Here we have a perfect four part exercise combo, for some it may seem too simple but trust us, we have shaved away a lot of competing choices to get to this routine. We call it the ‘T Move’ because she likes to train in this fashion and has been the impetus to develop an all inclusive method. This hits pretty much all of your body and ability in one continuous set and when you can go through it 15 times continuously for 3 circuits (rest 30 seconds between circuits) you will get an incredible workout is shockingly little time. This allows not only strengthening and agility training but also a heap of stamina and cardio conditioning as well. The trick is to start with little even no weight and get the basic bio mechanics down in a rhythmic manner. Don’t be deceived by T’s easy going manner here, first off she is only using 15lbs for demonstration purposes and second she is a pro…and loves these type of moves. A light weighted or no weighted run of say 10-15 revolutions is great for warm up so don’t be shy to ease in to this. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t do it right away. Just practice and let it flow. You can think of it as 2 separate combo’s of Squat/Press and Deadlift/Row. Just give yourself time to get use to it then enjoy, it provides a massive bang for your buck time wise and takes very little space.
T Demo
Let’s examine:
A) Set – Hammer curl your weights up to shoulder height and try not to swing them too much. By ‘hammer’ we mean palms facing your sides not hand turned forward or backward.
B) Squat – Holding the weights at shoulder height squat down while holding dumbbells up. Don’t just bend but push your hips back ‘before’ bending down. This keeps you from letting knees come forward over your toes and maintains weight over your heels where you can power up from and use all the muscle all the way around your thighs not just the lower front of the quadriceps . The key to the squat is sit back and down like reaching for the edge of a chair with your butt. In fact you can use a chair to practice reaching back instead of just bending knees too early and then over bending your lower back and ending up with too much forward tilt. When you are in the right position your hips will relax and you will be able to drive feet into the floor and squeeze your whole lower body musculature (glutes, quads, hams, abductors, adductors, calves etc) this is what you want, all the lower body muscles working together ‘while’ you hold the weights up high at shoulders which requires core and upper body strength/coordination. You may have the urge to press up over head as soon as you bring the dumbbells up from your sides rather than remembering to squat down, just think of it as loading up for the squat rather than preparing for the overhead press.
C) Overhead Shoulder Press – Keeping body tight yet fluid (practice, practice ;n) drive the weights up overhead shoulder press style. When you gain skill and confidence and use heavier weight you can add a mild pop action where you use mild momentum from the upward drive of the squat to assist the over head press – do not over do this and cheat to the point of risking injury.
D) Set 2 – Weights come back down to sides, notice Tierney does this in a deliberate reversal manner rather than just dropping weight down with limp arms. You want your body to experience all of the motions under real load and what we call the negative or eccentric portion of a move is just as important as the positive/concentric part.
E) Down on the Deadlift – This is known as a Romanian dead lift where your knees keep a mild bend as you bend forward at the waist. This targets the back of the legs and the lumbers/lower back. The key is to not stretch down past your ability to maintain proper upper body form. You should have chest up and shoulders square maintaining a natural curve in the lower back NOT rounding down and forward – don’t over stretch!
F) Row – While in the bottom position of the R deadlift you row the weights using your back and pulling shoulder blades together but NOT shrugging shoulders up towards ears. You want your whole back to work not just your upper traps behind and beside your neck.
G) Deadlift Up – R deadlift up to start position. Do this by digging heels in to floor and squeezing the backs of your legs (hams) . This takes time to feel so just do your best and keep thinking about weight on heels and hams contracting.
H) Reset as per A)
*Breathing must remain unobstructed as in do NOT hold breath at any point. As you lose your wind simply allow yourself to puff ‘out’ more often sort of like a old fashion train chugging along.
Video recap/overview of instruction ( I know A rattles on for almost 10 minutes for a 2 minute move lol)
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For Fun: You can routine this differently for greater effect – Start 15 rounds with no weight then no rest and 15 rounds with 10 lbs for woman or 20 lbs for men. Then rest 15 seconds and do again with no weight for woman and 10 lbs for men. Rest 30 seconds and do a final 15 rounds with 15-20 lbs for woman and 30-40 lbs for men
In time we will show you how to stack it with other short routines for the real keen(ers) so please check back!
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i just LOVE you two!!!!!! thanks for this blog!!!! xo
Thanx super Mom…vibes of Luv right back at you!
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