[UPWOD Nº48] The Upper Body Sledgehammer Workout

*UPWODs are Lean It UP’s Workout of the Day. For more info on UPWODs, how to do them effectively, and what they’re all about, read the introductory guide before starting.

**You can find all of our previous UPWODs here.

POUND YOUR UPPER BODY.

UPWOD Nº48—The Upper Body Sledgehammer Workout—is my favorite type of workout. It’s the kind where you saddle up, blast a little gangsta rap, lock in, and relentlessly throw around heavy-ass weight for an hour.

It’s the perfect stress buster and way to invigorate new growth.

Nº48 specifically targets the upper body and slams the chest, shoulders and triceps with a colossal one-two punch.

You’ll plow through a minefield of staple push exercises—including chest presses, shoulder presses, dips, and push ups—that blast your large muscles; and second, accessorize with a circuit of quick-hitting supersets and burnout sets, both of which help accentuate smaller muscles and churn out definition.

Combined, it’s a BRUTAL gauntlet that’ll pummel your muscles in a new way, stimulate impressive growth, and add size, definition, and strength to your upper body.

Bring the thunder and hit it hard.

[UPWOD Nº48] The Upper Body Sledgehammer Workout

*Bonus info for each exercise:

• 1. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press — you can also do this with a barbell. Squeeze your upper chest together at the top of each rep and lower all the way down.
• 2. Dumbbell Shoulder Press — do these seated. Lower the weights until your triceps are slightly below parallel with the floor and explode up.
• 3. [SUPERSET] Dumbbell Chest Press + Dumbbell Chest Flies — do both back-to-back. Lower down to a pull extension and SQUEEZE at the top of both exercises.
• 4. Upright Rows — hold the bar about shoulder width apart and pull it up to neck height. Hold at the top for 1 second.
• 5. [SUPERSET] Lateral Raises + Bent-Over Reverse Flies — do both back-to-back. For both exercises, hold and squeeze at the top for 1 second.
• 6. [SUPERSET] Dips + Push Ups — do both back-to-back. Try to hit 15 + 20 reps, but work until failure if you can’t get that far. Feel free to sub bench dips and push ups on your knees if needed.
• 7. [BURNOUT] Arnold Press — hold the dumbbells with an underhand grip up at shoulder height. Press up, turn your wrists, and press overhead with an overhand grip. Reverse the process on the way down. Use a light-ish weight and bang out 20 reps.

If you don’t have resistance bands, I use and recommend Black Mountain’s set. If you need dumbbells, I love the Bowflex SelectTech 552 adjustable dumbbells.

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Bryan DiSanto

Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP

ELLO ELLO I'm Bryan DiSanto. I'm the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, a CPT/CSN/Fitness Coach, Chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu – Paris, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness junkie.

I also contribute to Men's Health Magazine.

When I'm not working on my abs (or somebody else’s), whipping up avocado roses and avocado toast, or running a Tough Mudder, I'm probably yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.

Come be friends with me on Instagram (@BRYDISANTO) & Snapchat (BRYDISANTO).

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