21 April 2015 ~ 0 Comments

The Shoulder Stinger 6 Minute Challenge: Burn Out Your Shoulders Without A Single Piece Of Equipment

By admin

I cannot believe I have never shared what I am about to share with you guys today!

Summer is approaching and more and more of us are prepping to get ready for sundresses and tank tops. I love that so many clients lately have been asking for more shoulder targeted moves (normally it’s abs).

It’s refreshing and I feel as if I have finally helped women realize that you can’t get a flat stomach simply by doing planks and crunches. Ain’t going to happen.

But shoulders… it’s pretty easy to tone those babies up. It’s an area where not a lot of fat tends to build up for most women, making it one of the first areas to really see some toning action when focused on training those muscles.

But how do you work them?

Of course you can do traditional moves like:

shoulder-moves

Lat Raises – Pike Push-ups – Shoulders Presses – Snatches – Dips – Divebombers – Etc

But we don’t always have weights around, do we? Not to mention sometimes it’s just fun to change things up.

As my mom always said, “Variety is the spice of life.”

Okay, my mom never said that but I do!

Shoulders & Weights

Of course adding weighted moves to your shoulder workouts is a plus. I recommend the moves above (well, maybe not dips) but the others are a go!

However, not for everyone. The deltoids and rotator cuff can be a weak zone for many women, meaning that you shouldn’t just jump into weighted exercises. I know far too many women that have had shoulder injuries due to overworking the muscles and adding unnecessary strain to them without proper progression.

But the good news is…

You don’t have to start off with any weights. At all.

The Shoulder Stinger Challenge below is one of the most love/hated series I do with my clients. They hate doing it but love the burn and the fact that at no point are their wrists on the ground (another issue is wrist pain for many of you guys).

The Shoulder Stinger Challenge

shoulder-stinger

This challenge is just 6 minutes long. All body weight. All standing up.

Oh but there is one rule…

  1. At no point during the 6 minutes can you put your arms down!

What happens if you do?

Well, in my classes if someone lets their arms fall, at the end of the session, everyone EXCEPT them has to do 20 burpees. It works like a charm, no one wants to be responsible for making their friends do burpees. No one.

If you’re doing this solo, obviously this won’t work. SO instead, the “bonus” (there is no such thing as a workout penalty) is to do 20 burpees yourself.

Are you up for the challenge?

The Shoulder Stinger 6 Minute Challenge

  • Set a timer for 9 rounds of 40 seconds.
  • Complete the following 9 exercises back to back.
  • No rest in between! Remember, try not to drop your arms. Yes, it will burn, but you can do it!

Pulse Up & Down

shoulder-updowns

Circles

shoudlers-sidecircles

Pulse Forward & Backward

shoudler-forwardback

Front Mini Circles

shoudler-frontcircles

Mini Claps

shoulder-front-claps

Raise The Roof

shoudler-touchdown

Shoulder Shrug Lifts

shoulder-shrugs

Front Flutter Kicks

shoudler-frontflutters

Jack Arms

shoulder-jack-arms

Hold Them Straight Out!

shoulders-out

And to really bring it up…

Finish With 20 Push-Ups!

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think. Better yet, do it, snap a picture of your awesome arms and share it on Instagram tagging me (@FitnessTaylor)! I would love to see and hear your thoughts.

Let’s and with a little motivation!

Love this picture of Ashton!

motivation-monday

What’s your favorite BODYWEIGHT exercise?

I love/hate divembombers!

Whip Six Feed

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