Tag Archives: rear delts

Hitchhiker Pushup

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HOME EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

The Hitchhiker Pushup is a great variation of the pushup that’s going to work your chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and upper back. This exercise is much more challenging than a regular pushup so start off slow until you get the move down and if you have trouble doing the full pushup, you can start with the modified from-the-knees version. 

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Hitchhiker Pushup.

  • start by getting in to a full pushup position with your hands and feet wider than your shoulders and keep your hands in line with your chest
  • squeeze your abs and your glutes to keep your body nice and straight and to prevent your hips from dropping
  • now lower your body down towards the floor until you’re almost touching while keeping your arms at about a 45 degree angle from your body
  • push back up and once you have returned to the starting position, extend your right arm and thumb up while bracing your abs until you feel a nice squeeze on your upper back and rear shoulders
  • lower your arm back down to the floor and repeat your pushup
  • now you will extend your left arm and thumb up once you have returned back to the starting position after the pushup
  • keep alternating arms after each pushup for your desired amount of reps or time
  • to perform the slightly easier version, do your pushup from your knees and then lift your knees off the floor and come up on your toes to do the arm raise

So there you have the Hitchhiker Pushup. Try this variation of the traditional pushup and let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Lunge Hold Shoulder Fly

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HOME EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

The Lunge Hold Shoulder Fly is a great full body exercise that is going to target your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, core, rear shoulders, and the major upper back muscles including your rhomboids and trapezius muscles. The leg muscles will be worked isometrically while the rear delts and upper back muscles will be worked concentrically and eccentrically. You can give yourself even more of a challenge with this exercise by holding a dumbbell or weighted item in each hand.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Lunge Hold Shoulder Fly.

  • start by stepping one foot forward and one foot back until you have a nice wide stance with your toes pointed forward
  • stand nice and tall and flex your abs to provide stability to your upper body
  • now bend at both knees and lower your body straight down until your legs are at 90 degree angles
  • keep your weight on your front heel as you lower your body and don’t let your front knee move forward past your toes (keep it in line with your front toes or slightly behind)
  • from this lunge position, raise your arms up to shoulder height in front of you
  • hold the lunge and slowly bring your straight arms out to your side while getting a good squeeze in your upper middle back (pretend you are grabbing something with your shoulder blades and back muscles to get a really good contraction)
  • return your arms out to the front and repeat the motion for your desired amount of reps or time while maintaining the lunge position
  • now switch legs and repeat the same amount of reps or time for that side

So there you have the Lunge Hold Shoulder Fly. It’s challenging and your legs and shoulders will be burning but it will be worth it. 

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Two Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row

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Hey there, it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week!  This time I have a dumbbell exercise for you called the Two Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row.  This is a great compound exercise to work your lats, rhomboids, rear delts, traps, and biceps.

If you don’t have a set of dumbbells that’s ok, you can use any two objects that are equally balanced like a couple of water jugs.

Let’s take a look at how to do the Two Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row properly.

  • hold a dumbbell or heavy object in each hand and stand with your feet about shoulder width apart
  • bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward by bending at the waist
  • keep bending forward while keeping your back as straight as possible until your torso is almost parallel to the floor
  • from this bent over position, exhale and pull the dumbbells up and towards you while keeping your elbows tucked in to your sides
  • squeeze your back muscles and your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement
  • pause for a second and then inhale and lower the weights to the starting position
  • repeat for your desired repetitions

So there you have the Two Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row.  This is one of the best compound exercises for you back and you will build a lot of strength and help prevent a lot of back injuries with this exercise.

Let me know how you do with this one in the comment section below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!