"Do my arms look gross to you?"

A few days ago I completed one of the best arm workouts I had ever done. I guess the stars were aligned perfectly that night, or maybe there was just something in the air going around, but everything worked out as ideal as possible. 

Two scoops of pre-workout and my favorite tank top had me feeling myself a little bit as I walked to the free weight section. As I saw Somerville walking over to meet me by the dumbells, I knew it was go time. 

Superset 5 x 8

Skull Crushers x Straight Bar Curls

Superset 5 x 10

Heavy Straight Bar Push downs x Standing Dumbell Curls

Superset 5 x 20

Bench Dips x Straight Bar Push Downs (half reps, bottom to middle)

Superset 5 x 20

Preacher Curls x Reverse Curls

Superset 5 sets

28 method Straight Bar Curls x Body Weight Tricep Extensions (20 reps)

After this lift, Michael walked up to me and quietly asked "Do my arms look gross to you?" Yeah, the pump is that real. 

Have a hell of a workout, and have an even better day... GetFit

Power Stance

Currently, I am reading a book called Total Recall and it is on the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Within its 1200+ pages, there has been one message in particular that I have noticed. Train hard, train often, and damnit train your legs! Power resignates from the ground up which means those legs are your building blocks. He gives some specifics to leg training so you guys are in for an exceptional workout.

Back Squat: Warm up + 4 sets

- Reps are 15, 12, 10, 6

- Make sure your toes are < 8 deg. angled outwards otherwise you are missing out on some inner thigh muscle growth

Deadlift (Conventional, Sumo, or Stiff Leg): 4 sets

- Reps are 10, 10, 8, 8

Superset: Leg Extensions X Leg Curls

- 5 X 12

Calf Raises: 10 X 15

- Arnold was crazy about developing his calves!

This workout may take a little longer than you are used to but always remember that Rome wasn't built in a day. 

Ladies

Your workout will also be for the lower body, but will focus more on bodyweight movements and various jumps. 

Jump Squats: 5 X 15

Lunges: 4 X 20 (10 each leg)

Single Leg Good Mornings: 4 X 10

- Stand on one leg (completely straight) and bend out under parallel with the ground then return to upright position. You should feel it in your hamstring/glutes.

Calf Raises: 4 X 20

- Vary the angle of your feet

Build your backside

Back day. A day that lifters everywhere seem to neglect for some crazy reason. But why is this? Back day should be a staple in every week that you look forward to starting Sunday night.

Mr. Olympia, the most competitive body building competition in the entire world seems to be a close call every year. When it comes down to it though, the judges typically end up making decisions based on who looks good ALL AROUND. I have heard of so many body builders losing simply due to the fact that they look "soft" from the backside.

The last thing you want is to look weak from behind. Listen to that, it just sounds awful. Build your back with this hell of a workout that includes both compound and isolation exercises.

Close Grip Pulldowns (Rep Hold Method)- 4 x 15, 12, 10, 8 (increase weight each set)

Dead Lifts- 5 x 12, 10, 8, 8, 15

Superset
Wide Grip Pull Ups- 4 x 12
Dumbell Pullovers- 4 x 15, 12, 10, 8

Superset
Sitting Rows- 4 x 8
One Arm Dumbell Rows- 4 x 8

Close Grip Chin Ups (assisted if necessary)- 4 x Until Failure

Have a great day!

Upper Body Blast

With summer coming up, the pressure to develop and chisel your body is rising as the days go by and Muscle Insider has got your back. Here's the ultimate upper body blast that will start your week off with a bang:

4 X 10 for each movement 

Shoulder Press

Incline Arnold Press

Bent over Barbell row

BB Curls

Close grip Bench Press 

No cables or machines today, ALL IRON!

Ladies,

Grab a pair of DBs - between 5 and 15 lbs and get a treadmill. Here's a circuit that I've hit before and felt lean/shredded afterwards. 

1 min @ 6 MPH

15 DB Squats

1 min @ 7 MPH

15 DB Curls

1 min @ 8 MPH

10 Lateral Raises

1 min @ 7 MPH

15 DB Rows

1 min @ 6 MPH 

15 Shoulder Presses

10 min @ 5 MPH

You don't have to use my speeds obviously, but I provided them simply to give a starting point. I hope everybody rocks their workout and #GetFit. 

Why be good when you could be great?

Standing military press- 30, 15, 12, 10, 10, 8, 8

Shrugs (heavy)- 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Superset 4 sets

Hammer strength machine- 8 reps

Upright rows- 10 reps

Superset 4 sets

Face pulls- 10 reps 

Rear delt flyes- 12 reps

The workout itself is short, therefore there are no excuses for low intensity. Keep the intensity high and you'll be feeling this one tomorrow. On shrugs, go heavy. Going heavy will help put some size on those beloved traps. Personally, I use wrist straps to maintain a solid grip on the bar while still adding weight every time. For the upright rows, grab a plate. On the way down, count to eight for each rep. 

"Remember everything is reps, reps, reps."

Have a good weekend. 

Back - Bodyweight Edition

As of late I've been obsessing over bodyweight movements. They are an exceptional way to improve vascularity and burn fat (two things that don't sound too shabby to me). So today's workout won't consist of lots of different movements, but instead different rep/grip/speed variations. 

Pull Ups: 4 X 10

- Wide Grip

- Regular Speed

Rows: 4 X 12-15

- Shoulder Width

- Overhand 

- Regular Speed

Pull Ups (Use assistance machine if necessary) 3 X 10

- Regular Grip

- 3 sec hold at top

Rows: 3 X 10

- Underhand Grip

- 5 Sec hold

Pull Ups: 1 X AMAP

- 5 sec negatives

Rows: 1 X AMAP

- 5 sec negative 

Ladies, this workout applies to you as well but do one less set than listed above except for the single set of negatives. P.S AMAP stands for as many as possible. #GetFit and enjoy today's variation.

Destroy your arms

Arm day. Let's get it. 

Superset

Close grip chin ups- 4 x 10-12

Rope push downs- 12, 6, 12, 6

Superset

Straight bar curls- 12, 6, 12, 6

Tricep extensions- 12, 6, 12, 6

Triset- 12, 6, 12, 6

Reverse grip curls

Incline dumbell curls

Cable curls

Triset- 12, 6, 12, 6

Nose breakers

Close grip bench 

Bench dips (burnout)

Standing preacher curls- 6, 12, 6, 12

Kickbacks (don't swing your body)- 6, 12, 6, 12

Any curl of choice- 3 x 28 method

Triangle push ups- 3 x burnout 

Sick workout. Remember, it's not overtraining it's over gaining. To build those muscles and shock the body, you have to push yourself. The supersets should keep high intensity, but still try to limit breaks. 

I incorporated chin ups instead of dumbell bicep curls because chin ups are a compound exercise. Since pull ups work more of the body than simply the bicep, it triggers the brain and forces a "shock" causing your muscles to grow. 

As always, feedback is appreciated. Have a good day and Get Fit!