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A chest pressing exercise using cables for constant tension, targeting the pectorals, front deltoids, and triceps. Unlike a dumbbell press, the cables keep pulling sideways at lockout, so the chest stays loaded at the top of the rep where free weights go quiet. It is also friendlier on cranky shoulders, since the line of resistance […]
A chest isolation exercise using cable pulleys to fly the arms together, maintaining constant tension on the pectorals. The cables load the squeeze at the middle, exactly where dumbbell flys lose all resistance, so the chest works through the entire arc. It is the finishing movement of choice after pressing, chasing contraction quality rather than […]
A bodyweight pressing exercise on parallel bars emphasizing the chest with a forward lean, also working triceps and shoulders. Leaning forward and letting the elbows travel wide turns the dip from a triceps lift into one of the deepest-stretching chest movements available. Bodyweight makes it self-scaling: hard enough for most lifters as is, and loadable […]
A bench press with a narrow grip that shifts emphasis to the triceps while still working the chest and front delts. It is the heaviest direct triceps exercise available, which makes it the anchor movement for arm size and for the lockout strength that stalls most bench presses. Programmed like a press rather than an […]
A shoulder press variation popularized by Arnold Schwarzenegger that incorporates rotation to engage all three deltoid heads throughout the movement. Starting palms-in and rotating out as you press keeps the delts under tension through a longer arc than a standard press. It trades some load for that extra range, which makes it a second pressing […]
A compound pressing movement using dumbbells to target the chest, front deltoids, and triceps with an increased range of motion. Each arm carries its own weight along its own path, which builds balanced pressing strength and lets the shoulders find a more comfortable line than a fixed bar allows. The dumbbells also travel deeper at […]
A shoulder health and rotator cuff exercise combining an upright row with external rotation and an overhead press. The middle rotation phase strengthens the small rotator cuff muscles that heavy pressing depends on but never trains directly. Done light and slow as a warm-up or accessory, it is insurance for every other pressing movement in […]
A rear deltoid and upper back exercise performed with dumbbells in a bent-over position, mimicking the cable face pull. It brings the posture-balancing benefits of face pulls to home setups where no cable exists. Pulling high toward the forehead, elbows above wrists, is the detail that keeps it a rear delt movement rather than another […]
A bench press alternative performed lying on the floor, limiting range of motion to protect the shoulders while training the chest and triceps. The floor stops the upper arms at a shoulder-friendly depth, which makes it the pressing option of choice when a full-range press aggravates. The dead stop each rep also builds pressing strength […]
An isolation exercise for the anterior deltoid, lifting a dumbbell in front of the body to shoulder height. The front delts already work in every press, so this is targeted extra volume for lifters who want more, not a program staple for everyone. Strict form at light weight is the entire exercise; there is nothing […]
