Sure, you don’t get a lot of props for your six-pack abs in fall and winter, when layers of insulation replace summer’s skimpy tank tops and tees. But your traps, shoulders, and forearms can still pop out and look powerful under long-sleeve shirts and sweaters.
With this program, you’ll pack on muscle to these areas and get an upper body no amount of cloth can conceal—whether it’s in the heat of summer or the dead of winter.
How it works
While this routine has plenty of legs and abs work, it particularly targets the “sweater muscles” with exercises that train them heavy and hard. Hang snatch high pulls—an Olympic weightlifting move popular in CrossFit—will train your traps in a brand new way, while rack pulls will add thickness to your shoulders and back.
You’ll also focus on the forearms—but by integrating them with other muscle groups for efficiency. Instead of wrist curls, we’re calling for hammers and farmer’s walks with a thicker dumbbell handle. This forces you to grip harder to hold on to the weight, firing up your forearm muscles without isolating them.
Directions
Perform each workout (Day I, II, and III) once per week, resting a day between each session.
Exercises marked “A” and “B” are alternated, so you’ll do one set of A, rest, then B, rest again, and repeat until all sets are complete.
Jeb Stuart Johnston, C.P.T., is a trainer in New York City. Visit him at brooklynstrong.net.
