The bent over row is a weight-training workout that trains back muscles, giving them more endurance and more core strength. It is a versatile exercise for power lifting and bodybuilding that helps you increase muscular mass, and it also aids in improving your posture.
The bent over row exercise targets back muscles, mainly your rhomboids and latissimus dorsi. Secondary muscles that are affected are your biceps, triceps and abdominal muscles.
The bench press is a weightlifting exercise and strength-training workout that builds muscular mass in the chest and arms by pressing weight upward, away from the body. The exercise triggers several muscles in the upper body, which leads to an increase in both power and mass.
The bench press mainly targets your pectoral muscles, anterior, medial deltoid and triceps—a.k.a. muscles in your chest and arms. The pectoral muscles are stretched when you lift the barbell and bring it down. As you continue with this workout, the pectoral muscles gain mass due to constant stretching.
The dip is a strength-training exercise for the upper body that helps to increase muscle mass in the chest, arms and shoulders. To execute a basic dip, you need to have two parallel bars, (you can use two parallel chairs as alternatives).
The triceps, pectorals minor and major, and the shoulder muscles are the primary targets of the dip. The muscles in your chest will stretch as you lower yourself on the bar with your arms hanging.
The bear crawl movement, also known as mountain climbers, is a full body workout that aims to engage your entire body. The name itself describes the exercise—coordination of every muscle in your body just like how a mountain climber climbs the steep slope of a mountain.
This exercise builds strength in numerous muscles in your lower and upper body, including biceps, gluteus muscles, hamstrings, abdominal muscles and quadriceps. It also targets the heart—the higher the heart rate is, the more blood is pumped and the better blood circulation is within your body.
Those who are experiencing back problems, striving to maintain back strength or looking to create tone in the back muscles should try the back extension. This exercise helps to prevent potential back strains and lower back pain by increasing muscle tone and muscle mass in the back.
The back extension primarily targets the lower back muscles because these are the muscles that stretch as the back, chest and shoulders are lifted up during the exercise. The stretching also results in more flexibility.
The air squat is a total body workout that aims to strengthen your calves, thighs, glutes and ankles. It is essentially a squat performed to build up core power in your lower body, and it is beneficial for increasing both your heart rate and bettering oxygen circulation.
The exercise builds core strength as well as strengthens leg muscles and joints, making them more balanced and flexible for easy mobility. Air squats also firm gluteal muscles, often alleviating lower back pain for sufferers. For added benefit, use air squats to maintain heart health. Achieving your target heart rate through exercises like air squats has many benefits beyond strength and physique.