Todays workout was focused on Squats, Dead lifts, Pull ups and then I finished off with some back work. My workouts are usually just working one body part, like legs or back or shoulders etc, but today I fancied changing things up a bit and focusing on those 3 major exercises.
I really enjoyed this slight change in routine because it gave me the chance to put a lot of time and energy into getting PR's in all 3 exercises; I also went on to getting a PR in Lat pull downs and bent over rows. Okay, so I started my workout with Squats! Main reason for this was because I wanted to have the most energy for them and also it helps to warm up the hamstring before heading into dead lifts. I warmed up with the bar (20kg); did around 20 reps, although I didn't count. Once I had done this and some warm up stretches, I then moved into my working sets. Starting at 60kg, I added 10kg each set, completing each set until failure. I was squatting without a spotter today so I use a bench to give me a guideline as to where to bring my ass down too. I also like to do this because its comforting to have there when there is nobody standing behind you (for when you can't get back up lol). After my squats were done and my ass was VERY sore I moved onto dead lifts. I usually do straight leg dead lifts but today I decided to do conventional ones; I think I may actually prefer them now. Anyways I loaded up the bar and was shocked at how light it felt, so added on another 10kg and PR'd with 4 reps for 3 sets! Pull ups where next; I like to do these near the start but after my back has been engaged, dead lifts were perfect for this! When doing pull ups I like to do 5 to 6 sets until failure and then finish off with 1 or 2 sets of very slow negatives to build up the strength further. If you can't do pull ups I suggest doing them assisted or with a resistance band. After PR'ing in all 3 of these exercises its save to say I was pretty dead but I moved onto the rest of my back exercises. I did another 5 or 6 exercises including the triset I mentioned the other day (in my last back day blog) and one of my favourites: The Pulley or Seated Cable Row. I did 6 to 8 reps for 4 sets and then finished off this exercise with a set of 17 to 20 reps (lighter weight obviously). I find this really engages the back muscles and allows me to really concentrate on the contraction of the muscle. I always like to finish my workouts with a BANG; doing sets until failure, trying something new, a killer superset etc. Today I finished off with the Cable Face Pull, I started at 20kg and gradually increased the weight in each set (total of around 7 or 8 sets). This was a great exercises to target my rear delts. Hope y'all had a great workout too. If you have any questions please email me at [email protected]
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It seems that a lot of you are enjoying reading about my workouts so I will continue to blog about them until you tell me otherwise haha. If there is anything else you would like info on PLEASE tell me!
Anyway, todays workout was Back, Biceps and a little abs at the end. I love working back, its probably my favourite muscle group to work at the moment; always makes me feel really strong. I usually work these muscles 2 times a week, heavy weight, low reps both days, however I do combine some lower weight, higher rep exercises into my workout. I always work back first as it is the largest muscle and requires the most energy, however if you are wanting to focus more on biceps they should be worked first! Today, I began working my back with a superset to warm up and engage the back muscles and then went straight into pull ups. I like to do my pull ups near the start of my workout as this is when I have most energy. I aimed for 4/5 sets of pull ups until failure. If you can't do pull ups, try assisted ones or use a resistance band. I would defiantly recommend combining pull ups into your back workout; I have seen HUGE progress since I started doing them about a month ago. On back day I don't usually do many supersets as I like to lift really heavy and focus on each set, so therefore need the rest time between sets. However, today I tried a new TRISET; it killed me.... Triset: Wide Lat pull down 15 x 3 Close Lat pull down 8 x 3 Under grip close Lat pull down 10 x 3 Give it a try, if your not dead by the end.. well... you need to up the weight haha. After my back workout was complete, I moved on to work Biceps. It is important to hit the biceps from many directions in order to accelerate progress. I do this through variations of curls; hammers, side, inner, decline, barbell, dumbbell etc. One thing I have been working on for a few weeks now is my bicep barbell curls. About 3/4 weeks ago I picked up a 20kg/44lbs BB and did as many reps as I could for 4 sets. It has been great to see the progress in my strength since then as today I used a 25kg/55lb BB and did the same thing. As I said, I finished off my workout with a little ab work. I mentioned in my latest ab blog about what I generally do to work my abs; not a lot. So today was no exception, I did a couple sets of hanging leg raises, some twisted hanging leg raises, and finished off with 2/3 sets of side bends using a kettle bell. Hope y'all have a great workout and a wonderful Friday! Let me know if there is something you want me to blog about or for a customised workout/meal plan email me at [email protected] xx Todays workout was Shoulders and Calves. It was a great workout, filled with lots of supersets and strength. Shoulders is one of my favourite muscle groups to work because I love to feel that shoulder burn, plus who doesn't love a good shoulder pump?
Recently, I have been working shoulders 2-3 times a week depending on muscle soreness etc. I usually work them once with chest and at least once more on their own. I usually work calves on shoulder day too, although sometimes I work them on leg day (usually 2 times a week). My shoulder workout always consists of exercises to work the 3 major shoulder muscles:
It is important to work all 3 in a shoulder workout! Often the rear delts get forgotten about, but they are essential for proper shoulder formation and overall balance. Below I will list a few of my favourite exercises for each muscle area:
At the moment 2 of my favourite shoulder exercises are the bent arm lateral raise and also the cable rotator cuff pull! Superset these 2 and you WILL feel the burn. Today I finished off my workout with Dumbbell Arnold Presses, I love finishing my workout with these until failure. I usually go to failure 3 times on each arm and then do some press pulses. After my shoulder workout, I moved onto calves! I don't spend a lot of time on them if I'm honest, mainly because I find it incredibly boring and I find they develop on their own through being active. However, I did read an interesting article on calf muscles which I totally agree with and have been doing for a long time. The article stated that it is important to work both areas of the calf. Many people only work the Gastrocnemius (upper calf) through standing calf raises or leg press machine raises. However, it is also important to work the Soleus (lower calf) for full calf development. This muscle is worked mainly through seated calf work, for example seated calf raises. I also take a slightly different approach to the calf muscles, generally I lift heavy weight for low reps but with the calf muscles I find they respond better to lower weight and high reps. I aim for 35-45 reps, especially in the standing calf raises. Hope this gives you some ideas on how to work these muscles effectively. If you would like a customised workout plan or meal plan email me at [email protected] and I can construct a plan to help you reach your goals! xx So recently I have been asked A LOT about 'ab exercises', so I thought I would do a blog post on it. Firstly I want to say that everyone is different and at a different stage in their life, therefore their abdominal muscles will develop differently! You can't expect to achieve the same 'abs' as anyone else, the way they form is in some way genetic; however we can do certain exercises to promote the muscle formation.
Before I get into specific core exercises, it is important to talk about 'engaging' your core. You have probably come across this term 'engaging', and it is very important that you do this whilst lifting weights, particularly heavy weights. This will prevent any lower back injury! How do I engage my core whilst lifting? In order to do this you need to understand that your core is a lot more than just 'abs'. It is made up of pelvic floor muscles, transverse abdominals, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominals, erector spinae, longissimus thoracis and diaphragm. Okay so you might not care about every single core muscle but you do need to be concerned about consciously contracting your abdominals. This is the process of 'tightening' these muscles in order to 'engage' them. A great exercise to improve overall core strength is the plank as it involves all the major core muscles especially the transverse abdominals. When lifting weights breathing is extremely important and will help with engaging your core. It is important to breathe in on the contraction and breathe out on the eccentric movement. For example, A squat, You breathe in as you lower into the squat and breathe out as you push up out of the squat. So now you know how to engage your core whilst lifting this will help to develop your core significantly daily. You can also do specific ab workouts or exercises. I would highly recommend this to beginners to strengthen the core to avoid injury, however once you have become more experienced a few ab exercises supersetted with other lifts will be sufficient to maintain core strength. Some of the best ab exercises are simple ones like hanging leg raises, decline sit ups, planks, Russian twists, bicycles etc. Personally, I don't have an 'ab day' or 'ab workout'. Every other day I do 10 minutes of quick effective ab work. This usually consists of hanging leg raises (the best workout in my opinion), hanging leg raises with twists, weighted side bends, cable oblique twists and decline sit ups. My core is rarely sore after these, I find that pull ups (on back day) and squats (on leg day) work my core much harder. If you need help constructing an ab workout or exercises email me at [email protected] and I can make one single ab workout for you or if would would prefer a full workout plan. Its no secret that sleep is essential when working out, but the question is WHY? and HOW MUCH?
It is recommended that we get somewhere between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night. This is seen as the optimum amount of sleep to function correctly throughout the day. Less than this can lead to increased muscle soreness, tiredness, fatigue, fat gain and potential injury. However, more than these 9 hours is also said to have detrimental effects on the hormone levels in the body. WHY sleep is so important for muscle growth and repair? Firstly, without sufficient sleep you will feel tired and won't be able to preform to your maximum potential in the gym. Sleep also generates muscle growth hormones in the body (testosterone and melatonin), these hormones are released to repair and regrow cells damaged during working out. The stress caused in the body by lack of sleep causes the body to release a hormone called cortisol. This hormone counteracts testosterone, and therefore prevents muscle growth and repair. Not only will you feel tired but you will also lack motivation. A lack of motivation will often cause people to 'skip' the gym or not put their full effort in, therefore not reaching your maximum potential. HOW can I get enough sleep? Many people (myself included) have or do struggle with their sleeping pattern. It has taken me a long time to get myself into a good sleeping pattern but I have finally conquered it. Personally, I need 8.5-9 hours of sleep a night; without this I feel exhausted. So, you want to know how to get enough sleep?
xx This post is all about how to make the most out of your gym sessions through the magic of mind muscle connection. This could be the difference between reaching your goals or not; of course there are other vital ingredients such as training and diet.
Firstly - Form over Weight Yes, lifting heavy can be great for achieving muscle growth but not if it means compromising your form. As well as preventing injury, holding the correct form also allows the targeted muscle to be stimulated correctly. This comes from focus, determination and no distractions! If you are unsure how an exercise should be preformed ASK a member of gym staff. Goals You should have an overall goal - muscle gain, fat loss etc. After this you can break it down into smaller goals - increase number of pull ups, squat heavier, lose 7 pounds etc. Once you have established these larger goals you can then begin to set goals for each workout. For every workout I do I like to pick at least one thing to REALLY focus on! Yes every exercise preformed is important, but this helps me to focus. Which ever exercise you pick should be preformed near the beginning of your workout for maximum success. The Training Session In general you should keep your workout focused. This means not spending half the time chatting with friends or on your phone. I also advise ALWAYS planning your workout ahead of time. This really helps me to focus during my workouts. I get in there, knowing exactly what Im going to do, short rests, and moving quickly onto the next exercise. Each Exercise The mind is a very powerful tool; the body will achieve what the mind believes. Follow these steps to ensure each exercise is executed to its full potential:
Getting started can often be intimidating for beginners, what with everyone talking about supersets, drop sets and squat racks, but no fear, I have decided to write a blog for those who are wanting to get on the fitness ladder and don't know where to begin.
It is important to remember that everyone starts somewhere! Once upon a time, I knew nothing about fitness; it takes time and experience (and a qualification) to gain essential knowledge. First things first: GOALS! Im sure you have heard this before but setting goals is essential to stay motivated and have a purpose to your training. These goals need to be very specific and I would advise writing them down. It can be anything from being able to do 1 pull up to losing 3 lbs to making healthier food choices. You need to decided WHAT the goal is, WHEN you want to achieve it by and WHY you want to achieve it! Once you have decided on a goal, the next step is HOW you achieve it. This may include joining a gym, getting a personal trainer, constructing a meal plan, getting macros calculated, joining a dance/running/tennis/badminton team, the list is endless. Okay so you have decided what sort of fitness you want to pursue, your goals and how you are going to achieve them! Next step is to KEEP AT IT! This is where many people fall, they get bored, don't see the results they want, get impatient or maybe life is just "too busy". Sound familiar? The most important motivation you can have is YOU! do this for you, not anyone else because in the end that won't keep you going. Staying motivated can include gaining strength, muscle, weight loss, running further, training for something in particular, mirror satisfaction or even a lower resting heart rate. Sooooo, in summary:
If you need any help with getting started I can create a customised workout plan (for gym or home use) and/or a nutrition plan. Email me at [email protected] and I will discuss further details and payment. A lot of you follow either my Twitter or Instagram accounts and have experienced snap shots of my story however I have never expressed my full history until now. I have been through a lot in the past 7 years but it has all shaped who I am today and every set back has made me stronger.
I will start at the beginning..... 1st year of Grammar School (high school) - During this year I became very self conscious as I have always been very tall for my age and as a child was a lot larger than anyone else in my class. I became aware of weight, dieting, and how it could be controlled. I went to a middle/high class all girls school so as you can image it was very focused on what you looked like and what material goods you could afford. This year was hard but it was only the beginning of a long journey.... 2nd year - In this year my insecurities deepened, changed several friendship groups and suffered on going digestion problems. Since the age of 10, I have experienced serious stomach issues which went unresolved for a long time; I felt weak, tired and was in constant pain throughout this period. I never felt I could be a normal child as I was in too much pain to enjoy simple childhood pleasures such as riding a bike or playing in the park. Later this year I was diagnosed with celiac disease and began my very strict gluten free diet. Yes it was good to find out what was wrong as I could control my symptoms, however this is when my 'controlling' behaviour really began. As a 12 year old girl, I had to check every food label before eating to make sure it was gluten free and slowly my eyes drifted towards the nutritional values and I became very conscious of the calorie content; I learnt endless products by memory and could have told you the number of calories in almost any food. In May this year I experienced death for the first time; My grampa passed away. He has suffered Parkinson's disease for as long as I can remember and in the end he was living a dreadful life. It was best for him but none the less very hard to deal with. Summer between 2nd and 3rd year - This summer brought new challenges. As well as the ongoing celiac disease and my weight dropping slowly, I also faced a near death experience this summer. In early July, the extreme pain began in my lower back, it continued for a few days when I decided to tell my mum. She rushed me to the doctor who gave me antibiotics and said it would take a few days to heal. That night, I went to bed as normal but woke up at 1am lying in a pool of blood and sweat in my bed; I was in a kind of pain I have never experienced before. I crawled to my parents bedroom and screamed out for them. Dad picked me up and carried me to the car, next thing I knew we were at the A and E (ER) . I don't remember a lot of what happened this night but I do remember the doctors telling my parents I had blood poisoning from a pilonidal sinus in my lower back; it was a very scary time. I had surgery that night in attempt to remove the poisoning, leaving me with a huge hole in my back. I stayed in hospital after this, everyday the nurses would stuff packing into the open wound; hell on earth is my only description. After a while I was allowed to go home, the nurses came to the house every morning and evening to monitor me; this continued until late September as I got MRSA in the wound and it couldn't heal. 3rd year - I missed the first 2 months of school due to my operation and when I returned to school I was only able to manage 2 hours at a time due to ongoing fatigue and pain (which continued for another 2 years). In December this year I was told I need the operation again to prevent it from recurring; this time it healed much faster. Late January, I finally returned to school, it was very hard coming back into my class, they had all moved on and I felt about 2 years behind everyone else. My weight slowly dropped and in March I developed Anorexia. My classmates noticed first, then my teachers and lastly my parents. I was forced into recovery outpatients, and slowly began to gain weight and get my life back; by October I was doing much better and everyone considered me to be recovered. 4th year - After the attempt to get my life back together in October this year I was determined to make things work with friends and school. However this was easier said than done. In December this year I lost my sight. It began with extreme headaches, tiredness, pain and after a week I had lost sight in both eyes. I was taken to A and E (ER) where I had various tests and scans; I was told it was a brain tumour. Thankfully they were wrong, however I did have Optic Neuritis ( Inflammation of the brains optic nerve) and didn't regain my sight fully until February; yet again missing more school and more importantly my childhood. I returned to school in February and joined a dance academy. This was one of the best things I had experienced. I was escapism from life, school, 'friends', pain, everything. Unfortunately this didn't last for long; In May I began experiencing crippling pain in all my limbs and was forced to stop dancing. I couldn't even get up the stairs to my bed some nights. I was then diagnosed with Hyper-mobility Syndrome in all my joints, it even effected the collagen in my stomach. I suffered for a long time until I was given treatment. Throughout this time my Anorexia slowly returned and my weight was dropping. In June, people began to notice how small I was becoming and concerns were made. Im not going into details of how the anorexia made me feel because it is too awful for me to repeat but I became very frail and weak and was yet again forced into recovery. At the end of this school year it was decided I would repeat 4th year again due to my absence in school. 4th year (2nd time round) and 5th year - I was dropped into a new class this year with girls a year younger than me. They already had established friendship groups and I was not accepted well. From September until January I was present at school most days, determined to make things work for me; I developed a few friends and was trying so hard to be positive. In January, my Optic Neuritis returned, again I lost my sight, my energy, my freedom and was absent from school until March. In May, my aunty died from breast cancer and I began to feel out of control. Anorexia returned, this time worse than any time before. I pushed everyone away, hated my life and everything in it. I woke up every morning dreading the day ahead of me. Went to the hell hole I called school just so I didn't have to eat. Came home and avoided every meal I could. None the less I was a very hard worker and at the end of 5th year I got all A stars in my GCSE exams. Anorexia continued from around May of 4th year until January of 5th year. At this time, I couldn't have possibly lost much more weight, I was all bone and even the bone was fading. I was brought to hospital, but I refused to listen to anyone. I didn't trust anyone and after past experiences I didn't believe anyone could help me. Time for change - I had an anorexia twitter account at this time and one evening a very kind hearted girl from Australia (had a fitness account) spoke to me and told me about her friend that had died from anorexia and how much it hurt her friends and family. This was the turning point for me; after this moment something clicked and I never looked back. Yes times have been hard but I have never regretted recovery. I knew I had to do it for not only me but my parents, my brother, my puppy, my grandparents. Even if I had pushed all my friends away I would always have my family. I turned my anorexia account into a fitness account and slowly began to increase my calories. I refused to go to any sort of therapy. I recovered all on my own. No support from anyone. As much as I love my family, they didn't help at all. I slowly gained weight and was allowed to join the gym later that year when I found my passion for lifting weights. Ever since then, I have gained knowledge, experimented with clean eating, macros, IIFYM and intuitive eating. I have gained so many friends and so much support through Twitter and Instagram and am finally finding the balance in my life. Thank you so much for reading. Sorry its so long but a lot has gone on in the past 7 years of my life and I have decided its finally time to share it. XX I have had several requests for blogs on workouts but Im not exactly sure what y'all want me to blog about so it would be great if you could let me know via email, twitter, Instagram or through the survey, thanks.
In the mean time I decided to write a blog on how you can revamp your cardio routine to make it a little more fun (if your not already enjoying it) and will give you new results; such as increased fat loss, stronger tighter core, and increased muscle 'tone'. How do I revamp my cardio routine? Many people tend to stick to the old tradition cardio machines but this is not the only way to do it and many find it more fun to create a circuit style bodyweight cardio/tabata/HIIT. This usually consists of:
Personally, when doing this style of cardio, I prefer to do 30 seconds - 1 minute on followed by 1 minute - 1.5 minutes rest or less intense exercise. This will all depend on the person and how hard they feel they are being worked. Some exercises to include in the 'working' time are:
These can be alternated with either rest period or a less intense period of work such as crunches, sit ups, planks etc. (this will depend on your level of fitness) What are the benefits to this style of exercise?
Example Tabata style workout Please seek medical advice before taking part in any physical activity to reduce chance of injury. Remember everyone is different so this may not work for you, for a customised workout plan email me at [email protected]. Squat jumps - 30 seconds Plank - 1 minute Burpees - 30 seconds Crunches - 1 minute Mountain Climbers - 30 seconds Sit ups - 1 minute Skater jumps - 30 seconds V ups - 1 minute High knee run - 30 seconds Side plank - 1 minute (30s each side) Tuck jumps - 30 seconds Repeat! Hope you enjoy this style of workout if you give it a try. Please let me know what exactly you would like to hear about in terms of Everyone gets bad body image days, thats perfectly normal although not very pleasant to deal with. But what happens when everyday is a bad body image day? Day after day all you see in negativity toward your body, you can't think of anything you like about your body, it stops you from wearing certain clothes or doing certain things, the list goes on. If any of these sound like you then I highly recommend reading below, and I hope it will help even a little.
Most importantly, you should NOT have to deal with these thoughts everyday and you should defiantly not put up with it or begin to believe you will always feel this way. YOU need to take charge of your own mind and turn all that negativity into positive energy. How have a more positive body image
Hope this can help even one person, thanks for reading. |