Hey! It's Lee Hayward here from leehayward.com and I'm standing next to my bodybuilding trophy collection, just planning out what I would like to achieve this year for my bodybuilding fitness goals. I have just got back from the gym that long; I did my first workout of 2009. So what my goal is now over the spring, is I want to focus on some size and strength training and more of a power lifting style training, rather than a bodybuilding style workout. I want to get my size and strength back up and hopefully set some new personal records in the gym. Then, later in the summer, I want to dive down for a bodybuilding competition in the fall. Now this is what I would like to achieve this year.
So what I did is I've put together a video clip of the workout that I did today. Again this is a power lifting style program focused on -- today's workout that was a dynamic effort squat workout and what I'm going to do was over the next few weeks or so, actually videotape my work that I'm doing and post it up on my blog. So taking out to the video clip and you can check out the workout that I did.
The first exercise is box squats and these are done for 10 sets 2 reps using 50% of your 1 rep max. Now unlike your typical bodybuilding workout, where you are going slow and controlled, what we're doing here is training fast and explosive. So as you can see, I sit down on the box and then I explode up as fast as I can, sit on the box, explode up as fast as I can. What this does is it builds a lot of explosive strength which is something that's really neglected in most typical weight training workouts.
The next exercise is pull-throughs and what I do here is I've set this up with a locally cable and I attach a single handle to the cable attachment and what this is like is kind of like doing a deadlift where you're bending over all the way between your legs. So you get a deeper stretch and it really works the hamstrings, the glutes and the lower back. I do these for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Okay. The next exercise is bench lunges and I do these with the Smith machine and flat exercise bench placed a couple of feet back. So I'll put one leg back on the benches you can see and then just squat down with one leg and this is a very demanding exercise. You're not going to be able to handle a lot of weight when doing this. After all you only use in one leg at a time and I really like to use this Smith machine because it keeps your body more supported and more balanced. But even though the Smith machine helps, you still have to work a lot of those smaller stabilizer muscles throughout your mid section and your hips and everything else to help balance and support your body and to keep you moving in the upright position.
So again, you do all your reps with one leg and then switch legs and then do all the reps again for the other leg. This is a great exercise to develop the portion between both legs. So if you find that one leg is a bit weaker than the other, you may want to start with your weaker leg first and then make sure to perform the exact same number of repetitions with your stronger leg afterwards.
Now we're going to do some dumbbell rolls for the back. One of the things you've got to think about in a power lifting workout, you don't focus so much on training the body parts, like you would in a bodybuilding workout, you focus on training the exercise. So this is a squat workout and when you think of all the muscles throughout your entire back right from your traps, your spinal rectors, hips, glutes, hamstrings, all these muscles come into play when you are doing a squat. So that's why we train all these muscle groups in a squat workout.
I'm going to finish up with three sets of 15 reps of barbell shrugs. Now shrugs are great for building up the upper back and this helps you keep more upright when you're squatting. It also builds up some thickness and some mass across to back your shoulders and this gives the bar a place to rest, because a lot of people, they complain about the bar digging into the upper back when they're squatting. So by doing shrugs and building up your upper back, you can make the exercise a lot more comfortable.
For more workout programs and training tips, be sure to check out my website at www.leehayward.com and while you're there, sign up for my free ten part bodybuilding tips email course. In this free eCourse you'll get some killer tips and tricks that will help you build lean muscle, burn off stubborn body fat and get a ripped athlete physique.
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