Crossover Hand Crossover: Technique, Benefits, and Common Errors

Breasts are one of the most important parts of the body. The thorax primarily protects vital internal organs, such as the heart and lungs. And for any bodybuilder beautiful pectoral muscles - this is already half the success.

Of course, in order to achieve the appropriate form, you need to train a lot and systematically. Optimal in this case will spend 90% of training for multi-purpose compound exercises, during which several muscle groups are involved. However, if your main goal is to build muscle mass (in this case it is just the pectoral muscles), then the reduction of the hands in the crossover standing perfectly suits as the final exercise, with which you can qualitatively load the target muscles. In addition, this simulator can be found in almost any gym, which greatly simplifies the task.

Technique of execution

1. First of all, correctly "tune" the simulator. You carry out the reduction of hands in the crossover through the upper blocks, respectively, position the handles at the highest point on each side.
2. Set the desired weight (the same in both cases) and, standing exactly in the middle, grasp the handles with the palms facing down.
3. Take a step forward. Hands slightly bent at the elbows, chest forward, look straight ahead. This is the starting position in this exercise.
4. Using only the shoulder joint, slowly move the palms together, crossing them directly in front of you. At the bottom point, strain the pectoral muscles.
5. Slowly return to the starting position.
6. Carry out the necessary number of repetitions.

Some useful tips

Any physical load requires preliminary theoretical preparation. So you minimize the risk of injury and can get a better result in a shorter period of time. Here's what you should know before you go directly to the crossover hand notes:

1. Adhere to the maximum range of motion. Thus, you maximize the use of muscle fibers. During the exercise, you should feel the tension in the joints at the beginning of the movement.
2. Use lighter weight. Do not try to look like a hero in the eyes of others. The goal of keeping hands in the crossover is fatigue of the pectoral muscles, which best occurs with 10-15 repetitions with a small weight, combined with push-ups.
3. Perform the exercise slowly, watch the technique. Since in this case the load goes only to one joint, there is no point in using an additional pulse. Try to feel every movement.
4. Take your shoulders back. A common mistake. Leaving the shoulders forward, you are working on the muscles of the back and shoulders, and not the chest muscles. Take your shoulders back, keep your head straight to use just the chest.
5. Bend your hands slightly. Also a frequent mistake is excessive bending of hands. Yes, so the reduction of hands in the crossover is much easier, but its effectiveness is reduced by half. Better use less weight, but keep hands straight.

Common mistakes

Probably, there is no one exercise that absolutely everyone performs correctly and without errors. It is very important during the training to monitor the posture and technique of execution. Do not be afraid to seek help from the on-duty coach. If this is not possible, then the first time you can shoot the performance of the exercise on the camera. So you can reasonably evaluate your technique and, if necessary, seek help from knowledgeable people.

The most common mistakes include:

1. Insufficient stretching of muscles. While most of the exercises work only with the initial effort, with the reduction of hands in the upper crossover, both the forward spurt and the return to the starting position are important. Be sure to fully stretch the muscles of the chest, this will lead to better stimulation of the muscle fibers and, accordingly, active growth.
2. Lack of diversity. The secret of an ideal training program is a constant change. Performing mixing only from the top block, you risk overtraining only the upper part of the chest, leaving the rest of the body disproportionate. Constantly change exercises to stimulate the development of muscles from all sides.
3. Fear of experiments. Yes, crossover hands are great for completing a workout, but that does not mean you can not try adding this exercise at the beginning. Remember, each organism is individual and reacts in its own way to the load. Try, perhaps, for you will be more effective fatigue of the pectoral muscles before the main load.

Benefits

The pectoral muscles are quite voluminous, and therefore, when carrying out the manual in the crossover, you also use the muscles of the body and shoulders to keep the balance. All this leads to more efficient burning of calories.

Also, as mentioned earlier, the developed thorax creates a more harmonious shape and affects the appearance of the shoulders and triceps.

There is a possibility of diversity. Crossover is a universal simulator. Having a cable at different points (upper, lower middle), you get the opportunity to work on the pectoral muscles from different angles, which undoubtedly contributes to a more harmonious growth and development of the muscular corset.

Two ideas for a superset

Supersets - the ability to maximize the target muscles. If the usual knowledge of the hands in the crossover is not enough for you, then you can diversify the exercise, adding:

1. Push ups. A murderous supert, because without stopping you perform two exercises on the same group of muscles. However, if for you to do more than 30 push-ups - a task from a number of impossible, then give up the idea of implementing this superset. It will be too hard for you.
2. Lifting the case. While cramming the hands, cortex muscles are also actively working. Therefore, by combining these two exercises together, you not only qualitatively work out the pectoral muscles, but also give a greater load to the press than when doing these two exercises separately.

Perhaps this is all you need to know about this exercise. Watch out for the technique, experiment, but remember: the main thing is safety!