This is the last leg of the routine to take your guns from a .25 caliber to a freakin howitzer. There is also a few fun sets thrown in for those of you who have a partner, but I'll get into that a little later. First comes the routine, and the preferred exercises associated with the routine.

Monday Chest Cardio Abs

Tuesday Legs Abs

Wednesday Cardio Abs

Thursday Back Shoulders Abs

Friday Arms Cardio Abs

Monday's chest routine breaks down like this. You will do sets of eight and six followed by a "brother" set if you have a partner, or follow with a high rep set for those of you without a partner. Let me explain what a brother set is for those of you who may not know. A brother set, is a set with a relatively low weight, with an exercise that your partner can easily, and quickly, follow you in doing. I'll give you an easy example; your brother set for triceps will be cable extensions. You will start off with a light weight, and perform one rep, and then immediately your partner will do two reps, then you immediately follow with three reps, and he follows with four, and so on. Do this until one of you can't make your reps. this is a wonderful addition of competition to your workout and extremely motivational. Now for the details of the chest workout, begin with barbell flat bench follow that with inclined flyes, and the cable crosses for your two sets of eight and six, and then your brother set. Finish your day with oblique crunches and cardio of your choice and you're finished. If you have a partner, and you both do the same cardio you may also compete on the number of stairs climbed or the number of miles biked etc.

Tuesday you have legs. You will do the same sets and reps as for chest, along with the rest of your workout. The exercises involved are leg presses, leg curls, calf raises, and then leg extensions for your brother set. Add in declined, and weighted crunches doing four sets of eighteen, and you will have finished Tuesday's workout.

Wednesday is as usual a cardio and abs day mixed in with a day to relax at the gym and hit the spa or sauna for a bit. Do the weighted cable crunches or comparable exercise for three sets of twenty and "hump day" is out of the way!

The first thing you will do on Thursday is your back, again with the same sets and reps as all of the other body parts. For your back do close grip pull-downs along with wide-grip seated rows, and follow that up with regular seated rows using them as your brother set also. Your shoulders will follow, and you will be doing Arnolds, cable raises, and then plate raises using them as your brother set also. I will give some instruction for those of you whom may not know what Arnolds and plate raises are. To do an Arnold simply seat your self as if you were going to do seated dumbbell presses. Then you will do a seated press followed by a twist at the bottom of the motion. Once you lower the weight rotate your arms so that your palms are facing you, and the pinky side of the dumbbells are touching. Don't let the weight slump; you must maintain your upper arm parallel to the floor. Then return your arms to a position ready to do a dumbbell press, and do a press following with the rotation at the bottom again. To perform a plate raise you may either use a regular weight, or if your gym has a curl bar with handles attached to it you may use it (the bar works better). What you do is stand with knees and arms slightly bent, beginning with the weight around your waist, and raise it to eye level. Be sure to minimize the amount that you sway when you raise the weight, and it is a good idea to do the exercise with your butt against a wall to achieve minimal sway, and to increase safety. I've seen people almost go over backwards they swayed so much. This will work the front lobe of your shoulder extremely well, and is a great exercise for a lineman, that's why I started doing them.

For the final day, Friday, you will have your arms. The exercises you will do are overhead dumbbell extensions, cable extensions with the rope attachment, and straight bar cable extensions for your triceps brother set. Be sure to rotate your hands out at the bottom of the rope cable extensions. The for biceps you will do hammer curls, seated incline curls, and finally standing barbell curls for your final set, and you brother set.

The last four weeks of a cycle are the most important, that's why I added the brother sets, and the aspect of competition. After eight weeks of heavy training you will be more that ready for the increased demand that the brother sets require, and the demand that the more difficult exercises require. As always feel free to email me with any questions you have by clicking my name on my main content page. I'll get back to you with all possible speed.

Wayne Mercer
CMERCER@hot.rr.com

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