DB push press

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Today we are working with dumbbell rows. The main benefits coming from this exercise are strengthening the mid-back and lat muscles, improved posture, and improved shoulder stability. So, they do quite a bit of good for us.

This can be done isometrically if you choose, but I would suggest using toilet paper rolls or small spice containers to have your hands in the proper posture.

Begin by standing with feet shoulder width apart. The DBs are held in a neutral grip or with the palms facing inward. Next, hinge at the hips, bending forward and pushing your butt back and with a slight bend in your knees. The torso should be nearly parallel to the ground and the spine is kept straight.

The move itself entails pulling the DBs up to your lower ribs or hips as you exhale. Keep the elbows close to your body and squeeze the shoulder blades at the top. Inhale as you slowly and with control, bring the DBs back to the starting position.

Things to avoid: rounding your back, using momentum, and pulling the weights towards the chest or shoulders instead of back toward the hips. The movement should be flowing, not jerking the weights and the elbows don’t flare out but stay close to the body. Your torso should remain unmoving throughout without bending or twisting. You do not need a death grip on your weights. Your hands should be thought of more as a hook.

Choose a weight that lets you feel your back muscles working, not just your biceps.

Here’s a list of all the muscles being used in this move: the upper back muscles including the lats, rhomboids, and traps. Also working are the posterior deltoids, biceps, and the muscles in the lower back utilized for stabilizing or balance.

Today’s workout:
WARM UP
2-3x
stand heel to toe for 20 seconds, put other foot in front for another 20 seconds
accumulate 20 seconds standing on one foot, then 20 seconds on the other foot
8 baby steps forward, 8 baby steps backward (no watching your feet)

CIRCUIT
2-3x
5-6 bent over dual DB rows
5-6 DB push press
add or subtract weight as needed
rest as needed

As always, the movements can be done without weights. Choose what makes for a good workout for you. You want some challenge, but we aren’t going for “the agony of defeat” here. We are seeking “the thrill of victory” by doing, successfully, the hard things.

Stay balanced.
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Up, Up and Away

Today we are going to be working with dumbbells again. Of course, these moves can be done isometrically – or without weights. But I do recommend you hold something relatively weightless in your hand, just to get the grip idea and keep you from clenching your fists. Empty toilet paper rolls or empty (or even full) spice containers would work.

Holding the DBs up to your shoulders with palms facing inward, power them up and overhead. Bring them back to the shoulder position.

Presses are simply a movement where the weight is pressed away from the body and they can be done seated or standing or even lying down on a bench or the floor. When standing, they can be strict, which means no bending of the knees to get the additional oomph upward, or push, which allows that bend and push.

We are doing these today standing. So the very first thing to do is to stand tall. Remember to have your ankles, knees, and hips in a line, your belly button pulled in toward your spine, your chest high and your shoulders squared and relaxed with your shoulder blades down.

I am labeling these as push press, which means we get to have that small dip before the drive. When a press is labeled strict, you cannot bend your knees – making the movement more difficult. But when labeled push, you get the little dip that engages your lower body and adds muscle mass to the move.

DB overhead push press offers different options for hand direction. It can be front facing, which takes greater control over the weight, or face facing, which is what we are going to be doing today. These can also be done either one arm at a time, alternating arms, or both arms together – and we are doing that last option today.

Today’s workout:
WARM UP
2-3x
12 steps marching in place – 6 per leg
8 jumping jacks – jumping, walking out, or sitting

CIRCUIT
2-3x
4-5 DB overhead push press with or without weight – add or subtract weight as needed
4-5 air squats to a target
rest as needed

As always, this is supposed to be challenging but not overwhelming. Weights need to be controlled both with the raising and the lowering movement. Subtracting weight isn’t a failure. Knocking yourself in the head with a weight could be considered less than ideal. So if you chose too high, please back off. However, if you chose too low or light, increase it a bit and see if that works. And know that with practice, that higher weight may become available. Have fun.

Stay balanced.
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