Try These: Funky Chickens
I strongly suspect that someone's already invented this movement and that it probably already has a name a normal name. The thing is, I don't know who first came up with it. Maybe it was that wild wag of an exercise theorist, Jerry Telle, or maybe it was coach Poliquin. It doesn't matter, though. It's not like you can patent an exercise and claim a royalty every time some stiff decides to do it.
With that said, let me introduce you to the funky chicken. The exercise is a rather strange one in that it works both the biceps and the medial delts. Okay, as far as a biceps movement, it's no great shakes, but it's a helluva' delt movement. The beauty of the movement is that it allows you to do a type of lateral raise, only using a much greater weight than might otherwise be possible.
If you're a big fan of lateral raises you've, no doubt, noticed that the concentric part of the movement (the actual lifting part) is a lot harder than the eccentric, or lowering part of the movement. Too bad it's the eccentric part of the movement that's most directly responsible for muscle growth! Well, funky chickens provide a solution to that problem.
Here's how you do them:
1) Grab a pair of dumbbells (you'll have to experiment with the weight) using a semi-supinated grip (with the palms facing your thighs).
2) Curl the weights up as if you were doing a traditional hammer curl.
3) Once you curl the weight to the top, flair out your elbows so that they're parallel to the ground.
4) Now, extend the weights out until your arms are completely outstretched.
5) Lower the weights to the starting position and repeat steps 1-4.
Most people I know don't get all that much out of conventional lateral raises, but funky chickens will make you feel like you've been plucked, gutted, and fried up for Sunday dinner. Try them out.
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