This 4-Move Upper Body Blaster Workout Adds Power to Your Arm Day Arsenal
If you think 21s or are the most brutal upper-body blaster on the planet, it’s time to try add this workout from trainer Jeremy Scott to your arsenal.
Aptly named The Upper Body Hot 100, this workout consists of completing 100 reps of four different movements: the barbell curl, the barbell overhead press, the barbell bent-over row, and pushups, in that order.
That’s a ton of volume—so you should be smart about how you approach the series. “Rest as needed between reps as fatigue gets real here quickly,” says Scott in an Instagram post highlighting this workout. “However you make complete 100 reps of one exercise before moving onto the next one.”
But speed is only one thing you should be concerned about. Maintaining proper form for every rep is just as important. Scott encourages anyone looking to take on the challenge to track their speed, but “chasing quality reps” is also a focus.
Grab an empty barbell and, and without adding weight, start curling. Remember, your goal is to use only your biceps here, so make sure to move only at the elbow. Squeezing your glutes, quads, and core can help encourage you to use really isolate the biceps muscles. But if, even after 20 to 30 seconds rest between sets, you find yourself using your hips to propel the barbell to chest height, drop to a lighter barbell or EZ curl bar.
For the the barbell overhead press, your focus should be on keeping your pelvis under your torso and core engaged at all times. With each press, be sure that you’re locking your arms out overhead—even when your delts start to fatigue. Again, you’re not using your legs here, so make sure you’re using your shoulders to press the bar vertically, not momentum from the last rep.
Scott adds a twist to the third movement: the barbell bent-over row. Instead of using an overhand grip as you would during a classic barbell row, he takes an underhand grip so that his palms are facing away from his body. This variation reduces the demand on your already-taxed shoulders, and instead increases emphasis on your lats and bis.
If at any point during the rows you lose your core and feel your lower back starting to round, put the bar down. The health of your spine is not worth an extra rep or two. Rest a minute before picking the bar back up—keeping a neutral spine as you crank through the remaining reps.
Finish up with 100 pushups. Our advice: Don’t try to be a hero with your first set. Break before you reach failure. Then, as you get into the higher reps, you can really push yourself as you bring the workout home.
Want more workouts from Scott? Check out this 30-minute AMRAP, which doesn’t require a single piece of equipment and this four-move ladder workout.
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