The Body Sculpting Bible for Women (71 page)

TECHNIQUE AND FORM

After you’ve set yourself up in proper alignment, slowly begin pressing the dumbbells up towards the ceiling in a smooth, controlled, fluid motion, making sure that you do not use any momentum. I advise that you do not touch the dumbbells at the top and instead press the weights in a straight-line overhead. Touching the dumbbells at the top of the movement may put some undue stress onto the rotator cuff muscles.

When you reach the top of the movement, do not lock out the elbow joint. When you lock out the elbow joint, you distribute all of the weight from the shoulders to the elbow joint, thus interrupting muscle stimulation. This can hurt the elbow joint and limit shoulder muscle stimulation.

Without resting, slowly bring the dumbbells back down, making sure that your arms are wide, your head is level and that you maintain an upright position with your chest relaxed.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

The shoulders have a tendency to be stubborn and are not necessarily easy to develop. This is a great exercise for toning those shoulder muscles located on the outside of the upper arms. Developing these muscles can give you the appearance of having a smaller waist. Pay attention to the description below as this exercise is often performed incorrectly. This will make the difference between no results and the results you want.

PROPER ALIGNMENT

Take a standing position with a shoulder-width stance. Align the body from the bottom up, beginning with the feet. Make sure the feet are pointing straight ahead.

Keep the knees pointing straight ahead and slightly bent to help avoid any unnecessary back strain.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms down at your sides. Your palms should be pointed toward your body.

It is important to remember that as you lift the dumbbells, your palms should be facing downward, so your shoulder muscles rather than the biceps muscles do the work.

TECHNIQUE AND FORM

Keeping your arms straight and at the sides of your body, lift the weights directly out to the sides until they reach the level of your cheeks.

Hold the weights there for a one-second count.

While maintaining your posture and body alignment, slowly lower the dumbbells in a controlled fashion back to the starting point. Make sure you pick a dumbbell weight that allows you to practice perfect form. If you pick a weight that is too heavy, momentum will force muscles other than the shoulder to do the work. Some people have the tendency to bend at the elbows. Keeping the arms straight allows for better isolation of the medial deltoid.