Upper Body

Back and core is one of my favorite combos! Everyone loved the first "Back & Core" so I figured it was time for a new one!

I work with many of my clients on their posture. People are stuck behind desks for hours on end, year after year. This creates terrible posture, muscle imbalances, pain and injuries. It is so important to strengthen the postural muscles regularly. Frequent activation is best. This 25 minute video takes you through some exercises, using light weights, and some foam rolling techniques. I highly recommend including this workout, or pieces of it, in your regular weekly routine. Even if you do just one of these moves, here and there, throughout the day, it will help. The key is frequent activation, and mind/muscle connection.

This 36 minute upper body routine focuses on the back and biceps. These are both pulling muscles so they go well together in a workout. You will need a heavy pair of dumbbells (I'm using 15 lbs) as well as an additional medium weight pair (I'm using 10 lbs). It is so important to strengthen the back muscles, so the first 20 minutes is devoted to working different parts of the back. The workout finishes with a killer bicep circuit and stretch. 

ATTENTION OFFICE WORKERS! If you sit at a desk all day, start bringing a band with you and doing these exercises throughout the day. Shoulder health is one of the biggest issues we face due to the majority of the population spending their days hunched over at a desk with anteriorly rotated shoulders. The average gym goer is bench pressing and overhead pressing without doing any mobility work. This leads to injuries and pain. The exercises in this workout will improve shoulder function, improve posture and also strengthen the upper back musculature and scapular muscles (posterior delts, rhomboids, low traps).

It's time for another drop sets workout for the upper body! This time we are hitting the larger muscle groups so you will be using heavier weights. Remember, the drop set technique is an effective way to drive the muscle towards failure, which is when you will see changes! Having a toned upper body comes from having MUSCLE!

I LOVE drop sets! I make sure to include them in my workout rotation. Drop sets are essentially a technique where you perform an exercise and then drop (reduce) the weight and continue for more reps until you reach failure. Drop sets are extremely effective. The reason why drop sets work is that in any given set you are only recruiting a certain amount of muscle fibers. By then stripping the weight down and going lighter you recruit different muscle fibers, which help the muscles achieve growth that couldn’t be achieved by sticking with the same weight. Drop sets allow you to continue a set beyond your normal limits. 

There are so many great exercises you can do with a stability ball. I decided to focus on the back and core for this 39 minute routine. I chose 4 of my favorite exercises to create the circuit. This circuit is repeated 4 times but you can repeat it only twice or 3 times if needed. You will need a ball and one heavy dumbbell (10-15 lbs). 

This 22 minute workout is all about the biceps! When training the biceps form is so important. It's all about that bicep burn! With these moves you will work the biceps to fatigue. I recommend having multiple pair of dumbbells handy to switch between in order to properly challenge the bicep muscles.

This 18 minute circuit workout is done completely on your back! This is a great option for those who work on their feet all day or if you're not feeling enough motivation to do a "tough, jumping" kind of a routine. I mean, it doesn't get much better than being able to lie down and workout!

I love training rear delts! When most people train their shoulders they will usually include exercises for the front deltoids, side deltoids, and the trapezius muscles, but the posterior deltoids are most often neglected. Strengthening your rear delts will help to keep your shoulders balanced and help to prevent a lot of shoulder injuries and rotator cuff problems. The rear delts have a tendency to be the weakest link in shoulder training and they affect posture so if you strengthen them you'll improve how you lift overall. Form is extremely important when trianing the rear delts so this workout is done in a controlled manner using light weights.

This is such a great combo! So many people are concerned with their front (the abs) but it's important to strengthen the back too. These circuits move quickly and switch between working the front of the body and the back. You will need 1 pair of dumbbells (I am using a pair of 10s). A bench is suggested but not required for this 30 minute workout.

This workout consists of chest superset, followed by a tricep superset. I move through these sets quickly in order to fatigue the muscles properly, so feel free to press pause and take longer breaks if needed. A stability ball is highly recommended but you can do all of these exercises on the floor or couch if you need to. You will need one set of dumbbells for this 24 minute routine. I am using a pair of 10s for the entire workout.