The Upper Body (DB only) Destroyer – Eric ‘Merlin’ Broser
Maybe you workout at home and all you have in your basement, spare room or garage is a set of DB’s. Perhaps you are traveling and the hotel “health club” has nothing more than a beat up Universal machine, treadmill and a rack of DB’s.
Or could it be that you want to try something totally different today? Maybe you should try an all-machine workout. Nah, the wait for all the best machines would be too long. How about a barbell-only session? Could be fun, but it takes a lot of time and effort to constantly load and unload all of those weight plates from the bar. I have a suggestion – hit the gym and crush the entire upper body with nothing more than a couple of benches and a myriad of the most basic pieces of weight training equipment available…good ole dumbbells! Performing a just-DB’s workout can be incredibly grueling, extremely taxing and amazingly productive for igniting muscle growth!
Some Advantages of DB Training:
*Increased use of stabilizer muscles.
*Exercises can be done bi or unilaterally.
*Each side of body is forced to perform equally.
*Better for fixing strength imbalances.
*Easy to perform supersets and dropsets.
Sample All-DB Upper Body Blast:
-Incline DB Press (4/1/X tempo)…3 sets of 8-10 reps
-Flat DB Flye (2/2/1 tempo)…3 sets of 8-10 reps
-Two Arm DB Bent Row w/ Palms Facing Rear (3/1/1 tempo)…3 sets of 10-12 reps
-One Arm DB Row (2/1/1/1 tempo)…3 sets of 10-12 reps
-Seated DB Press (4/1/X tempo)…3 sets of 8-10 reps
-Two DB Upright Row (2/1/1/1 tempo)…2 sets of 8-10 reps
-Standing Alternating DB Curl (3/1/1/1 tempo)…2 sets of 6-8 reps
-Seated Hammer Concentration Curl (3/1/1/1 tempo)…2 sets of 6-8 reps
-Incline Two Arms Overhead Single DB Extension (3/2/1 tempo)…2 sets of 8-10 reps
-Lying Two Arm Two DB Extensions (2/1/1 tempo)…2 sets of 8-10 reps
-Lying Crunch Holding DB on Chest (2/0/1/1 tempo)…3 sets of 20-25 reps
Note: Lifting Tempo is the phrase used to describe how fast you lower, lift and pause with the weight in each phase of a repetition. It is expressed in seconds and begins with the negative (lowering) portion of an exercise, then the midpoint (stretch) portion, then the positive (lifting) portion, and if there is a forth number used it will be the peak contraction (squeeze) portion. Although some exercises begin with a negative contraction (such as the DB bench press) and some with a positive contraction (such as the DB curl) the way “tempo” is approached remains fixed.
If you have something you would like to ask, please send Eric an email to bodyfx2@aol.com.
Visit his website – www.broserbuilt.com
 Destroyer - Eric 'Merlin' Broser Maybe you workout at home and all you have in your basement, spare room or garage is a set of DB’s. Perhaps you are traveling and the hotel “health club” has nothing more than a beat up Universal machine, treadmill and a rack of DB’s.){kind=link}