A lot of my customers, young and old, talk with me about their “P90X” and Cross Fit workouts. While I have seen each of these workouts in action, I haven’t actually tried either. What I have tried, and what I have found to be very effective is a series of workouts developed by my nephew and brother-in-law, Robbie and Bob of Colorado (the Colorado Workouts). Robbie is a senior in college studying sports physiology and competes in “all-natural” body building events.
Stronger Shoulders!
The key to the Colorado workouts is that one can use as light a weight as they need to achieve the number of reps recommended. Form and reps are the key to success.
Robbie provided me with five workouts to be done each week. One per day with two days off or for a good cardio burn…run, basketball, elliptical, or my favorite…the old-fashioned stair master…the one with the treads. This routine works five separate muscle groups once/week. The groups are: shoulders, back, arms, chest, legs.
I’ll post each workout separately, starting this week with “shoulders”. Each will have some links to videos that show proper form. A great website that should provide good tutorials if you are unsure of an exercise is Link to Exercise Guide
Before starting, I also have found that it is advisable to invest in a good protein shake and if older like I, a drink with some L-Glutamine for muscle recovery. Again, my nephew, who studies this as his major in college, recommended Max Muscle’s IsoExtreme. It is mixed with water, tastes like a gatorade product, and helps to provide some energy during the workout and really helps with post-workout crashing. I purchase mine from a distributor in Connecticut who doesn’t charge for shipping and gives you the second tub at 50% off. If you are working out 5 x’s per week, this is a very attractive price structure. Robbie recommended I take one scoop with 8-10 oz. of water 1 hour before a workout and 2 scoops with water immediately after a workout. Link to Connecticut Max Muscle Dealer Website
Shoulders:
- 4-6 sets of rear delts on the peck deck machine (sit facing the machine) 15 reps
- 5 sets seated shoulder press (on either a machine or smith machine) 15 reps
- 5 sets seated dumb bell presses 15 reps; super set with seated bent over dumb bell lateral raise 15 reps (rear delt exercises including above on peck deck shown here: http://getthisripped.com/exercise/rear-deltoid-exercises
- 4 sets upright rows (or can do front lateral dumb bells raises some workouts too) super set with side lateral dumb bell raise 15 reps
- 4 sets of seated side lateral raise on machine 15 reps (example here: http://worldfitnessnetwork.com/exercises/shoulders/machine-laterals.aspx)
- 5 sets shoulder shrugs; use machine or straight bar with weight; super set with dumb bells and lighter weight for full range of motion. For this exercise, I use the heaviest barbell or dumbbells I can handle and get 15 reps for the first set; for the super set with lighter weights I choose a weight I can do 20-25 reps with (I find that my super set weight is 50% of my max weight)