Getting in Over Your Head

T-Nation is a pretty cool website, despite the fact it's not a lot more than a loosely concealed marketing tool for a supplement company, they do have some pretty cool authors and post some pretty good content (when they're not trying to get you to drink FIVE of their shakes a day).

Last week they posted a workout protocol designed to give you a 'V- Taper', now obviously this is going to be the result of large delts vs a small waist, an achievement that is far beyond the scope of a few additional exercises, however the article did highlight some solid stuff regarding overhead carries, something I'm a big fan of... You can read the piece in it's entirety here- 

https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/v-taper-workout 

- once you're done there, here's my two cents...

Pressing Matters

I try my best to work in as many overhead presses and carries as I can through the day at work, I have done for many years. I actually enjoy the challenge of carrying things over head, sometimes to my detriment, I'll notice my traditional pressing in the gym will decrease through exhaustion if I do too much throughout the day, but that's not really something a lot of you will have to worry about. 

Overhead presses and carries are a great way of inducing a ton of added time-under-tension to the delts, but with a weight you couldn't traditionally handle for much more than 15-20 seconds, once you're in that lockout position your delts are at their strongest and can maintain a contraction for much longer. Throw in the added shoulder stabilisation benefits, core work and cardiovascular effect you'll achieve, there's really no reason not to be performing this triple threat of an exercise.

So how can you work overhead carries into your regime without adding 12 hours a day of manual toil?

Like this...

[Watch video here http://youtu.be/qYMuO6V5SBw ]

-Take a 20kg plate (or two lashed together) from the ground and press it overhead 5-10 times.

-On the last rep, lock it out, get yourself stable and walk 15-20m with it.

-lower it to your chest, if you've got anymore reps in you, go for it, if not drop it to the ground.

- This is one set, throw 4-5 sets into your shoulder/ pressing day to get the full benefit.

If like me, you find yourself without equipment a lot of the time, start with nomad rule #1 - Survey your environment. You'll not be hard pressed (get it??) to find an odd object that you can toss above your head and take for a walk. In fact, utilising a difficult object to press, will actually increase the benefits of the workout a fair amount.

If you're completely stuck for anything to press, or just severely limited for space, try 5-6 handstand press ups, finishing with a one minute hold in the top position. Rest 60 seconds between sets and go for 4-5 sets to get a similar delt destroying effect.

Credit to - Christophotographic.com

Happy camping!

AT

(You can get the outfit I'm training in over at http://predacore.co.uk/ , use the code ATRACEY10 for a sweet 10% off...)