My last two blog posts have shown some of the upper body exercises we do in our contest prep. Today's post will be about the "B" Day in our current routines. I call this workout our "Vertical Push/Pull". Our Upper Body "A" Routine is "Horizontal Push/Pull". Our "C-Day" is our leg workout.
For the Human Physiology Junkies... Shoulder Abduction and Flexion movements, paired with Shoulder Adduction and Extension. Then to pair up with the Shoulder Extension, I work in synergistic Elbow Extension, since the long head of the triceps performs both. For the non-Exercise Science Majors... Its Military Presses, Lat Pull-Down/Chins, Front Delt Raises, and Lat Flies, paired with triceps work!
For the Human Physiology Junkies... Shoulder Abduction and Flexion movements, paired with Shoulder Adduction and Extension. Then to pair up with the Shoulder Extension, I work in synergistic Elbow Extension, since the long head of the triceps performs both. For the non-Exercise Science Majors... Its Military Presses, Lat Pull-Down/Chins, Front Delt Raises, and Lat Flies, paired with triceps work!
| | I really just put this video of Lisa doing Military Presses because her abs look so amazing... Of course her form is perfect too... |
| Compressive spinal loads on my damaged back are rough. I never load up a bar on my shoulders, and I have be careful of my angles with shrugs, and military presses. Good form doing a military press is to angle the bench some back from vertical, and to keep the lumbar spine pressed flat into the bench. As soon as I feel myself starting to arch and lose contact with my lumbar, I drop the weight. | |
| | Lisa loves assisted chins for her lat work. Unfortunately, the chinning bar in our studio isn't tall enough for me to keep from bottoming out on the floor with my feet. I will use our strap to do assisted chins by bending one knee and effectively "kneeling" on the strap. The other leg goes under the strap, then pinches upward to lock the strap in place. This way I can do "Strap Assisted Chins" in our studio too. 90% of the clients who've come to me through the the years have NEVER felt their lats actually work during a lat pull-down... SERIOUSLY. It's all about proper mechanics, and dropping the ego. When I teach lat pulls, I want the form to look exactly like a chin-up. In the video, you'll see my feet back behind me, and my chest and chin high, as if I'm hanging from the bar, as opposed to hooked under the knee pad. I maintain that arch and "pull my chest to the bar". Obviously, the bar will move, not my body. The elbows MUST stay directly under the bar, just as they would if you were hanging from it. From this position the lats MUST fire hard, and you will FEEL them work within a few reps! Try it! |
| I like to work my front (anterior) and middle delts together. This video shows Lisa doing lateral dumbbell raises for the middle delts CORRECTLY. MOST people do these wrong, and end up hitting the anterior delt too much. As they lift, the stronger/bigger anterior delt wants to take over. The humerus rotates posteriorly in the shoulder (the thumb leads, and the pinky drops, showing her knuckles in the mirror). I always stress "leading with the pinky knuckle", imagining I have a water bottle in each hand, and "pour it out" as I lift. This keeps the middle delt in position to do the work. | |
We finish this workout up with triceps work. Like biceps, triceps grow best when worked from both a lengthened position and a shortened position. The long head of the triceps, like the biceps, cross both the elbow joint, and the shoulder joint. When you do V-Bar Cable Press-downs, the elbows are tucked in at your sides, and the long head is effectively shortened. The lateral head (top/front of the "horseshoe" tends to take over. But when the elbows are raised out in front, or overhead (Skull-Crusher"), the long head is pre-stretched, and it is forced to do more work. I won't post videos to this blog post on the triceps exercises, but if you have questions, feel free to ask!
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