Our personal favorite part of the body to sculpt? Shoulders and triceps. Getting those delts and tri’s trim year-round is our weight room obsession.
Celeb-sculpting trainer Don Saladino has taken actors from Blake Lively and Maggie Grace to Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber to the next level in the gym – and we’re lucky enough to have plenty of insights from him this winter here on TCM. One thing he’s drilled into our brains? The way to get your body going in the gym is using split training – a workout style that focuses on one area of the body per training sesh. Not only does this give your muscles ample time to recover, it means you can devote all your attention to one part without rushing to beat the clock!
Get Don’s full week’s worth of workouts and get in and out of the gym faster than ever this season. Tackle his chest + biceps workout on Day One, legs workout on Day Two, then try your hand at this killer shoulders + triceps workout on Day Three, which hits all sides of those tiny but mighty arm muscles in one supercharged gym sesh…
A Quick Shoulders + Triceps Workout With Celeb Trainer Don Saladino
WARMUP
Warmup for 10-15 minutes to prime and prep your body.
Foam rolling: Foam rolling involves lying on a cylinder-like foam roller and rolling any area of the body that is tender. Think of it as using a rolling pin to roll dough. Do not roll bone – the roller is to be used on the fleshy areas of the body such as hips, hamstrings, quads, glutes and calves (like this).
JUMP, THROW & CARRY
Perform 2-3 rounds of this circuit to stay athletic and mobile.
Jump: One-legged matrix jumps, 3 sets on each side. Imagine you’re standing on the face of a clock. Begin by jumping to the number one with your right leg. Then jump back to your starting position. Next, jump to the number three and return to your starting position. Finally, jump to the number five (this time rotating your body) and return to starting position. Repeat on the opposite side (like this).
Throw: Pivoting med-ball slam, 3 sets of 10 each side. Raise your med ball high above your head, pivot your body to the right and slam the ball into the ground as hard as you can. Imagine you are squishing a bug with your opposite foot as you do this. Repeat on the other side (like this).
Carry: Bottom-up carry, 50 yds each side. Try a variation on your farmer’s walk. By flipping the bell upside down, you’re changing its center of mass and making your grip and stabilizers work even harder. Lighten the load you’re used to using for this one to ensure proper technique and safety (like this).
SHOULDERS & TRICEPS
Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets of 5 reps. Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, take a dumbbell in each hand. Raise the dumbbells to head height, with the elbows out at about 90 degrees. This will be your starting position. Extend through the elbow to raise the weights together directly above your head (like this).
One-Arm Alternating Dumbbell: 3 sets of 8 reps. This is the same as the standing DB shoulder press, only this time press one arm up at a time (like this).
Side Raise: 4 sets of 10 reps. Stand with a straight torso, dumbbells by your side at arms-length with the palms of your hand facing you. This will be your starting position. Keep your torso still and lift the dumbbells to your side with a slight bend in the elbows. Raise your arms until they are parallel to the floor and pause for a second at the top. Lower the dumbbells back down slowly to the starting position (like this).
Rear Delt: 4 sets of 10 reps. Holding a pair of dumbbells, maintain a flat back and bend forward. Simultaneously, raise your arms out to the side while keeping a slight bend in the elbows until arms are parallel to the floor. Contract at the top and then slowly lower the arms down to starting position (like this).
Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 8 reps. Lie on a flat bench while holding two dumbbells directly above you. Make sure your arms are fully extended at a 90-degree angle from your torso. Keep your palms facing in and bring the dumbbells back towards either side of your head. Extend back to starting position and repeat (like this).
Dumbbell Overheads: 3 sets of 10 reps: Lift your dumbbell over your head with fully extended arms. The weight should be resting in the palms of your hands with the palms facing up throughout this motion. Keeping your upper arms close to your head with elbows in and perpendicular to the floor, lower the weight behind your head and back up (like this).
Rope Push Downs: 3 sets of 15 reps: Using the triceps, pull the rope down until it touches the front of your thighs and the arms are fully extended perpendicular to the floor. The upper arms should always remain stationary next to your torso and only the forearms should move (like this).
