Workout 03: Shoulders & Abs
Shoulder Exercises
- Sit on a bench with a back support directly underneath the barbell of a Smith machine. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart at just above shoulder height.
- Gripping the bar as tight as possible, press it overhead until your arms are completely locked out. Pause at the top, then lower it back to the starting position.
- Set the bar on the smith machine to a height that is around the middle of your thighs. Grab the bar with both hands, wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell up and fully extend your arms so that your arms are straight but you’re holding the weighted bar.
- Use your side shoulders to lift the bar.. The bar should be close to the body as you move it up. Continue to lift it until it nearly touches your chin. Drive your elbows up towards the ceiling to ensure you’re using your shoulder.
- Slowly lower the bar back down slowly to the starting position.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
3. Face Pull
- Stand in front of a medium-height rotating pulley and grab each side of the rope attachment.
- Step back away from the machine until your arms are fully extended in front of you.
- Your feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart and with a soft bend in your knees.
- Brace core and drive elbows past back, while pulling the rope handles slightly outside of your ears.
- Hold and contract shoulder blades together.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and dumbbells aligned with your feet at arm's length. Make sure your palms are facing inward towards your sides.
- Keep your torso stationary and raise the dumbbells to your side with a slight bend at your elbow. Lift your arms until they are slightly parallel to the ground, or around shoulder-level, and pause for a second at the top.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
5.Front Dumbbell Raise
- Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart. Grasp one dumbbell with each hand so that your palms are facing inward and hands are against your thighs.
- While keeping your torso stationary, lift the dumbbells in front of you with a straight arm or slightly bent elbow. Continue to raise the dumbbell until your arm is slightly above parallel to the ground or around shoulder-level.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
Ab Exercises
1. Kneeling Cable Crunch
Caution: Do not choose a weight that is too heavy. This can result in straining your lower back.
- Find a cable station and attach a rope handle to the top pulley. Grasp the rope attachment at each end, and kneel down so your knees are bent at a 90° angle.
- Your arms should be stretched over your head. Your palms should be facing each other when holding the rope and your hands should be placed next to your face.
- Slightly flex your hips forward. There should be tension on the cable, and you should feel a stretch in your abs.
- Keep your hips stationary, contract your abs, and crunch your chest towards your hips until your head is between your knees. Your elbows should be approaching the middle of your thighs. After reaching this point, hold the contraction for a second.
- Slowly reverse back to the starting position. Keep as much tension in your abs during this whole movement.
- Lie straight on your back with your legs together and your arms together, straight above your head.
- In one motion, raise your legs off the floor while keeping them straight. Also raise your torso and hands to meet your legs in the middle of your body.
- Repeat!
- Hang from a chin-up bar with both arms extended at arms length in top of you using either a wide grip or a medium grip. The legs should be straight down with the pelvis rolled slightly backwards. This will be your starting position.
- Raise your legs until the torso makes a 90-degree angle with the legs. Hold for 0.5-1 seconds.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
- Lie flat with your lower back pressed to the ground. Place your hands behind your head slightly above your neck. Lift your shoulders into a crunch position.
- Raise yours legs so that your thighs are perpendicular to the ground and your shins parallel to the ground.
- Simultaneously, slowly go through a cycle pedal motion kicking forward with the right leg while pulling in the knee of the left leg.
- Bring your right elbow close to your left knee by crunching to the side. Then crunch to the opposite side as you cycle your legs and bring your left elbow closer to your right knee.
- Alternate sides.