WORKOUTS
Muscle-Building 12-Week Workout: Week 10
 |
DAY 2: EXPLOSIVE POWER TRAINING - EXERCISES FOR SHOULDERS
New! Track Your Workout Progress with Before and After Pics
New! View Other Members Who Are Tracking Their Workout Progress
Muscle-Building Workout Participants Forum
Workout Program Overview
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Supersets?
Week 1 Workouts
Week 2 Workouts
Week 3 Workouts
Week 4 Workouts
Week 5 Workouts
Week 6 Workouts
Week 7 Workouts
Week 8 Workouts
Week 9 Workouts
Week 10 Workouts
Week 11 Workouts
Week 12 Workouts
New! View Other Members Who Are Tracking Their Workout Progress
Muscle-Building Workout Participants Forum
Workout Program Overview
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Supersets?
Week 1 Workouts
Week 2 Workouts
Week 3 Workouts
Week 4 Workouts
Week 5 Workouts
Week 6 Workouts
Week 7 Workouts
Week 8 Workouts
Week 9 Workouts
Week 10 Workouts
Week 11 Workouts
Week 12 Workouts
| WEEK 10, DAY 2 EXERCISE VIDEO DEMOS |
| WARMUP | |||||||||||
| Superset | Exercise | Muscles | Weight (Goal) | Set 1 Reps (Goal) | Set 1 Reps (Actual) | Set 2 Reps (Goal) | Set 2 Reps (Actual) | Set 3 Reps (Goal) | Set 3 Reps (Actual) | Set 4 Reps (Goal) | Set 4 Reps (Actual) |
| Begin Superset | |||||||||||
| S | Dumbbell Freestyle Swim Strokes | Shoulders (rotator cuffs) | 3 - 5 lbs. | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| S | Dumbbell Butterfly Swim Strokes | Shoulders (rotator cuffs) | 3 - 5 lbs. | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| WORKOUT | |||||||||||
| Begin Superset | |||||||||||
| S | Stability Ball Push-ups | Chest, Triceps, Shoulders (deltoids) | N/A | 20 | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Dumbbell Lateral Raises | Shoulders | Rep Max | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| Begin Superset | |||||||||||
| S | Barbell Clean and Presses | Legs, Shoulders | 65% Rep Max | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Headstand to Handstands | Shoulders | N/A | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| Begin Superset | |||||||||||
| S | Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Presses | Shoulders | Rep Max | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Medicine Ball Scoop Tosses | Shoulders (front deltoids), Core | Medium | 20 | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | |||
| Begin Superset | |||||||||||
| S | Cable Reverse Raises | Shoulders | Rep Max | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Speed Tube-Assisted Lateral Raises | Shoulders | Rep Max | 20 | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Speed Dumbbell Front Raises | Shoulders | 50% Rep Max | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Speed Single-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Presses | Shoulders | 50% Rep Max | 12 | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | |||
| S | Speed Tube Shoulder Presses | Shoulders | N/A | 20 | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | |||
| Begin Superset | |||||||||||
| EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS IN BRIEF | |
| Exercise | Overview |
| Dumbbell Freestyle Swim Strokes | Begin in a standing position with your legs approximately hip-width apart and a dumbbell held in each hand. Lean your upper body forward to an approximately 45-degree angle, being sure to maintain a flat back to avoid injury. Keeping your arms straight, lift the dumbbells out in front of your body so that your arms are parallel to the plane of your upper body. Next, bring your right arm back as if you are doing a stroke of freestyle swimming. Your arm will naturally bend as you bring your elbow back. Be careful to keep the dumbbell in close to your body; allowing it to drop out too far can cause injury. As your right reaches the back end of its stroke, begin dropping your left arm to start its own stroke, while simultaneously lifting the right elbow up in an arc over the shoulder and pushing the right dumbbell back out to starting position. Your right arm should reach starting position just as your left arm reaches the back position. Each stroke of an arm counts as one stroke. |
| Dumbbell Butterfly Swim Strokes | Stand upright with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet hip distance apart. Bend your knees slightly and press your hips back as you incline your chest forward, until you are standing with your chest parallel to the floor, bent at the hip, with your weight in your heels and your center engaged. Hold the dumbbells straight out in front of you, with your palms facing the floor. Begin a butterfly swim stroke with both arms. Sweep both arms down and then back along your sides, then outward, up, and over, until your arms are extended back in front of you at the starting position. Hold momentarily in the extended position with your arms straight out and palms facing down, and then move into the next butterfly swim stroke. Be sure to keep your core engaged to maintain your chest's position throughout. Note: If you find this exercise to be too hard on your back, lie face down on a flat bench with your legs to either side of the bench, knees bent, and feet on the floor behind you. Your chest should be flat on the bench. From this position, perform the butterflies as above. |
| Stability Ball Push-ups | Place both hands on a stability ball and position the rest of your body like a plank. Your abdominals should be held in so that your stomach does not dip, and your back should be flat so that your buttocks do not come up. Keep your feet hip-width apart for stability, and, if needed, put the ball against a wall for support. Perform a push-up, lowering your chest until it almost touches the ball. Your elbows should come out to the side as you drop down, and your shoulder blades should come together. From the bottom of the push-up, reverse direction and press yourself back up to the starting position. |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raises | Stand on the floor with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells at your sides. Your knees should be slightly bent, and your palms should face in toward your hips. Next, raise both dumbbells up from each side and away from the body, keeping your elbows straight. Keeping your trapezoid muscles relaxed, continue raising your arms until they are horizontal with your shoulders. Slowly lower the arms back to starting position and repeat. |
| Barbell Clean and Presses | Start with just a bar and no weights until you have mastered the form of this advanced shoulder exercise. Stand upright while facing an Olympic bar with or without weights in front of you. Spread your feet until they are about shoulder distance apart. Grab the bar with hands shoulder distance apart and your palms toward you. Bend your knees slightly and engage your center, so that you are in a modified squat position, with back flat and your weight over your heels. Next, lift the bar in a swift upward motion toward your chest, coming up to standing upright as you do so, and bending your elbows up and back as though doing an upright row. Once the bar reaches your chest height, quickly flip the bar in your hands so that the bar is held in your hands with your palms facing upward instead of downward. Be careful to keep your wrists engaged to prevent injury. Next do a shoulder press, driving the bar powerfully upward over your head, until your arms are fully extended. Hold in the extended position for one second, and then reverse your motion, bringing the bar back to chest level, switching your grip to make your palms face you, and lowering the bar back to the starting position. Throughout this motion, you must make sure your abs and core stay engaged to protect your back. When the bar is set back on the floor, reverse direction and move immediately into your next rep. |
| Headstand to Handstands | Begin in piked-up position on the floor, with your hips in the air, your palms flat on the floor a little more than shoulder-width apart in front of you, your legs as straight as possible, your feet hip-width apart with heels slightly off the ground, and your body supported by your hands and the balls of your feet. Keep your neck in line with your spine throughout this entire movement. The more you are able to keep your hips up high over your shoulders throughout the movement, the easier it will be to progress to the more advanced variations. Slowly lower down your body into a push-up until your the crown of your head completely touches the floor. Reverse the motion and push your upper body back up to the starting position. Your shoulders should do the majority of the work. As you build shoulder strength over time, try these variations to build up closer to the true handstand push-up. First, lift one leg up behind you before you go down into your push-ups. Be sure to touch your head completely to the floor with each descent. This will increase the amount of weight on your shoulders. For an even more challenging variation, try putting your feet on a flat bench and your hands on the floor. Lower down in a push-up and touch your head to the floor. Finally, when you've mastered those variations, try combining them by placing your feet on a flat bench and lifting one of your legs up before going down into the push-ups. Once you've mastered these, you're probably ready for full-fledge handstand push-ups. |
| Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Presses | Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, pointing forward. Keep your head and back straight, knees slightly bent and the core of your body tight, while relaxing your chest. This keeps the focus on your shoulder muscles while you lift. After your body is in proper alignment, hold the dumbbells with your palms facing each other and shoulder-width part. Extend your arms by straightening your elbows directly over your head to full flexion of your shoulder muscle. Keep your elbows slightly bent at the top of the movement to avoid locking your joints. Without stopping, and while maintaining the flexion in your deltoids, keep your arms wide and slowly bring the weights down until your arms are bent at nearly 90 degrees. |
| Medicine Ball Scoop Tosses | Stand upright facing a wall at a distance of five or six feet. Stand with your feet shoulder distance apart and a medicine ball held down in front of your upper legs, with palms facing in toward each other. Next, keep both arms straight and, using a powerful scooping motion, throw the ball up and forward, bouncing it off the wall. Use your center to stabilize your body against the throwing motion. Be sure to keep your arms extended so that you use your shoulders and not arms or back to throw the ball. When the ball rebounds of the wall, catch the ball in both hands as it returns and use your front deltoids, in the front of your shoulder, to control the downward push of the ball and lower it back to the starting position, maintaining your stability again through your abs. |
| Cable Reverse Raises | Stand facing away from a dual-cable machine, with single-hand attachments on each cable set at the lowest setting. (If you do not have access to a dual-cable machine, you can do this exercise using two dumbbells.) Grasp the handle of the left cable in your right hand, and the handle of the right cable in your left hand, so that the cables cross in front of you. With your feet hip distance apart, bend your knees slightly and press your hips back so that you can incline your chest forward while stabilizing through your center and legs. Your chest should be parallel to the floor, your arms extended downward with palms facing in towards each other. Next, engage your core and keep both arms straight as you bring them simultaneously up and out to the sides. At the top of your lift, your arms will be extended straight out to the side, slightly above the level of your upper back, with your palms facing the floor. From the top of the lift, reverse direction and allow your arms to return to the starting position following the same trajectory. Be sure to keep your shoulder blades retracted and do not allow your hands to cross at the bottom. If you are concerned about your back, do this exercise on a flat bench. Place a flat bench between the cable machines and lie face down on it with your legs to either side of the bench, knees bent, and feet on the floor behind you. Your chest should be flat on the bench. From this position, perform the raises as above. |
| Speed Tube-Assisted Lateral Raises | Stand upright with a dumbbell in each hand. Take an exercise tube and hold one handle in each hand, along with the dumbbells. Allow the center of the tube to rest on the floor, and stand on it with one foot and the other foot staggered slightly behind it. Stand upright with arms at your sides and palms facing inward, with knees very slightly bent. Next, quickly raise both arms directly out to the sides, lifting the dumbbells and pulling on the tubes. Keep your arms straight and your palms in the same orientation throughout. Continue to lift until your arms come to level with your shoulders—but no higher than that. From the top of the lift, reverse direction and swiftly lower your arms back to the starting position, keeping them straight throughout. Do not allow your arms to return all the way to your sides—keep some flexion in your deltoids as you move immediately into your next lateral raise. |
| Speed Dumbbell Front Raises | Stand upright with a dumbbell in each hand. Allow your arms to hang straight down in front of you, just in front of your thighs but not resting on them, with your palms facing inward and your elbows slightly bent. Next, engage your shoulders and quickly lift the dumbbells up in a scooping motion, bringing them up in front of you with arms extended. As your arms rise, bring your hands together toward the midline of your body, such that you end with your arms at chin level and weights less than shoulder-width apart. From the top of your motion, reverse direction and lower your arms back to the starting position. Note: You may do this exercise with one arm at a time if you wish. To do so, start with an entire set with one arm, and then do an entire set with the other arm. Alternating arms leaves too much rest time between repetitions for each arm. |
| Speed Single-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Presses | For this workout, do this exercise as quickly and powerfully as you can using lighter weights. Take a dumbbell in each hand and stand upright with your feet roughly hip-width apart. Keeping the weights near your body as you maneuver them, bring both hands just above your shoulders, with palms facing forward. Your elbows will be bent to the sides and down, so that, as nearly as possible, you have a vertical line from your elbows through your shoulders to your hands. Next, press your right hand straight up toward the ceiling, using your shoulder muscles to push the weight upward, until you reach full flexion with your arm nearly vertical above your head. From the fully flexed position, lower your arm back to the starting position, resisting the downward motion throughout, and being careful to bring your hand down in a fairly straight line—try not to swing your hand wide. Again from the starting position, repeat the dumbbell press with your left arm, while your right arm waits in the starting position. Continue to alternate throughout the set. |
| Speed Tube Shoulder Presses | Attach a heavy-weight exercise tube to a low point at or near floor level. Stand upright about four feet from the point of attachment, facing away with one handle of the tube held in each hand. Stagger your feet so that you have about two to three feet between your feet. Hold your upper arm parallel to the floor and out to the side. Keeping your back straight, lean forward slightly at the hips to ensure the tubes are taught and your shoulders are engaged. Your elbow will be sharply bent and your hands just above your shoulders with your palms facing forward. Next, swiftly push both hands up toward the ceiling at a diagonal parallel to your upper body until they meet with your arms fully extended. This should be a powerful motion, pushing through the resistance of the tube. From the fully extended position, reverse direction and lower your arms back to the starting position following the same trajectory, but resisting the pull of the tube even as you lower your hands. Do not pause at the bottom; push quickly into the next tube press. |
| EXERCISE IMAGES |
 |
Photo Credit: Nicolas Smith
