Exercises to Strengthen and Tone Your Upper Body

 Four great exercises to tone and shape your upper body.
On all of the following exercises I recommend that you do 2 to 3 sets of 10 repetitions.  Use a resistance with which the last 3 repetitions are difficult to complete.  Do this routine 2 times each week, with at lease 2 days between sessions.

Dumbbell Chest Press. The dumbbell chest press is a great exercise to shape and tone your chest and shoulders.  Lay with your back firmly on a bench, start with the dumbbells at chest level then press your arms to straight.

Dumbbell Chest Press Start

The Dumbbell row is great for strengthening and shaping your upper back.  Position your body on a bench as shown.  Start with your arm fully extended, pull the dumbbell up to armpit level and squeeze your shoulder toward your spine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dumbbell Row Start

The Biceps curl is great for strengthening and shaping your arms fully extended at you side as shown below.  Curl your hands to your waist while keeping your elbows close to your body.

Biceps Curl Start

 

Triceps Press down is great for shaping the back of your arms. Use the rope attachment and start with your hands upper chest level as shown. Press your arms to complete extension while keeping your elbows close to your body.

Triceps Press down Start

Triceps Press down Finish

As with any fitness routine, healthy eating is the most crucial part to see maximum results.  The eating plan that I recommend to my clients is Qivana's Metaboliq system.  My clients have great results following this system.  You can find out more information by following this link:  Metaboliq

Try Giant Sets When You Are Stressed For Time

Image via WikipediaEver have one of those days or weeks when it seems like you just don't have an extra minute to spare?  You've been doing so well with your fitness program and you want to workout, but you don't have an hour to spend at the gym.  So, what do you do, skip your workout and feel guilty, or skip some other thing you had planned  and feel bad about that also?

Giant sets is the answer to your problem.  Giant sets is a training method in which you do three or more exercises, one after the other, with no rest in between.  The idea is to do a series of exercises in a row, take a brief rest period and then repeat the sequence for your desired number of sets.  This is a good way to get an excellent workout done in a short amount of time (usually under 30 minutes).

I like to design my giant sets to hit the following major muscle groups; back, chest, and legs.  I typically do 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise for 3 complete sets with no more than 60 seconds rest between sets.  Here's what one of my giant sets looks like:

• Back, lat pulldowns or seated low rows
• Chest, flat dumbbell presses or pushups
• Legs, barbell squats or walking lunges

3 sets of the above workout only takes about 20 minutes to complete, but I assure you it is effective.  If the workout seems too easy, increase your resistance, and if it's too hard, decrease your resistance.  Try it out and let me know what you think.

Not Your Typical 52 Year Old's Exercise Program

Let start this post by stating that I'm 52 years old and I've been lifting weights for most of my adult life.  I'm as strong (actually stronger), and I feel as good as I did 30 years ago.  I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall, and I weigh in at 218 lbs at 10 percent body fat.  I'm not telling you this to brag on myself, but hopefully to change your concept of aging.

I'm an ACE certified personal trainer and I specialize in fitness over the age of 40.  I hear and see far too many people over 40 years of age blame their aches, pains, and poor physical condition on "getting old", when most of their physical calamities are the result of years of inactivity and bad lifestyle choices.

I believe that getting old has less to do with years and more to do with your attitude and the daily choices you make.  Imagine your body being healthy, strong, and fit as you grow older and this will lead you to make the healthy choices to manifest the the healthy, strong, and fit life you want no matter what age.

What's more compelling than an example to show you that you can be healthy, strong, and fit in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.  Here is my workout routine I did yesterday. It was a heavy lifting day for my shoulders and back, so I did the following:

• Lateral shoulder raises, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 60 lb dumbbells.
• Overhead shoulder presses, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 80 lb dumbbells.
• Shoulder shrugs, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 315 lbs.
• Bent over dumbbell rows, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with a 150 lb dumbbell.
• Weighted pullups, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 35 lbs attached to my waist.
• Lat pulls, 3 sets of 5 repetitions with 270 lbs.

This is not your typical 52 year old's workout, but it could be.

If You Are Over 50, You Can Be Stronger In 10 Years Than You Are Now

Image via WikipediaLately I've noticed a lot of fitness videos and programs aimed at those of us over the age of 50.  It seems that these programs have good intentions, however the exercises and fitness routines they recommend are more geared toward people in retirement communities.  Just because you are over 50, you don't have to decrease your exercise intensity to the point of working out with resistance bands and light weight dumbbells.

If you are in poor physical condition, using resistance bands, and light weights is a place to start in your quest to improve your health and fitness level, but it isn't a place for you to stay for very long.  The ripe young age of 50 is where you really need to concentrate on building and maintaining your muscle mass and the best way to do this is with strength training.

Building muscle is important because you naturally start to lose your muscle mass at a rate of about 1 lb per year beginning in your 40s.   Muscle is that component of your body that makes your joints strong, keeps your metabolism high (which makes losing weight easier), and helps you remain youthful and strong.

Regular strength training can slow and even reverse muscle loss.  Studies have shown that people in their 80s and 90s can build muscle and get stronger by weight lifting.  I'm a firm believer in regular weight lifting.

I'm in my fifties and I've been weight lifting for over 30 years.  I'm stronger and more fit than I was in my 20s.  If you are over 50, starting a regular strength training program is one of the most important things you can do for your fitness.  If you start now, by the time you are in your 60s you can say, "I'm stronger now than I was 10 years ago."  Wouldn't that be awesome?






 

Two Great Exercises To Develop Strong Sexy Shoulders

Arnold Press- Middle

Arnold Press - Start

Whether you are male or female you always look sexier with strong sculpted shoulders.  Here are two basic exercises that will strengthen and develop your shoulders.

Arnold Presses

Arnold Presses made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger strengthens and develops your shoulders.  This is one of my favorite exercises.  Use a bench that has a back support to do this exercise.  Sit upright, hold a dumbbell in each hand close together at nose height with your palms facing in.  This is your start position.  Rotate your palms forward while bringing the dumbbells back to your ears and press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are fully extended.  Now, bring the dumbbells back down to ear level and return to your start position.  Exhale as you rotate the dumbbells forward and press up and inhale as you bring them back to the start position.

Arnold Press - Finish

Lateral Dumbbell Raises

Following Arnold Presses, I do lateral dumbbell raises to sculpt my shoulders.  Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of you.  Position your feet shoulder width, slightly bend your knees, and hold your chest high.  This is your starting position.  Bend your elbows slightly and raise your hands out to your sides about shoulder height with your palms facing down then return to your starting position.  Be careful to that your forearm and your elbow at the same level at the finish of this movement.  Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you raise your arms up and inhale as you return to start.

Lateral Raise - Finish

Lateral Raise - Start

I recommend beginners do 2 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise and those more advanced do 3 sets of 10 repetitions of each.  Remember to use a resistance with which the last 3 repetitions are difficult to complete.  Add these two movements to your fitness routine for strong and sexy looking shoulders.

Exercise of the Week; The Dumbbell Row

The dumbbell row is a good alternative to the seated row that I mentioned in one of my earlier posts. It it is a great exercise to strengthen and develop the muscles of the upper back.

Hold a dumbbell in one hand, and place the opposite knee on a bench. Lean forward, and place your other hand on the bench. Step to your side with the other leg bending your knee slightly. Proper form is very important on this exercise, so be careful that your lower back is not rounded. Hold the dumbbell fully extended beneath your shoulder. This is your starting position. Now, slowly pull the dumbbell to underarm height, squeeze your shoulder blade toward your spine and return slowly to the start position. The breathing pattern is to exhale as you pull the dumbbell toward you and inhale as you return to start.

I recommend that beginners do 2 sets of 10 repetitions of this exercise and those who are more experienced do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Exercise of the Week; Lateral Dumbbell Raise

The lateral dumbbell raise develops and strengthens your shoulders. Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of you. Position your feet shoulder width, slightly bend your knees, and hold your chest high. This is your starting position. Bend your elbows slightly and raise your hands out to your sides about shoulder height with your palms facing down then return to your starting position. Be careful to keep your forearm and your elbow at the same level at the finish of this movement. Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you raise your arms up and inhale as you return to start.

Combine this exercise with the 3 previous (lat pulldown, seated low row, and dumbbell chest press) exercises for a routine that works all the major muscle groups of your upper body. Do this routine 2 times each week to keep your upper body tone and strong.

If you are new to weight lifting do 1 to 2 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise. If you have some experience with strength training do 3 to 4 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise.

Exercise of the Week; The Dumbbell Chest Press

The dumbbell chest press is one of the best exercises for developing and strengthening the muscles of your chest and the front of your shoulders. Again, you will have to experiment to select the proper weight to use. Pickup a dumbbell in each hand and sit on the end of a bench. Place the dumbbells end -up on your knees, then lay back on the bench and position the dumbbells at your sides at chest height; this is your start position. Press the dumbbells up over your chest until your arms are fully extended being careful not to lock your elbows. Slowly return the dumbbells to the start position. Your breathing pattern is to exhale as you press up and inhale as you return to the starting position.

If you are new to strength training, do 2 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight that the last 2 repetitions are difficult to complete. If you have been strength training for a while, do 3 sets of 10 repetitions with a weight that the last 3 repetitions are difficult to complete.