Tag Archives: trapezius

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!

TRX Power Pull

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Hey there, it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week.  This time I have a great TRX exercise for you to try called the TRX Power Pull.

The TRX Power Pull is a unilateral back exercise that targets your upper back muscles including the rear deltoids and trapezius.  You will also be working your biceps and obliques.  

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the TRX Power Pull.

  • grab one handle of the TRX with your right hand
  • keep your toes pointed forward towards the anchor point of the TRX and lean back until your right arm is fully extended
  • keep you right arm raised to shoulder height
  • from this extended arm position rotate your body to the left and reach behind you with your left arm
  • now rotate back to center while pulling your body up with your right arm
  • keep your right elbow high and in line with your upper back while reaching and tapping the TRX strap with your left arm
  • squeeze the muscles of the back at the top of this movement and then extend back out 
  • complete your desired amount of reps or time and then repeat the movement for the other side to finish your set

So there you have the TRX Power Pull.  It can be tricky to get the hand of this movement but once you do it’s fun and very effective.

Let me know how you do with this one in the comment section below and if you don’t have a TRX then I highly recommend getting one.  They can be used anywhere and there are tons of exercises you can do with it.

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!