Set your focus on building strength

To see some improvement in your strength-training workouts, concentrate on the specific muscles when training them. This will recruit more muscle activity than thinking about other things when you are working out. For example, in this exercise, focus on using the muscles in your shoulder to raise your arms.

-- Karen Voight

1 Stand with your feet together, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees, push your hips back and hinge forward from your hips, bringing the weights in front of your knees. Pull your abdominals in toward your spine to support your back muscles.

2 Inhale and pull your shoulders back to create a long line with your spine. On an exhale, slowly raise both arms to shoulder level. Keep a slight bend at your elbows and pause at the top of the lift. Check that you are not raising one arm higher than the other. Slowly lower your arms and repeat 12 to 15 times.

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Karen Voight can be reached at kvoightla@aol.com.