Fellas, want muscles like Russell Wilson (definitely on the big side but not too bulky like The Incredible Hulk)? Ladies, have you mastered your workout, now looking for a harder challenge? Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: The Russell Wilson Workout.
For those who do not know, Russell Wilson is an elite quarterback in the NFL (Seattle Seahawks). Only being in the league for three years so far, the 27 year old has led the Seahawks to two Super Bowls and they’ve won one. What prepared him for this? Good ole’ training and practice, that’s what.
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According to Men’s Fitness, “Wilson lifts weights four days per week. Sessions are split up into two speed days and two strength days. The speed days focus on variants of Olympic weightlifting exercises that develop power—this aids Wilson in running, cutting, and scrambling in the pocket. The strength days include heavier lifts to build greater muscle power, as well as corrective exercises to prevent injury.”
Men’s Fitness got the inside scoop on his routine. Check out his off season workout below! Some of these exercises require gym equipment. Doing these exercises yields results in energy, stamina, muscle growth, and muscle definition, and I am sure singer Ciara appreciates the improvements (*wink wink*).
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Perform each workout (Day 1, 2, 3, and 4) once per week, resting a day between each session. Complete all sets for one exercise before going on to the next for that day.
DAY 1
- Med Ball Snatch (reps:5, sets:3)
Hold a medicine ball at arm’s length in front of your thighs and stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down to just above parallel and then jump. Explosively throw the ball straight overhead. When it lands, pick it up and begin the next rep.
- Med Ball Jerk (reps:5, sets:3)
Perform as you did the med ball snatch but hold the ball at chest level.
- Hex-Bar Clean (reps:5, sets:3)
Use a hex bar (also called a trap bar). Stand with feet hip-width apart and bend down to grasp the handles with your lower back flat. Drive your heels into the floor as you extend your hips to stand up explosively. You should come up with enough speed that you rise onto the balls of your feet and shrug your shoulders at the top of the movement.
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- Single-Leg Squat (reps: 5 each side, sets:3)
Raise one leg straight out in front of you and squat down on the other one as deeply as possible. If you have trouble balancing, you can hold on to a power rack for support or squat down onto a box or bench.
- Suspended Row (reps:8, sets:4)
Attach a suspension trainer to a sturdy overhead object such as a power rack and grasp a handle in each hand. Walk your body back with legs straight until your torso is 45 degrees to the floor or lower. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and row your body to the handles. Decrease your body angle to make the exercise harder; increase it to make it easier.
- Cable Curl (reps:8, sets:2)
Attach a curl bar to the low pulley of a cable station and hold it at arm’s length but with a slight bend in your elbows. Make sure there’s tension on the cable. Curl the handle.
DAY 2
- Front Squat (reps:5, sets:3)
Set a barbell on a power rack at about shoulder height. Grasp the bar with your hands at shoulder width and raise your elbows until your upper arms are parallel with the floor. Take the bar out of the rack and let it rest on your fingertips—as long as your elbows stay up, you’ll be able to balance the bar. Step back and set your feet at shoulder width with your toes turned out slightly. Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your lower back.
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (reps:5 each side, sets:3)
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and extend your left leg behind you. Push your hips back and lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. You should feel a stretch in your hamstring.
- Machine Bench Press (reps:8, sets:3)
Use a chest press machine and make sure the handles are lined up with your shoulders. Press the handles and lower them until there’s a stretch in your pecs.
- Dumbbell I-Y-T (reps:8, sets:2)
Set an adjustable bench to a 30–45-degree incline and lie chest down on it, holding a dumbbell in each hand. With palms facing each other, raise your arms straight overhead to form an I shape. Lower them, then raise them out to form a Y. Lower them once more, and raise them out to your sides to form a T. That’s one rep. Be sure to pinch your shoulder blades together at the top of each move.
- Band Pullapart (reps:25, sets:3)
Hold an elastic exercise band at arm’s length, hands shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and draw your arms back to form a T shape, as if you were pulling the band apart.
- Overhead Cable Triceps Extension (reps:8, sets:3)
Attach a rope handle to the top pulley of a cable station and grasp an end in each hand. Face away from the machine and raise your arms overhead with elbows bent. Take a step for- ward to put tension on the cable. You’ll feel a stretch on your triceps. Extend your elbows.
- Swiss Ball Stability Hold (reps:30 seconds, sets:3)
Place your hands on a Swiss ball and get into a pushup position—brace your abs and hold.
DAY 3
- Dumbbell Hang Snatch (Reps:3, Sets:3)
Hold a dumbbell in one hand and stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and hips to lower the weight to just above knee level. Explosively extend your hips and raise the weight straight up in front of your body and let the momentum carry it overhead.
- Hex-Bar Clean (Reps:5, Sets:3)
See Day 1.
- Stepup (Reps:5 each side, sets:3)
Stand in front of a bench or box and place one foot on it so that your thigh is parallel with the floor. Drive your heel down and squeeze your glutes as you step up onto the bench, but let your trailing foot hang off the bench.
- Towel Pulldown (Reps:8, Sets:2)
Sling a towel around the lat bar at a pulldown station and set yourself up at the machine. Grasp an end of the towel in each hand and pull it down.
- Cable Lawnmower Row (Reps:8 each side, Sets:2)
Attach a single-grip handle to the low pulley of a cable station and stand facing the cable with your legs staggered. Grasp the handle with one hand and step back to put tension on the cable. Row the handle to your side.
- Scap Pushup (Reps:8, Sets:3)
Get into a pushup position and squeeze your shoulder blades together to lower your chest about an inch, then spread your shoulders to raise your torso.
- Band Curl (Reps:repeat for 30 seconds, Sets:2)
Stand on an exercise band, holding a loop with both hands. Curl the band up with your elbows at your sides.
Day 4
- Squat (Reps:5, Sets:4)
Set up in a squat rack or cage. Grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and nudge the bar out of the rack. Step back and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes turned slightly outward. Take a deep breath, push your hips back, then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Push your knees outward as you descend. To come back up, extend your hips, continuing to push your knees outward.
- Staggered Romanian Deadlift (Reps:5 each side, Sets:3)
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your left foot slightly in front of your right. Keeping your lower back arched, push your hips back and lower your torso until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Incline Alternating Press (Reps:8 each side, Sets:3)
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree incline and lie back against it with a dumbbell in each hand. Press both weights up. Lower the lefthand weight, then press it up and lower the right hand; alternate for 8 reps each side.
- Pushup Complex (See below, Sets:2)
Place a barbell at about hip level in a power rack and get into pushup position with your hands on the bar (so your body is at an incline). Perform 15 reps and then immediately lower the bar so your torso is at only a slight incline. Complete 12 pushups, then hit the floor for 10 regular pushups.
