This was my most favorite shoulder workout ever! Normally I’m not one to get excited about a shoulder workout but I did a couple of new-to-me exercises which made it pretty fun. A lot of women neglect working out the shoulders and they seem to concentrate more on the larger muscle groups (or just cardio..) but be careful to remember to include shoulder-specific exercises in your workout program.
I also did a bit of ab work and finished up with some interval training that left me feeling like I was gonna vomit ~ Biggest Loser style. Guess that’s what I get for not doing it for a couple weeks.
Shoulder Workout
- Barbell Overhead Press: 3 sets x 10 reps (last set to failure)
- Upright Row: 2 sets x 10 reps (last set to failure)
- Lateral Raise: 2 sets x 10 reps (last set to failure)
- Renegade Row: 2 sets x 10 reps (last set to failure)
*I performed the first 3 exercises on my Step 360 to work the core in there a bit more.
**If you aren’t sure what a renegade row is it’s an exercise that targets the middle back but also works the back of the shoulders (rear delts). You perform the exercise in the push-up position except your hands will be on dumbbells resting on the floor. Alternating arms, simply row one arm up, set back down and switch to row the other arm.
Ab Workout
- Decline Crunch: 2 sets x 30 reps
- The end. That’s all I did for abs because the renegade rows gave them quite the workout!
Cardio Workout: Interval Training
- Warm-up
- Intervals using a 1:2 ratio (sprint @ 9mph for 1 minute, walk for 2 minutes)
- Cool-down
I haven’t done intervals using this ratio before but I decided to after reading about it in The New Rules of Lifting for Women. If you haven’t read this book, you’re missing out. I’m only on about Chapter 6 I think and I’ve already learned so much.
I can’t wait to go to bed, I’ma sleep like a baby!
Angela Cavanaugh says
We loved this article so much that we featured it on out facebook! Thanks so much!
Angela
http://thepulsenetwork.com/style-and-fashion/the-look/
Melinda F says
Thanks Angela!
Melinda F says
Thank you Michael! :)
anne says
how long do you recommend doing the intervals? i’ve read 20 minutes is sufficient for intervals – but not sure if that should include the warmup/cooldown. thanks!
Melinda F says
It pretty much depends on your current fitness level and your actual work/rest ratio during your intervals. For example, if you’re a beginner, you might want to start with 15 minutes of actual intervals doing 30 second sprints, 90 seconds recovery and then at least 3 minutes each for warm up and cool down. If you’re advanced, you can easily do 30 second sprint, 30 second recovery intervals for up to 30 minutes if you want to, etc.
For the actual time that you’re doing intervals for, I find 15-20 minutes to be sufficient. If you can push farther, go for it!