Are you doing enough to warmup your upper body before a workout? It's not uncommon to see gym goers stick to basic arm swings and tricep stretches before hitting up an upper body day. But upper body warmups before loading up on weights are just as important as warming up the lower body for squats or deadlifts. If you skip the proper warmups, you risk nagging injuries in the long run. I bet you know a person or two with a bum shoulder or elbow from weightlifting.
This sequence from Andy Speer, creator of Anarchy Abs, will improve wrist, scapular and shoulder mobility. It also strengthens your core, shoulders and upper back.
"Building strength and mobility in the wrist and shoulder girdle will not only reduce risk of future injury, it may decrease your current aches and pains," Speer says.
Improving scapular mobility and strength can also help break strength plateaus in exercises like pull ups and bench press, he adds. This sequence also targets your abs and obliques to increase core strength.
Interested in more from Andy Speer? Want to sculpt washboard abs? Check out his Anarchy Abs Workout program from Men's Health.
Directions: Perform the exercises below in the order listed.
1a. Wrist stretch on floor
1b. Hollow-body plank
1c. Scapular pushup
1d. Single-arm hollow plank, right
1e. Floor angel
1f. Single-arm hollow plank, left
1g. Y-Press out
1h. Hollow-body pushup
Perform each move for 30 seconds with 10 seconds of rest. That's one round. Do 2 total rounds as a warmup on upper body days.
