Welcome to Week 4 Day 22 of our 4 Week Workout Program.

This is the twenty second day of our training routine, and we’re doing shoulders, legs and calves today. Let’s make these muscles strong and toned, shall we. A girl looks so good with round and defined shoulders, and with toned legs that are nice and balanced.

It’s important to have that balance, because a body is most beautiful when there is symmetry. We must workout all of the muscles in our legs and in our shoulders in order to achieve this, which is why we hit legs and shoulders twice a week, targeting different parts of these muscles in each of these days.

It’s the start of the week, so let’s hit it off with a lot of energy to set ourselves up for a great start. We got this.

Today we’re going to be doing:

• Standing Barbell Shoulder Press
• Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press
• Dumbbell One-Arm Upright Row
• Barbell Squat
• Barbell Deadlift
• Dumbbell Walking Lunge
• Smith Machine Calf Raises
• Calf Press on the Leg Press Machine
• Optional: Tabata (aka HIIT cardio)

Below you can find the number of sets and each exercise’s description.

STANDING BARBELL SHOULDER PRESS

2 warm-up sets, 4 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Grab the barbell with a pronated grip (palms facing forward).
2. Once you pick up the barbell with the correct grip width, lift the bar up over your head by locking your arms. Hold at about shoulder level and slightly in front of your head. This is your starting position.
3. Lower the bar down to the shoulders slowly as you inhale.
4. Lift the bar back up to the starting position as you exhale.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

STANDING ALTERNATING DUMBBELL PRESS

3 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Stand with a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to your shoulders with your palms facing forward and your elbows pointed out. This will be your starting position.
2. Extend one arm to press the dumbbell straight up, keeping your off hand in place. Do not lean or jerk the weight during the movement.
3. After a brief pause, return the weight to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the opposite side, continuing to alternate between arms.

DUMBBELL ONE-ARM UPRIGHT ROW

3 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Grab a dumbbell and stand up straight with your arm extended in front of you with a slight bend at the elbows and your back straight. This will be your starting position. Tip: The dumbbell should be resting on top of your thigh with the palm of your hands facing your thighs.
2. Keep the other hand can be kept fully extended to the side, by the waist or grabbing a fixed surface. This will be your starting position.
3. Use your side shoulders to lift the dumbbell as you exhale. The dumbbell should be close to the body as you move it up. Continue to lift it until the dumbbell is nearly in line with your chin. Tip: Your elbows should drive the motion. As you lift the dumbbell, your elbow should always be higher than your forearm. Also, keep your torso stationary and pause for a second at the top of the movement.
4. Lower the dumbbell back down slowly to the starting position. Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions and switch arms.

BARBELL SQUAT

4 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Begin with the barbell supported on top of the traps. The chest should be up and the head facing forward. Adopt a hip-width stance with the feet turned out as needed.
2. Descend by flexing the knees, refraining from moving the hips back as much as possible. This requires that the knees travel forward. Ensure that they stay align with the feet. The goal is to keep the torso as upright as possible.
3. Continue all the way down, keeping the weight on the front of the heel. At the moment the upper legs contact the lower legs reverse the motion, driving the weight upward.

BARBELL DEADLIFT

3 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Approach the bar so that it is centered over your feet. Your feet should be about hip-width apart. Bend at the hip to grip the bar at shoulder-width allowing your shoulder blades to protract. Typically, you would use an alternating grip.
2. With your feet and your grip set, take a big breath and then lower your hips and flex the knees until your shins contact the bar. Look forward with your head. Keep your chest up and your back arched, and begin driving through the heels to move the weight upward.
3. After the bar passes the knees aggressively pull the bar back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you drive your hips forward into the bar.
4. Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor.

DUMBBELL WALKING LUNGE

3 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Begin standing with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands down by your sides, each holding a dumbbell.
2. Step forward with one leg, flexing the knees to drop your hips. Descend until your rear knee nearly touches the ground. Your posture should remain upright, and your front knee should stay above the front foot.
3. Drive through the heel of your lead foot and extend both knees to raise yourself back up.
4. Step forward with your rear foot, repeating the lunge on the opposite leg.

SMITH MACHINE CALF RAISES

3 sets of 12 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Place a block or weight plate below the bar on the Smith machine. Set the bar to a position that best matches your height. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, step onto the plates with the balls of your feet and place the bar on the back of your shoulders.
2. Take the bar with both hands facing forward. Rotate the bar to unrack it. This will be your starting position.
3. Raise your heels as high as possible by pushing off of the balls of your feet, flexing your calf at the top of the contraction. Your knees should remain extended. Hold the contracted position for a second before you start to go back down.
4. Return slowly to the starting position as you breathe in while lowering your heels.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

CALF PRESS ON THE LEG PRESS MACHINE

3 sets of 9-11 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Using a leg press machine, sit down on the machine and place your legs on the platform directly in front of you at a medium (shoulder width) foot stance.
2. Lower the safety bars holding the weighted platform in place and press the platform all the way up until your legs are fully extended in front of you without locking your knees. (Note: In some leg press units you can leave the safety bars on for increased safety. If your leg press unit allows for this, then this is the preferred method of performing the exercise.) Your torso and the legs should make perfect 90-degree angle. Now carefully place your toes and balls of your feet on the lower portion of the platform with the heels extending off. Toes should be facing forward, outwards or inwards as described at the beginning of the chapter. This will be your starting position.
3. Press on the platform by raising your heels as you breathe out by extending your ankles as high as possible and flexing your calf. Ensure that the knee is kept stationary at all times. There should be no bending at any time. Hold the contracted position by a second before you start to go back down.
4. Go back slowly to the starting position as you breathe in by lowering your heels as you bend the ankles until calves are stretched.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

OPTIONAL (but recommended)

4 minutes of Tabata to finish it off strong.

 

IMPORTANT: You’ll notice that I recommend doing a quick 30 second active rest in between each of the sets. This is to keep your heart rate up at all times. I recommend switch up your active rest movements with every exercise you do, just to keep it from getting monotonous and to allow for different muscles to be worked. Some of my favorite active rest movements include: kettle bell swings, air squats, lunges, jumps and running in place. Get creative, but try to not use the muscle groups you are actually using on your lifting exercises, so that those are ready to go when the 30 seconds are up.

 

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Other WorkoutsYou’ll Love:

• 4 Week Workout Program
• Tabata Training
• 7 Exercises to Get Killer Abs That Will Make You Proud

 

Disclaimer: I am a certified personal trainer, however, since I won’t be there with you physically to check on proper form and weight selection, do these workouts at your own risk. You should consult your physician or other health care professional before starting this or any other fitness program to determine if it is right for your needs.