WGBJ 1 - Workout 32

Workout 32: Back & Biceps

Grasp the pull bar with a grip wider than your shoulder width.
Take a deep breath and depress the shoulder blades. Drive your elbows straight down to the floor to pull yourself up. Simultaneously try to activate your lats.
Pull your chin towards the bar until your lats are fully contracted. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position and repeat. Try to do this motion slowly.

Load an appropriate weight onto the end of the T-bar.
Stand over the bar so that it’s in between your legs and your chest is resting on the pad. Keep your back flat, and make sure you have a firm grip on each side of the V-grip handle.
Remove the bar from the rest. Keep your chest up, your hips back, and your feet wider than shoulder width apart. Lead the movement with your back, your arms should follow. The focus should not be on the angle of your arms, but on the contraction of your back.
After your back reaches its maximum contraction and your shoulder blades are retracted, slowly let the weight of the bar pull your shoulder blades down to stretch your back.
Let your arms follow naturally until the T-bar is returned to its starting position.

Attach a wide bar at your shoulder level on the pulley of the pulldown machine. Grab the bar with an overhand grip with your palms facing downward, and make sure your grip is wider than your shoulder width.
Take a couple steps back and make sure your feet are shoulder width apart. Slightly hinge at the waist so that your torso is leaning forward. Keep your arms fully extended so that they’re parallel to the ground. Your arms can have a slight bend at the elbow.
Pull the bar down while keeping your arms straight. Continue pulling down until your hands are beside your thighs; you should feel a contraction in your lats.
Reverse this movement while keeping your arms fully straight.

Caution: Avoid swinging your torso back and forth. This can result in a lower back injury.

Attach a V-bar to the low pulley on a seated row machine. When gripping the V-bar, your palms should be facing each other.
Sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform with your knees slightly bent.
Grab the V-bar handles, lean over, and keep your back upright with your shoulders back. Your back should be slightly arched with your chest sticking out. As you hold the bar in front of you, you should notice a stretch in your lats.
Keep your torso stationary and your elbows tucked in as you pull the handles back towards your torso. You should be squeezing your back muscles and holding that contraction for a second.
Slowly return the weight to starting position by releasing your shoulder blades back down.

To perform this movement you will need a preacher bench and an EZ bar. Load your desired weight onto the bar and adjust the seat on the preacher bench so that your upper arms sit comfortably on the padding when you’re seated.
Grab the EZ bar using an underhand grip with your palms facing upward. Lift the EZ bar to shoulder height.
As you inhale, slowly lower the bar until your upper arms are extended and your biceps are fully stretched. 
As you exhale, curl the bar up until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at your shoulder height. Try to squeeze your biceps tightly and hold this position for a second if you can.

Stand upright with a dumbbell in each of your hands at arm's length. Your elbows should be tucked in close to your torso. Make sure your palms are facing your body before beginning the movement.
Contract your biceps as you curl the dumbbells upward; only your forearms should be moving. As you curl up, rotate your wrists so that your palms are facing upward, like in an underhand grip. Continue this movement until the dumbbells are at your shoulder level.
Try to hold the contracted position for a second while sweeping your biceps. Then, in the contracted position, rotate your wrists again until you your palms are facing down, like in an overhand grip.
With this overhand grip slowly lower the dumbbells back down.
As the dumbbells approach your thighs, rotate your wrists to return to your original grip with your palms facing inward towards your body.

Hook a rope attachment to the low pulley and stand facing the machine about one foot away from it.
Grasp the rope with your palms facing inward. Make sure you stand up straight, maintain the natural arch of your back, and keep your torso stationary.
Start with your elbows tucked in by your side. Using your biceps, pull your arms up until your forearms touch your biceps. Only your forearms should move, not your upper arms. Remember to keep your elbows tucked in by your sides and your upper arms stationary.
Slowly lower the rope back to the starting position.

Attach a wide bar to a cable tower.
Lay a mat on the floor next to the tower and lay on it.
Grasp the bar with a wide underhand grip. With your arms straight, your core tight and a neutral spine, bend at the hips and knees to pick the bar up from the tower and bring it towards you.
Keeping the elbows at your sides and your eyes forward, curl the bar up to your chest.
Lower the bar under control. Do not let your upper back round over - consciously pull your shoulder blades together to provide a stable base for your arms to pull from.
Do not swing - keep your core tight and a neutral spine.