I have a great sense of humor and I don’t take myself too seriously. Life’s a lot easier (and a lot more fun) that way. But I don’t get it when guys use cheesy, smarmy pick up lines. Seriously, does that ever really work?
I was telling my son a story about gym creepers this weekend. He couldn’t believe that guys actually do this. I see this as a strong indication that I raised him right. Nine times out of ten, a polite, intelligent conversation will get you much further than staring and/or creepily following around a woman. Crazy, right? 😉
I’m always trying to learn something new. This also applies to my training. Over the years, I’ve injured my shoulders more times than I can remember. The shoulders are fragile. The shoulder joint is the least stable joint in the body and very complex. There are more than ten muscles that directly influence the way the shoulder moves, and that joint can move in pretty much every direction. The best way I’ve found to avoid injury (other than avoiding the full-contact sport a.k.a marriage) is to keep the muscles strong and balanced. I like to use time under tension as well as multiple angles to develop the shoulders.The research is clear: You can stimulate growth without the use of heavy loads by increasing the release of local growth factors during exercise.
When a muscle is contracting, blood flow into the muscle is restricted. Blood will rush in when the muscle relaxes. As long as the muscle is working and blood flow is restricted via muscular contraction, metabolites will build up in the muscle and this will lead to the release of local growth factors. To maximize growth factor stimulation, you need to create as much lactate build-up in the target muscle as possible. You need to have a high pain tolerance for this! Lactic acid accumulation through muscular work is maximized when the muscle is under tension for 45-70 seconds.
Superset 1: Multi-press complex
1. Seated Muscle Snatch (seated to avoid using the lower body)
2. Behind the Neck Press, Snatch Grip (seated)
3. Behind the Neck Press, Clean Grip (seated)
4. Savickas Press (military press seated on the floor with extended legs and no back support)
5. Bradford Press (standing)
Do 5 reps of each exercise, back to back with no rest in between. Three sets total, with about 90 seconds of rest between each set.
Superset 2: Dumbell Press arrange of Motion
1. 5 partial reps doing only the bottom half of the movement
2. 5 partial reps doing only the top half of the movement
3. 10 full reps
Again, 3 sets with 90 seconds rest in between.
Superset 3:
1. Shoulder Circles 10 reps front-to-back
2. Shoulder Circles 10 reps back-to-front
3. Scott Presses 6-8 reps (similar to Arnold Press)
4. Dumbbell Presses 6-8 reps
3 sets with 90 second rest in between.
Superset 4: Dumbell Raise Complex
1. Top-Half Front Raise (from parallel to the floor, to overhead) 4-6 reps
2. Lateral Raise 4-6 reps
3. ”Y” Lateral Raise with thumbs up 4-6 reps
4. Outside-In Raise 4-6 reps
3 sets total, 90 second rest.
Superset 5: Bus Drivers/Front raises
1. Bus Driver 6-8 reps per side
2. Front Raise dumbbells about 1-inch inside shoulder-width, 6 reps
3. Front Raise index finger in line with outside edge of deltoid, 6 reps
4. Front Raise wide grip, 3-4″ wider than shoulder width, 6 reps
I did this workout today and I could definitely feel the lactic acid buildup. Helpful tip: to drain the lactic acid from the shoulders more quickly, simply hang from a pull-up bar.
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