Tricep Chair Dips

I am always trying different compound exercises so I can get the most effective workout in the shortest length of time. It takes time to go to the gym for cardio and weight training. Therefore, on some days I work out at home. One quick way to tone your arms and get great looking triceps is chair dips. All you need is a sturdy chair. For extra stability, place the chair against the wall.

• Stand in front of the chair facing away from the seat.
• Sit down on the edge of the seat and place your hands behind your hips. Your hands should be on the edge of the seat and shoulder width apart.
• Lift your buttocks off the seat and walk your feet forward. Make sure your hands are secure on the chair so that you do not slip off. Keep your chest elevated and head up. Your knees should not bend.
• Slowly lower your body downward. Be careful that your elbows do not bend to an angle smaller than 90 degrees.
• Extend your arms, raising your body upward and supporting your weight with your arms. This feels amazing.  

If this is your first time trying dips or any kind, you may not be strong enough to support your body weight. Beginners should just try one set of 6 to 8 reps. When you become more conditioned, you may gradually increase your reps and sets until you progress to three sets of 15 reps. You will love your well-defined triceps with less giggle.


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Arms to Dip For

Dips refer to upper-body training where you are required to lift loads equivalent to your body weight. So, the heavier you are, the more challenging they become. The best thing is that you can modify them as you progress. The benefits of performing dips are worth the challenge.

First, you can build your strength in several layers of upper-body muscles at the same time. Dips mostly focus on your triceps, which is the major muscle, located at the back of your arm. Your triceps muscle’s role is extending the elbow joint. Additionally, when you are pushing up out of the dips, your upper chest and anterior delts support by flexing the shoulders. Other muscles including the levator scapula, rhomboids and latissimus dorsa are also strengthened. 

                                                 Compound Exercises 

Dips are a compound exercise in that it requires movements in a number of joints. A compound exercise promotes the development of multiple muscle groups at the same time. Additionally, compound exercises mimic the regular tasks we carry out each day. This means that strength and coordination improve each time you exercise, which makes everyday tasks easier to perform. If conducted the right way, dips reduces the risk of injury to joints while insuring your triceps, shoulder, and scapular muscles are effectively developed.

For you to practice dips correctly, start by standing between two dip bars. Take hold of each bar with your hands and push your body up such that your elbows lock while your feet hang in the air. Lower your body towards the floor by bending your elbows avoiding letting your feet touch the floor. Continue moving until elbows attain a 90-degree angle. Next, extend your elbows and push your body up again. You can repeat the process a couple times a weeks and gradually increase the number of reps.

As always, consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.  If no dip bar is available or you work out at home, try doing my number one favorite exercise, chair dips. No need for fancy equipment, just a wall and a sturdy chair. My arms feel amazing after this workout. Give dips a try and start showing off the results. Leave a comment and let know your results.                  

                           

  

      

Tone Up Before Tanning

Summer is near and it is time to put away the long sleeves and expose our arms. Since we are going to be showing them, why not look our best. We can tone and define our arms with tricep extensions. Therefore, I want to share the proper way to execute a dumbbell triceps extension. You can do this exercise at home for at least three days a week to see results. This is my second favorite home exercise, next to chair dips. 

Prepare by positioning one dumbbell overhead with both hands. With elbows overhead, lower forearm behind upper arm by flexing elbows. Flex wrists at bottom to avoid hitting dumbbell on back of neck. Raise dumbbell overhead by extending elbows while hyper extending wrists. Return and repeat.

Position wrists closer together to keep elbows from pointing out too much. Let dumbbell pull arm back to maintain full shoulder flexion. Consider using a seat with back support. The back support, however, should not be so high that it interferes with dumbbell being completely lowered. If shoulder flexion flexibility is not adequate, position hips slightly forward so elbows are positioned upward. Position body upright if shoulder flexion flexibility is adequate.

This exercise targets the triceps brachial while using anterior deltoids, major pectorals, clavicle, pectorals and wrist flexors as stabilizers. To get tips from Raymond Day Masters Champion Bodybuilder on proper bicep exercises see my Fitness Coach page at DebraBakerFit.com 

Get Active to Help Your Heart

How much of a difference can exercise make in your life and how much do you really need to do? Exercise improves your health. You don't need to spend countless hours in the gym to achieve the benefits needed for a healthy heart. Just get active.
  
There are easy ways to add different types of activity to your daily routine:

• Park the car farther away from your destination.
• Get on or off the bus several blocks away.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
• Take fitness breaks. Walk, stretch or do some office exercises.
• Start doing some gardening, yard work, house cleaning or home repairs.
• Remove the television from the bedroom and hide the remote controls.
• Exercise while watching television. Some examples are using hand weights, using a stationary bike or treadmill, crunches, push ups, squats and stretching to improve your flexibility.   
• Walk while doing errands.
• Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office so you can be ready for activity wherever you go.

The good news is that it's never too late to start an active lifestyle. No matter how old you are, how unfit you feel, or how long you have been inactive, get started. Research shows that starting a more active lifestyle now through consistent moderate intensity activity can improve your heart health and your quality of life.


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Preserve and Protect Your Back

Back pain is the most prevalent source of chronic pain, and the leading cause of disability for Americans under the age of 45. Working at desks, slouching over phones, and leaning over keyboards, millions of people put themselves at risk for back pain because of poor posture.

Awareness of posture is key to transforming bad habits that form early and do damage over time. By holding your body in good posture, you strengthen your core and supporting muscles, building good muscle memory and protecting your back. Good posture is also tied to everything from stress to confidence, appearance, and general well-being. So what if we had a sensitive and subtle way to know immediately when we started to slouch, a quiet reminder felt only by ourselves?

The Lumo Lift approaches posture in a way that’s never been done before. Clipped onto your shirt, right below your collarbone using a secure magnetic clasp, the Lumo Lift tracks your posture and activity. Using subtle vibrations as feedback, it will gently vibrate to remind you to straighten up your posture every time you begin to slouch. Patented biomechanics monitoring sensors in the Lumo Lift use angle displacement as a measure to let you know when your body slouches away from what you’ve calibrated as your standard of good posture. The customizable time delay for vibrational feedback allows for a personalized posture coaching experience. With the integration of technology, the Lumo Lift is the agent of change needed to improve your posture long-term.
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Being able to consistently sit and stand with a posture that supports overall health and well-being involves learning with the body as well as with the mind. The Lumo Lift situates learning in realime, permitting you to make the steady small adjustments that quickly become vitally useful habits in daily life. 

My favorite exercises to strengthen your core muscles are abdominal crunches, the modified plank, the side plank, sit ups, single and double leg abdominal presses, and the bridge. To learn the easiest way to properly execute the bidge, see step by step on my website exercises. 09body 

Live Long and Prosper

We can dramatically reduce the likelihood of heart disease prior to old age by adopting a healthy living lifestyle. This is according to a long-term study. The study found that people who followed healthy living recommendations, such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, reduced their odds of heart disease by ninety percent over twenty years. The study group was compared to others in their age range that were living the unhealthiest lifestyles such as excessive smoking, drinking, high fat diet, over eating and lack of exercise etc.

A healthy lifestyle was also associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing heart disease among men and women who had already developed a cardiovascular risk factor like diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol. The study confirms the importance of healthy behaviors, such as not smoking and exercising more.

These findings also play a role in moving the public discussion toward adopting a healthy way of life as the standard norm. Fitness is a lifestyle. However, it is a choice. So, if you choose to start living fit and healthy and you need help getting started, contact a personal trainer in your area. We sometimes need extra motivation and encouragement to keep going. A personal fitness trainer may be the answer. If you need a referral, contact me and I will put you in touch with a trainer in your area.

Debra Baker CFT/SFN    Tap into your motivation