The GYM Workout (3)

■ Chest

Range-Limited Bench Press:  Lie on the flat bench with a rolled towel across your chest.  Grip a barbell so your upper arms are parallel to the floor and your forearms are not quite perpendicular to it.  Plant your feet squarely on the floor and tighten your abdominal muscles.  Lift the bar off the stanchions, then slowly lower it towards your chest.  As soon as you feel the bar lightly touch the towel. Push the weight up until your arms are almost fully extended.  Repeat.

■ Buttocks, quadriceps, hamstrings

Wide-Stance Leg Press:  Lie on your back in the leg-press machine with your feet slightly more than hip-width apart and your toes and knees angled outward about 45 degrees.  Bend your knees and lower the weight until your thigh are almost parallel with the foot platform.  Now use your heels to lift the weight.  Push upward until your knees are almost straight.  Once you reach the top of the movement, bend your knees again and lower to the starting position.

■ Back

Front Pull-Down:  Grip the pull-down bar so your hands are slightly more than shoulder-width apart.  Sit, wedging the center of your thighs snugly under the leg pads.  In a fluids, even motion, pull the bar down past your face until it reaches the top of your chest, and squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull.  Hold for a moment, then allow the weight to slowly pull your arms up. - Liz Neporent   

Jump-Start your workout

A full-body dumbbell program for summer-sport muscles

Like combat training and diet soda, sport-specific weight lifting should simulate the real thing.  Using dumbbells instead of a barbell lets you do exercise that mimic the jumping motion you use in sports like basketball, volleyball, and tennis.  Try a full-body dumbbell workout.  You can hit every major muscle in your body without leaving your garage. (Warning:  Don’t do these if you have back or knee problems.)

One Arm Dumbbell Snatch

With your right hand, grab a dumbbell that’s half the weight you usually use for a dumbbell shoulder press (you’ll probably start with 15 to 25 pounds).  Keeping your back slightly arched and your right arm straight, stand with your feel shoulder-width apart and behind your legs until the dumbbell is hanging between your knees [A].  press your feet into the floor and jump.  When your feet leave the floor, shrug your shoulders [B] while keeping your right arm straight.  Use your momentum and bend your elbow [C] to lift the dumbbell in a straight line over your head, then land with your knees bent [D].  Lower the dumbbell back to its starting position and repeat.  Do three sets of two to six repetitions with each arm.