Day 7: Advanced Upper

​

Form Tips

• Get into push-up position
• Place hands significantly wider than shoulder-width (6-12 inches wider)
• Lower your chest toward the ground
• Focus on feeling a deep stretch across your chest
• Press back up, squeezing chest at the top
• Maintain straight body line throughout

​

The Chest Stretch

• This “stretch under load” is powerful for muscle growth
• At the bottom position, you should feel your chest pulling/stretching
• Don’t bounce at the bottom - control the stretch
• The stretch position is as important as the pressing motion

​

Wide vs Standard vs Diamond

• Wide-grip: Maximum chest stretch, outer pec emphasis
• Standard: Balanced chest/triceps/shoulder development
• Diamond: Maximum triceps emphasis, inner chest

• Day 1: Standard + Decline push-ups
• Day 5: Diamond push-ups
• Day 7: Wide-grip push-ups (today)

​

Common Mistakes

• Hands not wide enough (should be noticeably wider than standard)
• Not going deep enough to feel the stretch
• Flaring elbows too much (keep at 45-degree angle from body)
• Letting hips sag or pike up

​

Form Tips

• Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on floor
• Hold dumbbells above chest, arms extended
• Lower dumbbells by bending elbows
• Elbows touch the floor (this is the “floor” in floor press)
• Pause with elbows on floor, then DRIVE them into the floor
• This creates tension and power for the press
• Press dumbbells back up explosively
• Squeeze chest at the top

​

Drive Elbows Into the Floor

• When elbows touch the floor, don’t just rest
• Actively press elbows down into the floor
• This creates lat tension and elastic energy
• Then explode upward from that position
• This makes the floor press more effective than it appears

​

Floor Press Benefits

• Shoulder-friendly: Limited range of motion protects shoulders
• Triceps emphasis: The shortened ROM emphasizes triceps
• Overload: Can typically use more weight than full ROM bench press
• Chest development: Still highly effective for chest growth
• Home-friendly: No bench required

​

20 Reps?

• Builds muscular endurance
• Creates a massive pump
• Different stimulus than heavy, low-rep work
• Excellent for muscle growth (hypertrophy)

​

Form Tips

• Start in push-up position, hands gripping dumbbells
• Dumbbells should be parallel to your body
• Feet wide apart for stability (wider = easier)
• Row one dumbbell to your hip/lower ribs
• Keep hips level - don’t rotate torso
• Lower dumbbell back to ground with control
• Row the other dumbbell
• That’s one rep per arm (12 each arm = 24 total rows)

​

The Ultimate Core Exercise

• Back: Lat development from the rowing motion
• Core: Anti-rotation stability (preventing hips from twisting)
• Shoulders: Stabilization while in plank position
• Total body: Integration of multiple muscle groups

​

Keeping Hips Level

• This is the HARDEST part and most important cue
• Your body wants to rotate toward the rowing arm
• RESIST THIS ROTATION
• Engage your core to keep hips square to the ground
• Wider foot position makes this easier
• This anti-rotation work is what makes it a great core exercise

​

Common Mistakes

• Rotating hips/torso when rowing (defeats the purpose)
• Feet too close together (makes balance impossible)
• Rowing to shoulder instead of hip (wrong muscle emphasis)
• Using dumbbells that are too heavy
• Rushing the movement instead of controlling it

​

Modifications

• Easier: Wider foot stance, knees on ground, or lighter weights
• Harder: Feet closer together, add a push-up between rows, or heavier weights

​

Form Tips

• Sit on a chair or bench
• Lean forward slightly
• Hold dumbbell in one hand, arm extended
• Brace the back of your upper arm/elbow against your inner thigh
• This locks your elbow in place
• Curl the weight up toward your shoulder
• Squeeze bicep hard at the top
• Lower with control (3-second negative)
• Complete all 12 reps, then switch arms

​

Why “Concentration”?

• Your elbow is braced and can’t move
• This eliminates all momentum and cheating
• Forces the bicep to do 100% of the work
• Allows you to focus entirely on the working bicep
• Great for mind-muscle connection

​

The Perfect Bicep Curl

• Maximum isolation
• Full range of motion
• Strong peak contraction at the top
• Minimal involvement of other muscles
• Studies show high bicep activation

​

What You’re Working

• Primary: Biceps brachii (especially the peak)
• Secondary: Brachialis, brachioradialis
• Benefits: Bicep peak development, arm thickness

​

Form Cues

• Don’t let elbow drift away from thigh
• Rotate pinky slightly toward shoulder at top (supination)
• Squeeze for 1-2 seconds at the peak
• Control the descent over 2-3 seconds
• Full extension at the bottom (don’t keep tension)

​

Form Tips

• Lie on your back, hands behind head (don’t pull on neck)
• Lift shoulder blades off the ground
• Bring right elbow toward left knee while extending right leg
• Then bring left elbow toward right knee while extending left leg
• Continue alternating in a “bicycle pedaling” motion
• GO SLOW - quality over speed
• Each full cycle (both sides) = 1 rep (30 total cycles = 60 twists)

​

Slow and Controlled

• This is NOT a race
• Many people rush through bicycle crunches and miss the benefit
• Take 2-3 seconds per side
• Focus on the oblique contraction (side abs)
• Actually touch elbow to opposite knee
• Full extension on the non-working leg

​

What You’re Working

• Primary: Rectus abdominis (six-pack muscles), obliques
• Secondary: Hip flexors, deep core stabilizers
• Benefits: Core definition, rotational strength, complete ab development

​

Perfect Form

• Elbows wide (don’t let them collapse inward)
• Don’t pull on your neck
• Lift shoulder blades off ground throughout (don’t rest)
• Fully extend the non-working leg
• Rotate torso, not just arms
• Breathe normally (exhale as you crunch)

​

Rep Counting

• Option 1: Count each full cycle (left + right = 1 rep) → 30 reps
• Option 2: Count each side (60 total touches) → easier to track
• Use whichever method you prefer, stay consistent