Name: Playbook - Katie Becknell - Full Upper Baaawd
Uploaded: 2024-04-23T23:47:51.227Z
Duration: 60 min
Description: Full Upper Baaawd

4xamrap pull ups 
4x6-8 bench press
4x6-8 shoulder press
3x10 lateral raise
3x12 ez bar curl
3x24 front raise triset
3x12 hammer curl
3x10 kneeling face pull
3x10 tricep pushdown

SET UP:
You can either do assisted or unassisted depending on your level. For assisted you can either use a machine like the one in the video or you can wrap a band around the top bar by the grips and use that to assist you. 

FORM TIPS:
You can choose whatever grip you like, either close grip, underhand, overhand, etc whatever you feel comfortable with! At the beginning of the movement make sure you do essentially a scap pull (pulling your shoulder blades back and down) then drive and pull your elbows down to lift your body up.

Pull Ups

SET UP:
Find a bench press (bench attached to a rack with a barbell) or if the barbell alone (45 lbs) is too heavy go to a regular bench and use dumbbells 

FORM TIPS:
Lie flat on your back, place hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Lift your upper body slightly to pull your scapulas (shoulder blades) back and down, essentially squeezing your shoulder blades together. Arch your back slightly and plant your feet flat on the ground (add two plates on the ground for youre feet if the bench is too high). 

Unrack the bar and stack the bar over your shoulders, making sure youre wrists are also stacked and not bent backwards, and slowly lower the bar down to the bottom of where your bra is. This is not a straight up and down movement, the bar should move on a slight diagonal. 

Think about pushing yourself into the bench as opposed to pushing the bar away from you. And drive your feet into the ground while keeping your hips on the bench. 

WEIGHT:
ALWAYS Start with the bar as a warm up then increase the weight by 2.5-5 lbs each set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set. You can also use dumbbells if you cannot lift the bar yet!

Bench Press

SET UP:
Find an incline bench, one that has an adjustable seat. Set it to a position that is about 60 degrees, above 45 but below 90. 

FORM TIPS:
To get the weight up, set the dumbbells on each of your legs and one at a time push the dumbbell up with your leg. Similar to the bench press you want to pull your shoulder blades back and down with a slight arch in your back. 

On the descent you dont want your arms to be directly out to the side, they should be at a slight angle, about 20-30 degrees forward, and bring the dumbbells down to where they almost touch your shoulder, then press up.

WEIGHT:
Increase the weight by 5-10 lbs each set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

SET UP:
You’ll only need two dumbbells for this exercise. 

FORM TIPS:
Same with the shoulder press, you dont want to lift your arms straight out to the side. Your arms should be angled about 20-30 degrees in front of you. Pull your shoulder blades back and down and initiate the lift with your elbows.

Your arms should be slightly bent and should never lift higher than your shoulders.

WEIGHT:
Increase the weight by 5-10 lbs each set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

SET UP:
Grab a lightweight EZ bar and find an open space ideally with a mirror in front and to the side of you to see your form. 

FORM TIPS:
The grip for these is going to be a supinated grip meaning your palms are going to be facing up towards you. Your arms should be fully extended then curl the weights up squeezing your biceps. You dont want to bring the weights fully up to where your for arms are perpendicular to the floor. You want to stop just shy of the top to keep constant tension on the biceps! Your upper arm (from your elbow to your shoulder) SHOULD NOT MOVE during the entirety of the curl, it should be stuck to your sides and having the forearms do all the moving.

WEIGHT:
Increase the weight by 5-10 lbs each set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set.

EZ Bar Bicep Curl

SET UP:
Grab a light weight EZ bar or if your gym doesnt have them / the minimum weight is too much you can also use dumbbells. 

FORM TIPS:
With an overhand grip, grab the bar at about shoulder width apart. Keeping your arms pretty straight (dont fully lock them out, have a very slight bend at the elbow) raise the bar to shoulder height and lower for 8 reps. IMMEDIATELY AFTER widen your grip to the very edge of the bar and repeat for another 8 reps.

WEIGHT:
Stick with the same weight for each set unless you are getting to the last rep with ease. Your arms should be on fire by the 24th rep and if not up the weight!!

EZ Bar Front Raise Superset

SET UP:
Grab two dumbbells and find an open space ideally with a mirror in front and to the side of you to see your form. 

FORM TIPS:
The grip for these is going to be a neutral grip meaning your palms are going to be facing inward towards each other. Your arms should be fully extended then curl the weights up squeezing your biceps. You dont want to bring the weights fully up to where your for arms are perpendicular to the floor. You want to stop just shy of the top to keep constant tension on the biceps! Your upper arm (from your elbow to your shoulder) SHOULD NOT MOVE during the entirety of the curl, it should be stuck to your sides and having the forearms do all the moving. 

WEIGHT:
Increase by 2.5-5 lbs per set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set.

Dumbbell Hammer Curl

SET UP:
Find a cable machine and a rope attachment. You want to position the cable machine to slightly above your head height when kneeling, to adjust the height (for most cable machines) there should be a lever directly to the side of it that you can pull out and move it up and down to your desired position. 

FORM TIPS:
Grab each side of the rope with your thumbs pointed down and palms facing each other. 

Step back enough that when you kneel down and extend your arm there is slight tension on the cable. There should be CONSTANT tension during the entirety of the set (meaning the weights of the cable machine should never be resting). Pull your shoulder blades back and down. When you pull, you want your hands to end up at about the same level as your forehead. But you dont want your hands to end up right next to your ears, there should be a few inches between the side of your head and your hands.

WEIGHT:
Increase the weight by 5-10 lbs each set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set.

Cable Kneeling Face Pull

SET UP:
Find a cable machine and a rope attachment. You want to position the cable machine to the highest position.  

FORM TIPS:
Grab each side of the rope with your thumbs pointed up and palms facing inward. Pull shoulder blades back and down and press the handles down to the starting position of the movement. There should be CONSTANT tension during the entirety of the set (meaning the weights of the cable machine should never be resting). Your upper arm (from your elbow to shoulder) should be glued to your sides and not move throughout the movement, only the forearms will move your arms from 90 degrees to straight. 

Think about only pressing the rope down with your triceps and really squeeze them to get you to that bottom position.

WEIGHT:
Increase the weight by 5-10 lbs each set. If you struggle to get to that last rep or two and you have more sets after, stay at that weight then. If you are a few (2+) reps shy of the last rep, decrease the weight for the next set.

Full Upper Baaawd

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