Today we focused on back and biceps at the gym. For quite some time Kendra and I have been lifting lighter weight and more reps in order to induce more cardio. Now we are back in HEAVY lifting mode to increase those muscle gains! Here was our workout.
First we started with bent over rows.
You want to start with your feet together and knees slightly bent. Then bend over in order to pull the bar up and pinch those shoulder blades together.
Keep those elbows in and bring the bar to your belly button. If you are looking to burn more fat, use lighter weight and shoot for 15-20 reps. If you are looking to build muscle, lean up, and add shape, lift heavy for 8-10 reps (4 sets).
One thing about lifting heavy is that every woman is scared of it. Will you get big and bulky? NO!! It is SO hard to become big and bulky. You have to fight with a strict diet and protein supplements to be big and bulky. So what does lifting heavy do for women? It helps build more lean muscle mass which in turn, boosts your metabolism! This means that you burn calories at a higher rate. Especially 2 days following a really good lift day. This is because the muscle is repairing itself over the course of 2 days and your body needs more calories to do this.
Next we moved on to the lat pull down machine.
Here you want your back straight and a wide grip. Make sure you leg cushions are adjusted to keep your legs stable in the seated position. You don’t want to push up on your tip-toes to meet it.
Pull directly down towards your chest and again try to pinch those shoulder blades together as shown below.
Always shoot for 4 sets and depending on your weight do minimum 8-10 reps or max 15-20 reps.
Our next exercise was the seated row machine.
Make sure your legs are slightly bent and your chest is pressed up against the padding as shown above.
You do not want your chest to leave that pad as you row. If you are leaning back away from that pad in order to row, that amount of weight is too heavy for you and your form is diminishing. Form is VERY important for a good workout and to avoid gym injuries.
Really try to pinch those shoulder blades as you row to get the full benefit of the exercise.
On to the bicep exercises!
Here we start with hammer curls. Your goal is to keep your elbows in and bring the dumbbell directly up to the front of your shoulder.
If you are swinging the weight to get into this position, it’s too heavy for you. Also, if your elbows are moving outwards away from your side, the weight is too heavy for you.
Tip for feeling the burn: stop your dumbbell at the bottom for a second or two before lifting it. This helps you to make sure you are not swinging the weight in order to get it back up.
Regular curls were next. You can do this exercise with dumbbells or a barbell. Again, you want to slow down the movement and keep your elbows tucked in to prevent swinging.
Keeping those arms tucked in all the way.
And ending it at the chest.
Now for our last bicep exercise, we did 21s. This is 7 reps of a full curl shown above…
Then we do 7 half reps from bottom to middle.
Then we do 7 reps from middle to top.
This totals up your set to equal 21 reps. Always do 4 sets.
This completes our back and bicep day! Hopefully this guide was helpful to you. If you have any questions or requests, please comment below! If you found this post helpful, please share using the social media icons below!