BUILT
Advice On Circuit Training Triceps and Chest
Q: Circuit training and the Belly Burn.... Lately I feel I have been packing on some extra pounds. I already upped my cardio, but I want to do more. Is circuit training a good way to lose fat?
A: Yes, circuit training is great for losing fat and improving strength because these types of programs will usually involve both your aerobic and anaerobic systems. Sometimes people can get stuck in a gym rut where they’re doing the same routines over and over. Circuit training mixes things up a bit and keeps your body guessing.
Q: I want to pump up my pecs, but they are not growing as much as I’d hoped. What would you recommend as a good chest exercise?
A: Do incline dumbbell bench press in your routine first, while your muscles are fresh. Otherwise, alternate flat and incline presses each workout (do flat first one day, then do incline first on your next chest day.
Q: Do you prefer dumbbell kickbacks or extensions for triceps? I really want to carve out a killer horseshoe.
A: Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse did a study to address this. They placed electrodes to measure the activity of the long and lateral heads of 15 subjects’ triceps and had them do a variety of exercises. The study found that dumbbell kickbacks increased the muscle activity of both The long and lateral head of the triceps significantly more than either version of the press-down (20 percent and 50 percent more, respectively). I’m going to side with science on this one and go with kickbacks!
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