Lower Body Routine Update
Not last Wednesday but the Wednesday before, I walked into my workout routine with the goal in mind to make myself sore after this workout (as I have not been sore after a Wednesday workout since probably the fall!). I had a difficult time the previous week targeting my glutes with my usual routine, so I isolated my legs for the
Leg Press, halved the weight (bringing it down to 180lbs), and placed my left leg at a different angle to my body (with foot placement on the mat differing) from my right leg. I also played with 70lbs on the
Deadlift (purposefully starting low to work on perfecting my form first). I did not expect to get any results from my deadlifts from this workout just yet. Finally, I did my
Walking Lunges at the end of this routine just because it is awkward to do a down set when you do your legs individually. The 100lb barbell felt lighter at this gym than at the gym where I workout on Sundays
Won't be doing that at my Wednesday gym again...
So, awesome news! The next two days, my upper, outer left glute was killing me! Unless I pulled it somehow (which I doubt since I did not lift any unusually heavy weights), I am going to assume that it was from isolating each leg for the leg press, and that the left leg placement was effective. I do recall that my right quad was burning immediately after my sets were over. So, I will be doing the Leg Press alternating legs at the placement in which I used my left leg last Wednesday, and I will slightly increase the weight, and see how I feel! I am a really excited about this because, usually when my glutes hurt from walking lunges and the V-Squat, it is the center, more towards the upper half of my glutes, and even the inner glute. This is the first time where the outer glute was effected! But again, I don't want to get ahead of myself, and I will just wait to see how I feel after tonight's exercise!
Last Sunday I was able to target my glutes during my lunges more than ever before. It was a great feeling.
This past Wednesday, I was not able to get the 100lb barbell up on my hips for the hip thrust, so I decided to do the
Glute Bridge and just got the barbell to the floor and wiggled my way under it
It was a great glute-targeting workout (to lift with heavier weights than my previous 60lbs, that is)! My butt hurt the whole night. I also did the
Leg Press with one leg at a time, but was unable to "go deep" with 200lbs. I always knew the glutes were targeted more when you go deep in hip-extension (squat-like) exercises, but I always thought that EVERYTHING was put under more tension: glutes, quads, and hamstrings alike. However, this is NOT the case, as I recently read. Check out this interesting article:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...in_gear_ii . After reading this article, I became convinced that if I cannot go deep enough due to heavy weight, I should lighten the weight to where I am able to go very deep because clearly how deep I go will give me more the results that I want than if I do only a 90 degree angle or less than that with my maximum possible weight (I usually do something a little deeper than 90 degrees). I need to do the maximum possible at deep. So, I lightened the weight to 100lbs! I felt, crazy weak
And I was not hurting the next day. Oh well, I will work on my deeper form first, and then when I get good at it, will focus on increasing the weights. I will probably also need to lighten the weight for my V-Squat for this same reason. I also tried the
Kneeling Squat (to replace Deadlifts, as this author says it is the best for targeting the glutes from the group of hip extension exercises:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...glute_myth ). It did not impress me as it only seemed to really hit my lower quads! But, I will give it a try for a couple more Wednesdays I guess. Or I will seek advise from a bodybuilder lol.
WARNING the second article I posted in this post PLEASE remember that he is writing with the focus on strengthening, not building. They are completely different things. So, where he writes negatively about lunges and squats, please keep that in mind and also that he is focused on what exercises activate the glutes more, not necessarily builds them more. Exercises like squats and lunges are fantastic (if you can master the art of targeting the glutes during the exercises) for building because they release testosterone and growth hormones into the body which are necessary for building muscle (see
http://improveyourfemalecurves.com/2013/...-exercise/ ). It is important to have both kinds of exercises--glute isolation exercises AND compound exercises--in your workout, so that you may 1) focus your "mind-muscle connection" on your glutes and 2) pump testosterone and growth hormones through your body which are necessary for building!
Upper Body Routine Update
I have found that going to the gym 6 days out of the week is a little too demanding of my time, and I realized this as I have been going later and later, leaving not enough time for my workouts. To avoid this, I will be combining both my back/bicep routine and my pectoral/tricep routine, so that I will have only 4 weight lifting days as opposed to 6. Other days at the gym will be optional, and I will do light cardio on these days, and light ab workouts on these days and my upper body days.
(01-05-2013, 16:39)ariel Wrote: Your workout routine is beyond impressive.
I'm happy with my arm and chest workout, as my goal is only to get toned, but I need to actually gain muscle on my leg/butt area...I will definitely by trying some of this (at much lower weights lol)
I saw your general diet plan, but how many calories a day would you say you take in?
Men have suchhh dirty minds. I would never work-out panty-less...that's a yeast infection just waiting to happen.
This whole thread is so detailed and helpful 
Hey Ariel! So glad to have another workout buddy on board!
And yes, I agree, definitely DO NOT NOT NOT start at the weights I lift! I worked up to these weights! Do whatever you can do at say 8-12 reps (if you can do more reps than 12, increase the weight) without hurting yourself or losing form. Then you can gradually increase the weights and decrease the reps whenever you are able! Remember, though, that the heavier the weights you lift without losing proper form and without losing your ability to properly execute, will give you more chances to build! It is always better to increase your weight and decrease your reps. And this is, of course, what you need to do to GAIN. Which is not the same as your upper body routine! I share the same upper body goal as you
I am so glad that you find this thread helpful! I am always trying to learn more, so anything that you would like to add is always welcome! As for how many calories I consume in a day, I am not much of a calorie counter (protein counting is enough for me! trying to count calories AND protein overwhelms me). My current diet, I think, brings me to anywhere from 2100 calories to 2800 calories in the course of a day, depending on which meals I have to eat. Of all of my mini-meals, my bag of nuts has the most calories, totaling 910 calories for an amount that totals 24 grams of protein! I will probably need to make my own mix from now on, though, because that is way too calories for me to eat in one sitting and I believe the cranberries are likely coated in sugar... The mini-meal with the least amount of calories for an amount that totals 24 grams of protein is my tuna or salmon, as that is 400 calories with an avocado (the tuna/salmon itself is only 140 calories). The hydro whey shakes are only 140 calories each, and the casein is only 110 calories (but I do not really consider these "meals" so-to-speak although they are... they are just not well-rounded meals).
) so photos coming soon...
when I finally get a new job! I would probably have to shower at the gym, though.