Dumbbell bench press
Lie on your back on a bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand level with your chest, palms facing in. Keeping your elbows tucked in, push the weights up above your chest. Pause, then gradually lower the weights to the starting position.
Do 10-12 reps.
Rack pull
Set a barbell at knee level on a squat rack. Stand with your knees slightly bent and gently touching the bar. Bend to grasp it with an overhand grip. Your hands should be just outside your legs, your back arched. Now stand up, keeping the bar close to your body.
Perform 10-12 reps.
Dumbbell row
Hold a pair of dumbbells and lower your torso until almost parallel to the floor. Let the weights hang at arm’s length. Pull your shoulders back and together, hold the position for 2 seconds, then row the weights up to either side of your rib cage, still squeezing your shoulder blades.
Perform 10-12 reps.
Pull-up hold
Hang at arm’s length from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, your hands about shoulder-width apart. Pull your chest up to the bar and hold for 10-20 seconds. Perform as many reps as you can. Once you can manage more than 5 reps, add some extra resistance by placing a dumbbell between your feet.
Alternating dumbbell shoulder press
Hold a pair of dumbbells just wider than shoulder width with your arms bent and palms facing each other. Bend your knees slightly and press one dumbbell up until your arm is straight. As you lower that dumbbell, press the other one up to complete 1 repetition.
Perform 10-12 reps.
Diagonal cable raise
Attach a handle to a floor-level pulley. Stand left-side-on and grab the handle with your right hand in front of your left hip. Without rotating your torso, pull the handle up and across your body until your hand is over your head and your thumb is pointing up.
Do 10-12 reps, then switch sides to balance your muscle.
