Shoulders, Biceps, and Triceps

I know you are probably wondering why we are doing shoulders again. For a majority of people, the shoulder is a very weak area. That goes especially for me and Cory for some reason. We will probably be working our shoulders more to get them at an equal level with the rest of our upper body muscles. If you feel that your shoulders are in good shape, or you are still sore, you can choose to skip the shoulder exercises and just do the arms.

10 minute warm-up on treadmill
     - Pace: 3.5  Incline: 7.0

Dumbbell shoulder press
     - 2 warm-up sets followed by 3 sets of 10-12 reps
     - The best thing to remember with these is not to come down too far. Your arms need to be making right angles and the dumbbell should be at ear level when you come down. Make sure you sit up straight too. Don't hunch your back when doing these.

Rear fly machine
     - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
     - This is the new exercise we did the other day. Keep your back straight on these too. Good form creates better results.

Front raises
     - 1 set of Tabata
     - Here we go again! These were brutal. I didn't think either one of us was going to make it but we did. We have done front raises before but with dumbbells. Today we used a plate. You can still use dumbbells if you prefer. Here is what the exercise looks like.

Starting position

Ending position

     - Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the weight resting. Raise the plate straight up until it is eye level. Keeping doing this for 20 seconds then take your 10 second rest. Do this until your 8 sets are finished. Here I am using a 10lb plate. If you use dumbbells I suggest 5lbs or less for each hand.
     - If you have a smart phone I recommend downloading a Tabata timer to help you keep track. If you don't have a phone; I have counted before and about 10-15 reps takes 20 seconds depending on your speed.

Dumbbell curls
     - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
     - Ladies, remember to keep your palms up when your are curling. Guys, you are best off doing a hammer curl with dumbbells and a regular curl with a barbell.

Tricep extension
     - 3 sets 10-12 reps
     - Just as a refresher, this is the exercise where you lay on your back and bring the dumbbell over your head and back up again. Keep the weight at a comfortable level for you. I have been doing these a while and I'm still only doing 8lbs.

Cable curls and cable push down
     - 1 super-set max reps
     - A super-set is where you work opposing muscles in the same set.
     - Start with the curls and do max reps. Immediately start doing the push downs until you can't do any more as well.

Notes from Courtney: It's a good bet that I will be sore from the Tabata tomorrow. I have not pushed my shoulder muscles that hard in a while. If you are sore the next day that is a good thing in my opinion! It means those muscles are still growing and you are pushing yourself during those workouts. Next week I will be posting more pictures of the workouts we do so that you can have a refresher course. We change it up every week so I know it might get a little confusing. You can always hit me up if you ever have any questions for me or Cory.

I have been getting a lot of good feed back from this blog, and I appreciate everyone who has been encouraging me to keep writing.