Name: Playbook - Rob Riches - Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 2.4 - Strength)
Uploaded: 2021-06-07T18:32:11.125Z
Duration: 45 min
Description: Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 2.4 - Strength)

Welcome to workout #9 of my Lean Muscle Growth Program. This routine is similar to that of workout #5, with many of the same exercises. You should aim to challenge yourself to push heavier weights than you did last time

The focus throughout this program is to perform each exercise as a straight set, aiming to increase the resistance for the next set. (If you're unable to increase the weight, try to add 2-3 extra reps within the next set)

You'll notice that there is a superset exercise (highlighted within the description with '*'. This means perform that exercise and then immediately perform a set of the next exercise, resting only after the second exercise has been performed. (Repeat this back and forth for the desired number of sets).

You'll also see there is cardio included at the end of the program. This can either be performed at the end of this program, or performed separately, usually first thing in the morning before eating so the body will burn fat as fuel.

Hold a heavy dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing you).  Stand upright with feet shoulder-width apart, shoulders pulled back, chest lifted, and the dumbbells at full-arms length resting at the side of your body. 

Your arms should remain at full length throughout this exercise. Shrug your shoulders up (imagine trying to touch your ears with your shoulders, even though you won't be able to) and pause momentarily at the top while you squeeze your Trap muscles. Then lower the dumbbells back down. (Try not to bend at the elbow as this will reduce the effectiveness of the exercise).

The trapezius and rhomboids are primarily worked by the dumbbell shrug. Located in the upper back, these muscles work together to stabilize and pull back your shoulders.

Dumbbell Shrugs

Lay face down on a leg/hamstring curl machine with your heels up against the foot pads. Your knees should be inline with the point at which the machine pivots to allow the machine to raise up and down.

This exercise can also be performed on a seated leg curl machine.

Keeping your hips and upper body firmly down on the pad (some machines offer handles to allow you to hold yourself down), Curl your heels up towards your glutes, going as high as you're able to. At the top, pause momentarily and really squeeze your hamstring muscles before returning back to the start.

Ideally, you shouldn't be letting the weights touch at the bottom as this relieves tension from the muscle. Each rep should be controlled without any momentum or jerking movements. If this is the case, lower the weight being lifted.

Keep your toes plantar-flexed (pointed) on sets 1 & 2, and Dorsif-flxed on set 3 (pulled inwards).

Lying Hamstring Curl

Stand with your feet shoulder-width part, and with a barbell in front of you, bend down to pick it up using an overhand grip just outside the width of your foot position. Stand upright with chest lifted and shoulders pulled back.

From here, keep your knees soft and lower the bar down your body to just below your knees. Your back should remain straight, and your hips are pushed back, hinging at the waist to allow you to lower the bar.

You shouldn't be squatting down with the bar, as the hinge at the hips will allow you to lower the bar. The knees are just short of lock out to allow you to feel the tension in the hamstrings.

Pause at the bottom of the rep, then focus on engaging your hamstring and glute muscles to pull yourself all the way back upright.

This works your hamstrings, glutes, and your lower back. This exercise engages the four muscles in the back of your leg that comprise the hamstring: the biceps femoris (a group of two muscles), semitendinosus, and the semimembranosus.

Stiff Legged Deadlift

Stand in front of a Plyo Box, bench, or ledge (that is ideally around knee height, or a little higher).

With a dumbbell in each hand, arms kept straight at the side of you, step one foot onto the top of the box and step up on to it, bringing your other foot up next to you. Stand tall to finish off the movement, then return your last leg up back to the floor and step back down.

Repeat with the opposite leg up first, and alternate with each foot up and down. 

If holding two dumbbells at your side is too challenging at first, you can start without any weight and progress up to holding your hands up by the sides of your head, or a single dumbbell held in front of your chest.

The box step-up is an effective unilateral exercise that helps to improve symmetry, balance, and coordination, while developing strength and power in the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. It also builds stability in the hip, knee, and ankle joints

Dumbbell Box Step Up

Lay on the floor with your arms at your side (palms facing upwards so you're less likely to cheat by pushing your hands down during the movement), and knees bent with your feet flat on the floor as close to you glutes as you can.

Keeping your abs pulled in tight, push down on the balls of your feet and drive your hips upwards, ending with a straight line from your knees, through your hips and to the shoulders. Hold this position for a split second as you squeeze the muscles in your glutes and hamstrings.

Lower back down under control until you feel your glutes make contact with the floor, then drive them back up again to the top of the rep.

The basic bridge isolates and strengthens your gluteus (butt) muscles and hamstrings (back of the thigh). When done correctly, the move can also enhance core stability by targeting your abdominal muscles and the muscles of lower back and hip.

Perform the final set as a single leg hip raise (keeping one foot elevated for each set).

Floor Hip Bridges

This Abdominal circuit will focus on the upper and lower region of the abs, as well as the obliques (the side muscles), and is ideal for beginners just starting out. 

Perform a set of the first exercise, then immediately perform one of the second and third exercise without rest. You can rest for up to 60 seconds after completing all exercises (that's one round) before starting the next round.

Remember to actively engage your abdominals during each exercise, and  focus on your breathing pattern so that you really feel your abs working and contracting on each and every rep.

Using a decline bench to lock your feet in, lay back flat on the bench so that your shoulders are lower than your hips. With your shoulders touching the pad, raise your head up slightly and place your hands either by the side of your head at the temple (or for an easier version, cross them over your chest, or extend them out towards your knees).

Engage the abs and exhale as you crunch the abs to raise the shoulders a few inches off the bench. You do not need to sit up right (most make this wrong assumption, which works the hip flexors more than the abs). 

Think of your shoulders following an arc-like trajectory towards your hips, and pause at the top of the rep momentarily as you flex the abs hard hard at the top of the movement. Return back to the starting position, and as soon as you shoulders touch the bench, go back into the crunch.

You should be exhaling deeply, while contracting and engaging the abs on every rep.

This will primarily work the upper region of the abs.

Decline Crunch

By placing your elbows on the pads and supporting your body in an upright position with your legs hanging freely below you, it's less effort than performing these with your arms overhead holding on to a chin up bar, and allows the legs to be raised up and down freely.

Engaging your abs, raise your legs up towards your chest, bending at the knee to keep them as close to your body as possible. As you raise the knees up past your waist, you should be able to flex the lower abs hard and start to curl the hips away from the back pad. (This is the whole point of this exercise - to target and engage the lower abs).

Try to pause momentarily at the top of the rep before controlling the legs back to the starting position where they are fully extended below you. 

Continue to  engage the abs and exhale on every rep.

Supported Elbow Raises

Using a lightweight pole (a broom stick is ideal, or an aerobics bar. Not an olympic bar as they are too heavy), place it across your upper back like you would if you were going to squat with it.

Sit upright at the end of a bench, with your feet flat on the floor, knees bent at 90 degrees, and torso upright with shoulders pulled back and chest lifted. 

Lightly grasping the pole with an overhand grip and your elbows next to you, engage the abs and exhale as you rotate you twist the bar to one side, rotating only your upper body with it, and keeping the hips from turning. Rotate as far as you can without using momentum, until you feel your sides (Oblique muscles) fully activated. 

Repeat the same movement to the other side, and continue rotating back and forth in a smooth and controlled manner.

The oblique muscles are involved when the upper body (trunk) rotates left and right, and it is also these that give the lower 'V' shape of the abdomen.

Seated Bar Twists

Abs Circuit - Stage 2

Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 2.4 - Strength)

Back & Forearms (Ep 1.1 - Strength)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 1.3 - Strength)

Quads & Calves (Ep 1.2 - Strength)

Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 1.4 - Strength)

Biceps & Triceps (Ep 1.5 - Strength)

Cardio (Rest Day - Week 1)

Back & Forearms (Ep 2.1 Strength)

Quads & Calves (Ep 2.2 - Strength)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 2.3 - Strength)

Biceps & Triceps (Ep 2.5 - Strength)

Cardio (Rest Day - Week 2)

Back & Forearms (Ep 3.1 - Strength)

Quads & Calves (Ep 3.2 - Strength)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 3.3 - Strength)

Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 3.4 - Strength)

Biceps & Triceps (Ep 3.5 - Strength)

Cardio (Rest Day - Week 3)

Back & Forearms (Ep 4.1 - Strength)

Quads & Calves (Ep 4.2 - Strength)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 4.3 - Strength)

Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 4.4 - Strength)

Biceps & Triceps (Ep 4.5 - Strength)

Cardio  (Rest Day - Week 4)

Back & Triceps (Ep 5.1 - Endurance)

Quads & Calves (Ep 5.2 - Endurance)

Biceps & Forearms (Ep 5.3 - Endurance)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 5.4 - Endurance)

Hamstrings & Calves (Ep 5.5 - Endurance)

Triceps & Forearms (Ep 5.6 - Endurance)

Back & Triceps (Ep 6.1 - Endurance)

Quads & Calves (Ep 6.2 - Endurance)

Biceps & Forearms (Ep 6.3 - Endurance)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 6.4 - Endurance)

Hamstrings & Calves (Ep 6.5 - Endurance)

Triceps & Forearms (Ep 6.6 - Endruance)

Back & Traps (Ep 7.1 - Endurance)

Quads & Calves (Ep 7.2 - Endurance)

Biceps & Forearms (Ep 7.3 - Endurance)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 7.4 - Endurance)

Hamstrings & Calves (Ep 7.5 - Endurance)

Triceps & Forearms (Ep 7.6 - Endurance)

Back & Traps (Ep 8.1 - Endurance)

Quads & Calves (Ep 8.2 - Endurance)

Biceps & Forearms (Ep 8.3 - Endurance)

Shoulders & Chest (Ep 8.4 - Endurance)

Hamstring & Calves (Ep 8.5 - Endurance)

Triceps & Forearms (Ep 8.6 - Endurance)

Biceps, Forearms, & Triceps (Ep 9.1 - Conditioning)

Quads, Hamstring & Calves (Ep 9.2 - Conditioning)

Back, Chest, Traps, & Shoulders (Ep 9.3 - Conditioning)

Biceps, Forearms, & Triceps (Ep 9.4 - Conditioning)

Quads, Hamstrings, & Calves (Ep 9.5 - Conditioning)

Back, Chest, Traps & Shoulders (Ep 9.6 - Conditioning)

Legs & Shoulders (Ep 10.1 - Conditioning)

Biceps & Triceps (Ep 10.2 - Conditioning)

Back & Chest (Ep 10.3 - Conditioning)

Legs & Shoulders (Ep 10.4 - Conditioning)

Full Body Conditioning (Ep 10.5)

Biceps, Forearms, & Triceps (Ep 11.1 - Conditioning)

Quads, Hamstrings, & Calves (Ep 11.2 - Conditioning)

Back, Chest, Traps, & Shoulders (Ep 11.3 - Conditioning)

Biceps, Forearms, & Triceps (Ep 11.4 - Conditioning)

Quads, Hamstring, & Calves (Ep 11.5 - Conditioning)

Back, Chest, Traps & Shoulders (Ep 11.6 - Conditioning)

Legs & Shoulders (Ep 12.1 - Conditioning)

Biceps & Triceps (Ep 12.2 - Conditioning)

Back & Chest (Ep 12.3 - Conditioning)

Legs & Shoulders (Ep 12.4 - Conditioning)

Full Body Conditioning (Ep 12.5 - Conditioning)

Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 2.4 - Strength)

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Traps & Hamstrings (Ep 2.4 - Strength)

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