Don’t forget about your cardio—I say this to my clients all the time, but I’m always shocked at how often they neglect to get in 1 of their 2 cardio sessions each day. It’s a crucial part of my 12-Week Lean Muscle Program, and I don’t want you to underestimate the importance of these cardio sessions.

We’ve already hit the three biggest muscle groups this week—legs, back and chest. Today we’re targeting shoulders and calves. For this shoulders workout, we’re going to begin with the anterior (front) muscles of the shoulder. And we’re going to use a superset.

This superset begins with barbell front raises with your hands about shoulder-width apart. Raise the bar as high as you can—go at least to parallel but if you can go higher without your delts disengaging, then do that. But maintain control throughout the set. Then you’ll use the same barbell to perform standing barbell presses. Notice that I have Kai perform barbell presses to the front while Danielle performs them behind her neck. My preference is that you perform them behind the neck, but Kai was noticing some issues with his rotator cuff. It’s important to make adjustments when you recognize pain that may be related to potential injury rather than from the intensity that comes with training.

Next up are standing dumbbell lateral-front raises. For this move, you’ll bring dumbbells from your sides, performing the concentric (contraction) portion of a lateral raise. Then without bending your elbows, bring the dumbbells together with your arms parallel to the ground, and then lower them from the front-raise position. Next, you’ll raise the dumbbells as a front raise, and then with your arms parallel, you’ll widen to the top of a lateral raise position and lower from there. Watch my video to see how this is performed. Notice that I then have Kai and Danielle burn out with standard lateral raises.

Follow this move with seated dumbbell shoulder presses for 3 sets of 15 reps. Then you’ll perform reverse cable crossovers, which target rear delts. Use a relatively light weight that really allows you to use and contract your rear delts.

Finish off today’s workout with 3 sets of seated calves raises. You’ll perform 20 reps that are slow and controlled, emphasizing a contraction at the top and a stretch at the bottom—but don’t rest at the bottom. Transition immediately into fast reps, performing 15-20 of these to burn out your soleus muscles. 

Workout  

Barbell Front Raises 3 Sets/15 Reps SUPERSET: Perform barbell front raises followed immediately by standing barbell presses using the same weight. Rest 90 seconds between supersets
Standing Barbell Presses 3 Sets/15 Reps
Standing Dumbbell Lateral-Front Raises 3 Sets/12  Reps Each rep includes both a lateral and front raise. Then burn out with lateral raises. Rest 90 seconds between sets
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Presses 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds between sets
Reverse Cable Crossovers 3 Sets/15 Reps Rest 90 seconds between sets
Seated calves raises 3 Sets/20+10  Reps Perform the first 20 reps slow, and then follow with 10 fast reps. Rest 90 seconds between sets

GETHIN’S GO-TO:

One of the most important aspects of this 12-Week Lean Muscle Program is that the longer you follow it, the stronger you become mentally. You learn to endure pain and work through it. As your tolerance and discipline increase, this transfers to other aspects of your life. You’re able to endure more stress in all aspects of your life, which helps you succeed in your job and relationships in addition to improving your physique.

WHAT SUPP?

BCAAS Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) include leucine, isoleucine and valine. Because your body cannot make BCAAs, you need to get them from your food and supplements, and you have a much greater demand for them when you’re training with intensity. Kaged Muscle’s fermented BCAAS are delivered in the sought after 2:1:1 ratio. DOSE AND TIMING: For best results, take in fermented BCAAS 3 times a day, emphasizing first thing upon rising, before workouts, and during workouts. I also like to mix this in my gallon jug with other amino acids such as glutamine, citrulline (on non-training days) and HYDRA-CHARGE. Choose the option that works best for you.

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