press is not my first exercise in the “chest” workout, so there is no need for large weights.
It usually takes me 3-4 seconds to repeat. In the first phase of the ascent, the movement is explosive, then I move to a moderate, controlled pace. I never stop at the top.
With the incline bench press, I do without a peak contraction, and I do not strain the chest additionally at the top point. In my opinion, this exercise is already quite difficult: it does not need additional “gadgets” to increase the intensity.
In the chest complex, the incline bench press in the Smith machine is my third in a row, so I don’t do warm-up sets, but start right away with the “workers”.
I “bomb” the chest twice a week according to different schemes: in one version I do the first two exercises with a barbell, in the other with dumbbells.
I start working out the chest with a bench press on horizontal bench, then I do any of the incline bench press options, then the incline bench press in the Smith machine, and I finish the workout with lying dilutions or crossovers on the blocks. I chest bomb on the first day of my 3-day split.

ANATOMY

The main load in this exercise falls on upper part large pectoral muscles. In addition, the supraspinatus muscle, located between the collarbone and the upper edge of the scapula, the anterior and middle deltas, are involved in the movement, and the triceps are included in the last phase of the extension of the arms.

WORK OF MUSCLES AND JOINTS

By the effort of the muscles, the arms move along a trajectory diagonal to the body - speaking in anatomical terms> yari, this leads to abduction and flexion in the shoulder joints.

Inclined leg press in the simulator - basic, multi-joint exercise. To perform this exercise, you need a machine to perform this kind of bench press. This design is a machine statically fixed on the floor, on which there is a movable platform with places for securing loads. More often there are machines, the angle of attachment of the platform to which is approximately 45 degrees.

Main working muscle groups: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes

Auxiliary muscle group: calf.

Inclined leg press in the simulator - execution technique.

1. Sit on the leg press machine. Place your feet on the platform. Feet shoulder width apart.

2. Push the platform up by straightening your legs in front of you and lower the safety supports. The torso and straightened legs should form a right angle. This will be the starting position.

3. Slowly, while inhaling, lower the platform by bending your legs. Lower the platform until your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle and your pelvis is slightly off the seat. The head is raised.

4. As you exhale, return the platform to its original position, straightening your legs, but without turning off your knees. Legs should be tight.

5. Do required amount repetitions, secure the platform with safety stops.