Supersets and You

There are a couple of Superset exercises that I have tried lately that I found put an extra kick in my routine. The three I am going to outline are the front to lateral and back again raise with the Rocky/Bradford press, Underhand Front Raises with push-up, and a Skull Crusher with a Overhead Pullover.

Laterals with Rocky/Bradford press (Warning these hurt)

My shoulders are not the strongest so I go low weight for this routine.I really do hate these but they work. I have seen extra definition in my shoulders, not to mention the way my shirts hang is a lot more flattering than it was before.

Lateral Raises: Lift the weight from your thighs straight up and out in front of you(palms facing down, move your arms back to the raised position of a side lateral raise. Next, lower your arms to your sides, pause then raise your arms to a side lateral, move your arms to your front and lower the front lateral. (That was one rep)

Rocky/Bradford Press: Start low on this exercise hurting your rotator cuff is not worth the ego boost of pushing heavy weight. First start with the bar in the rack position mid chest height. With a grip palms facing out lift the weight up over your head in front of you, then down behind your head. (Squeeze your back muscles for a little more from this exercise.) Now lift the bar back up behind your head then lower back in front of you. (That was one rep)

I tend to do 3 sets of 10. Today I bumped up the weight and have changed my routine, so I was not able to do 3 straight sets of 10. Listen to your body and if you push yourself then make sure you are doing it wisely.

Underhand Front Raise with Push-up

I find that this routine is really good for a warm up before a chest day. Mix this in before a drop set on bench to get a real good workout. Start with a cable machine that allows you to attach a grip near the floor. With the grip in your hand stand with your back to the machine and raise your arms in front of you like you are lifting Simba out in front of you (sorry for the Lion King reference). Then lower back down.

If your gym doesn't have the machines to do these side by side, then I recommend doing one side at a time. You don't get as good balance as doing both at the same time, but doing one side then the other will also engage your core. Whenever you do an asymmetrical workout, your core will engage to help balance. Watch your weight so that way you don't find yourself too off-balance.

After your first set drop into a push-up aim for between ten and twelve push-ups.

After your second set of raises do another set of push-ups, this time try to lift yourself off the ground when you push.

On your third and final set half way through your ten set push yourself up off the ground and move your hands into a diamond push-up to target your interior pectoral muscle as well as your triceps.

Skull Crusher with Overhead Pullover

I love my triceps; I also love from time to time to run them all sorts of ragged until lifting my arms are a near impossibility. This is a good way to start that punishment.

Skull Crusher: Laying flat on a bench with a cambered bar extended in front of you like the top point of a bench press but with your hands about 8 inches apart (weighted or not depending on your level of experience). Bend your arms down so you have about a 90 degree angle at your elbow. Push back up to the extended position. The movement should look like you are trying to smash the bar into your forehead. Don't smash the bar into your forehead though as this hurts...a lot.

Next, with the bar up at 90 degree angle (half way position of the Skull Crusher), lower the bar in an arc back behind your head below the bench. Next arc back up so you are back in the position where we left the Skull Crusher. Extend your arms back out in front of you then repeat. Do this for three sets of ten.

So those are the three supersets that I am sharing with you today. If you have any supersets that you enjoy feel free to comment and I will try them out.

The joys and pains of towel pull ups

The maximum amount of pull-ups I could do was absolutely zero before I started hitting the gym. Initially, these bastards were the bane of my existence…not literally. The pain to worth ratio just wasn’t there, plus I felt like there was no isolation type of routines with this exercise. And how I was wrong. I am still using the assisted lift machine with the towel routine simply because my lats are not strong enough to do this without assistance…one day.

So while searching through some YouTube videos about battling ropes I saw a warm up with towel pull-ups. There are 3 variations that I use. The close grip, regular grip and a one hand regular grip pull up. I am using two kitchen towels bought at a big box store. Just remember to use a towel you can get a good grip on.

Close Grip

This is a good in between major exercises routine.  On my chest day, I will run this after my bench press and triceps press burnout. To perform, put the towels about eight inches apart on the bar and grip with palms facing inward. As you pull yourself upwards, turn your hand and wrist inwards (the motion similar to the pump at the end of a bicep curl). Aim for a set of ten at least three times during your entire routine.

This will put one big hurt on your forearms and wrists. If you suffer from weak wrists that become sore after Skull Crushers then I would highly recommend giving these a shot to prevent that strain on your wrist.

Regular Grip

I was having a tough time seeing any changes with my pull-up routine. Finally I had reached my goal of my own body weight and to be honest I saw no change and really felt no change in my back. Now there is a huge difference. This is a great exercise to hit the muscles in between your shoulder blades, side lats rounding around to your seratius muscle. To perform, put the towels on the bar shoulder length apart.  Pull yourself up using a grip with palms facing inward. Regular routine would be three sets of ten.

On the assisted lift machine I am currently working my way up from the easiest setting to the hardest. If you are using this method, to kick the routine up a bit I would start your base weight and do the first set of ten.

Then for the second set I would  bump it up to the a slightly more difficult wieght and push myself to make it to ten, repeat for set three and then I push a set four that is back to the original weight to go as far as possible. If you do this then on the next gym day skip running through this exercise.

One Hand Regular Grip

A strong word of warning, take this slow. If you feel any pulling or pain then stop. If on an assist machine then start at the lowest level until you are absolutely sure you can move up in weight.

These are ridiculously addictive. I found myself last night doing a burn out set on these and my biceps, and serratus muscles are so very sore. Keep the towels on the bar, push one aside and use a regular grip on the bar, then use the other to grab the towel. The goal is to not use the bar hand and only the towel hand, this is hard to do so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t attain that at first. As you pull with your towel hand you will notice a lot of strain on the bicep and if you are doing it right you will feel your core engage a bit in the upper oblique. Repeat for the left side. Three sets of ten on each side.

This one will burn you out. I normally run this between my running circuit or sit-up routine.

Just remember to go slow especially if this is new territory for you. There is nothing more deterring to the gym as a pulled muscle; even cardio can be a chore. So go slow and listen to when your body is saying to push a little bit harder.