equipment

Dumbbell, Bench

sets

3

reps

10-15

rest

60-90 sec

1. Lie back on a bench with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Hold one dumbbell with both hands, cupping the top end.
3. Press it up over your chest with the elbows slightly bent.
4. Set your ribs down and brace your midsection.
5. Keep your shoulders down against the bench.

1. Lower the dumbbell back over your head in an arc.
2. Keep the elbow bend fixed as the arms travel.
3. Stop when you feel a strong stretch across the lats.
4. Pull the dumbbell back over your chest using your back.
5. Stop the arc above the chest rather than at the hips.

Inhale as the dumbbell travels overhead, exhale as you pull it back.

• Think of pulling with the armpits, not the hands.
• Keep the ribs down so the lower back stays flat.
• Fix the elbow angle at the start and do not change it.
• Go only as deep as your shoulders comfortably allow.
• Use a moderate weight — the stretch is the point, not the load.

• Letting the ribs flare and the back arch off the bench.
• Bending and straightening the elbows through the arc.
• Going so deep the shoulders take the strain.
• Pulling the dumbbell all the way to the hips.
• Using a weight that turns it into a chest press.

From the dumbbell over the chest to a deep overhead stretch, elbow angle fixed throughout.