Saturday 15 February 2014

Erin Stern Elite Body 4 Week Daily Fitness Trainer Day 5

New Exercise and Fitness Review


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An elite physique isn’t complete without a great chest and strong shoulders. You can’t press very well without powerful pectorals, and you’ll look flat from the front and side if you neglect your chest training. This workout will help you build strength, size, symmetry, and great shape across your upper body.


Although this is technically your second shoulder workout of the week, don’t let it deter you from working hard. Training frequency is one of the biggest tools we have for developing a muscle group. In fact, Erin has tremendous shoulders precisely because she trains them frequently.


This is the last resistance workout that you’ll be doing this week, so hit it hard and perform each set and rep with excellence!


Elite Body Chest & Shoulders Workout
Watch The Video – 14:42






Elite Body Training Tips


Instead of doing agonist-antagonist supersets like you’ve done in previous workouts, today you’ll be supersetting body parts that have similar functions. Both the chest and the shoulders move the arm. So when you’re training either of them, both muscle groups come into play. So supersets are a natural and intelligent choice for training these muscle groups.


The pectoralis major is a fan-shaped muscle group that starts along the sternum and clavicle and inserts on the biceps. The pec major is responsible for pulling the arms in like you’re giving somebody a hug. Any flye or pressing movement will develop the chest.


Warm-up


Just like you have for all the other body parts, start today’s workout with a general warm-up. Jumping rope for five minutes will prep your entire body and activate your shoulders. If you warm up on the bike or treadmill, mobilize your shoulders with some basic arm circles and movement before lifting heavy.


Your warm-up is a great opportunity to focus on the specific exercises you’ll do and to think about how you want your body to look and function. Think about how you can push yourself with more weight. Visualize yourself achieving your goals.


Dumbbell bench press


Keep your back flat against the bench and focus on lifting with your chest. Push evenly with both sides and make sure your wrists are straight. Bring the dumbbells to your shoulders and don’t let one arm dip below the other.


Because both of the lifts in this superset are compound, you’ll feel really tired. Your muscles, central nervous system, and cardiovascular system will be challenged. Stay with it!



Dumbbell bench press

Military press


Your body should be completely upright. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs, and don’t lean forward or back. Bring the dumbbells down to about 90 degrees, pause at the bottom, and then press it back up for a pause at the top. Your chest should be stronger than your shoulders, so choose a lighter weight for this movement.



seated dumbbell Military press

Dumbbell flye


As you do this lift, picture yourself hugging a barrel and bend slightly at the elbows. Bring your upper arms together at the top and focus on squeezing the chest. Men and women alike need to put more focus on their upper chest. Too much flat benching makes for a lagging upper chest.



Incline dumbbell flye

Front raise


This is a great exercise to peek down and watch the muscle work. It’s an opportunity to work on your mind-muscle connection. Doing this exercise on a bench eliminates the use of momentum from your trunk. When your chest is against the pad, you have to begin the movement by contracting your shoulders.



Front dumbbell raise

Incline dumbbell bench


Bring the dumbbells down to your chest, pause at the bottom, and control the dumbbells with strong wrists to the top. Keep your back straight against the bench. Don’t arch too much and focus on pushing with your chest.



Incline dumbbell bench press

Lateral raise


The incline bench press directly targets your pec fibers. After performing that exercise, standing lateral raises target your side delts. Lateral raises are a perfect exercise to isolate your shoulder caps and work on widening your V-taper.


Don’t bounce as the reps wear on. You’ll be tired, but it’s important that you focus on using only your shoulders to move the weight. Your shoulders should swell with blood and burn with lactate. The burn is good! A pump is important for developing great shoulder caps.



side lateral raise

Decline push-up


This finisher will challenge your mental toughness. Keep a tight core, keep your hips level, and don’t let your back arch. The decline adds a little stability work to the push-up and will activate your abdominals as well as your upper pecs.



Decline push-up

You may feel like quitting after a few reps, but keep going. Think about what this work will do to your physique and strength. It’s fine if you can only get 2-3 reps. If you’re struggling to get even 1 rep, however, you can move to regular push-ups or go to your knees.


Elite Body Meal Plan


Check out the table below to see what Erin eats on a daily basis. You don’t have to follow these meals exactly, but take some cues from Erin’s template: Eat 5-6 times per day, eat protein at every meal, stick to complex carbs, don’t skimp on healthy fats, and taper your carbohydrate intake as the day goes on. Follow these rules to build your own elite meal plan.


Because each of us has particular caloric and macronutrient needs, feel free to add or subtract calories, increase the protein, and make other adjustments. Be smart about your choices, stick to the same food categories, and try to adhere to the schedule. What you eat is just as important as what you do in the gym, if not more. There are a lot of healthy options in these example meals, so you shouldn’t ever feel deprived or hungry.







Elite Strength Stack


Support strength, and growth,
and recovery with this protein, bcaa, and pre-workout combo!*





“Day & Night” Protein Stack


Support muscle growth and recovery with this whey,
casein and ZMA combo!*





* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.


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