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76. CHALK
The body's primary cooling mechanism is to release water to the skin surface in the form of sweat. While sweat does wonders for for fooling the body, it plays havoc with gripping sports. The nect time you watch a gymnastics competition take a close look at the hands of he athletes. They are virtually white with chalk. Weightlifting is like gymnastics in that a firm grip is an absolute must on all the exercises. Chalk is cheap ($2 to $3 for a six-inch block) and makes an excellent training aid for drying sweat and giving you a better grip. Just check with you gym's policy on chalk before buying. Some gyms don't allow chalk as it messes the floor.
77. BARBELLS
It's probably safe to say that no weightlifting machine will ever replace the good old-fashioned barbell. Barbells come in an assortment of sizes and shapes. Olympic bars are the largest at seven feet long and 45 pounds. You'll use these on such exercises as bench presses, squats, deadlifts, and barbell rows. Shorter bars are more convenient for various biceps and triceps exercises. Finally, EZ-curl bars have a series of s-shaped curves that allow a more naural drip. Many people find straight bars hard on the wrist and elbow joints and opt for the curved EZ-curl bar. You should try to use all types of barbells in your training program.
78. DUMBELLS
Dumbells are the baby brothers of barbells. Instead of holding one long bar in tow hands, you hold a shorter one in each hand. Dumbells range in size from one pound up to over 150 pounds. You will use dumbells on such exercises as biceps curls, flyes, presses, and side raises.
79. BENCHES
To provide support and taget different areas of the body try using different bench angles in your workout. If you are training chest you can shift the stress from the lower chest to the upper by using a tilted or inclined bench. Likewise the lower and outer chest can be stressed by using a declined bench.
80. ARM BLASTERS FOR STRICTNESS
No matter how hard you try to prevent it, the body will always attempt to cheat when exercising. We are inherently lazy creatures. With standing barbell curls the lazy way out is to start rocking the body and lifting the elbows forward from the torso as the bar is lifted upwards. One way to reduce this is to use an Arm Blaster. This two-foot long, six-inch wide piece of curved metal fits around the waist and allows ou to place your elbows firmly against it. Locking the arms in this position makes it much more difficult to cheat. The cover photos of Arnold Schwarzenegger using the Arm Blaster back in the 1970s are nothing short of inspirational.
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