Daily Workout- Upper Body

January 3, 2012 Workout Routine- Upper Body

Muscle Prodigy is committed to helping you with your fitness goals. You need to hit the gym often and hard. However, sometimes it gets overwhelming with what to do in the gym. We're here to break down a structure for you that will include a detailed script of exactly what you should be doing in the gym each day. That's right...every Monday we will post the schedule for the week, meaning that you will have advance notice of exactly what days you should be hitting the gym, which muscle groups you will be training, and which days you have off to give your body adequate rest. Every single morning, we will post the routine of the day, so you know exactly what to do while in the gym.

These routines are exactly what the founders of Muscle Prodigy do, so you know that you are in good hands. We will always stay committed to provide you with tough workouts, but we will never overtrain you like most other programs do. We also show you exactly how to perform the exercises with our before and after pictures and our instructional videos, in which we demonstrate the exercises and walk you through them. Be sure to check back every single day for your structured workout program!

Please check out our Exercise Database to learn how to do any type of workout as well.

Schedule for the Week of January 2, 2012:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Upper Body
Wednesday: Lower Body
Thursday: Cardio/Abs
Friday: Off
Saturday: Full Body/Cardio
Sunday: Cardio/Abs

For this week, we are going to focus on doing upper body on one day and then doing lower body on another. You will also do a full body workout (both upper body and lower body) on one day. Repeatedly doing seperate muscle groups each day can cause muscular adaptation and may prevent proper strength and muscular gains. Bringing variety to your routine can help you break this plateau and shock your muscles to new growth. You will focus on doing mainly compound workouts because they are more effective for building quality muscle mass and provide more of a cardiovascular workout. You will do both higher reps and lower reps to focus on both endurance training and strength training. Make sure you warm up with 3-4 sets, gradually increasing the weight, before you start your working sets.

For Tuesday, January 3, the workout you will be performing is an upper body routine with compound exercises. Make sure you increase the weight as your reps decrease (and vise-versa).

1) Barbell Bench Press

20 reps, 15 reps, 10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps

Lie down on the bench. Grab a little wider than shoulder width-grip. With your feet planted on the floor, back arched, and hips flat on the bench, drive the weight up from the rack. Bring it over your chest. In a slow, controlled movement lower the weight carefully until the bar reaches your nipples but only about half an inch above your chest. Do not touch your chest as you want to keep constant tension on the chest the whole time and not use any momentum. Explode the weight up and a little backward in a controlled manner while your feet and hips are still planted until your arms are extended outward but with a slight bend.

2) Deadlift

20 reps, 15 reps, 10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps

Stand up to a barbell with feet shoulder-width apart. Grip the bar with both palms facing outward. While keeping your back straight and your butt down (in a squatting position) stand up with the weight by pulling the bar up your shins (keeping your arms extended throughout the whole movement). Lock out the deadlift by swaying your hips forward just a little once it reaches its highest point. To bring the weight down, lower your butt down first (do not bend over to drop it) until you bring the bar back to the floor.

3) Military Dumbbell Shoulder Press

20 reps, 15 reps, 10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps

Sit down on a seat with a back rest with feet sturdily planted on the ground, head looking forward, back straight against the pad but with a slight arch, and abs tight. Kick up the dumbbells with your knees to prevent injury so that each dumbbell is beside your head at ear level. Palms should be facing forward. In one smooth motion, push the dumbbells up until the dumbbells are over your head and arms are locked out. Slowly bring the dumbbells back down to the original position until your arms parallel to the ground.

4) Bent Over Barbell Row

20 reps, 15 reps, 10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps

Stand up to a barbell with feet shoulder-width apart. Grip the bar with both palms facing inward. Deadlift the bar up properly to prevent injury. With a slight bend in your knees and a bend at your waist (back is straight and head is looking forward), let the bar hang down so it is approximately at your knees or lower. In a slow, controlled movement, pull the weight up into your lower abdomen without using jerking or momentum. Squeeze your back at the top. Lower the weight carefully until your arms are fully extended.

5) Weighted Push Up

5 sets to failure

Get down on all fours with your feet close together and your hands shoulder width apart. Keep your back straight and butt up but not too much (Don't sag your hips but don't raise your butt in the air-Keep it flat). Keep your core tight all the way through. Look straight, meaning down at the floor. Have a buddy put an appropriate weight on the lower part of your back. Lower yourself to the floor by bending at the elbows but keeping the same posture throughout until your nose is just above the ground. Push yourself back up the starting position locking your arms out.

6) Dips

5 sets to failure

Hop up onto two parallel bars with your knees bent behind you and your arms extended but maintaining a slight bend in your elbows at the top of the movement. Keep your head straight and make sure you are upright throughout the whole movement (don't lean forward) to emphasize the triceps opposed to chest and/or shoulders. Lower your body slowly until your elbows are parallel to the floor. Push yourself back up to the top in a slow, controlled manner keeping your body upright.

7) Standing Barbell Curl

20 reps, 15 reps, 10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps

Stand shoulder-width apart with a cambered bar in hands and back straight, abs tight, and head looking forward. Grip the bar with shoulder-width grip and barbell hanging down extended. Upper arms and elbows are tucked into your sides tightly. Curl the bar up in an arc-like motion until it reaches your chin. Elbow is back a little bit and stays fixated throughout the whole movement. Bring it back to its original position by lowering the bar down in an arc-like motion.

Be sure to check back every single day for your workout of the day!

Please check out our Exercise Database to learn how to do any type of workout

This is a simplified workout routine that just shows you the number of reps and sets. However, there are many variables that go unaccounted for in this program that we explain fully in our MP45 Program, which will get you more ripped in only 45 days because it hinges on the idea of the type of intensity you must achieve while in the gym. Also, the battle with your physique is won in the kitchen, not just the gym. MP45 includes the most detailed workout program and meal plan for all 45 days, including 300 pages of nutritional and training science depicting exactly why MP45 is so effective. These workouts are very basic ideas of what we do in the gym, which will tremendously help your results, but nutrition is actually responsible for 80% of the way you look. Also, the type of reps you are completing within your set is very important, which is why MP45 is so effective. We explain how to exactly achieve the pump during your workouts and how to completely exhaust your muscle to expedite the process of it recovering to grow back in half the time.