15 Minute Senior Workout – HASfit’s Low Impact Workout

I have been receiving a lot of emails asking for workouts for different muscle groups lately. I have never been a fan of just tossing out a workout without an explanation. I feel that for you to truly understand the workout you need to know why I designed the workout the way that I did…instead of just blindly following exercises, sets, and reps. Knowing what to do is half of the equation…knowing why we do it completes everything! We can’t get better together if you only get half the equation.

In order to build a good workout and/or workout routine we need to know these following things: -What muscle/muscle groups am I training that day? -What exercises will I be performing to train that muscle? -What order will I perform these exercises in? -What is my set, rest, and rep scheme per exercise? -Lastly you should have the “why” or reason for every answer to the questions above.

-I suggest that you adequately warm up with cardio etc. before jumping right into these three sets. I choose this exercise to start the day because it will hit all of the muscles we will train today. A lot of people like to start with a pull-down movement and I don’t have an issue with this but I feel that the wide neutral cable row will target the smaller muscles in the upper back as well as the lats more efficiently than any pull-down variation. The grip of this attachment will also indirectly hit the biceps and forearms, which we will train later in the workout. I chose 3 sets for 12-15 reps so that you don’t train too heavy. This is the first exercise and it’s a machine as well. This is not the time to try and hit a PR. We have a short, but moderate, rest time to keep things moving quickly.

2.) LAT PULLDOWN: 3 sets for 12-15 reps with 45 seconds to 1 minute rest in between sets.

-As I mentioned above, a lot of people like to start their back day with a pull-down movement so it does traditionally fit well in the beginning of the workout. I like to toss in a pull-down movement after the rowing movement to target the back from a different angle. If the first exercise didn’t sufficiently warm up the back then hitting the back from a different angle should complete the job. You’ll notice the sets, reps, and rest times are the same as the first exercise. They are the same for the same reasons as well. The first tow movements should leave us sufficiently warmed up for the rest of the workout.

3.) DEADLIFT: 5 sets of 5-8 reps with 2-3 min rest in between sets.

-Now we are getting into a power/strength movement where we can move some weight! You could substitute this for another compound movement like the barbell row but this is my workout and I like to deadlift. Make sure to adequately warm up as you progress each set. You’re heaviest set should be your 3rd set. I then want you to perform sets 4 and 5 with the same weight as set 3. You may not be able to get as many reps and this is fine. I want you to work a couple sets with moderate to heavy weight to get the benefits of the movement here. We lowered the reps as the movement is better to work in a lower rep range with moderate to heavy weight. We will also increase the rest time to be able to maximize strength for each set.

4.) SHRUGS: 4 sets of 15-20 reps with 1 minute rest in between sets.

-The traps have been indirectly hit with heavy weights on the deadlifts. From an aesthetic/bodybuilding perspective we will now train the traps with a higher rep range and less weight to try and get a solid pump in the muscle. This allows the traps to get hit with heavy weight on the deadlift and now with lighter weight and a more complete rep with the shrugs. Our rest times are lower to keep the pump and keep the workout moving quickly.

5.) CLOSE GRIP CABLE ROW: 3 sets of 8-12 reps with 1 min rest between sets. *last set a drop set to failure.

-This is now the last back movement of the workout. We are training it with slightly heavier weight than exercises 1 and 2 even though it will be done on the same cable stacks. We are training it with heavier weights because the muscles are already warmed up and fatigued from the other movements. This workout is the FINISHER! We want to leave it all out in the weight room on this movement. We have a shorter rest period to keep the workout moving but I want you to perform a drop set for your last set of this exercise. This drop set should be to complete muscle failure so we leave no doubt that we pushed the back to failure during this exercise.

6.) SEATED ALTERNATING DBELL CURL: 3 sets of 8-12 reps per arm with 1 minute rest.

-The biceps have been indirectly hit from all the back work that we just did. That being said, we want to give them some direct arm work as well since #everydayisarmday. I chose the seated alternating dbell curl so that you couldn’t cheat with your back. By staying seated and keeping your back firmly pressed against the seat, it will become much more difficult to cheat the rep. We do this for 8-12 reps per arm and keep the rest short.

7.) SEATED ALTERNATING HAMMER CURL: 3 sets of 8-12 reps per arm with 1 minute rest.

-Since the biceps are likely pumped and fatigued at this point we are going to start wrapping the workout up. I chose the seated hammer curl because you are already seated and have dumbbells. This should be a nice switch from the alternating dumbbell curl that you just finished. The hammer curl works the top of the forearm as well as the bicep. We want to take our time to use this movement to work other parts of the arm that are not the biceps. The biceps will get worked on this movement pretty heavily but you will also work the other muscles of the arm indirectly as well.

8.) REVERSE THUMB-LESS GRIP BARBELL CURL: 3 sets of 15-20 reps with 1 minute rest.

-I know you might be questioning my sanity with this exercise but this is a great movement for the forearms, brachialis, and brachioradialis. Your biceps are done at this point. They will get some work with this movement but you should get a better pump in the forearms. I’ve increased the reps because it’s very difficult to train heavy on this movement considering it’s a reverse thumb-less grip.

9.) BARBELL OR DBELL WRIST CURL: 3 sets of 20-25 reps with 30 seconds rest.

-This is the finishing exercise for the day. It’s a very simple movement but it’s very effective at training the forearms. The forearms get hit pretty hard on a back and bicep day so you shouldn’t need more than 1 exercise to adequately stimulate them to grow and increase strength.

So there you have it! Next time you go to train back and biceps…give this workout a shot! Thank you for your support!