Adding a finisher to the end of a workout is normally a great way to add a conditioning element to your session. But if your focus is building muscle and burpees aren’t your thing, consider adding a strength-based finisher to your workout. Many people swear by training to fatigue as an effective way to improve muscle strength and size.
This high-rep finisher from The Rock’s trainer, Dave Rienzi (opens in new tab), rattles through four upper-body movements. It’s an excellent routine to add to the end of a strength session if you still have some gas left in the tank.
Watch Rienzi’s Instagram reel in which he walks you through the workout routine and demonstrates each exercise.
The format is more complicated than usual, combining the first three moves – lateral raise, scaption raise and underhand grip front raise – so you do a rep of each then return to the start, repeating that entire sequence six times in total. To make things even more difficult Rienzi has added a one-second pause at the top of each movement.
Rest for 45 seconds, then complete 20 reps of a plate-loaded or machine overhead press. If you’re working out at home you could sub in a dumbbell overhead press, but be aware the fixed path of a machine is a safer movement when your shoulders are heavily fatigued. Rest for another 45 seconds, then go again, completing four supersets in total.
That’s 70-80 reps of each superset, which is a very high rep range. Although this workout is designed to push your shoulders to the limit, make sure you pick weights you are able to lift with good form for this many reps. Don’t swing your torso during the dumbbell exercises, because using anything other than the target muscle lessens the effectiveness of your workout.
Even with perfect form your shoulders will be pushed to their limit so it’s well worth taking good care of them. We have four shoulder mobility exercises to add to your routine as well as a bodyweight shoulder workout from an orthopaedic surgeon to ensure you keep your shoulder joints strong and healthy.