In Gym

Day 23 - Upper Body

1. Pullups / assisted pull-ups (3x5- 8)
2. Underhand Bent Over Row (3x10)
3. Wide Grip Pulldown (3x10)
4. Cable Machine Bicep Curl (3x10)
5. Barbell Bicep Curl 7,7,7 (21’s)

Pullups / Assisted Pullups

3 Sets of 5-8 Reps

1. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip and begin from a dead hang (arms fully extended, about shoulder width apart).
2. Engage your core and shoulder blades. The first initial movement should be pulling from your shoulder blades then pulling up towards the bar by bending at the arms.
3. Pause at the top of the exercise and then lower back down under control.
4. Pull ups are challenging so if this is too difficult use a resistance band for assistance. This is still challenging and a great way to build strength. Resistance bands are available in various sizes and thickness to help support your body weight to make the exercise possible. As you get stronger you can use the lighter resistance bands for less support. You can place the band under your knee or the bottom of your foot depending on how much slack you have from the band.
5. For more advanced pull ups, think about adding weight to your pull-ups.  

Underhand Bent Over Row

3 Sets of 10 Reps

1. Grab a barbell with an underhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
2. Lift the bar from the rack, bend forward at the hips, and keep the back straight with a slight bend in the knees.
3. Lower the bar towards the floor until the elbows are completely straight, and keep the back flat as the bar is pulled towards the belly button. Then slowly lower the bar to the starting position and repeat.

Wide Grip Pulldown

3 Sets of 10 Reps

1. Sit down facing the cable machine.
2. Extend your arms upwards to grab the bar at the widest grip position with your palms facing away from you. Your hands should be wider than shoulder width apart.
3. While slightly leaning back, brace your core, bring your shoulder blades down and back, and pull the bar down until it touches the top of your rib cage.
4. Pause briefly at the bottom, squeeze your lats, and slowly return to the starting position.

Cable Machine Bicep Curl

3 Sets of 10 Reps

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart.
2. Brace the abdominal muscles, straighten the back, keep the head steady.
3. Curl the cable weight upward toward the chest, breathing out. Only your forearms should move, rising up from the elbow. If you find yourself swaying, rounding or hollowing the back, jerking the shoulders, or moving the hips you may have to decrease the weight to control the movement.  
4. Hold at the top of the contraction for one second.
5. Unbend the arms at the elbow to let the cable weight return the arms to the lower resting position. Stop before the weights return to the stack, keeping the cable under tension.

Barbell Bicep Curl

7, 7, 7 (21 Reps)

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent to support your lower back.
2. Begin with the barbell hanging straight down in front of you on your thighs. You must keep your elbows in at your sides during the exercise. This exercise consists of 3 sets of repetitions. First, start curling up the barbell, once you reach the halfway point pause. Now lower the barbell back down to a fully extended position. Perform this for 7 reps.
3. Without pausing, curl the same weight all the way to the top, then lower the weight to the halfway point and back up again. Perform this for 7 reps.
4. Finally, perform 7 reps of full barbell curls from the bottom to the top.