Australian_Mens_Fitness_April_2017

1

Ring pushup

WHYRingsaren’tjust

for the gym show-offs.

According to a 2014 study

publishedintheJournal Of

Strength And Conditioning

Research, doing pushups

onasuspensiontrainer

leads to increased muscle

activation in the abs, delts

andpectoralmuscles.

HOWStartwithyourfeet

onthefloor,atanangle

that’llletyougetafewreps

done. Brace your core and

glutes to keep your body in a

straight line. Once you start

to “caterpillar”, stop the set.

“Once you can do a handful

of reps, move to elevating

your feet to the same

levelasyourhands,”says

trainer Adam Wakefield.

“Thenaddaweightvest

to make it tougher.”

2

Band pushup

WHYOnce you can do more

than a dozen strict pushups,

you’re mainly working on

muscular endurance, not

building muscle. Using a

band adds resistance, and a

2015 study found that band

pushups at similar levels

of exertion to a bench press

produced similar gains.

HOWWrap the band

around your back and

grip the ends. Keep your

hands slightly below

shoulder level to protect

your shoulders and lead to

better muscle activation.

Threesetstonearfailure,

twice a week, will set you

on the road to strength..

3

Floor press

WHYNo bench required.

Also, if you have shoulder

orelbowpainfrom

benching, the floor press

automatically corrects

your form while reducing

leg drive so there’s

more triceps focus.

HOWStartbygoingone-

armed—aswellasbeing

able to manoeuvre the

dumbbell into place more

easily, you’ll engage your

core to stabilise the weight.

If you’re ready to graduate

to the two-arm version,

useamoderateweight

for high reps: lower it until

your triceps touch the floor,

then press up. To really

engage your chest, squeeze

the dumbbells together

asyoupress,thenswitch

to normal floor presses

when you hit failure.

4

Earthquake flye

WHYYes, it takes some

setting up — and you

mightgetoddlooks—but

theflyeisabetterchest-

builder than the bench,

and this is its ultimate

form. “Adding resistance

bandstokettlebellflyes

willmakeyourchest

work harder in order to

stabilise the weights,”

says Wakefield. “It’ll build

a chest to treasure.”

HOWGrabapairof

kettlebells — start with the

12s — and wrap resistance

bands around the handles.

Lying on a slight incline,

bring them overhead in

aflyemotion,thenlower.

“Keep the movement very

slow and controlled,” says

Wakefield. “Superset ten of

thesewithtenringpushups

for a killer chest workout.”

5

Dumbbell bench

WHYTechnically, the main

function of the pec muscles

during pressing exercises

is “transverse adduction”, or

bringing the arms towards

thecentreofthebody.

Obviously,duringabarbell

benchpress,yourhands

can’t move inwards, so the

alternativeisthedumbbell

version, which offers

higher pec activation and

agreaterrangeofmotion.

HOWFor best results, let

your hands go below

chest level at the bottom

ofthemoveandthen

bring the dumbbells

together at the top when

your arms are straight.

If you’ve experienced

shoulder issues, use a

neutralgrip,whichmeans

palms facing inwards.

Beyond the

bench

APART FROM THE

PECS, RING PUSHUPS

ALSO ACTIVATE

THE ABS AND DELTS.

114 MEN’S FITNESS APRIL 2017

●Body Book Muscle expert

Time to stop

lying down on

the job. Whether

your goal’s

strength, size

or healthier

shoulders, there

are better moves

than the flat

bench press.