Weightlifting Routine Day 1
Muscle Groups: Chest and Triceps
1. Warm-Up
Begin with a 5-10 minute warm-up (jogging, jumping rope, cycling etc.) to get your blood flowing. Then stretch, focusing on the upper body and arms, for another 5-10 minutes. This is a very important part of the workout because it will significantly reduce the risk of injuries. An injury will be a major setback if you want to build muscle and gain strength, so don’t skip the warm-up.
2. Chest Lifts
Next perform three chest exercises. The best lifts for building chest muscle are flat bench press, incline bench press, decline bench press, flat dumbbell bench press, incline dumbbell bench press, and decline dumbbell bench press. It is important to include all three angles--flat, incline, and decline--because each one focuses on a different part of the chest. Incline and decline lifts work the upper and lower chest, respectively, and flat bench works the entire chest, including the inner chest. Other lifts that you may include are flyes, dips, and cable crossovers, although they are generally not as effective for building chest muscle.
3. Triceps Lifts
Next perform three triceps exercises. Some effective lifts for the triceps are dips, skull-crushers, triceps pushdown, close-grip bench press, triceps kickbacks, and overhead triceps extensions. As with the chest lifts, be sure to select three lifts that work the triceps differently and involve different angles or types of motion to ensure the muscles are worked thoroughly and hypertrophy is achieved.
4. Abs/Core Strengthening
Finish the routine with at least 100 reps of abs exercises. Good exercises for your abs include sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts, or bicycles. Also try using a decline angle or adding weight for extra resistance. Building strong abs is an essential part of any effective weightlifting and muscle-building routine because strength and power are generated from the core. So don’t skip the abs exercises. Plus, who doesn’t want a six-pack?