The chest fly machine is often overlooked in the weight room because there are so many different ways to work the chest (pectoralis) muscles. For example, you can do a chest fly with dumbbells or by using cables. Some of these variations offer the benefit of training other muscles that help to stabilize the body—such as the abdominals and the back muscles.

The chest fly is a great way for both beginners and those with experience to target the chest muscles without worrying about the balance required when using a bench, a ball, or when standing. It’s also a useful machine if you have a lower-body injury and need to avoid standing.

How to Do Chest Fly Machine

The first step is to adjust the equipment. Almost all machines have a seat pad that lifts or lowers. This is the first adjustment you’ll want to make.

Move the seat pad height so that the handles are at chest height and when you sit down you can place your feet comfortably on the floor with the back pad supporting your spine. When you extend your arms out to the side to grab the handles, your elbows and wrists should be level with your shoulders (not higher or lower than your shoulders).

You may also need to adjust the arm levers if you have shorter or longer arms. Note that not all machines allow for this adjustment. When extended, your elbows should be slightly bent.

Next, you’ll need to choose a weight setting. When you first begin using the machine, start with a weight that feels slightly easy until you get comfortable with the movement. The complete movement is often described as opening and closing your arms like a butterfly.

1. Sit up tall and relax your neck and shoulders. Your feet should be flat on the floor.
2. Grab the handles so that your palms are facing forward. Note that some machines have a foot bar that you need to push in order to release the handles and bring them forward.
3. Press your arms together in front of your chest with a slow, controlled movement. Keep a slight, soft bend in the elbows with wrists relaxed.
4. Pause for one second once your arms are fully “closed” in front of your chest.
5. Bring your arms slowly back to the starting position, opening your chest and keeping posture strong and upright.
6. Perform two sets of seven to 10 repetitions to start. Take a short break between sets. ‘

As your fitness level improves, add one to five repetitions to each set. You can also add a third set. Add more weight and repetitions if you complete all of the repetitions without fatigue. Your last set should be challenging but not so hard that you can’t complete it with proper form.

Benefits of Chest Fly Machine

The fly machine is ideal for increasing chest strength and muscle mass by targeting the pectoralis muscles. You have two sets of pectoral muscles on each side of the front of your chest: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. This exercise primarily benefits the pectoralis major—the larger of the two muscles that are responsible for movement at the shoulder joint.

You use these muscles for many day-to-day activities, such as pushing open a heavy door, picking up a heavy grocery bag, or lifting a child. The pectoralis muscles also control the chest and ribcage when you take a deep breath.

This exercise is particularly helpful if you are new to training these muscles. The chest fly is performed fully seated and supported by a back pad so it is easy to practice good posture and form while using the machine. Additionally, the seated position helps you put your full effort into the chest muscles.

Like other strength-building exercises, the chest fly machine can help build lean body mass and bone density, as well as increase base metabolic rate.

Other Variations of Chest Fly Machine

Some machines for performing chest fly can be slightly different. Most machines require you to extend your arms (almost) completely to grab the handles. When you close your arms to perform the exercise, it should feel like you are hugging a beach ball.

Modifications for Hand Injuries

There are other models of the machine that have elbow pads instead of handles. On these machines, your arms maintain a 90-degree angle or L-shape at your elbows as you open and close your arms. This type of machine may be useful for people with hand or wrist injuries.

Add the Abdominals

If you want to work your abdominals, try using only one side of the fly machine at a time. That means you’ll have one arm that is working while the other arm rests. To maintain good posture, your abdominal muscles—particularly the oblique muscles on the side of your body—will have to work extra hard.

Common Mistakes

Every exercise has some common pitfalls that, once you become aware of them, you can work to avoid. Below are some common mistakes to make a note of.

Holding Your Breath

As you perform the chest fly machine exercise, it can be tempting to take a deep breath in and hold it as you engage your chest muscles and bring your arms together, a technique called bracing.

This method of forced breathing (also called a Valsalva maneuver) isn’t necessary for lighter weight exercises. It can be helpful as you increase weight and the movement becomes more difficult. However, to start with, it’s important to release your breath and reset with each repetition.

Using Your Legs

It may also be tempting to press into your feet to steady your body and give that closing movement more power. But remember, the purpose of this exercise is to train the chest muscles, not your legs. If you notice that you are engaging your legs, decrease the amount of weight you are lifting.

Arching Your Back

Some exercisers arch their backs during this exercise. This can cause injury to the lower back. Maintain good posture during both the opening and closing phases of this exercise by sitting tall with your back maintaining contact with the pad behind you.

Using Momentum

Lift and lower the weight using slow, controlled movements. If you go too quickly, you will be using momentum rather than training your muscles.

Safety and Precautions

The best way to stay safe is to become familiar with the equipment before using it. Since there are different machine variations and manufacturers, you may need to make more than one adjustment to maintain good form. Consult with a gym trainer if you need help adjusting a specific machine.

Look for a foot press if the handgrips feel like they are behind your body. When you start the closing phase of the movement, your arms should be slightly in front of your chest. If they feel like they are behind your chest, find the foot press or for another adjustment on the back of the machine to bring your arms forward.

While you should feel the effort in your chest (and to a lesser extent, in the biceps and shoulders), you shouldn’t feel any sharp or intense pain in your shoulders or wrists. If you do, stop using the machine and ask for assistance.

Try It Out

Incorporate this move into one of these popular workouts:

• Chest Workouts to Build Strength
• Build Your Upper Body With a Progression
• Upper Back Exercises for Good Posture

The Bulgarian split squat is a version of a single-leg squat where the back leg is elevated on a bench or a sturdy chair. As a single-leg, unilateral squat, the exercise focuses more on the quadriceps than other, similar lower-body compound movements.

It also requires a lot of balance and coordination, increasing the core and upper body engagement required to maintain proper form.The main thing to remember about the Bulgarian split squat is that it takes some trial-and-error to find proper foot placement to perform the exercise comfortably.

You’ll place one of your feet on a bench behind you, but you may need to hop your front foot around a little bit to help you find the exact position that feels best. It’s okay to try a few practice repetitions before starting your actual set to make sure you’re set up appropriately.

As a compound lower-body exercise, the Bulgarian split squat is a great movement to add to a lower-body strength or total-body workout routine.

Due to the compound, balance-focused nature of the movement, it’s a good idea to include it toward the beginning of a workout, perhaps after a solid warmup and a few compound exercises that provide a bilateral focus, such as traditional squats, Romanian deadlifts, or barbell snatches.

How to Do a Bulgarian Split Squat

All you need for the most basic version of the Bulgarian split squat is a bench or a sturdy chair. As you become comfortable with the exercise, you may want to add dumbbells or kettlebells for increased resistance.

1. Stand roughly two feet in front of a sturdy bench or chair, your feet hip-distance apart, your core engaged, your shoulders back, and your chest and eyes pointing straight ahead.
2. Pick up your right foot and place it on the bench behind you. You can do this in one of two ways. One option is to place the top of your foot on the bench so that your ankle joint is roughly aligned with the edge of the bench. The other option is to flex your ankle and find your balance with the ball of your foot and your toes, more like during a traditional lunge exercise.
3. Ensure your feet are still roughly hip distance apart, if not slightly wider. You don’t want your elevated foot directly behind your front, making balancing much more difficult.
4. Remember, your back foot is just there to help you stay balanced—the engagement and movement of the exercise are focused on the front leg.
5. Engage your core with your chest high and eyes looking straight ahead, and bend your left knee, allowing your right knee and ankle to naturally bend as you move through the downward phase of the exercise without taking on the load with your back leg.
6. Keep the load balanced evenly across your left foot as you lower. Hinge slightly forward at the hips, ensuring your left knee remains aligned with your left toes (that it doesn’t cave inward or bow outward). You may find that your left knee starts to protrude slightly over your left toes toward the bottom of the exercise. This isn’t necessarily bad or wrong and only depends on your level of comfort and the flexibility you have at your ankles.
7. Inhale through this downward phase, lowering down until your left quadriceps is roughly parallel to the ground.
8. Press back to standing by pushing through your left foot and using your left quad and glute to power the upward phase of the exercise. Exhale as you press to standing.
9. Step your right foot off the bench or chair after completing a full set to one side. Ensure you keep things even by performing the same repetitions and sets to each side.

Benefits of Bulgarian Split Squats

The Bulgarian split squat is an excellent way to take your compound, lower-body training to the next level. This movement targets all the same muscle groups you see targeted during squats and lunges—quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, and spinal erectors—but places greater focus on the quadriceps and core due to the single-leg, balance challenge that the exercise provides.

Any time you can work your body unilaterally—meaning that you target one side of your body independently from the other—you have the opportunity to improve side-to-side muscle imbalances.

By improving these imbalances, you’re less likely for one side to “take over” when bending, lifting, or moving through life, making it easier for you to maintain proper alignment and avoid injuries over time.

Also, by improving your balance with compound, lower-body exercises, your agility, and core strength are likely to improve, making it less likely that you’ll experience a fall when knocked off balance. Maintaining your balance as you age could mean that you experience fewer falls are more likely to avoid life-altering injuries like hip or wrist fractures.

Other Variations of Bulgarian Split Squats

Below are variations for doing a split squat without a bench or increasing the challenge by adding weight.

Split Squat

While “split squat” and “Bulgarian split squat” are often used interchangeably, they’re two different variations of the exercise. The Bulgarian split squat refers to the version where the back leg is elevated on a bench or a sturdy chair, while the split squat is the version performed without the rear leg elevated.

Remember, this isn’t the same as a lunge where the back leg is also engaged in the exercise.

1. Perform the exercise in the same manner, but with your back foot on the floor.
2. Use your back leg to help with balance, but the front leg should support the entire movement.

Weighted Bulgarian Split Squat

Once you’ve mastered the proper form, make things harder by adding weights.

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells in your hands to ramp up the difficulty of the exercise.
2. For an even more challenging variation, place an unloaded or loaded barbell across your shoulders before performing the Bulgarian split squat.

Common Mistakes

There are a few common mistakes made when performing Bulgarian split squats. Here’s what to watch for.

Placing the Back Leg Directly Behind the Front

If you align your back foot directly behind your front foot, you’ll have a tough time balancing throughout the exercise. Because your front leg powers the motion, this is already a unilateral balance challenge, forcing you to maintain balance as you move through a squat supported primarily by your front foot.

When you place your back foot on the bench behind you, make sure it’s roughly hip distance apart from your front foot or even slightly wider. Even though you’re not powering the exercise with your back foot or leg, having this wider “kickstand” for support will help you complete the Bulgarian split squat effectively.

Leaning Too Far Forward From the Hips

It’s tempting and common to lose focus on your core—particularly your abdominals and spinal erectors—as you move through the downward phase of the Bulgarian split squat. Not only does this forward lean limit the core benefits of the exercise, but it makes you more likely to place too much stress on your front knee, shifting your weight too far forward. (A slight lean is fine.)

Additionally, if you progress to a Bulgarian split squat with a barbell balanced across your shoulders, a forward lean as you squat will likely lead to injury. Before starting the exercise’s downward phase, re-engage your core muscles and roll your shoulders back. Try to keep this same posture and alignment throughout each repetition.

Rising Onto the Toes

A bad habit that sometimes occurs when your alignment and form are otherwise poor is to rise onto the ball and toes of your front foot as you squat down. This usually indicates one of two things: 1) your front foot is too close to the bench, and you need to move it forward to maintain better balance and alignment, or 2) you’re leaning forward at your hips as you perform the squat, and you need to rise onto your toes to support the forward shift in your weight to remain balanced.

If you ever find yourself rising onto the ball or toes of your front foot, stop the exercise and reset. Check the placement of your front foot—you may need to shift it forward—and ensure you’re keeping your torso upright and tall as you perform the exercise.

Supporting the Movement With the Back Leg

Remember, the Bulgarian split squat is a form of single-leg squat. While the back leg is intended to help with balance, it’s not supposed to be engaged to perform the exercise, making it more of a lunge. At any given point of the movement, you should be able to “shake” your back leg to ensure it’s still loose and not engaged in supporting your weight.

Allowing the Front Knee to Lose Alignment

As with all squat and lunge variations, one standard and significant mistake during the Bulgarian split squat are to allow the front knee to shift inward or outward, losing alignment with the same-side toes. This places way too much stress on the knee, especially during single-leg exercises, where the weight and resistance are all being supported by one leg.

Safety and Precautions

Proper setup and effective core engagement are hands-down the best ways to ensure the Bulgarian split squat remains safe. Take your time to find appropriate foot alignment and placement, so you’re not tempted to lean forward from the hips and throw your center of gravity in front of your front knee. This places too much stress on the knee and could lead to injury.

If you’re brand-new to strength training, or if you struggle to remain balanced while performing traditional lunges, you probably aren’t ready to try the Bulgarian split squat yet. Likewise, if you have knee or ankle pain or injuries, the flexibility and mobility required to perform this movement correctly may not be comfortable for you.

If you feel any pain or discomfort, discontinue the movement and try the split squat variation with your back foot balanced on the floor.

Try It Out

Incorporate this move into one of these popular workouts:

• 10-Minute Workout That Burns Major Calories
• Lower Body and Core Strength Workout
• Total Body Superset Blast Workout

The biceps curl is a highly recognizable weight-training exercise that works the muscles of the upper arm and, to a lesser extent, those of the lower arm. It’s an excellent exercise for seeing results in strength and definition.

Different equipment and grips can be used for this exercise including those using dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, resistance bands, or cable machines. Curls are a typical exercise used in upper-body strength training routines.

How to Do Biceps Curls

Select dumbbells of weight you can lift 10 times with good form, ensuring the last three are very challenging to the point you feel you could not lift another rep. From here, either use this same weight to perform eight reps or lower the weight slightly and perform 10 reps. It helps to “arm” yourself with a set of the best dumbbells.

Increase the repetitions and/or weight when you are able. This usually occurs by the next week, if you are training consistently. Slightly increase your weight and/or reps over time to gain muscle and strength.

1. Begin standing tall with your feet about hip-width apart. Keep your abdominal muscles engaged.
2. Hold one dumbbell in each hand. Let your arms relax down at the sides of your body with palms facing forward.
3. Keep your upper arms stable and shoulders relaxed, bend at the elbow and lift the weights so that the dumbbells approach your shoulders. Or for a full range of motion, raise the dumbbells to your eyes or forehead level. Your elbows should stay tucked in close to your body.
4. Exhale while lifting.
5. Lower the weights to the starting position.
6. Perform the desired reps, staying within 3 to 5 reps of total failure.

Benefits

Consistently performing the biceps curl will help you build strength in the upper arm and learn to use your arm muscles correctly, bracing with your core muscles. Curls work the biceps muscles at the front of the upper arm and the muscles of the lower arm—the brachialis and brachioradialis. You use these muscles anytime you pick something up, which is common throughout daily life.

Common Mistakes

Get the most out of your biceps curls by avoiding these errors.

Going Too Fast

Concentrate on proper form rather than rapid execution. Lift the weights with a smooth motion, taking as much time to lower the weight as you do to lift it. Lowering the weight slowly (eccentric portion) may help you build more muscle, making the most of your time in the gym.

Improper Elbow Position

The position of your elbows should remain close to the side of your body, and only the lower arm should move until the top end of the movement when your elbows will rise so that you can complete the full range of motion. If you notice your elbows moving away from your torso or swinging behind the body, you are probably lifting too much weight.

Using Momentum

Don’t recruit the shoulders or torso to swing the weights up when doing the dumbbell curl. This can feel like a swinging, twisting, or heaving movement. Do not allow your hips to hinge or your lower body to assist the movement in any way. Try to keep your elbows at your sides until they come up at the top of the movement to complete the full range of motion.

Concentrate on maintaining a tall, upright spine and a tight core. Keep the shoulders relaxed and watch that they don’t move forward to initiate the movement. Choose lighter weights or reduce the number of repetitions if this occurs.

Other Variations of Biceps Curls

Try these variations for different muscle stimulus and to keep your training interesting.

Barbell Curl

While there are several bicep curl variations, one of the most popular biceps curl variations is the barbell curl. Since they can be used for a range of different exercises, equip your home gym with the best barbells.

Start in the same position as a biceps curl. Grasp a barbell with an underhand grip. Alternatively, use a pre-loaded smaller barbell or an EZ curl bar.

1. Hold the barbell so it hangs touching your legs.
2. Raise the barbell slowly by bending your elbows, keeping your arms close to your body.
3. Raise the barbell to shoulder, eye, or forehead height, depending on you desired range of motion. A bigger range of motion can recruit more muscle fibers and help with muscle growth.
4. Lower the barbell slowly, controlling the weight until your arms are fully extended.

A barbell, cable machine, or resistance bands can also be used similarly for curl exercises. You can use these variations to challenge your biceps in different ways.

Additional Variations

Some additional variations you can try include:

• Reverse biceps curls
• Biceps cable curl
• TRX biceps curl
• Hammer curls

Safety and Precautions

This exercise is generally recommended for most people. But if you have an arm injury or experience pain during the motion, do not continue.

You can expect to feel fatigue and even burning in your biceps and forearm muscles after a few lifts, and this is desired to get your muscles to strengthen and grow. However, do not force extra repetitions once you are unable to do the curls with good form. Take a rest before doing the next set.

Don’t try to lift too heavy of a weight to begin with, and stop if you feel any pain. Building big biceps is popular, but don’t rush to get to heavier weights before you’re ready. Injury to the elbow or wrist can occur, and that’ll put a damper on your entire workout routine.

Try It Out

Incorporate this move and similar ones into one of these popular workouts:

• Biceps workouts
• Dumbbell arm workout
• Back and biceps workout