Taking the best supplements for a pump and vascularity & performing Dumbbell Front Raises to achieve the maximum pump – How to perform them?

The Dumbbell front raise is an isolation exercise for the anterior deltoid and it’s awesome to achieve pumps & vascularity on your delts. The anterior deltiod is the front head of the shoulder muscle also referred to as your front delts. The other two heads are the rear deltoid and the side delts. By isolating and strengthening the front delt you should be able to improve your performance on other lifts such as the overhead press and bench press.

Here’s how to do dumbbell front raises:

• Grab a Pair of Dumbbells. Since we are isolating a relatively small muscle, be warned that you will not be able to lift as heavy as your use to. Start off light and focus on perfecting your form and really blasing that anterior deltoid. Aim for sets of 8-12 reps at first.
• Dumbbells By Side Or Out Infront. There are a few variations to choose from when performing your dumbbell front raises. You can either start the movement with dumbbells by your side or infront of you, with dumbbells resting on your thighs. The choice is yours. Try both and use which ever method feels more comfortable for you.
• Grip. Depending where you place the dumbbells to start with will depend upon your grip. If dumbbells are out infront of you, you will use an overhand grip with palms facing you. If dumbbells are by your side your grip will be the same as above but dumbbells will be placed sideways with your palms facing in towards the side of your body. To feel stronger throughout the lift squeeze the dumbbells hard before you attempt that first rep.
• Lift. Lift the dumbbells up infront of you until they reach around shoulder level. You can lift them slightly higher than shoulder height should you wish to do so. Maintain a slight bend in the elbow as you lift the dumbbells up. Focus on really using your front delt muscles to elevate the weight up. Do not lift them with straight arms. This is uncomfortable and will put strain on your joints.
• If you are starting the lift with your arms by your sides then you can either lift the dumbbell straight up infront of you with your palms facing sidewards or you can rotate them slightly once you come closer to reaching shoulder height. If you rotate your hand as you lift the dumbbells you should end up with palms facing down towards the floor once you reach the top part of the movement.
• Lowering. Depending which variation of the front raise you are using, lower the weight in a controlled manor while keeping tension on the front delts. If you do this correctly you will really feel the front delt working. Prepare to feel a slight burn. Dont let this put you off! If you started the lift with dumbbells infront of you, you can lower the dumbbells in exactly the same fashion as you lifted them.
• If you started with dumbbells by your sides you should lower them by maintaining the position your palms are facing (sidewards and in towards the body) or rotate them back to how they were originally positioned. For example, if you lift the dumbbells by assuming a grip where palms are facing sidewards and in towards the body and then rotate the dumbbell when you lift it, you should rotate it back on the lowering phase as well before pushing for that next rep so palms are once again facing sidewards and in towards the body.

 

Dumbbell Front Raises When Using Them For Achieving The Best Pumps – Things To Think About

Supplements. You should always take the best supplements for a pump and vascularity if that’s your ultimate goal. You should also check our other post about the best supplements for a pump and dumbbell flys as they’re also a great exercise & we suggest you check the link we’ve found regarding the best supplement options.

Weight Used. Start off light if you do not have previous experience with this exercise. Weight used will need to be relatively light as i mentioned before as we are isolating only one specific head of the shoulder muscle.

• Elbows Slightly Bent. It’s important to maintain slightly bent elbows when lifting the weight up. If you dont you will eventually experience joint pain and may end up injuring yourself. You also wont be able to move as much weight if you lift with straight arms. It takes stress away from the targetted muscle and will feel extremely uncomfortable.
• Body Movement. Ideally to stress the front deltoid as much as possible you should eliminate all body movement. This includes swaying and using momentum to get the weight up. However, feel free to use a very slight sway or movement when lifting or lowering the weight. It’s important however that this is kept to a minimum and is not over exagerated.
• Too much movement will take work away from the muscle as you will be using momentum more than muscle to get the weight up. If you cannot control the weight on the way down or at least slow it down a little, then this is a good indicator that the set is as good as over.
• Variation. Front raises can also be performed using a barbell if you wish to switch things around a little in your training routine. An EZ Bar will probably feel more comfortable than a traditional barbell when performing the barbell version of the front raise but both are still effective. With a barbell you can use both an overhand and underhand grip. Lifting guidelines are the same as above.

Taking the best supplements for a pump & performing dumbbell flys to achieve the maximum pump – How to perform them?

Dumbbell flys can be a great addition to a chest workout, not only will they help your chest grow but they will also give you insane pumps.

Dumbbell flys are more of an isolation exercise compared to the bench press and are often referred to as an exercise that defines and shapes the pec muscles. Dumbbell flys are more commonly used near the end of a workout following main compound movements such as the bench press.

Lets take a look at how to perform dumbbell flys with proper form:

• Get Yourself a Bench. Find yourself a bench and position it in the flat bench position.
• Grab a Pair of Dumbbells. You will need to start off light with this exercise and practice on perfecting the form before moving up in weight. Flys will not allow you to lift anywhere near the kind of weight you use for other chest exercises such as the bench press so choose your weight carefully to begin with.
• Getting Dumbbells in Position. Once you have your bench set up and dumbbells in hand, sit down on the bench with dumbbells in an upright position resting on your thighs.
• The starting position for dumbbell flys is actually up above your head with arms extended. Since flys call for a lighter weight to be used, you should not have any problems getting the dumbbells up into position to begin the movement.

 

We remind you that you should take the best supplements for a pump prior to actually starting your training to achieve the maximum pump, we suggest you read this guide to pump supplements, afterward just proceed with the dumbbell flys.

To get them in the position you have a couple of options.

• First method is to lay down flat on the bench with the dumbbells resting near your chest. Once you are laying down on the bench with the dumbbells, rotate your hands and move dumbbells out to the side of your chest slightly. Palms should now be facing away from you. Push the dumbbells up like you would during a flat dumbbell bench press.
• The other method involves bringing your legs up when laying down on the bench and maneuvering the dumbbells above your chest with arms extended. This involves positioning dumbbells on lower thigh/quad area nearer the knee and using your toes to kick your legs up so that dumbbells are elevated up in the air. Which ever method you use to get the dumbbells in position, once they are raised up above your chest, palms need to be facing each other.
• Lowering Dumbbells. Once you are lying flat on the bench with dumbbells above your chest and palms facing each other, it’s time to lower the dumbbells. Before you begin to lower the dumbbells ensure your arms are not locked or straight. There needs to be a slight bend in the elbow throughout the movement.
• Also ensure dumbbells are not touching before lowering them. They can be close to touching but should not physically be touching each other.
• Lower the dumbbells out to your sides in a semi circle motion. Similar motion as if you were about to hug someone. Keep your upper back and shoulder blades pinned down against the bench while lowering the dumbbells and puff your chest out in the bottom position. When lowering the dumbbells you need to maintain a slight bend in the elbow.
• The best way to do this is to focus on lowering the dumbbells by leading with your elbows. Also try and focus on maintaining tension on the chest and squeezing the dumbbells hard when lowering. Dumbbells only need to be lowered to chest height and no lower. Slightly above chest area is also acceptable.
• Raising Dumbbells. Push dumbbells back up in the same motion you lowered them. Keep your upper back pinned down against the bench, puff your chest out, grip dumbbells hard and focus on contracting your chest muscle to lift the weight back up in the same semi circle motion. Stop the dumbbells slightly short of touching each other at the top of the movement to help keep tension on the pecs. Repeat the movement for the desired number of reps.
• Dumbbell Flys – Things To Think AboutTension on Chest. Throughout the dumbbell fly you want to try and keep tension on the chest muscle at all times. To do this lower dumbbells by focusing on using your pecs only. This can be done by keeping elbows slightly bent throughout the movement and leading with your elbows on the way down. Also do not lock out or touch dumbbells at the top of the movement. Also try and maintain a big chest at the bottom of the movement once you have lowered the dumbbells. Do not lower the dumbbells too low. Squeeze the pec muscles to return the weight.
• Start Light. Start this exercise using light weight so you can perfect your form and really focus on maintaining tension on the chest throughout the whole movement. Once you’ve got the form down move up in weight.Controlled Movement. The dumbbell fly is one of those movements that is more effective when using a slow and controlled movement rather than an explosive one. Keep the movement under complete control and will really feel those pec muscles working.
• Palms Facing Each Other. Palms need to face each other throughout the whole movement. This is different from the bench press where your palms are facing away from you during the lift. With the dumbbell fly dumbbells and palms should both be facing each other throughout the lift.
• Variations. Variations of the dumbbell fly include incline flys and decline flys. All the above instructions still apply, the only difference is that you will be in either an incline or decline position on the bench, placing greater emphasis on the upper or lower chest area.