Tag Archives: rhomboids

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!

Sea Turtle

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In case you just quickly read the title of this post I’m not actually going to be talking about Sea Turtles!  As cute as they are, this is a fitness website…not a wildlife one. 😉

What I am going to discuss here is the Sea Turtle exercise for the Home Exercise of the Week.

I would say this is an easier exercise compared to some of the exercises I have shown in the past but it is still very effective and will help strengthen your lower back muscles.  Along with the erector spinae muscles, you will be working your glutes, posterior deltoids (rear shoulder), rhomboids (middle back), and trapezius (large muscle that spans the neck, shoulders, and back).

Some key points to remember when doing the Sea Turtle:

  • keep your head up off the floor and in line with your spine
  • laying on your stomach can make it hard to breath but try not to hold your breath
  • squeeze your shoulder blades together when bringing your arms out to the side
  • perform at a nice even pace…not too fast, not too slow.  A good speed would be two seconds out then two seconds in

Try doing a couple sets of 20 repetitions to start off with then as you get comfortable with the movement, try a couple timed sets of as many Sea Turtles as you can do in 20 – 30 seconds.

So there you have the Sea Turtle!  It’s not just a cute animal anymore but an effective back and butt exercise!