Thankful 30 - Day 10, broad shoulders

This morning, I felt like Batman. Why? The past few weeks, I have been falling... not anymore.

It is hard to get past tough times. I am lucky. My struggles are primarily internal and emotional. This weekend reminded me there are many other people facing greater hardships than I could ever imagine.


For my workout today, I wore all black. It reminded me of Batman and the above quote. Today was also shoulder day, my favorite! Naturally, I have to share it on snapchat (carolinescues). Therefore, I dedicate Day 10 to broad shoulders.

I am building broader shoulders for not just my physique, but for me to handle the heavy weights and burdens that life places on me. When they fall down, I just pick them right back up and handle it.

Broad Shoulders Workout

***Make sure to warm up and stretch before every workout. No matter how silly it seems, the 10 minutes spent doing so are imperative to preventing injuries, especially when lifting heavy.

***There are also abs in this workout, but feel free to modify it to fit your goals.

Overhead Barbell Press | 5 sets, reps per set 15-12-10-8-5

     {Start at approximately 50-60% of your maximum, then increase each set}

Lateral Raise Ladders | 2 sets, 25 reps up, 25 reps down, no stopping until after 50 reps completed

     {Pick 5 different weighted dumbbell pairs. I used 7.5s, 10s, 12.5s, 15s and 20s. Remember, I have been lifting heavy for over a year and a half. Your body is different than mine. And form is key.}
     {For each weight pair, do 5 lateral raises, then set that pair down and do that again with the next incremental weight pair. For example, I start with 7.5s x 5 reps, set them down, then pick up the 10s and do the same thing, all the way up to the 20.}
     {Reach this is call a ladder exercise is because once you get to the heaviest weighted dumbbells, you come back down doing the same number of repetitions. When you get to the last number, do 5 reps, pause, then do the first 5 reps and go back down in weight.}

Back Flies + Pop Pushups | 4 sets, 12 reps

     {Use an adjustable bench and set to approximately 60 degree angle. Rest your chest on the bench, feet on the ground and use a dumbbell in each hand to do back flies. Really envision your rear deltoid muscles moving as you complete the repetitions.}
     {After the flies, go immediately into the pop pushes for this superset. Pop Pushups are using the bench or a box to go downward towards the floor and pop back up in a spring-like motion for the "pop".}

Dumbbell Front Raises + Ab Cable Crunches | 4 sets, 12 reps

     {Standing, use a dumbbell in each arm, holding with your palm facing towards the floor. Lift the weights at the same time above the usual 90 degree angle. This gives you a wider range of motion to build the shoulders.}
     {Immediately following, use a rope pull on a cable machine, face away with knees on the ground.}
     {Weight should be heavy enough that you need to pull away for resistance. Bend at your hips and crunch tightly into your core. It should feel like you are curling into a ball, not bending over.}

Walking Planks | 2 sets, 30 reps

     {Start in a straight arm plank position. Begin alternating one arm onto the forearm, followed by the other, then straighten the opposite arm and the remaining arm. This counts as one repetition.}


Hope you enjoy this workout. A good resource if you do not know or understand how to do any of these movements is BodyBuilding.com.

Be Bruce/Batman.