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Yeah, I am super lazy about hip thrusts - they are a pain in the ass to set up - barbell on the ground, sit under it, etc etc, but yes, they're super beneficial. It's shocking how many people have glutes that barely fire once they get past maybe 35 years old or so, and hip thrusts fix that. Strong glutes = strong skiing. For sure. So yeah, we should be doing them, and heavier weights rather than bodyweight is really beneficial for skiing and dynamic movements. If I'm landing a jump, or even catching my body weight dropping into a turn with no air, the G forces are real and much higher than body weight, so heavy weighted movements are pretty important. Here's my current upper body base workout since you asked for it: Bench Press: with bar 5x5 really heavy. Heavier the better. Usually I fail during the last set. First set is 30 pounds lighter as a warmup Standing Curls: with dumbbells 3x8 fairly heavy (dumbbells require less setup than a curl bar) Side Standing Lat Raises: with dumbbells 3x10 as heavy as possible without failing the last set Tricep Extensions: with dumbbells 3x12 as heavy as possible without failing the last set Bent over row: dumbbells 3x8 as heavy as possible Every 2 or 3 lift sessions I replace the bar bench press with dumbbell incline bench press as heavy as possible (which is only 70lb dumbbells since that's the heaviest I have - but I just add reps till exhaustion. So usually 3x10 or 3x12) Every 2nd or 3rd session I replace the rows with dumbbell Vertical Shoulder Press. Usually dumbbells cause it's less setup. Hope that helps. There are tons of other good exercises to add in, but this is quick, easy and it keeps me in a good place. You could easily do this all with dumbbells if you wanted.
Thanks, EWG. I took this as an input and leveraged what I've done in past - Phrak's GSLP program - and also added in some refrence to Strong Lifts 5x5 Lite, to see what ChatGPT would give me for advice. I said I'm focused on endurance biking/running, skiing (with a little backcountry), and general fitness in the mid-life stage (30s-40s). I also said I wanted to maximize compound movements and keep workouts under an hour, lifting twice a week. I also wanted to focus compound lifts on strength and hypertrophy for other lifts. I like what it gave me, which was just slight tweaks to what I had before:
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Day 1: Upper Body + Posterior Chain (Deadlift Focus) 1?? Deadlifts (Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back, Core, Grip) – 3 sets × 4-6 reps 2?? Bent-Over Rows (Upper Back, Lats, Rear Delts, Biceps, Core) – 3 sets × 6-10 reps 3?? Overhead Press (Shoulders, Triceps, Upper Chest, Core) – 3 sets × 6-10 reps 4?? Pull-Ups (Lats, Biceps, Upper Back, Core) – 3 sets × 6-10 reps 5?? Bicep Curls (Biceps, Forearms) – 3 sets × 10-12 reps 6?? Hanging Leg Raises or Ab Rollouts (Core, Hip Flexors) – 3 sets × 10-15 reps 7?? Suitcase Carry or Farmer’s Carry (Core, Grip, Postural Endurance) – 3×30-40 yards per side 8?? Passive Dead Hang (Shoulder Mobility, Spinal Decompression) – 30-60 sec
Day 2: Full Body + Ski Conditioning (Squat + Pressing Focus)
1?? Back Squats (Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Core) – 3 sets × 4-6 reps 2?? Bench Press (Chest, Triceps, Shoulders) – 3 sets × 6-10 reps 3?? Upright Rows (Shoulders, Traps, Biceps, Upper Back) – 3 sets × 8-12 reps 4?? Lateral or Frontal Raises (Shoulders, Traps) – 3 sets × 10-12 reps 5?? Dips (Triceps, Chest, Shoulders, Core) – 3 sets × 6-10 reps 6?? Leg Blasters – Mini Set (Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves, Core) – 2 rounds (10 air squats → 5 jump squats → 5 lunges per leg → 5 jumping lunges per leg, no rest) 7?? Core: Paloff Press or Cable Rotations (Core, Obliques, Stability) – 3 sets × 10-12 reps per side 8?? Nordic Hamstring Curls or Sliders (Hamstring & Knee Health) – 1-2 sets of slow eccentric reps per week 9?? Passive Dead Hang (Shoulder Mobility, Spinal Decompression) – 30-60 sec
Out of curiosity, I asked:
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Are Hip Thrusts or Glute Bridges Necessary?
Hip thrusts and glute bridges are great for glute activation, hip drive, and lower back protection, but since your program already includes: ? Deadlifts & Squats – Strong glute engagement ? Leg Blasters & Bulgarian Split Squats (if added) – Dynamic glute endurance When to Add Them: 1?? If you feel weak in hip extension or glutes don’t activate well → Add 2×12 Glute Bridges as a warm-up 2?? If you want more glute hypertrophy without overloading the quads → Add 3×8-12 Hip Thrusts on Day 1 (after deadlifts) Would you like me to finalize the 2-day plan with all these adjustments?
I liked that logic, so I left them out for now. I was also impressed by ChatGPTs rep range nuance: