Warm Up Exercise
Odd Week Warm Up: I start off with deadlift,
the wide grip pull downs, and finish with hammer strength
rows. I always make sure to stretch as part of warm up.
Below is how I warmup to doing 385lbs on the deadlift.
- Warmup with 12 reps using just the bar
- Load 1 plate (135lbs) and perform 10 reps
- Load 1 more plate (225lbs) and perform 6 reps
- Load 1 more plate (315lbs) and perform 2 reps
- Load the remaining weight and perform the regular three
full sets
Resting during deadlifts: during my deadlift
workouts, I rest slightly longer than normal in between
my deadlift sets. Normally I rest 2 to 3 minutes, which
some may think is too long already, but for resting in between
deadlifts, I like to rest 3 to 4 minutes. I go all out when
doing deadlifts, and I find that resting slightly longer
than normal allows me to recuperate more, and be able to
perform each set at peak intensity.
Even Week Warm Up: For the even weeks,
I started each workout with weighted chinups - initially,
I used just my body weight, and eventually worked up to
using 25lb plates. This is followed with barbell rows, shrugs,
seated rows, and close grip pull downs (which was only done
during week 6, I guess I just felt like doing it.) Here's
how I warmed up after stretching:
- Grab a hold of the chin up bar, and let yourself hang,
and you will feel your lats being stretched - hold the
position for 15 to 20 seconds. Do this 3 to 4 times.
- Perform 6 quick reps of chin ups, and a few partial
reps (not going all the way up)
- Then continue to perform regular chin ups with the added
weight
Chin ups is not as easy as it sounds, especially for beginners.
At first, some of you may have trouble doing your own body
weight. If your gym has a chin up machine where the machine
helps lighten the load, use that and slowly work your way
up. Or, if your gym does not have one of those machines,
cross your feet with your legs bent, and get a spotter to
support you at the knee area, and perform your reps with
assistance.
My GF workouts out with me everyday, and follows almost
the same weight lifting routine as I do. When she first
started doing chin ups, I had to provide quite a bit of
support - enough so she can at least do 8 reps. Now, she
can do 1 rep by herself. It may not sound like allot, but
I think its a very nice improvement. As for me, by the end
of 6 week,s I was able to do 10 reps (maybe more) with an
added 25lbs.
Chin up is one of the best exercises you can do to develop
width in your back, so if you're not doing it, then you
should start. As for back thickness, exercises like bent
over barbell rows, close grip pull downs, and seated rows
are excellent for developing a thick back.
A note about shrugs: Shrugs are performed
to develop the trapezius muscle, which connects your shoulders
and your back. Its the the triangle shaped muscles in the
middle of your back, and looking from the front with a most
muscular pose - its those 2 bulging chunks to the sides
of your neck just above your shoulders. There's not a ton
of exercises you can do other than barbell shrugs, dumbbell
shrugs, and using some sort of machine.
You can either work your traps on your shoulder days, or
back days - I had worked it in with the even week back days
during these 6 weeks, just because it fitted in best for
my schedule.
Weight Lifting Wrist Straps (lifting
straps)
Don't be shy about using these! Especially for deadlifts
and shrugs. Sure, I hear people say everyday that "oh,
but I want to develop my forearms"... etc. etc. etc...
But you know what? They get so focused on working on their
grip strength that they lose the focal point, which is to
go as heavy as you can doing deadlifts, and unless your
born with amazing genetics, your forearms are likely ALLOT
weaker than your lower back and legs to be able to hoist
a few hundred pounds.
Just ask yourself this, "do you think your back and
legs will give out sooner hoisting 400lbs, or will your
forearms give out sooner?"
There you go. That's your answer. ;-) So don't ever "under-work"
your body by using light enough weights just so your forearms
can grip and hold it. After all, this is NOT a forearm workout.
So, don't lose focus, and use those lifting straps! Your
forearms are almost worked everyday during most exercises.
For example, holding dumbbells, barbells, doing chin ups,
pull downs, bicep curls, and the list just goes on. Besides
you can set a little time aside each week to work on your
forearms.
Now, I'm not say that you should use straps for everything,
that would just be lame. I see people in the gym who almost
always have wrist strap on - they use it when they do pull
downs, chin ups, and so on. That's pretty dumb. The only
time you should ever use wrist straps is for heavy deadlifting,
and heavy shrugs.
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to part 8 (Deltoid muscles)
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