Exercises

The Arnold press is an overhead dumbbell press that begins with the palms facing toward the body. As the weights are lifted, the palms rotate outward. The primary load falls on the anterior deltoids, while the medial deltoids and triceps provide assistance.

You lower yourself between the handles and press your body back up until your arms are straight, while the support moves along with you. The exercise targets the triceps, chest, and front of the shoulders; adjusting the level of assistance changes the proportion of your body weight that you lift.

Bench dips are a bodyweight pushing exercise: your hands are placed on a bench behind you, while your feet rest on the floor. You bend and extend your elbows, keeping your hips close to the bench; the primary target muscle is the triceps.

The bench press is a horizontal pushing movement: lying on a flat bench, you lower a barbell to your chest and press it upward until your arms are fully extended. This exercise engages the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps. When using a flat bench, the level of muscle activation across different areas of the chest and the anterior deltoids is relatively similar. Within a standard range, your grip width and the angle at which you position your elbows are a matter of personal preference—choose a setup that feels comfortable for you, and gradually increase the weight.

Cable triceps extensions are an exercise performed on a cable machine. Keep your upper arms at your sides and extend your elbows against resistance, then return to the starting position in a controlled manner. The triceps brachii, assisted by the anconeus muscle, extends the elbow. Using a rope, a bar, or a single-grip handle changes your grip and the range of motion; however, no single variation isolates any one specific head of the triceps.

The California press is a barbell exercise for the triceps that combines a close-grip bench press with a lying triceps extension. Starting with your arms extended above your shoulders, bend your elbows—shifting them slightly forward—to lower the barbell toward your upper chest, then extend your elbows to return the bar to the starting position.

Dumbbell lateral raises for the rear delts are a pulling exercise involving a wide arm movement, targeting the back of the shoulders. In this variation, you lie chest-down on an inclined bench while performing the movement with dumbbells; the posterior deltoids and the muscles of the rotator cuff do the primary work, with the trapezius and rhomboids providing assistance.

The dumbbell bench press is performed on a horizontal bench with a dumbbell in each hand. It targets the pectoralis major, with the anterior deltoids and triceps also playing a role. Since each arm presses and controls its own weight along an independent path, both pressing strength and control are essential.

Hyperextensions are performed face-down on an inclined bench: the ankles are secured, the pelvis rests on a support, and the torso is lowered toward the floor before returning to a straight-line position. This movement engages the erector spinae muscles—which run along both sides of the spine—as well as the gluteus maximus and the hamstrings (the muscles crossing the hip joint on the back of the thigh), which facilitate hip extension. The specific focus depends on the technique used. If you flex not only at the hips but also in the spine while lowering, and then gradually straighten the back, the erector spinae will lift the torso in coordination with the extension at the hip joints. If, however, you keep the back rigid and flex only at the hips, the torso is lifted by the hip extensors, while the back muscles remain under load. Despite the traditional name "hyperextension," both variations conclude in a straight-line position, without arching beyond that point.

The incline dumbbell press is a chest-pressing exercise performed on a bench set at an angle of approximately 15 to 45 degrees above the horizontal, with a dumbbell held in each hand. It is used to place greater emphasis on the upper portion of the chest, while the rest of the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps are also engaged. Each arm controls its own independent weight. The specific angle of the bench and the orientation of the palms—whether facing forward or toward each other—are matters of personal preference regarding the starting position, rather than factors with a proven, definitive impact on muscle growth.

The lat pulldown is an exercise performed while seated at a cable machine, where you pull a handle from a position above your head toward the upper part of your chest. It targets the latissimus dorsi and the teres major—muscles responsible for lowering the arm and bringing it closer to the body. The biceps and posterior deltoids assist at the elbow and shoulder joints, while the trapezius and rhomboids control the movement of the shoulder blades. Grip width is a matter of personal preference; choose a grip that you can hold securely and control, and focus your efforts on the weight used and the number of repetitions.

Lateral raises on a machine target the middle portion of the deltoid muscle: you move your arms outward against the resistance of levers equipped with padded supports. Adjust the axis of rotation and the supports to align with your shoulders and elbows, then lift your arms to approximately shoulder level, making sure not to shrug your shoulders.

A lying triceps extension—often called a "French press"—is an exercise performed on a bench that involves extending the arms at the elbows while lowering a barbell toward or beyond the forehead. It targets the triceps brachii (along with the anconeus muscle). This movement is distinct from overhead triceps extensions, which are performed with the arms positioned above the head.

The overhead cable extension involves straightening the elbows while keeping the upper arms positioned next to the head. In this standing variation, a rope attachment is connected to a low pulley positioned behind you. The rope is moved from behind the head to a position above it.

The overhead dumbbell press is performed by holding a dumbbell in each hand and lifting them from shoulder level to a position with arms fully extended overhead. Movement occurs at the shoulder joint and the elbow joint; the primary movers are the deltoids and the triceps—the deltoids lift the arm, while the triceps extend the elbow. Simultaneously, the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles rotate the scapula upward, enabling the arms to reach an overhead position, while the rotator cuff stabilizes the head of the humerus within the glenoid cavity. Whether performed seated or standing, and with palms facing forward or toward each other—all four variations are common, and no single one is the only correct method.

This is a multi-joint, seated pressing exercise in which you push the handles downward along a guided path, keeping them close to your body. The triceps bear the primary load, while the pectoral muscles and the anterior deltoids provide assistance.

The seated cable row is a horizontal pulling movement. You sit facing a low pulley, brace your feet, extend your arms, and pull a handle toward the middle of your torso against the resistance of the cable. The muscles responsible for pulling the upper arm back at the shoulder joint—the latissimus dorsi and teres major (which also adduct the arm toward the side), as well as the posterior deltoids—are engaged. Working alongside them are the muscles that retract the scapulae (shoulder blades) toward the spine: the middle trapezius and the rhomboids. The elbow flexors bend the arm as the handle is pulled, while the muscles of the torso (extensors) keep the body upright against the pull of the cable. The choice of handle is a matter of preference rather than a strict rule: a narrow, neutral-grip handle keeps the elbows close to the ribcage, while a wide bar positions them further out to the sides. The studies referenced below compare the resulting muscle activity, but they do not rank exercises based on their potential for muscle growth. Since any single illustration can only depict one variation, view the image as one possible option rather than as a mandatory set of instructions.

A treadmill is a motorized belt designed for walking or running, with speed and incline settings controlled via a console. During a single stride, the workload is distributed across the legs and pelvic muscles; the specific roles of these muscles shift depending on whether you are walking or running, as well as your pace and the incline. Increasing the incline can raise the muscular demands of walking, while the glutes also play an active role when running on a flat surface. Keep a record of your time, pace, and incline, focusing on the specific metrics you wish to improve.