On our journey through the “basics you ought to know” I’ve written about the hinge and the squat, two of the major five exercises to know if you want to get stronger, healthier, or overall jacked and tan.
You learned that the hip hinge (deadlifts, KB swings, and the like) moves your hips horizontally through space and builds strength and muscle in your glutes, hamstrings, and core. The squat (goblet squats, safety bar squats) moves vertically through space and builds strength and muscle in your quads, hips, and core. They’re both big bang-for-your-buck exercises that aren’t too hard to learn, are easily scalable, and will deliver results quickly. As a reminder, here are the five major movement patterns we’re talking about:
Hinge Squat Press Pull Carry
Moving along, today we’re talking about the PRESS family of exercises. These exercises use your chest, shoulders, triceps, and a few other muscles to leverage weight around your torso. Typically, we categorize pressing movements by both the tool used, like a barbell or dumbbell, and whether the lift is “vertical” (overhead) or “horizontal” (forward/backward) relative to your body position. Or put more simply: whether you’re standing/seated or lying down on a bench.
Some examples:
Which press you use and when will depend on your goals and abilities, but these are all great examples and of course, not an exhaustive list. Pressing exercises will target your chest, shoulders, triceps, and some smaller muscles adjacent to those.
Assuming each exercise is loaded appropriately, and each week or month you’re aiming to add load or reps or both, you’ll continue to get stronger and build muscle in those muscle groups. This is especially great this summer when you can show off those sculpted arms!
Whether you bench with dumbbells are barbells, and whether you press overhead with a landmine or other tools, each exercise can be fun, challenging, and beneficial in so many cool ways. Look around your gym and try them all and find the ones you like most!