I’m a busy mom who often only has 30 minutes to exercise, so I need to make each workout count.
To make my sessions more challenging (and more interesting) I rely on four strength-training techniques:
- A slower tempo: Slowing down increases the amount of time the muscles are under tension
- Pulsing movements: These movements help fatigue the muscles
- Angle switches: Switching the angle of an exercise can help isolate muscles
- Dead stops: Coming to a complete stop between repetitions of an exercise eliminates momentum, forcing you to use explosive strength to restart the movement
You can try these techniques for yourself in the upper-body workout below, which strengthens your core, arms, chest and shoulders.
The workout
Perform each exercise 12-15 times, completing two to three rounds in total.
- Bottom half biceps curl
- Dumb waiter
- Pec flye pulse
- Lying biceps curl
- Tempo triceps extension
- Dead-stop chest press
1. Bottom half biceps curl
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 12-15 Rest: 20-30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms extended by your sides and palms facing forward.
- Engage your core and keep your shoulders back.
- Keep your elbows close to your waist and bend your elbows to lift the weights.
- Stop when your elbows reach a 90° angle and hold for one second.
- Slowly lower the weights.
Technique: A slower tempo
2. Dumb waiter
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 12-15 Rest: 20-30sec
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms extended by your sides.
- Bend your elbows to 90° and position your palms to face up.
- Keeping your elbows pinned to your waist, bring your hands out to your sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Reverse the move to bring both hands back to center.
3. Pec flye pulse
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 12-15 Rest: 20-30sec
- Lie on an exercise mat with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees and keep your feet on the floor.
- Push your lower back into the mat to make sure your core is engaged.
- Raise the dumbbells above your chest and straighten your arms, positioning your palms to face each other.
- Slowly lower the weights out to your sides, keeping your arms straight.
- When your hands are a few inches above the floor, pause, then move your arms up and down in a small pulse movement.
- Bring your arms up back to the starting position and repeat.
Technique: Pulsing movements
4. Lying biceps curl
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 12-15 Rest: 20-30sec
- Lie on an exercise mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand, keeping your arms extended by your sides, palms facing up.
- Push your lower back into the mat to make sure your core is engaged.
- Bend your elbows to move the weights to your shoulders.
- Slowly extend your elbows to return to the starting position.
Technique: Angle switch
5. Tempo triceps extension
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 12-15 Rest: 20-30sec
- Stand holding a dumbbell in both hands.
- Bring the dumbbell up overhead, straightening your arms and bringing your elbows close to your head.
- Bend your elbows to slowly lower the weight behind you for a count of three seconds.
- Pause for one second when the weight reaches your upper back.
- Lift the weight back up quickly in one second.
Technique: A slower tempo
6. Dead-stop chest press
Sets: 2-3 Reps: 12-15 Rest: 20-30sec
- Lie on an exercise mat with your knees bent and feet on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Push your lower back into the mat to make sure your core is engaged.
- Bring your elbows out to either side of you on the floor and hold the dumbbells in line with your chest.
- Push the weights up until your arms are fully extended.
- Lower the weights back down until your elbows are back on the floor.
- Pause for one second before repeating.
Technique: Dead stop
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