Workout 18: Back & Shoulders
Back Exercises
1. Doorway Row
- Stand on the outside of an open doorway, facing the doorway.
- Grip the doorjamb with each hand, palms facing outward.
- With feet together and knees slightly bent, slowly lean your upper body back, away from the doorjamb, until your arms are straight. Your arm & back muscles should be supporting the weight of your upper body.
- Using these same muscles, pull yourself up toward the door, ensuring that your shoulder blades are pulling toward one another. This is one rep.
2. Good Morning
- With feet hip-width apart, stand upright, knees slightly bent, and place your hands at the back of your head, elbows opened wide.
- Engage your abdominal muscles by pulling them into your spine. Keeping your spine neutral and pressing your rear backward, bend forward at the hips and continue doing so until your back is nearly parallel to the floor.
- Slowly return to standing, engaging your core and squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement. Continue for the prescribed number of repetitions.
3. Reverse Snow Angel
- Position yourself face-down on the floor with arms stretched out in front of you, palms facing the floor, legs closed.
- Slowly lift your chest, arms, and legs slightly off of the ground.
- Move arms down toward the hips and legs outward, and then return to the original position, as though you’re performing jumping jacks or a snow angel.
- Rest limbs on the ground briefly before beginning the next rep.
*Note: If you perform this on a wood or otherwise smooth floor, you can place washcloths under your palms and toes and complete the reps without lifting your limbs off of the floor.
4. Superman
- Lie face down on the ground, toes pointed, ankles touching the ground, arms extended forward, like Superman in flight, palms down, touching the ground.
- Pull your arms and legs off the ground by engaging your glutes, shoulders, core, and back. They should raise up 2-3 inches.
- Ensure that your arms are also fully contracted.
- Hold this position for 10-20 seconds, or until failure.
- Slowly lower your arms and legs back to the starting position. Repeat for prescribed number of reps.
Shoulders Exercises
1. Side Plank + Twist
- Position yourself in a side plank, left shoulder over left elbow and body in a strong, straight line.
- Reach the fingertips of your right hand toward the ceiling.
- Engage your core and turn your torso forward. Bring your right hand down and position it between your torso and the floor, as though you were trying to twist and reach the rest of the room behind you.
- Slowly rotate back to starting position. Repeat on the other side to complete one rep.
2. Y Raises
- Stand upright, feet shoulder-width apart.
- With a slight bend in your elbows, raise your arms upward and out to the sides, making a “Y” formation until elbows are aligned with each ear. Contract shoulder muscles.
- Lower arms, maintaining control to complete one rep.
3. Doorframe Hold
- Stand in a doorway, facing the doorjamb, feet hip-width apart. Bend one elbow at 90°, make a fist, and place your fist on the wall.
- Press into the wall as if you were attempting to push through the wall and into your abdomen. Your shoulder should be engaged, but you shouldn’t move your shoulder at any point during this movement.
- Hold for a count of 5 and release. Repeat on the other arm to complete one rep.
4. Arm Scissors
- Stand upright with feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in the knees.
- Stretch your arms out to your sides, parallel with the ground.
- Engage your core and cross your arms over one another in front of your body.
- Quickly bring them back to starting position.
- Do the same, but alternating which arm crosses over the other. This completes one rep.
