Stepping onto a platform is a simple and effective exercise for the buttocks and thighs.

What muscles work

The main load in the exercise stepping onto the platform is taken by the quadriceps femoris. It is responsible for extending the leg at the knee, and it is due to its contraction that an impulse is created that helps to climb onto the platform (bench).

In addition, the gluteus maximus muscle, as well as the adductor magnus and gastrocnemius muscles, assist in the movement of the quadriceps.

The following muscles are used as stabilizers: core muscles, rectus abdominis and oblique abdominal muscles.

Exercises for the buttocks with dumbbells

When performing complex training using weights, the emphasis is not on the number of approaches performed, but on the quality of execution technique.

Benefits of doing the exercise

By practicing walking with dumbbells in your hands, you can count on the following positive properties:

• Helps to work each leg separately and eliminate existing lags in one of the legs;
• Perfectly works out the relief and gives a rounded shape to the buttocks;
• Strengthens knee joints;
• Develops balance and sense of balance;
• Stimulates an increase in muscle strength in the legs;
• With the help of this exercise, you can work out your legs well, putting minimal stress on your back;
• Regular practice will improve your performance in exercises such as the squat and deadlift.

A decent number of positive qualities, simple technique and minimal risk of injury make stepping onto a platform an almost ideal exercise.

What equipment will be needed for classes?

For classes you need special support. It is not necessary to purchase a professional platform for step aerobics. A cabinet, bench or ordinary stair steps will do the job perfectly.

You can perform basic up and down steps at different heights. It is recommended to start with a low step, even if you can lift your legs higher. It is necessary to control your hips: while performing high steps, they need to be kept shoulder-width apart.

Additional weights – dumbbells, kettlebells – will help increase the load. The kettlebell must be held with both hands by the handle in front of you in a deep squat. The apparatus can be replaced with a dumbbell.

When using paired equipment, the technique is different: the shells must be held in the hands, extended along the body or bent towards the shoulders.

Stepping technique

Experienced athletes will find this exercise easy. But beginners will have to adapt to it for some time, since not only the target muscles, but also stabilizers are of great importance here. If they are not sufficiently developed, it will be difficult for you to maintain the correct body position.

Therefore, at first it is recommended to perform it without weight, trying to learn the correct technique.

The execution technique looks like this:

• Take appropriately weighted dumbbells in your hands with a neutral grip and hold them at your sides;
• Stand up straight, place your foot on the bench so that your knee is at a right angle;
• Tighten your core muscles, keep your back straight, and look forward;
• From this position, while exhaling, enter the platform. The emphasis should be on the heel;
• Place your second foot on top of the first, fully standing on the platform;
• Go down first with one foot, then with the other;
• Get back to the starting position.

You need to get down from the platform the same way you climbed onto it. You move one leg down, leave the other one on it at a right angle, then move it down too.

It is very important to keep the muscles of the lumbar region and abs in constant tension. In this case, it will be much easier for you to maintain the correct body position.

In addition to the classic version with dumbbells, side and cross approaches to the bench can be performed.

Arm exercises in the gym and at home

We offer a list of the best arm exercises. The exercises presented are the most effective for training your arms.

If you want to pump up big arms, then remember that the volume of the biceps in the total volume of the arm is only 1/3. Another 2/3 of the arm size is contributed by the triceps. That is, you need to use movements that effectively load the biceps and triceps.

Another important nuance is that the body will not endlessly build muscle in one place if there is no growth in others. That is, you will never build up huge arms if you have skinny legs and a weak back. Therefore, we included in this list movements that will indirectly load the arms and pump up other muscle groups.

Standing standard barbell curls are great for adding meat to your arms. Why? Barbell curls are a heavy basic exercise that loads the entire length of the biceps, stretches it well, which gives it a stimulus for growth.

For the exercise to be effective, it is necessary to follow the movement technique, smoothly lower your arms with the barbell down until the muscle is fully stretched and contract the biceps in one explosive movement without jerking. To recruit more fibers into the work, you need to tense the muscle at the beginning of the exercise and keep it tense throughout the entire approach. And also shorten (even squeeze) the biceps as much as possible at the top point of the amplitude.

If the muscles no longer respond to this exercise (volume and strength do not increase), you can change the grip width of the barbell to surprise the muscles.

Dumbbell concentrated bicep curls are a great exercise to add extra stress to your muscles after doing barbell lifts. It allows you to pump your biceps in isolation and pump additional blood into it for better growth. Do the movement smoothly with maximum stretch at the bottom of the range and peak contraction at the top of the range.

#3 Standing Dumbbell Curls

The next exercise for training your arms is curling your arms with dumbbells. It also allows you to pump your biceps in isolation. Start with a small warm-up weight of 5 kg for each arm. You can do it both together and alternately. It’s better to stick to a rep range of 10-12 for each arm in 3-4 sets. This exercise will help increase the size of your biceps and forearms.

#4 Lifting dumbbells for biceps with emphasis on an inclined bench

This exercise is aimed at more than just biceps training. It allows you to additionally use the brachialis (shoulder muscle), which is located under the biceps and, as it were, pushes it outward, which allows you to add additional volume to the arm.

Lie face down on a bench at a 45° angle and hold dumbbells or a barbell in your hands. Without moving your shoulders forward/backward, contract your biceps powerfully and lift the dumbbells up. Hold the muscle contraction for 1 second and then return to the starting position, stretching the muscle as much as possible. With this exercise you will feel a burning sensation in your muscles.

#5 Incline Dumbbell Curl

This version of the dumbbell curl is good because it allows you to turn off the auxiliary muscles from the movement and maximally load the biceps.

Set your bench to a 60º incline. Take dumbbells with an overhand grip and alternately bend your arms to chest level. When lifting the dumbbells up, twist the dumbbells by turning your hands inward. This will allow you to make a peak contraction at the highest point of the amplitude. Keep your elbows close to your body as you perform the movement. This exercise will perfectly load the long head of the biceps brachii muscle (biceps).

#6 Dips for triceps

Triceps push-ups are a great exercise for increasing arm size that don't require any special equipment. It can be done anywhere, but it is not as easy as it seems. With each repetition, you lift your weight and hold it entirely through the strength of your arms. This allows you to create training stress and stimulate muscle growth.

You can also perform this exercise with additional weight.

#7 French bench press

The French bench press with a barbell allows you to maximally stretch all 3 heads of the triceps and pump it up efficiently. You need to start with small weights and gradually increase the load so as not to get injured. You can perform it with a straight bar or use an EZ barbell, which allows you to lighten the load on your hands. The movement must be performed smoothly and under control, lowering the barbell to the forehead or even behind the head, to maximize the stretch of the triceps.

Focus on the muscle at the bottom of the range of motion and pause for a second, then slowly contract your triceps while straightening your arms. This will maximize the load on the triceps and make it grow.

Another tip: keep your arms at a 45-degree angle to the floor; this will help the muscles stretch better and remain under more tension during each repetition.

#8 Seated dumbbell bench press for triceps

Another great exercise for working your triceps is the seated dumbbell overhead press. Hold the dumbbell with both hands, palms up. Keeping your shoulders still, bend your elbows and slowly lower the weight behind your head until your forearms are below parallel. Keep your elbows as close to your head as possible. In this exercise, you need to achieve a burning sensation in the triceps.

Lie down on a bench and hold dumbbells directly above your pecs. Your palms should be facing inward. Without moving your shoulders forward or backward, bend your elbows and slowly lower the dumbbells down toward your head. Stop when your forearms are below parallel, contracting your triceps and lifting the dumbbells to the starting position.

#10 Biceps Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are an excellent basic biceps exercise (working two joints) that allow you to pump up the biceps brachii muscle using your body weight. Most guys don't realize that the best way to actually increase arm size and get stronger is through simple exercises and your body weight.

Push-ups allow us to engage our triceps, and will also allow us to pump up our pectoral muscles and deltoids. But if you want to focus on the triceps, use the so-called diamond push-ups (palms rest on the floor next to each other, forming a diamond).

Diamond push-ups are a great exercise to tone your triceps muscles. Keeping your palms close together - like a diamond shape - will put maximum stress on your triceps.

Once again, being able to lift your own body weight will load the triceps very effectively to begin building muscle mass and increasing strength. If you're just starting to work on increasing your arm size, this is also the best way to avoid injury and increase your endurance.

Recommendations

• Choose the weight wisely - you should lift with some effort, but not at the expense of correct technique;
• You need to climb up by pushing your foot on the floor;
• You can either step off the bench with both feet, or leave one on it constantly. In this case, you will increase the intensity of the workout;
• The knees should not extend beyond the imaginary line of the toes;
• Keep your back and body straight at all times - do not bend or lean to the sides;
• If you find it difficult to hold dumbbells with just your hands, you can additionally use wrist straps. Here, although grip strength matters, the exercise is by no means designed to improve this indicator.

Steps are used on the platform for the buttocks, and only then to work the quadriceps. For working the gluteal muscles, the effectiveness of this exercise is on par with classic squats with a barbell. However, here there is practically no load on the back.

In this regard, we can conclude that to intensively work out the gluteal region, it is not necessary to follow a “standard” program. Add this exercise to your program, and after a couple of months try to return to the classics. You will feel that your legs are much stronger and you can now handle heavier weights than before.

How to use this exercise in training

As we have already said, dumbbell biceps curls while sitting on an incline bench are an accentuated exercise that works the outer fascicles of the biceps. You should not start your workout with such an isolation exercise; most experienced athletes use this movement to finish off their biceps at the end of the workout. We recommend starting with more basic exercises and then moving on to isolated work. It roughly looks like this:

1. Dumbbell bicep curls while sitting on an incline bench.

For amateur athletes, two or three exercises for training the biceps are enough, but you can perform 5 movements in one session if you reduce the number of approaches in each of them. Do not forget that the biceps themselves are not a very large muscle group, and therefore it is not very wise to devote a separate workout to them, especially if you are involved in bodybuilding at an amateur level. It is best to train the biceps with other muscle groups, preferably the triceps, back or pecs.

Technique for performing dumbbell lifts on an incline bench from Denis Borisov

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Greetings, my dear readers! This Wednesday we have a technical note on the agenda. And we’ll talk about getting on the bench with dumbbells. After reading, you will learn everything about the muscle atlas, the advantages and technique of execution, and in conclusion we will find out the degree of effectiveness of the exercise and the advisability of including it in your training plan.

So, take your seats in the auditorium, I'm calling the curtain.

Common Mistakes

The greatest effect is achieved by following the exercise technique. There are several mistakes that are made most often:

• Rounded back. In this position, the spine is overloaded. During the exercise, the back should be straight, but the natural curves (lower back, thoracic and cervical spine) should be preserved.
• Body tilt. Stepping must be performed using the work of the leg muscles, and not the inertia of the body.
• The knee of the foot on the platform went beyond the line of the toe. In this case, the knee joint is heavily loaded when the load on the muscles is minimal.
• Too fast pace. The purpose of the exercise is to work the muscles and maintain balance, and not to do it as quickly as possible.
• Incorrect breathing.

By stepping onto the platform, you can work several muscle groups at once. The result can be obtained only if the exercise technique is followed. It is important to strictly follow the recommendations and avoid possible mistakes.

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Exercises for abdominal muscles (abs)

And for dessert, it is probably the most spectacular part of the human body, both in men and women. Who among you hasn't strived to get six-pack belly fat? Yes, there are probably no such people among those involved in sports and physical education for their health :)

Abdominal muscle anatomy

Ab exercises:

List of exercises for abdominal muscles:

• Curling your torso on the floor
• Body Raises
• Raises of the torso against the gymnastic wall
• Rolling up the torso with the lower leg on a bench
• Incline sit-ups
• Raising the torso on a vertical bench
• Torso roll with overhead pulley
• Curling the torso on a machine
• Incline Leg Raises
• Knee raises
• Hanging Knee Raises
• Torso turns with a bar
• Side bends while standing
• Lateral raises on a Roman chair

Please note that the first picture is about how to do abdominal exercises correctly. Watch your actions. If done incorrectly, it can lead to back injuries, which can be very difficult to treat.

Ugh. OK it's all over Now. There is no room left in the article for your own training program. I hope to post it sometime next time. In any case, using the book given, any of you can create the program that you need. Develop those muscles whose strength (or beauty) you lack.

But remember that the most beautiful and healthy people are people who develop harmoniously. Good health to you! And motivation to exercise your body.

And finally. To help everyone relax a little, a picture with the caption “

Lifting onto a bench

is a formative exercise. Great for those who want to quickly tone up their legs and buttocks. The exercise can be performed with anything and anywhere: in the gym with dumbbells or with a barbell; at home with 5 liter containers, climb onto a stool, sofa or bedside table; after jogging in the park, using a bench. It is important to remember that to achieve results you need to increase the load.

Stepping onto a platform: this amendment will make your buttocks grow

Stepups, using the trick described in this article, should be a staple in anyone's training program. Check it out!

Step-up is a classic strength and general strengthening physical exercise and should be a staple in any person’s training program. When it comes to step-ups, the higher the box, the more the butt is engaged and the buttocks are worked due to increased flexion in the hip joint. Lower platforms or benches tend to work the quads and calves.

But how high do you walk?

“The key is choosing the right platform height so you can stride as high as you can without rounding your lower back or moving your hips out to the sides,” says Bret “The Glute Guy” Contreras, our mentor and inspiration for the 10 series. the best exercises for pumping up the buttocks.

For most people, this is somewhere between 50 and 75 centimeters based on individual hip mobility and limb length. If you can't find the right platform or bench, try using an adjustable step platform because you can adjust the height one step higher or one lower.

Make sure to place most of your body weight on the heel of the working leg and rest on the platform of the entire foot, and that the emphasis of the movement is on rotation around the axis of the hip joints (not the knees) to maximize activation of the glutes. And stretch your arms out in front of you as a counterweight.

Bret recommends doing 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Too easy? Then hold dumbbells in both hands or wear a weight vest to step onto the platform and put your butt to the test.

Write in the comments what platform height do you use? Do you use it as one of the main exercises for the buttocks or only as an auxiliary exercise between approaches? There is something to add to the recommendations from Bret - we will only be glad to see your additions!

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Training schemes

You can choose one of the training options below. For continuous progress, after 2-3 months, replace the selected training scheme with another.

For men

For women

Why is it so difficult to remove thigh fat?

At all times, the buttocks and thighs were considered the most difficult area to work out and lose weight. More than 90% of modern women suffer from fat deposits in these places, even with serious physical exertion. Many scientists, and even ordinary people, believe that the reason is hidden in genetics or anatomical features of the body structure, but in fact there are some other “reasons”:

• On the inside of the thigh, the skin is much thinner, softer and more elastic, which is why stretch marks appear on it much faster and cellulite stands out much more.
• Many women, especially those who have sedentary jobs, often prefer to take the “leg-to-leg” position. As a result, blood circulation deteriorates, which contributes to the rapid deposition of fat in this area.
• Even with serious physical activity, the muscles located on the inside of the thighs are practically not used. They are pumped only through special exercises for the buttocks at home.
• If you manage to remove fat deposits in a short time, the skin in this area sags greatly, forming unaesthetic folds.

You understand that even with a good genetic predisposition, it will not be possible to cope with accumulated fat without a carefully designed set of exercises. Cellulite removed by a simple diet will return again and again until the necessary muscle groups are well worked out by physical activity.

Training recommendations for girls and men

The main rule when performing buttock exercises with dumbbells for girls and men is to follow the correct technique. This is the main condition for progression, because the functions of the muscle group and the movements for working it out are quite simple. To maximize the effectiveness of each approach, be aware of the following conditions:

• With any squat, it is important to keep the movement as low as possible. This is the only way to fully utilize the buttocks.
• When performing bends, try to focus the load on the gluteal muscles, this will increase the impact of the exercises.
• Take your time, do all movements at a moderate or slow pace.
• If the stretch is weak, do not try to perform the movement through the full amplitude, this will only lead to rounding of the back and loss of efficiency. Develop stretching by gradually increasing the range of motion.
• For movements like Romanian deadlifts, squats, and glute bridges, favor low-rep work with heavy weights (no more than 7-9 reps for 4-5 sets). For lunges and other exercises, stick to the 4*12-15 pattern.
• With any alternating movements, it is important to perform the same number of repetitions on each side. This will help prevent the development of muscle imbalances.
• Do not do more than 5 exercises or 20 sets in one session to avoid overtraining your muscles.