CGX: Intent Program Day 18: Arms Specific Included Upper Body

This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.

This is another tough endurance/high rep upper body workout. Though Caroline does work your entire upper body, as the title indicates, she hits the biceps and triceps hard. It is done circuit fashion and after going through the circuit once, I dropped to lighter dumbbells for some of the exercises. 90 seconds is a long time and it was frying my muscles!

This workout is done interval style. The interval and recovery times vary so they are noted below in the breakdown. There is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a progress bar along the bottom of the screen, counting down the workout time as a percentage.

Arms Specific Included Upper Body is 44:09 minutes (this time does not include the optional 3:55 minute warm up or the 3:25 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:35 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a chair or bench and a fitness mat.  Caroline is using 12.5kg/27.5 pound, 10kg/22 pound, 7.5kg/16.5 pound and 4kg/8.8 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Pullover for 90 seconds (one 35# DB first circuit, one 30# DB last 2 circuits)
2. 30 second rest
3. Diamond press for 90 seconds (similar to a chest press but DBs are pressed together over chest, arms are kept close to sides) (20# DBs first circuit, 16.5# DBs last 2 circuits)
4. 30 second rest
5. Pronated sweep for 90 seconds (sit on bench, torso is hinged forward over thighs, keeping arms close to sides and slightly bent, lift arms/DBs behind you w/ palms facing ceiling) (8# DBs)
6. 30 second rest
7. Seated frontal raise for 60 seconds (sit on bench with legs wide and torso hinged forward slightly, hold one DB in both hands, do a frontal raise) (one 16.5# DB)
8. 30 second rest
9. Alternating iso/dynamic hammer curl for 60 seconds (holding a DB in each hand, raise DBs halfway in hammer curl so elbows are bent at 90 degrees, hold DBs isometrically, lower one DB, doing a full hammer curl and returning it back to 90 degrees, repeat on other arm, continue alternating) (16.5# DBs)
10. 30 second rest
11. Wide bicep curls for 60 seconds (keeping arms/elbows close to sides, open arms to side, do bicep curls) (15# DBs)
12. 30 second rest
13. Lying tricep extension for 60 seconds (laying on bench, hold one DB in both hands, done similar to a skullcrusher except arms are extended further back so DB is lowered behind head) (one 20# DB first circuit, one 16.5# DB last 2 circuits)
14. (no rest) Skullcrusher for 60 seconds (holding one DB in both hands) (one 20# DB first circuit, one 16.5# DB last 2 circuits)
15. 30 second rest
16. Repeat #1-15 two more times

Finisher: (4 minutes)

1. Cobra push up, 20 reps (lay on mat, hands are on mat beneath shoulders, push up cobra style keeping hips and legs on mat and arms close to sides)
2. Alternating bicep curls, 10 reps per arm (20 total) (20# DBs)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 as many times as possible in 4 minutes