Traqade
Days 5/12/19/26
A.M. – Cardio
P.M. – Abs, Arms
Decline Crunch
Secure your legs at the end of the decline bench and lie down. Now place your hands lightly on either side of your head keeping your elbows in. While pushing the small of your back down in the bench to better isolate your abdominal muscles, begin to roll your shoulders off it. Continue to push down as hard as you can with your lower back as you contract your abdominals and exhale. Your shoulders should come up off the bench only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the bench. At the top of the movement, contract your abdominals hard and keep the contraction for a second. After the one second contraction, begin to come down slowly again to the starting position as you inhale.
3 sets to failure; 60-second rest.
Flat Bench Lying Leg Raise
Lie with your back flat on a bench and your legs extended in front of you off the end. Place your hands either under your glutes with your palms down or by the sides holding on to the bench. This will be your starting position. As you keep your legs extended, straight as possible with your knees slightly bent but locked raise your legs until they make a 90-degree angle with the floor. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement and hold the contraction at the top for a second. Now, as you inhale, slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.
3 sets to failure; 60-second rest.
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Triceps Pushdown – Rope Attachment
Attach a rope attachment to a high pulley and grab with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Standing upright with the torso straight and a very small inclination forward, bring the upper arms close to your body and perpendicular to the floor. The forearms should be pointing up towards the pulley as they hold the rope with the palms facing each other. This is your starting position. Using the triceps, bring the rope down as you bring each side of the rope to the side of your thighs. At the end of the movement, the arms are fully extended and perpendicular to the floor. The upper arms should always remain stationary next to your torso and only the forearms should move. Exhale as you perform this movement. After holding for a second, at the contracted position, bring the rope slowly up to the starting point. Breathe in as you perform this step.
4 sets; 20, 15, 12, 9 reps; 60-second rest.
Bench Dips
For this exercise you will need to place a bench behind your back. With the bench perpendicular to your body, and while looking away from it, hold on to the bench on its edge with the hands fully extended, separated at shoulder width. The legs will be extended forward, bent at the waist and perpendicular to your torso. This will be your starting position. Slowly lower your body as you inhale by bending at the elbows until you lower yourself far enough to where there is an angle slightly smaller than 90 degrees between the upper arm and the forearm. Forearms should always be pointing down. Using your triceps to bring your torso up again, lift yourself back to the starting position.
4 sets to failure; 60-second rest.
Decline EZ-Bar Triceps Extension
Secure your legs at the end of the decline bench and slowly lay down on the bench. Using a close grip, lift the EZ bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked and elbows in. The arms should be perpendicular to the floor. This will be your starting position. As you breathe in and you keep the upper arms stationary, bring the bar down slowly by moving your forearms in a semicircular motion towards you until you feel the bar slightly touch your forehead. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement. Lift the bar back to the starting position by contracting the triceps and exhaling.
4 sets; 10 reps; 60-second rest.
Barbell Curl
Stand up with your torso upright while holding a barbell at the wide outer handle. The palm of your hands should be facing forward. The elbows should be close to the torso. This will be your starting position. While holding the upper arms stationary, curl the weights forward while contracting the biceps as you breathe out. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second and squeeze the biceps hard. Slowly begin to bring the bar back to starting position as your breathe in.
5 sets; 8reps; 60-second rest.
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Preacher Curl
To perform this movement you will need a preacher bench and an EZ bar. Grab the EZ curl bar at the close inner handle. The palm of your hands should be facing forward and they should be slightly tilted inwards due to the shape of the bar. With the upper arms positioned against the preacher bench pad and the chest against it, hold the EZ Curl Bar at shoulder length. This will be your starting position. As you breathe in, slowly lower the bar until your upper arm is extended and the biceps is fully stretched. As you exhale, use the biceps to curl the weight up until your biceps is fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder height. Squeeze the biceps hard and hold this position for a second.
4 sets; 8 reps; 60-second rest.
Hammer Curl
Stand up with your torso upright and a dumbbell on each hand being held at arm’s length. The elbows should be close to the torso. The palms of the hands should be facing your torso. This will be your starting position. Now, while holding your upper arm stationary, exhale and curl the weight forward while contracting the biceps. Continue to raise the weight until the biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbell is at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a brief moment as you squeeze the biceps. After the brief pause, inhale and slowly begin the lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
3 sets; 10 reps; 60-second rest.
