F U N  F E A R L E S S  F I T N E S S . C O M
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Chest and Back

Pairing opposing muscle groups is a great strategy for maximum workload.  But please, be prepared to work hard.

Today was Chest & Back - lifting hard and heavy with big exercises that challenged all the appropriate muscles.

The basic scheme of today's workout alternated exercises - meaning that no body part was left 'til I was fatigued. And this scheme allows adequate rest both between sets and exercises - meaning maximum performance.  (The weights listed below are what I used.)




Warmup: Set of chinups followed by dips - to just short of failure
Flat dumbbell - 4 sets of 6-8 (50's)
Barbell row - 4 sets of 8-10 (115)
Incline barbell - 4 sets of 8 (85)
Lat pulldown - 4 dropsets with total of ~ 12 reps each (from 120 to 90lbs)
Cable chest fly
4 Tri-sets: Behind-neck pulldown + Low-back extension + pushups. 10-15 reps of each.





Leaving the gym with muscles pumped, I felt confident that this workout was a good one!!


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Chest and Biceps

This was a goood workout - not too long but plenty intense. Today in the weightroom I did chest and biceps - two of most weightlifter's favorite "mirror muscles." Of course, we won't be ignoring the rest of the body, but sometimes it is fun to see the results right in front of us, literally.

Beginning with flat dumbbell chest press - a pyramid of sets starting with 40lb weights and moving up to 45's and then 50's before working back down again. Reps ranged from 6 to 12. (A spotter was required on the 50's to aid the first and last rep. This is an example of a good time to work out with a reliable friend.)

Next up, incline presses with dumbbells. 4 sets with 40lb weights - reps about 10 each time. On the fifth set, 8 reps with 40's then immediately picking up a set of 30's and repping to exhaustion (approximately another 10). A dropset like this fatigues the muscles - the burn was painfully great. The trick is to lower the weight 1 or 2 reps before reaching failure. (If the goal had been to continue the dropset, I would have stopped with the 30's after 8 reps, then grabbed 25's and continued repping. This method takes a good deal of fortitude, however.)

On to cable flys - reps are a little bit higher here ranging from 10-12. To increase difficulty, each set of flys was supersetted with pushups on a bosu.

Chest pleasantly tight and with a good pump, I moved on to biceps, beginning with dropsets of barbell curls. the 4 sets followed a general pattern of using 50lbs for 5-8 reps followed immediately by another 5 reps with 40lbs.  Then 4 sets of alternating dumbbell curls following the same rep pattern of 25's repped to just-short of failure and followed by more reps with 20's. In this workout, I added difficulty and increased the metabolic cost by supersetting pushups between each set of dumbbell curls. Try at your own risk.

As a finishing touch, I moved to the preacher curl machine (note that this is the only actual fixed-motion machine used) and did 4 sets of full ROM curls. Between each set, instead of taking a rest period, I lowered the weight and did reverse curls on the
preacher bench. Forearm flexors burning, the workout was finally complete.

Today's workout was a mashup of pushing and pulling muscles - Chest being a pushing  movement and Biceps a pulling. This pattern will be continued in my bodypart split this month of September as Back and Triceps are paired in a later workout.


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Back and Triceps


Freemotion lat pulldown.
Warmup + 5 sets of 5-8 @ 100lbs + 1 dropset of 5 each @ 100lbs, 90lbs, and 80lbs
4 sets assisted pullups
1-arm dumbbell row (45lbs) superset with unweighted lumbar extension for 15 reps (4 sets)
E-z curl-bar skullcrushers. 50lbs for 6 reps + 40 lbs for another 5-7
Close-grip pushups (sets of 10) with front plank between sets
Tricep pushdown superset with unilateral kickbacks (20 or 25lb dumbbell)
3 sets of assisted dips supersetted with assisted chinups (if machine not available substitute either full dips and chins or perform other exercises).


So that was Back-and-Triceps day. If Chest/Biceps was a "mirror-muscles" workout, this one focused on the parts of the body that are more commonly forgotten or skimped on. This is unfortunate because the posterior muscles of the body are some of the largest and most important for posture and function.

If some people shy away from training their back with sufficient intensity and focus because they forget about it, others avoid this workout because of pain and fear of injury. Back pain is a common complaint, especially for people who spend their days in front of a desk or computer. Practicing good posture (head up, shoulders back and down, sitting up from the hips instead of sinking into them) will improve both physcial appearance and physical function. Generally, many of these aches and weaknesses can be alieviated through a sensible weightlifting program as well as good lifting practices outside of the gym. Of course, the reverse is also true - lifting incorrectly in the gym can cause or worsen painful lumbar injuries.

When training your back, try to follow some common-sense suggestions:  Avoid unsupported flexion (forward bending, especially with a heavy load).  For this reason, lumbar extensions are performed in this workout without any added weight. Twisting or rotating movements can lead to disc problems. Keep back flat or with a slight natural arch (avoid any hunching or rounding of the upper back, in particular). Following these suggestions will help to keep you injury-free. You'll also get the most muscular benefit from your training.


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Shoulders and Abs

Welcome to the weight room! Today was one of the shorter workouts of the cycle, but it moved fast and was effective at exhausting my shoulders as well as calves and abs.  Yes, calves get worked twice in this bodypart split.

 Here's how it went down:

5 sets of seated dumbbell presses (Warmup + 4 working sets @ 30lbs for 8-12 reps.)

4 sets of lateral raises. Each set begins with 6-8 reps using 20lb dumbbells. move
immediately to 15's for an additional 5-7 reps. A great burn for those delts!

Seated reverse dumbbell fly using 20's for 10 reps supersetted with standing arnold press for 8 reps. In my humble opinion, one of the more effective supersets in this workout.


If desired, now would be a good time to do some front raises (see above) - using dumbbells, a barbell, or a cable attachment. I sometimes skip front raises since the front delts tend to be overworked by activities of daily life (and they get a workout during chest day as well). But to each his/her own.

Next up, another superset. Upright rows in the Smith machine + standing calf raises. I was lucky enough to have usage of both Smith machines in the deserted gym today so one was loaded with about 100lbs for calves and the other with 20lbs (plus the weight
of the bar) for upright rows. If both Smith machines had not been available for usage, the choices would have been to change the weights between each set or simply do the exercises sequentially. But since space was available today, I made good and sweaty
use of it, moving rapidly between calf raises (20 or more reps) and upright rows (8-12 reps).

 One more exercise for calves on the seated machine. 5 sets of approximately 15 reps apiece to really burn those muscles.

Only one last task on the agenda today and that was abdominals. Notice that they are left for last in the workout. This is on the principle that the abs function as a sort of girdle, providing much-needed stability for each other exercise in the workout. Thought
about this way, it makes sense to not fatigue the stabilizers until the end of the workout. And fatigue them we will.

I like to train abs with a circuit of several exercises that combine isometric and dynamic motions. 
  • 1) Reverse curls are performed on either a flat bench or the floor. Either way, arms should be extended behind the head, grasping a sturdy object or the bench itself. Hips lift (legs can be bent or, for added difficulty, straight) with a forceful exhalation.  
  • 2) Crunch on decline bench. Relatively self-explanatory. Do make certain to protect the lower back by keeping abs super-tight and not going all the way down between reps. Back should remain flat or with a slight natural curvature - but not a hunch or forward flexion.
  • 3) Bicycle on the floor. To really target obliques try to not pull on the head or shoulders too much - all movement should be initiated from the waist down. Remember, you aren't exercising your neck!!
  • 4) Front plank on stability ball. Forearms on the ball, feet on the floor, body in one long line. Hold for 60 seconds. Yes sir. Please remember to breathe.
  • 5) Side plank. Similar to above except that bent elbow is on the floor and feet are stacked. This exercise targets the oblique muscles. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds per side. And no saggy midsections!!

And there you have it. With a sense of accomplishment, you'll leave the gym a better, stronger, and certainly sweatier person.

Note about the philosophy: You may notice that the rep ranges for shoulder exercises are somewhat higher than those for other body parts. Yes, skeptic, there is a method to the madness. The shoulder joint is not only important for most every upper-body exercise (try working your chest or back without using your shoulders . . . Yeah, not too easy), it is also comparatively delicate. Lifting heavy weight/low reps always does carry some risk of strain or other compromising injury and I, always cautious, would prefer to train with slightly lighter reps (i.e., not maximal effort) for more reps with a strict eye on maintaining proper form. So there ;)


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