Posted on September 02, 2016 by Kate Halsall
As promised last week, this blog focuses on some of the exercises I’m doing to strengthen my delts, lats and pec major as part of my on going training. If you missed last week’s blog on shoulder girdle exercises click here, in the meantime stay tuned for some more upper back exercises for boxing.
In case you don’t know, your deltoids (anterior, posterior and medial) surround your shoulder; your latissimus dorsi is a massive muscle which spans most of your back; and the pectoralis major is the big chest muscle. Now, even though I’m focusing on these muscles, that doesn’t mean to say that other muscles such as those of the shoulder girdle, or triceps and biceps are not involved – I just can’t cover everything in one blog!
Ok so back onto our 3 muscles of focus for today: the main muscle actions or movements that these three perform are:
- Lateral & Medial Rotation
- Extension & Flexion
- Adduction & Abduction
So some of the exercises that I am incorporating into my training to ensure that I work these muscles are:
- Lateral & Medial Rotation – Dumbbell Rotator Cuff Exercises – works the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis, deltoid, pecs and latissimus muscles.
- Extension – Cable Straight Arm Push Downs – works the lats, deltoids and the pecs.
- Flexion – Barbell Forward Raise – works the deltoids and pectoralis major.
- Adduction – Lat Pull Downs – works the lats, pectorals, teres major
- Abduction – Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises – works the deltoids, supraspinatus and pectorals
Now – here’s a word of caution. I LOVE (and have always loved) training shoulders. I’m used to a lot of the exercises I have listed here. If you’re new to rotator cuff training, use resistance band or static rotations (where you hold the move against a wall or door frame).
Once again, I’ve not put sets and reps on this list as I’m not going to give away all my training secrets!!
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