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In the initial stages of training, while people focus on working the chest, arms, and back, the calf muscles are often neglected. As a result, exercises to strengthen the calves are delayed or rarely performed, resulting in a lack of progress. The calf muscles, like the deeper muscles of the back, get little rest during the day because they must support the weight of the body, help maintain balance, and stabilize the joints when walking. This means it is at a lower level of development and the approach to working with it should be different. Thus, we decided to share some exercises for strengthening your calves. Let’s check them out. Calf 45 Of all the exercises intended to develop the calf muscles, this exercise is one of the most challenging. It involves changing the angle of the legs, which involves not only the calves but also the soleus muscles. To perform this exercise, you will need the Gackenschmidt's Machine. Depending on the design, you will stand in front of it or not. Set an appropriate working weight. This is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the working weights from the previous two exercises. Then adjust the weights according to the load. Then lower the heel and stretch the calf as much as possible. Lift with the toes. Hold under extreme tension for 1-2 seconds. Dumbbell Calf Raises This exercise is designed for all levels of athletes and is considered a basic exercise to build calf muscles. Start with standing on a wooden block. You can do this in Smith by placing a step platform under your feet and placing a barbell on your shoulders. Hold your body in a straight position. If you need extra weight, you should take dumbbells or kettlebells. Next, lower your heels under the bar and stretch your ankles as much as possible. Stand up on your toes in a powerful impulsive movement. Hold this position for 1-2 seconds and pull your calves up. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position. Squat Calf Raises This exercise is great for lazy workouts and will be a great option for beginners. Sit on the seat of the training machine. Place your toes on the support step. Bringing your heels down to the floor as far as possible, lower the lever with the soft stop to your knee and lock it. Leg Press Lie down on a leg press machine. Find a platform where your legs are straight. Fix the speed. You only need to do two movements. Removing the platform from your foot, squeeze it with your toes. Return your toes to their original position. It is important to know that posture has a much greater impact on the development of the shin and calf muscles than movement. Flat feet, if not taken into account and compensated for, can also prevent the shaping of the calves. To improve the calves without exercising, the selection of the proper footwear and a corrected gait is necessary. Well-trained calves will help you perform certain exercises better as well as make your legs look great. So take another look at these exercises and be sure to try them next time.

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.

Gorgeous abs are perhaps the biggest dream of all fitness enthusiasts as well as professionals. However, not many people know how to get abs and pretty often make a lot of mistakes while trying to work on their abs. Therefore, in this article, we will talk about abs and how to get them quickly and stress-free Your Abs Are What You Eat Not many people know it, but your diet is extremely important for achieving relief abs. Of course, it doesn’t mean that you have to starve yourself or follow weird diets, but working out is definitely not enough to achieve such a goal. The thing is to build muscles you need protein, which means that you have to include more protein into your diet. At the same time, high qualities of sugar and Natrium (salt) provoke swelling that sort of hides the relief of the muscles even if you don’t have much belly fat. Thus, to get the six-pack, you have to make your diet healthier as well as drink enough water, and together with exercising, it will help you get the body of your dreams. Don’t Overestimate Your Abilities Many people think that the more they exercise and the less they eat - the better. Obviously, it’s not true. You have to adequately evaluate your abilities and consider those while working out and dieting. Trust us, starving yourself and exercising for 3 hours every day won’t bring better results. It will only damage your health, both physical and mental. So don’t worry if you cannot see the results after a few weeks of training and healthy dieting, just keep going and you’ll surely reach your goal. Core and Back Muscles Are Essential Probably 90% of people who would like to get abs usually forget about the core muscles and work only on their abs. This is a huge mistake. As a matter of fact, to have relief abs, you have to work on your core muscles simply because these muscles are close to each other, moreover, abs are a part of the core, so it’s impossible to get relief abs without working on the core. Therefore, working on your core will significantly boost the entire process. In addition to that, you shouldn’t forget about the back muscles. You see, our posture heavily influences the way our belly looks. You have probably already seen skinny people with weird and unproportioned bellies. Well, that happens because they have weak back muscles and their spine is curved in the way that makes their bellies sort of come forward. So in order to avoid that, make sure to strengthen your back muscles too. Best Workouts for Abs To wrap up, we would like to list some of the best workouts for abs, core, and back. So here they come: Plank Diagonal twists Deadlift Pushups Bent-over row Plank push-ups Pull-up Crunches TRX suspension row Leg lifts from lying position Lat pulldown Final Thoughts A stunning six-pack is the biggest dream of many fitness enthusiasts and, luckily, it’s totally possible to make it come true. So consider the things we talked about in this article and start moving toward your goal now.

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 quadriceps is a large and strong muscle that acts as the primary extensor of the knee joint. Because the knee joint carries most of the body's weight, the quadriceps is the main muscle of the lower thigh. Weakness of this muscle, in fact, would simply make it impossible for people to maintain an upright posture. Quads are made up of the four coronary muscles: the straight, inner, outer, and middle muscles. In spite of this, during various exercises, the load falls completely on this muscle. Sure, strengthening your quads is important, so let's give a quick look at a few of the best exercises for them. Barbell and Dumbbell Lunging You can do lunges in many different ways. You can do this either with a barbell, or dumbbells, while walking around the gym, or from a stand-up position. Let's consider a variation where the athlete stands in a position using a barbell or dumbbell. This position is similar to the squat position with a barbell on your back. Take a step forward with your right foot. The lunge should make the thigh of the working leg to be parallel to the ground at the low point. Simultaneously, the knee of the left leg almost touches the floor, also forming a 90-degree angle. Back to the previous position. Change legs - take a step forward with your left leg. Leg Press The leg press takes as much of the work out of your back and hips as possible. At the same time, it allows you to train with a much heavier weight than a deep squat. In order to place the load on your quads, your feet should be shoulder-width apart while doing the leg press. Just follow the right workout technique. Press your back and head firmly against the bench, with your legs almost completely straight and resting on the frame and your hands firmly gripping the handles. Bending the knees, form a straight angle between the thighs and calves. Lower the legs back to the previous position. Single-Leg Squat Make single-leg squats if you can't go to the gym to train with training machines. It is a perfect way to get your quads workout done. Because it allows you to load your legs without using extra weight. Start in a standing position, extending one leg slightly forward. While squatting down, extend the leg forward and straighten it. Get back to the previous position. Repeat at least 10 times for each leg. Kick Squat Standing with feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly to the side, place your hands at your waist or cradle them in front of your chest. Focus on the center of your feet. Squat down horizontally at the hips, remembering to keep your back straight. Stand up shifting your weight to one side. Lift your knee to a horizontal position and make a kick with your foot. The kick should be done in one movement. Squats With Fitness Ball Position your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes out to the sides at a 45-degree angle. Grasp the fitness ball, keeping a tense and natural bend at the waist, straight shoulders, and neck. Holding the exercise ball, raise your arms up to shoulder height. As you inhale, begin to bend your knees to your sides, making sure they don't stick out past your toes. Your hips should go down first. Your weight is on your heels. Bring your back slightly forward as you squat down and extend your arms to lift the exercise ball over your head. Perform 30-50 repetitions. Final Thoughts Every person dreams of having beautiful legs, and luckily, getting great quads isn't that hard if you know what to do. So why don't you try these exercises?