I often hear it recommended, by fitness professionals and exercise enthusiasts alike, that you shouldn’t allow your arms to go any lower than parallel to the floor when performing the dumbbell chest press exercise.
Although I appreciate the fact that this general recommendation is used as a safety precaution, this is not the range of motion (depth) generally recommended in the Performance U training approach to performing the dumbbell chest press exercise.
Check out this video to discover the dumbbell chest press range of motion we (generally) do recommend to clients and athletes.
Neck Strength Exercise + Dumbbell Chest Press Combo
When we want to incorporate some anterior neck strengthening for someone we feel it’s appropriate for, we’ll use what I call the Head Off-Bench Dumbbell Press. This can be done while performing a bench or dumbbell pressing movement. Simply move higher up on the bench so that your head is no longer being supported by the bench. We coach to maintain a head straight (i.e., a neutral neck) position throughout.
New Articles and Interviews
I’m excited and honored to announce that the article I co-authored with Justin Kompf and Dr. Spencer Nadolsky entitled Scope of Practice For The Personal Trainer is now up in the newest issue of the NSCA Personal Training Quarterly (Dec 2014, Vol. 1 – Issue 4). It also happens to be the “Feature Article” in this issue!
4 Training & Diet Arguments: Resolved!
How to Use Circuit, Complex, and Combination Weight Training to Lose Fat: Interview with Armi Legge.
Also, check out this episode of BB3 TV I did with my great friend Billy Beck (the 3rd) showing you 1) a cool push-up pyramid protocol, 2) some real training footage of Billy training a pro boxer (at 3:35), along with 3) a Q&A with me covering things like females and fat loss and what makes a great trainer (at 4:22).
