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СWorking on the core muscles is not only essential for good looks, but also for your health. In this article, we will talk about core muscles and how to develop them. So without any further ado, let us begin. Core Muscles: What Do They Consist of? To put it simply, core muscles consist of two main groups, which are central and peripheral. The central muscles resemble a sac that protects internal organs by covering the abdominal cavity. In other words, we need these muscles to keep the vital organs safe. In fact, if we didn’t have these muscles, a slight kick in the abdominal area would cause significant damage to vital organs. Central muscles can be divided into several parts, which are: Front - abs Lateral parts - oblique muscles and the surrounding muscles Back - the muscles that support the spine Upper wall - diaphragm Lower wall - pelvic floor muscles The second group of core muscles, the peripheral muscle group, consists of the trapezius, the latissimus dorsi muscle, the pectoralis muscle, the buttocks, and the muscles of the shoulder girdle. These muscles are essential for our posture and back health, which means that developing those is rather important for everyone who wants to be healthy and look beautiful. Both central and peripheral core muscle groups are extremely significant for our health, posture, as well as the way we look. Therefore, in the next paragraph, we are going to talk about the best exercises for strengthening these muscles. Best Workouts for Strengthening Core Muscles So we made it pretty clear that developing core muscles is important for pretty much everyone. So what exercises can you do to strengthen these muscles? Well, here they come: High plank Supine toe tap Hollowman Bird Dog Crunches Bicycle crunch Superman Warrior crunch Supine leg lifts Elbow to knee Bridge Mountain climber V-sit V-ups Side plank Plank shoulder taps Turkish get-up Elbow plank twists As you can see, there are many workouts that will no doubt help you develop core muscles and eventually become healthy and fit. So why don’t you grab your fitness mat and try at least some of these useful exercises to see their effectiveness yourself? Wrapping Up Not only are core muscles essential for beautiful abs, but also rather important for your back health and posture. Furthermore, these muscles protect your internal organs, which is a pretty important feature. Therefore, if you regularly train but you always avoid core exercises thinking they are not as important as the workouts for your legs or arms, you better stop doing that because core muscles are perhaps the most important muscle group in your body.

The pectoralis major muscle is one of the most difficult muscles to train, but it can be trained. In this article, we will look at the pectoralis major muscle and how to train it. The development of the chest muscle is an indicator of how hard you are working on your body. This muscle group is one of the largest and most complex muscles in the human body. A good workout requires a combination of basic and isolation exercises. This is the only way to make your muscles perfect. Exercises with barbells are good for building muscle mass, while exercises with dumbbells and equipment are good for improving form and detail. It is not advisable to use very heavyweights in the beginning. It is much better to get a feel for the muscles needed when working the chest, arms, and shoulders. For example, classic push-ups from the floor will help you feel the pectoral muscles and understand how they work. For proper training, you should use different chest dumbbell exercises to work the muscles from different angles. Dumbbell Bench Press Place dumbbells next to your arms. Start by getting into the correct posture. Press the back of your neck, back, and pelvis against the bench. Press your heels to the floor and open your legs 60 degrees. Once you have learned this posture, sit down and take a dumbbell and place it on your lap. Lie down and pull the dumbbells up to your chest. Keep the dumbbells parallel, extending the arms at a slight angle to your elbows. Lower the weights gently and begin the chest exercise by moving your elbows up and down. When you feel your pectoral muscles stretch, return your arms to the position you started from. Hammer Start in the correct posture. Sit on the edge of the bench and place the dumbbells on knees. Lie down so that the back of your head, back, and buttocks are pressed firmly against the bench. At the same time, shift weight from your hips to your chest. Lift arms in front of you, maintaining a 90-degree angle. Place your palms so they face each other and bend your elbows slightly. Inhale when bending your arms and pulling the dumbbells toward your chest. As you exhale, relax the hips and focus on tensing your pectoral muscles. Repeat. It is important to concentrate on your pectoral muscles because the 'hammer' puts extra tension on your triceps. This exercise is performed slowly and requires a lot of concentration. This exercise is ideal for beginners or players recovering from chest, shoulder, or elbow injuries. Dumbbell Press Lie on a bench so that your neck, shoulders, and hips are in close contact with the surface of the chair. Make the feet close to the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest level, one hand on the other. Secure the dumbbells behind your head, concentrating on stretching your pectoral muscles. This only works the shoulders. Apply maximum tension on the lower amplitude and return the arms in the same trajectory. Since this dumbbell chest exercise is a supplemental exercise, it makes sense to mix it up with the basic exercises. It also stretches the pectoral muscles and helps to shape the chest. Make sure your head is supported in this position.If not, you may injure your neck muscles or cause nerve compression. Work with dumbbells smoothly and avoid sudden jerks or extreme weights. Also, remember that while warming up before a workout can help build endurance and recovery, it should not be relied upon exclusively. Proper sleep and nutrition are the most important factors in achieving gym results. Chest exercises can help improve your sense of security and overall health, so be sure to at least train these muscles.

After the abdominal muscles are prepared, the obliques are the next step. The obliques are several groups of abdominal muscles on either side of the main body. The external obliques are at the top and the internal obliques are at the bottom. Training them with functional exercises includes flexion, twisting, and other rotational movements. In order to properly exercise the lateral muscles, however, it is important to remember that most oblique exercises also involve the other abdominal muscles, especially the medial transverse muscles. Therefore, you need to engage certain areas of the abdominal abs in a conscious manner. Lateral twists The basic exercise for the abdominal obliques is the lying lateral twist. Begin with lying on your side with your arm bent at the elbow to support your head. Extend the elbow toward the leg slowly, performing a purposeful contraction of the abdominal obliques. Prone lateral push-ups This exercise is fine for developing the neuromuscular links between the abs and the brain. Lying on the back, pull your left elbow in a slow tempo towards the opposite knee. Perform 12-15 reps on each side, and try to achieve a special burning feeling. Lateral push-ups on a fitness ball The advantage of this exercise is that you achieve a wide range of motion by bending your body slowly and controlling each movement over the ball. As you lift, feel your side abdominals twist and stretch as you descend. Place your arms behind your neck and do not move them apart. Cross contacts Make sure that your legs are straightened up while you are lying on your back. Place your hands on the back of your head and lift your head and shoulder blades slightly. Then do a twisting motion, extending your legs with the opposite arm straight. Perform the same movement for the other side. Repeat at least 20 times. Lift your hips Make sure you are lying straight on one side. Your feet should be lying on top of each other and your free arm fixed at the waist. You need to lift your torso so that your body line is completely straight at peak amplitude. At the apex, pause briefly to emphasize the work of the obliques. As you lower your torso, your thighs are only gently touching the ground and the muscles are not fully relaxed. Developed obliques provide the framework for your abs and make them look amazing, so if you really want to have a great abdomen, you should work both your abs and obliques.

Many people mistakenly believe that developing shoulder muscles is not important. Well, obviously, it’s not true. So why is it important to work on the shoulder muscles and how to improve them is the topic of this article. What Are Shoulder Muscles? Shoulder muscles are basically the muscles that provide shoulder movement. These muscles are voluntary, meaning we control their work. The main functions of the shoulder muscles are the following: Holding the shoulder joint and its bones in place Allowing your shoulder joint to rotate Providing the ability to move your arms forward, up, and down Shoulder joint protection As you can see, these muscles are extremely important for performing basic things such as lifting objects or holding something. In addition to that, these muscles are rather important for certain sports that require lots of jerky movements in the shoulder area. For example, dancers, basketball players, tennis players, swimmers, and others. All in all, shoulder muscles do a lot of work, which is why we have to develop them. Why Do I Need to Work on My Shoulder Muscles? We have already partly answered this question above, but we’ll give you a more detailed answer just to make things clear. First of all, strong shoulder muscles are a must for many athletes, dancers, and fitness enthusiasts who actively involve arms and shoulders in their activities. The thing is, these muscles are rather fragile, and jerky movements can lead to an injury. At the same time, if one works on these muscles regularly, they significantly lower the risks of possible injuries. But what about people who are not professional dancers or athletes? Well, even if you are not a pro athlete, you still need to go to the gym at least a few times a week to maintain your health, and simple workouts can also cause an injury if you have weak shoulder muscles. So as you might have already understood that working on the shoulder muscles is a must for everyone. Exercises for Improving Shoulder Muscles So what workouts can you do to improve your shoulders? Well, why don’t you consider the following ones: Push-ups Barbell overhead press One-hand push-ups Half-kneeling landmine press Dumbbell shrugs Arnold press Sideways dumbbells Push press Barbell press Wide-grip seated row Final Thoughts Stronger muscles minimize the risks of having severe injuries while working out or even doing your regular chores. So no matter if you are a pro athlete or dancer or just a regular person, you should consider working on your shoulder muscles.

Upper back muscles are extremely important for the right posture, yet many people completely forget about these muscles while working out, which is a big mistake. So why are these muscles so important, and how to train them? These are the questions we will attempt to answer in this article. What Is Upper Back? The muscles of the upper back consist of two main parts, which are the trapezius and latissimus muscles. Apart from that, many experts also involve the back bundles of deltas in the upper back muscle group since they are involved in most workouts for the upper back muscles. At the same time, referring to these muscles as a part of the upper back is incorrect from the anatomical point of view. The main function of the trapezius muscles is to provide the movement of the shoulder blades as well as make it possible to raise arms and lift objects. These muscles are also rather important for our posture as well as the ability to keep our back straight. At the same time, the latissimus muscles are located on both sides of the back. They resemble wings in shape and occupy almost the entire back area. These muscles are needed to pull the arms back as well as bring the shoulders to the body. Why Do I Need to Develop My Upper Back? So we have already figured out that the upper back muscles are responsible for the right posture as well as the ability to raise arms and lift objects, but who needs to work on their upper back? Well, a strong upper back is perhaps one of the main goals for everyone. In particular, among the people who need to work on their upper back are: Office workers who work all day at the desk Professional dancers and dance enthusiasts who need a strong back and perfect posture Athletes who actively involve the neck, shoulder, and back muscles while doing their sports activities Fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders who strive to grow muscles and harmoniously develop all muscle groups People who want to have a nice posture So do you belong to any of these groups? We bet you do. So make sure to add at least a few upper back exercises into your workout routine. Best Exercises for Upper Back To wrap up, we would like to provide you with some useful workouts for your upper back, so without any further ado, here they come: Reverse fly Bent over barbell row Barbell high rows Single-arm dead stop row T-pulls TRX row Upright row Single-arm landmine row Y-pulls Face pull Seated row Hang clean Renegade row These simple exercises will help you develop your upper back muscles quickly and stress-free, so make sure to give them a try. Wrapping Up Developed upper back muscles are essential for the right posture as well as for avoiding injuries while doing other sports activities. So no matter if you are a professional athlete or not, you still need to work on these muscles.