Exercise of the Week; The Dumbbell Chest Press

The dumbbell chest press is one of the best exercises for developing and strengthening the muscles of your chest and the front of your shoulders. Again, you will have to experiment to select the proper weight to use. Pickup a dumbbell in each hand and sit on the end of a bench. Place the dumbbells end -up on your knees, then lay back on the bench and position the dumbbells at your sides at chest height; this is your start position. Press the dumbbells up over your chest until your arms are fully extended being careful not to lock your elbows. Slowly return the dumbbells to the start position. Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you press up and inhale as you return to the starting position.

If you are new to strength training, do 2 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight that the last 2 repetitions are difficult to complete. If you have been strength training for a while, do 3 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight that the last 3 repetitions are difficult to complete.