No excuses. You have the time.
Quick Workout #1:
Lift Your Best
Push past sticking points in classic muscle-building exercises with this 3-day-a-week routine. You'll move the weight from a standstill every repetition, which ensures that every rep is equally challenging. What's more, you'll strengthen the weakest parts of your lifts, so when you return to your standard exercises, you'll see a big improvement. Complete the sets of one exercise before proceeding to the next. Do three sets of four or five repetitions and rest 90 seconds between sets.
1. Deadlift
A. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a loaded barbell on the floor in front of you. Bend at the knees and grab the bar with an overhand grip, just outside your legs.
B. Keeping your back straight, stand up with the bar, driving your hips and glutes forward. Now lower the bar to the floor and stand up without it. Then repeat the move so that for each rep, you start with the bar on the floor.
2. Bench Press Off Supports
A. Position a bench between the uprights of a squat rack, and set the bar on the supports at height level with your chin when you're lying on the bench. Use an overhand grip. (Your elbows should be bent and the bar just over your chest.)
B. Press the bar up until your arms are straight, then lower it and rest it on the supports for 1 or 2 seconds before repeating.
3. Squat Off Supports
A. Place a barbell on the supports of a squat rack, at the level where your shoulders will be when you're squatting with your thighs parallel to the floor. Lower your body under the bar with your back slightly arched and your chest up, and grab the bar.
B. Drive the weight up until you're in a standing position, then lower it back on to the supports. Pause for at least 2 seconds before repeating.
Quick Workout #2:
Better Grip, Bigger Gains
A strong grip helps translate strength from your upper body to the world around you. In this workout, you'll hold a barbell in one hand as if it were a dumbbell. Staying balanced causes your core musculature to contract forcefully, so you'll also build a stronger center. For each exercise, do three sets of six repetitions with each arm. Rest for 60 seconds between sets and rest at least a day between workouts.
Suitcase Deadlift
1. Grasp a barbell with your right hand at your side. Move your hips back and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Pause for a second. Then, without rounding your back, drive your feet into the floor and stand. Do a set, then repeat with your left hand.
Unilateral Shoulder Press
2. Stand holding a barbell in the center with your right hand next to your face and the bar perpendicular to your shoulders. Press the bar up until your arm is straight, then lower it to the starting position. Repeat with your left hand.
Single-Arm Barbell Row
3. Holding a barbell with your right hand, place your left knee and left hand on a bench. Keeping your back straight, balance the bar as you pull your elbow up past your torso. Hold for a second, then lower. Finish the set, then switch positions and repeat with your left hand.
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