Fun Chest and Back workout

                In Fit with Chris this week I am going to share my last chest and back workout that I did the other day. After stretching I did a chest warm up with the chest fly machine doing four sets of 20 repetitions (reps). Then I moved to doing incline dumbbell press doing heavy weight for five sets of five reps. When I was doing those reps I made sure to squeeze my chest at the contraction point.

                After incline I moved to flat bench dumbbell press. Doing heavy weight for five sets of five reps also making sure that when I press the dumbbells I try to feel that squeeze at the top. When I finished with those five sets I added a drop set with 10 pound lighter weights. The next thing that I worked on is doing kneeling chest fly’s on the cables and alternating them with pushups. So I would do 10 reps on the cables then move into 10 pushups. I did that two times and then added weight to the cables and continued to do that until I was unable to do the second set of pushups.

 

                I then did four sets of 20 reps of lat pulls with pretty light weight. After the lat pulls I went into doing single arm dumbbell rows alternating each arm and using heavy weight. I did five sets of five to eight reps and then a drop set that the end of those. Then I did Rope Rows doing five sets of 15 to 20 reps making sure to increase the weight the last two sets. And I did a drop set after those five sets to finish it off. The last thing that I did was bent over rows doing four drop sets focusing on form not weight.

 

                That is it for that workout, if you have any comments or want to share workouts that you have done feel free to let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read and keep up with this blog.

Sources: (http://cms.bbcomcdn.com/fun/images/2015/10-best-chest-exercises-for-building-muscle-graphics-pec-deck.jpg)( http://cms.bbcomcdn.com/fun/images/2015/10-best-chest-exercises-for-building-muscle-graphics-incline-dumbbell-press.jpg)( http://nutribody.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/THICKEN-UPPER-AND-MIDDLE-BACK-ins1.jpg)( https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DQd8zvURUOI/maxresdefault.jpg)( http://www.obsessyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Single-Arm-DB-row.jpg)( https://www.popworkouts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/lat-pulldown.jpg)( https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J5tGFVqb7ig/maxresdefault.jpg)( https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UUwSKJjx9Go/hqdefault.jpg)( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/600x315/12/55/3b/12553be34bdc380f65a7fac6b48dc8a1.jpg)

At home work out

This week on fit with chris I would like to talk about a work out that you can do at home. So many people say that they do not have time to go to the gym and in a way that is true. Something that you will learn early on is you will never find time to go to the gym, you need to make time. To get a decent work out you do not need a fancy gym or lots of weights or even a treadmill. All you need is the proper knowledge of different exercises and the drive to make time to do them.

                Before you start you always stretch, 10 minutes of stretching is better than 10 weeks recovering from a pulled muscle. After stretching it is good to get blood pumping so start with doing burpees. You start by dropping down and doing a pushup and then get up and reach above your head and jump. Do these consistently for a minute, or as close to a minute as you can for five minutes resting for 10 to 15 seconds in between minute sets. This should help you get pumped up and ready for more exercise.

                You can then move into doing five to six sets of 25 to 50 repetitions (reps) of classic pushups. Make sure that your form is good and your back is straight when you go down and come back up. After doing those sets you can move to doing diamond pushups. With these you bring your hands close together touching your thumbs and go down and up like a pushup. This will work more of your triceps then your chest. If you are not able to do these then try just sliding your hands a little farther apart till you can and over time work up to the proper form. Just like the pushups try to do five to six sets of 25 to 50 reps focusing on form.

                Legs are the next step in this home work out. Start out with doing goblin squats, no weights. Goblin squats are very similar to normal squats but you usually hold a dumbbell up by your chest with both hands for extra weight. Try to do four or five sets of 20 to 25 reps and focus on going down to the point when your thighs are parallel to the floor. The next thing to do is Donkey kicks, you kneel on the floor and kick back on leg at a time working your glutes or butt. Do four sets of 20 reps on each leg, make sure you feel that squeeze when you lift your leg up.

                And the finisher for this at home work out is doing lunges. Give yourself plenty of space and room so that you are able to do 10 to 15 lunges in a row. Do this four to five times or until you are unable to do a lunge, it is up to you. That’s it for this week’s fit with chris. Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment below. Stay tune for next week’ fit with chris post.

Source: (http://optimumbody-fitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/burpee.png)( https://raykliu.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/diamond-push-up-1.jpg)( http://www.workouthealthclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/pushup-plus_470x360_1.jpg)( http://assets.menshealth.co.uk/main/thumbs/28351/goblet-squat-SeI9iu-promo__square.jpg)( http://healthxtourism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Donkey-kicks-exercises.jpg)( http://www.oxygenmag.com/content/content/9831/plyo-lunge.jpg)

Cardio ... UGH!!!!

                This week on Fit with Chris I want to talk about one of the things that no one likes to do at the gym, Cardio. I personally cannot stand doing cardio, I am all about the anaerobic exercises. When I do cardio usually like to do the stair stepper for around 15 to 20 minutes setting it at level five and keeping my heart rate up above 120 beats per minute. Another type of cardio I do is getting on the treadmill and setting the speed to three and putting the incline to 15 and walking for 25 to 30 minutes.

                The reason why I do these types of cardio is that they do not require you to run or even jog to get a good cardiovascular workout without putting too much pressure on your knees. If you like running and are worried about hurting your knees all you need to do is try to find places to run that have asphalt or even just running on grass instead of running on concrete. Running on concrete can, over time, hurt your knees because it has no give in it when you run on it.

                If you are not too worried about your knees then I have a few other cardio workouts that will make your legs turn into jelly. One that is a good “go to” workout is doing bleachers, the bigger the better. What I do is I run up the right side of the bleachers and then jog across the top level and then jog down the left side and then sprint across to the right side again and do it all over again five to six times. I will do this probably three or four times making sure to rest for about 30 seconds between each round.

                And if you are not able to do any of these then a great cardio workout you can do is

swimming laps in a pool. I personally do not do swimming much because I have the gym, but swimming 15 to 20 laps in a pool would be a great workout. That is it for Fit with Chris this week, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to say what is on your mind.

Sources:(http://www.bodyreviewers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/cardio-is-a-must.jpg)( http://cms.bbcomcdn.com/fun/images/2014/when-is-the-best-time-to-do-cardio_16.jpg)( http://cms.bbcomcdn.com/fun/images/2005/dex2_bleachersrun1.jpg)( http://watchfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fat-burning-cardio-workout1-1024x682.jpg)(http://blog.codyapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/swim_workout_beginners.jpg)

Legs and Shoulders

Today I will share my leg and shoulder routine I did yesterday. First I have to mention that I have had issues in the past with doing shoulder workouts. In high school I sort of messed up my right shoulder and it has made it difficult to get a good shoulder workout but as long as I take my time warming up I am usually okay.

Now the first thing I did after stretching out the legs and shoulders I did three sets of 20 repetitions (reps) with the leg extension machine. After doing the first set I increased the weight each set to get a bigger pump in my legs and I did an extra one or two sets of 10 reps at the end with heavy weight. I then moved on to the leg curl machine doing three sets of 20 reps and like the leg extensions I made sure to increase the weight each set and threw in one or two sets of 10 reps at the end.

Then I went to the leg press and since my legs were warmed up I started with three 45 pound plates on each side doing one set of 10. I then added another plate on each side and did another 10 reps. I did two sets of five reps adding two plates each set. I then added 25 pounds on each side and did another five reps to finish off with.

After that I did a superset with Arnold presses for shoulders and calf raisers. I did five sets of 15 to 20 reps for each exercise alternating back and forth. With the calf raisers I increased the weight by around 20 to 40 pounds each set. And with the Arnold presses I started light on the weight and slowly increased only when I felt comfortable with the weight.

Next I alternated two shoulder exercises because I did not have a whole lot of time to workout yesterday. I alternated rear delts with front delts doing front delt raises with a 25 pound weight from the bench. And with the rear delts I did revers dumbbell flys sitting not standing. Doing five sets of 10 for each exercise alternating back and forth and resting a few seconds between each.

             The last thing I did was shoulder raise machine doing three sets of drop sets starting heavy and taking off five or so pounds each set without stopping. And that is it for fit with Chris this week thanks for reading and if you have any questions about my posts feel free to comment. Tune in next week for a surprise post.

Sources: (http://cms.bbcomcdn.com/fun/images/2014/8-ways-to-make-your-rear-delts-roar-4.jpg)( http://www.bodybuilding.com/images/2016/january/5-leg-workouts-for-mass_03.jpg)( http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O55qJw-hWvk/VGxGJgBGQVI/AAAAAAAABGM/y79iIICxlAo/s1600/Leg%2BExtension.png)( http://www.musclemag.com/content/content/6532/SeatedLegCurls1.jpg)( http://bodybuilding-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/machine-seated-calf-raise-2.jpg)( http://www.sweatlikeapig.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/arnolddiagram-470x260.jpg)( http://cdn-mf1.heartyhosting.com/sites/mensfitness.com/files/d6/images-mf-209384-11587.jpg)( http://cms.bbcomcdn.com/fun/images/2015/machine-lateral-raise-2.jpg)

Back and triceps

 This week on Fit with Chris I will be sharing my back and triceps workout I did this past week.  Like always, I begin with a little bit of stretching and then I started my warm up with lat pull downs doing four sets of 15 to 20 repetitions (reps). After that I moved to doing single arm dumbbell rows starting light and increasing the weight each set doing five sets of 10 reps.

                I then went in to doing bent over barbell rows. These are great for strengthening your back, to really feel it work I have to bend over almost at 90 degrees when performing the rows. Because of being bent over it is important not to lift too heavy of weight to protect the back. I then did a superset with horizontal cable rope rows and tricep pushdowns. With the cable rows and tricep pushdowns I did five to six sets of 20 reps alternating between each different exercise ending with a drop set for each one too.

                After that I moved to doing a superset of tricep extensions with the rope on the cables that works the outer tricep muscle and standing lat pull downs with the EZ curl bar. The sets and reps were the same as the previous superset five to six sets of 20 reps and on the last set doing a drop set. And to finish off the workout I did a superset of 50 pull ups and four drop sets of single arm cable pushdowns.

                That is it for my back and tricep workout this week. Thank you for reading my blog and if you have any comments or ideas you want to share with me please feel free to do so. Tune in next week were I will be sharing my leg and shoulder routine.

Sources: (http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/54/Male/m/54_2.jpg)( http://www.fullworkoutroutine.com/ArticleImage/6-best-arms-excercise-your-not-doing-in-gym/one-arm-reverse-grip.jpg)( https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzS7ZtjeDxYNoMdxteicHD6YKn29zbRRqrgTjPrBN6dwUXCmOG3b6ZyepnyOlsCt5W4geWoFtDybnjbShVl45fYVclVMmA8leDxJ2y7Tiw3aZuysvxMCeYXKJLZvRhQqclZ8_PTzceyXJj/s1600/pull-up-strength.jpg)( http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/exerciseImages/sequences/20/Male/m/20_2.jpg)( http://media.nola.com/running_impact/photo/dumbbell-rowjpg-fd0622c97acefb6e.jpg)( https://www.buyfitnessonline.com/catalog/images/Body_Solid_PowerLine_GLM83.jpg)( http://www.bmfclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tricep-pushdowns-pakulski-quest-to-be-the-best-300x188.png)( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/aa/eb/e9/aaebe96247c8d7fe5b2f7ce5e49b4bcb.jpg)(http://www.gympaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/standing-lat-pushdown-back-exercise-gympaws-gym-glove.jpg)

Chest and Biceps

               This week I want to talk about something amazing, supersets. A superset is when you do two workouts that work opposing muscle groups. For example doing a push exercise like pushups and then immediately after that push set you do a pull exercise like preacher curls. And alternating back and forth between those two workouts is called a superset. I have incorporated supersets in my workouts and I have notice amazing growth in muscle growth and stamina.

               

              Now I want to talk about my chest and bicep workout that I did this last week. I began with stretching my arms and chest and then moved in to doing dumbbell press and barbell drag curls.

I did four sets of 20 plus repetitions (reps) alternating back and forth between the two workouts. Then I moved to doing dumbbell flys and standing concentration curls. When doing the dumbbell flys I made sure that I felt that stretch in my chest before I contract my chest and when doing the concentration curls I make sure that I feel that squeeze when I curl up the dumbbell. I did five sets of 15 reps and when I alternate the movements I am making sure I squeeze at the point of contraction for each exercise.

                

Next on the list of workouts is incline dumbbell chest presses superset with reverse barbell curls. I did five sets of 12 to 15 reps focusing on going slow when lowering the weight and having explosive force when bringing the weight up. The last I finished with was dips and preacher curls doing 4 drop sets alternating with each exercise.

  

              And that is it for the chest and bicep workout I did this week. If you try my workout I would love to hear from you about how it went and if you have any comments on my workouts that I share please feel free to share. Be sure to visit the blog this next week, I will be sharing my back and triceps workout.

Source: (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLHorUI-aioaZIQzB3qMUXH5UsCsuFbmSPblPrsre2LPwikJLrJsAafoaA8SFFwyO9Bn5WwIV0Spn6rFd46eitTR03FDJRao2gAu3VMvz33Ea9oW0lp32auHvdoB_ULbMpAlb39RYhiEp/s1600/BB+MRU128.jpg)( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f0/80/81/f080810611aaba494b492ba39b33e60a.jpg)( http://www.peakdesire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Concentration-curls.jpg)( https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yTDPLRg4sNOZq_EzKH20Vwa__afo9qdwjSSyN5QiBJjO1zAanhajOs5U4Nsfl8hpSNRjSUnYz50Y6X_N_RIEeb6o4vx2wZiCpokoYaCEuRNBJkXUu2hyphenhyphenIezOTDCvpxRNtPb854coE0U/s1600/dumbbell-flys.jpg)( https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/96/c5/31/96c531b18ba6a44dadda84c75b54c0e7.jpg)( http://bodybuilding-wizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/neutral-grip-incline-dumbbell-bench-press)(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5e/d7/42/5ed7426d61d08277193de7707535403b.jpg)(http://www.blastyourbiceps.org/affiliates/photos/arnold-dips.jpg)

ABS

                This week I want to talk about ab workouts. There are so many different types of workouts to choose from and sometimes the best ones to choose are the most basic. When I begin my ab exercise I always start with doing Planks. Planks are really simple, you lie on the floor and put all your weight on your elbows and toes keeping your back straight and making a straight line from your head to your toes. I began with three to four sets of planks for one minute each set. And be sure to rest a minute after each set of every workout.

                After Planks I stayed on the floor and did something called Knees to Elbows. Starting in the Plank position you slowly bring one knee up to touch or almost touch your elbow and you do that for each side. I did Knees to Elbows for a minute each set and I did three sets and if I feel really good I will do an extra one or two sets. These are great for the core; when I do them I really can feel it in my upper and lower abs and my obliques. I then jumped right in to doing Mountain Climbers which are very similar to Knees to Elbows but you do it at very quick pace. The amount of sets I did were three sets for a minute each.

                Next ab exercise I did was Leg raises which is just lying on the ground and, keeping your legs straight, lifting your legs up to a 90 degree angle and lowering them back down to the ground in a controlled motion. Again I am doing around three to four sets for a minute each set concentrating on keeping my core tight as I lift and lower my legs. This exercise will give your lower abdominals a great workout. After the Leg raises I moved on to doing weighted crunches with a medicine ball. When doing these crunches I made sure to have a bar or have someone that would hold down my feet so that I could keep my feet down when I crunched. Weighted crunches are a great classic ab workout that targets the upper and lower abdominals.

                Heel touches are next on the ab list exercise, to do them you lie on your back and go side to side and reach and touch the heels of your shoes. I did heel touches for three to four sets for a minute each set really concentrating on squeezing those obliques. Doing heel touches is a fantastic way to work on those side abs and help you feel that breathtaking feeling you only get from ab workouts. Moving over to the cable machines I finished with weighted cable crunches with the rope. I absolutely love doing these, because I really feel it in my upper abdominals when I do them. When I did these I did four sets of 25 repetitions and increased the weight after each set to intensify the workout a little more.

                That is it for my amazing ab workout from this last week. Please feel free to comment and tell me what you think about my workout and if you tried it I would love to hear how it went. If you have any suggestions on future post topics please do not hesitate to comment. Stay tune for next week when I will talk about Supersets and a great chest and bicep workout.

Sources: http://www.passion4profession.net/muscles-exercises/Oblique-abdominal-exercises-l.jpg, http://c1healthcentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Planks.jpg, https://www.trainonline.com/images/exercises/male_plank-knee-to-elbow_2.jpg, https://raykliu.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/mountain-climbers-5.jpg, https://fitnessinvogue.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/weighted_crunch_0.jpg, http://hiitacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/leg_lifts-1024x459.jpg, http://munfitnessblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Cable-Kneeling-Crunch-Sexy-Woman.jpg