Get It Off Your Chest

From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels 

Think about the activities you do every day, like opening doors, putting the toothpaste back on the top shelf of your medicine cabinet, carrying grocery bags into the house, and so on — what do they have in common? They all involve using the muscles of your torso.
Want to participate in sports, or just improve your ability to do simple, everyday tasks? Study the torso muscle groups and apply this knowledge to some select training exercises.
The three major muscle groups in your torso are located in the chest, the upper back, and the shoulders. The major muscle of the chest area is the pectoralis major. It is thin and fan-shaped. The pectoralis minor is a thin, triangular muscle positioned below the pectoralis major. The chest muscles are responsible for movements like throwing and pushing.
The muscle that makes up most of the upper back is the latissimus dorsi, or "lats," which is a long, broad muscle whose primary function is to pull your arms backward and downward, as in pulling and climbing motions.
The shoulders comprise 11 muscles, of which the deltoids are the most important. The deltoids are actually one muscle made up of three separate parts, or heads. The anterior deltoids, found on the front of the shoulder, is used when you raise your arms forward. The lateral deltoids is located on the side of the shoulder and is involved when you lift your arms sideways. The posterior deltoids resides on the back of the shoulder and is used to draw your arms backward. The deltoids play a vital role in throwing, pushing, carrying, and climbing.



Jillian Michaels is such a brilliant trainer. I love how she explained the muscles and how they work. So lets strengthen our chest muscles, our upper back muscles and our shoulder muscles. Its time to start working on those sexy arms and shoulders for tank top weather. So here is todays exercise.

Bent-Over Lat Raises

1.  Stand with knees slightly bent and feet shoulder-width apart. Hold weights at sides, palms facing inward. Bend over to a 45-degree angle, engage core, and hold back flat. Keep head aligned with spine.

2.  With arms slightly bent and palms facing downward, lead with the knuckles and raise both arms up to shoulder level. Squeeze shoulder blades together at the top.

3 SETS OF 12 REPS

The key to this exercise is, to use heavy weights. If you can bust out 12 reps easy with 8 lbs move up to 10 lbs. If you are using 5 lbs then move up to 10 lbs. If your using 10 lbs move up to 20 lbs. Do not worry, you will not look like a man. Trust me!!!! If you want to tone up, you have to go for something heavier. Now for working shoulders today, tomorrow work everything but shoulders. Give them a rest. After working the shoulders today eat some protein to help feed your muscles. Remember, MUSCLE BURNS FAT!!!!