Hi! My name is Daniel Crites and I’m a fitness instructor at Lakeview Health. While there are many exercises out there to choose from, below is a breakdown of my top five!
#1. Lateral Raises
Lateral raises are a great way to strengthen the medial deltoid. They work by raises your arms straight out to the side of your body. To better isolate this muscle keep your palms facing downward and elbows at a slight bend. Lateral raises will help build a well-rounded shoulder.
#2. Straight Bar Pullovers
Straight bar pullovers is an excellent exercise to strengthen the upper back. It works the serratus anterior muscle, the muscle keeps the shoulder blades from protruding. To isolate this muscle, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades inward when you bring your arms downward.
#3. Calf Raises
Calf raises is the most common exercise to work the Gastrocnemius (calf muscle). They’re the most common exercise, because they work. All you need is a ledge, such as a stair, to train this muscle. Stand on the edge and drop your heal below your toes. Then simply stand up as high as you can on your toes. You can hold weights to give yourself more of a challenge if necessary.
#4. Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats are a great way to isolate each leg individually. Rest one foot on a bench while the other foot is on the ground. This exercise is great to challenge those smaller stabilization muscles while also challenging the larger ones. This exercise will also help correct any imbalances in strength from leg to leg.
#5. Forearm Curls
Forearms are one of the most neglected muscles throughout the body. Their importance is underestimated. Strong forearms provide good grip strength as well as balanced muscle growth in the elbow. Forearm curls are a simple exercise to perform, all you have to do is simply hold a weight, and curl your palms inward.
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