Ladies Number One Strength Training Session

Power Weight Routine- Exercise Descriptions
Gord Fogg’s Demo 24 June 2010

1. Deadlift – Load a barbell and set it on the floor or rests to raise it slightly from floor. Squat behind the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart. Grab the bar overhand with your hands just outside your legs, your shoulders over or just behind the bar, your arms straight and your back slightly arched (the opposite of rounded). Engage your abs (transverse abdominals – the core stabilizer muscles.).
Finish: Push your hips back, straighten your knees, push down with your heels and pull the weight to your body as you stand up. Pause with the weight (don’t lean back), then slowly return to the starting position. Pause with the weight on the floor and reset your body over the bar.

2. Clean Pull – Same as a vertical jump. Hold the bar using overhand grip approximately shoulder-width apart. The bar is at your shins or just above your knees. Your hips are down, feet flat and shoulders tall. Your back should be arched - not be rounded at all. Forcefully drive into the ground to pull the bar off the floor. Hips, knees, ankle extension just like in a standing jump. You can get the weight moving by moving your hips back just as you start the jump. This is an explosive leg strength exercise.

3. Barbell hang clean - Grab the barbell with an overhand, shoulder width grip. Set your feet shoulder-width apart, with your knees bent about 30 degrees, and bend forward at the hips as you hold the bar at arm’s length just below or above the knees.
Finish: This is a multipart sequence that you execute quickly and powerfully. First, dip your knees, as if you were about to jump. Quickly reverse the motion, as if you were jumping and trying to throw the bar over your shoulders. With all this upward momentum generated by your lower body and then your traps (shoulder shrug), pull the bar up to shoulder level as fast as you can. Finally, dip down with your knees and hips as you ’catch’ the bar on your shoulders. Your upper arms should end up parallel to the floor, in front of your torso, with the bar resting on your shoulders, not your wrists.

4. Barbell Front squat – Face the barbell in the squat supports. Bend your knees slightly to step into it and set it on the front of your shoulders. Hold the bar with a wide cross over grip, straighten your legs to lift the bar off the rack, step away from the rack, and set your feet shoulder – width apart with your knees slightly bent and your lower back in its naturally arched position.
Finish: Initiating the descent at the hips, not the knees, lower yourself as though sitting in a chair behind you. Stop when the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor or when you can no longer keep you back vertical, pause, then push back up to the starting position. Your knees should stay in line with your feet throughout the movement – they shouldn’t splay out or pinch in

5. Push Press –. Start with the bar on your shoulders in front of the neck. Keep the body upright, dip downward until you are at a quarter-squat position and then forcefully drive upwards with your legs using this power and momentum to drive the weight overhead while jumping to a stride position for front-back stability. Your arms and legs should be straight when the weight is locked out overhead. Step together and control the weight as you lower it back down to the shoulders.

6. Split Squat or Lunge- Place the bar behind your neck. Or hold dumbbells down by your sides. Place one foot well out in front of the other in a staggered position. Set your core and maintain an erect torso as you descend as deep as possible with the front heel firmly on the floor and the rear heel slightly raised. Attempt to push with the back leg as much as possible. Your front knee should not go fwd of your toes. Push up to feet together.

7. Single Dumbbell Shoulder Press – Holding a dumbbell above and beside your shoulder, elbow wide so that your upper arm is 90° to your torso.
Complete a shoulder press in this position Press the dumbbell straight up. Pause, and then slowly return to the starting position.
Variation: Stand on half ball for balance training.

8. Bench Press – Lying on your back on the bench, hold the bar with an overhand grip shoulder width. As you lower the bar towards your chest, push your shoulders down = away from your ears. Lower bar almost to the nipple line and prevent shoulder blades from dropping below level of bench. Keep wrists in a neutral position (all lined up so weight is directed straight down through arms) to minimize load on your wrists. Push up fast.

9. Dumbbell Flies – from same bench press position lying on bench. As in Bench Press, don’t let shoulders shrug or form a T-position straight out to your side; upper arms should be at less than 90 deg to torso when seen from your spotter’s position.

10. Back on the Ball. Lying on your back on the mat, place your heels on an exercise ball and assume the plank position. Exercise 1) Drop your hips almost to mat, then raise back to plank. Exercise 2) Starting from the plank position, lift your hips as high as possible, while pulling your heels in slightly. Exercise 3) Repeat while lifting one straight leg off ball.


Deleted from original list of exercises:
Reverse Grip Barbell Bench Press– Not recommended.
Good Mornings– Not recommended.
Incline Bench Presses – Not recommended.
Decline Bench Presses – Not recommended