Build muscle the right way

I’m a root canal specialist working at Sathyabama Dental College, Chennai, and also a national-level power-lifter. I lift heavy weights in my routine to get the strength and flexibility — I also do it so that I don’t get injured and to lead a fit and healthy lifestyle. But I have to tell you, lifting weights doesn’t come easy. You need to work your other accessory muscles to enable them to help you lift weights — mainly the squat, bench press and dead-lift, which are the three main compound lifts. Here are some simple workouts for those who want to take up heavy lifting in the near future!

Handstand
Doing handstands every day will get you a well balanced, super strong core. To build up strength, start by holding a handstand against a wall for three sets of five to ten seconds. Work up to holding them for a minute or two at a time. Practice often, and watch as your upper body strength skyrockets!

Triceps dips
It is intense and effective isolation exercise that helps develop powerful and defined triceps. They can be performed on a machine at the gym or at home on a step; both methods use your body weight as resistance. To do a dip, position yourself on a dip machine with arms locked. Begin by slowly lowering yourself while inhaling, until your arms form a 90-degree angle. Squeeze your triceps and shoulders upward and back to the starting position while exhaling.

The wide grip pull up
This is a sign of pure upper body strength. This pull-up is done by lifting your body up to a bar and then lowering yourself back down. This is also my favourite exercise ever. Why? It works my back, shoulders, arms and also my core, giving me a strong back for my daily activities. Ladies should especially do the pull up to get a nicely shaped back.

The stretch
Before starting any workout, always stretch for better posture, improved flexibility and circulation to avoid injuries.

Ninja jump tucks
The muscles that are most involved in this move are your quads, hip flexors and your abs. Start from the floor, jump into a squat and jump high into a jump tuck to finish the move.

(As told to Balajee CR)