Lazy daisy!

Admit it, everyone has those days.... Something comes up and you just don't feel like going to the gym, or maybe you physically can't. Welp that was my week last week, I ended up missing my Wednesday and Thursday workout.... And you know what that means... Total body Friday!!! Had to make up for my ab day on Wednesday and hams, glutes and calves from Thursday , then the typical back, shoulders and rehab for Friday... Boy was I exhausted!! Remember when you're combining workouts like this, don't do your full day routine for each muscle group... You'll be at the gym all day!!! Pick your few favorite most challenging workouts from each lift, and build a lift off of that! For example, for me....I did ... 

From waisted Wednesday I picked

Decline med ball sit-ups

Decline sit-ups 

Bench leg lifts with a twist

Regular leg lifts 

Hanging leg lifts

Hanging knee tucks 

From beast mode Thursday ...

Deadlift pyramid

Smith machine glute kickbacks 

Smith machine pistol squats 

3 way calf raises 

Leg curls till failure 

From flex Friday...

DB overhead press

BB upright rows

DB bench press 

Reverse hypers 

Seated wide and narrow grip rows

Lat pull down 

3 way flys 

Shoulder rehab 

So it's a modified lift, not every exercise from each muscle group! 

Kill it guys! :) 

Shoulders, Back, Hams, Glutes, and Calves!

Holy Moly did this workout kick my butt!! I was so tired after this, I don't know how I walked out of the gym and got home! That's what I get though for missing my Thursday workout, and having to combine Thursday and Friday. 

Well today for deadlifts, instead of doing sets, I went back to my pyramid lift, getting heavier and heavier each part of the pyramid!

Warm up with 2 sets of 15

Then do...

10,8,6,4,2,2,4,6,8,10

 Remember, don't be afraid to go heavy and challenge yourself, I promise you'll like the results! ;) 

 Still really working my shoulder to build up my strength for indoor... But Hey Delts, nice of you to join us! ;) 

Welcome Back Progress Post!

Well, it has been forever since I've been able to update my blog. Between exams, homework, 2 jobs, and 2 sports, I rarely have a break! That doesn't mean I haven't been lifting though! I decided to bulk when I got to school, so I put on 15 pounds, and now its time to shred. Here are some progress pictures. Obviously I'm not lean like I was during the summer for those of you who remember, but I like how my muscles filled out!

Over the Summer I was notorious for 5 days of cardio a week, with long heavy lifts, and super clean eating throughout the day. Lots of burning and a quick metabolism. That is how I maintained my lean muscles. But I wanted to put on some muscle, so I decided to bulk. For my bulk, I really upped my calorie intake a ton, and cut out cardio. BUT I kept my lifting habits with heavy weights, and here is what happen!

This is my progression from a little into my fitness journey in May, then lean stage in June and beginning of August, and my post 15 pound bulk on the far right! My arms and legs filled out quite a bit, and my abs aren't as defined. I'll admit, that is definitely something I miss, but you have to make some sacrifices sometimes! Now its time to shred!

Bulky arms, Bulky Legs. This is after my bulk as well. You can see where I store my weight...

My workout partner Ashley Naughton! Our backs are filling out finally! ;) I've always had the boniest shoulders on the face of the planet, and its so nice that they're finally getting some muscle! 

Bulky Bulky Bulky


Time to Shred Now!!! 

Ab day swag day work! Starting to see my abs again, finally! 

Operation Shred in session! Starting to get back definition but maintaining all that bulked muscle!

So So Behind!!

Wow, so I've been back at school since August 1st, and we still don't have internet at our house, which makes it super difficult to update my blog. I'm so bummed that I haven't been up to date on it, but once we get internet it'll be a different story!!

So as always, lets play some catch up! And my "some", I mean a TON!!!

Lets see, so while I've been back at school, I'll be the first to admit that I am not proud what so ever of my eating choices. I had just been seeing friends and family a lot, and going out for lunch and dinner, and not keeping my eating clean, and my body was (and still is) suffering. I've been better recently, but I'm still working to get back what I had over the summer because I feel like I've completely lost everything I worked so hard for.

Many people have been asking for my workout routines, so I'm going to post my workouts for each day!

Let the catch up Begin!!

Legs Legs Legs Legs!!

So I changed up my workouts a little bit. I've always had "Squaterday" and "Beast Mode" Days, but I really tried to Isolate muscles a little more now. Break up my muscles instead of trying to do my whole lower half twice a week. So on Squaterday, I hit quads and calves after squats, and on Beast Mode, I hit hamstrings and glutes.

So these two are after Squaterdays! Pumped up quads for sure! 

Here is my Squaterday routine:

Hit the Squat rack for 95 lbs for 15 reps

135 lbs for 10 reps

165 lbs for 8 reps

185 lbs for 6 reps

200 lbs for 4

and 210 lbs - 225 lbs (depending on how my legs are feeling) for a minimum of 2 reps, but max out if I can do more. 

135 lbs for 10 to wind down.

Walking Dumb bell Lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg. 

 Backward Dumb bell Lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg.

Lateral Dumb bell lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg.

Leg Press 3 sets of 12 (Heavy) 

3 way weighted calf raises on the floor, and on a ledge. 2 sets of 20 each way.

Sneaky Lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg.

Dumb bell Split Squats 3 sets of 12 each leg. 

Quad Extension Burnouts 2 times. HEAVY. 

Don't be afraid to go heavy! You'll like the results ;) 

Knee was a little sore after really deep squats, but this is for Beast Mode days. Sweat it out guys! 

My back side (Back, Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves) are not my strong point, so I'm really trying to work them out. Trying to get this little bum to grow!! 

For Beast Mode, I do the same kind of pyramid I do for Squats, just for Deadlifts. Go HEAVY!!

RDL's 2 sets of 20 

Good Mornings 3 sets of 20

Dumb Bell Single Leg RDL's 3 set of 12

Dumb Bell Bulgarian Split Squats 3 sets of 20 each leg

Weighted Bridges 3 sets of 8. Go HEAVY

Sumo Squats with plates on benches 3 sets of 20

Hamstring Curl Burnouts

Soo those are my recent lifts, still modifying them. I definitely need more glute workouts, but I'm working on it! I'm going to switch glutes to Squaterday and Calves to Beast Mode, It makes more sense. 

Let's do Abs next! So for Waisted Wednesda/ys and Ab Day Swag Day I have my workout partner Ashley :) She is on the left in the blue spandex in this bottom picture with me! So FITFLUENTIAL. I'm actually going to post her ab workout, so credit is to her! This one will kick your butt!!

So she runs her circuits like I do, with running through each pair of exercises twice, with no break. Here, we, go!

- 1min plank on Physio ball

- plank dips (15 per side)

-30 reg crunches

-30 v-ups

-weighted russian twists (20 per side)

-Barbell oblique crunch (15 per side)

-Pulse ups (heels to heaven) 25x

-Hip Rock Raise (make legs in diamond shape) 25x

-crunch frog 25x

-reverse crunch off flat bench 25x

-alt. Bosu ball crunch 30x (15 per side)

-Decline ball throw 30x (15 per side)

-punching plank 15x (or until fail)

-Knee tucks w/ physio ball 20x

-Weighted Decline Negative 10x

-sit ups 30x

And here is post workout after Ashley's workout!

Get after it guys! :) 

Next are my upper body days, like Tear It Up Tuesday!

Finally seeing gains in my noodle arms and weak back! They're getting bigger and stronger, finally! Hard work pays off!

Two weeks later, biceps are looking even better! Yay! :)

So my upper body days consist of...

Cable bicep curls 3 sets of 8 heavy

Tricep extensions 3 sets of 10 heavy

Dumb bell Over Head Press 5 sets of 5, increasing weight

Dumb bell bench 5 sets of 5, increasing weight

Pull ups 3 sets until fail

Chin Ups 3 sets until fail

Lat pull down 3 sets of 12

Single Arm High Pull 3 sets of 12

3 way Flys 3 sets of 10

Upright Rows 3 sets of 8 heavy

Seated cable rows 3 sets of 8 heavy

Heavy hammer curls 2 sets until fail

Hanging Tricep Dips 2 sets until fail

50 push up finisher! 

Well, I think I covered everything. Sorry it's taken so long for the posts! I promise we'll get internet soon! 

Kill your workouts everyone! :) 

Legs!

<p>So today was leg day. Killed it, was super tired. Legs were pumped! My workout is on the left :) I did everything with a barbell and plates, but you can do it with dumbbells our even body weight. Enjoy! :)

Legs Legs Legs!

Tonight was Leg day! I had another late workout because I was running errands all day with momma for girls day. :)
Anyhow, I've got something going on with my back, and I'm not sure what yet, but it's really hindering any kind of lift that involves me having the barbell on my shoulders which is quite irritating. So I started squats...

But they didn't last very long thanks to my back. :(
So I compromised and did squat jumps supersetted with single leg squats.

Next were burnouts. These are miserable to do, but are such a great workout!

So you do these with both quad extensions and hamstring curls.
You add at least 5 plates of some sort of weight, so you have 5 sets to do.
So put the weight on, and start your leg extensions.

 Quads are cookin! ;)

Do as many as you can stand, really push yourself, and when you feel like you can't do any more, take one plate off. Then do as many as you can again, until you can't do anymore, and take another plate off. Do this until there are no more plates. Such a killer workout!! Your quads will be burnin' so bad! 

For the hamstring curls, the same rule applies....

Do as many as you can for each plate, push yourself!! 

So there is some new stuff for you guys to try if you'd like. :) Enjoy your workouts! 

Today's Workout, Legs!

Okay, now that I have filled my blog up with my other recent stuff, now I can get to today's workout!

Today was leg day! I worked out in my garage, so don't mind the random things in the background. Here are some examples of some of the lifts I did today. 

So first is deadlifts! These are great for your quads, inner thighs, hamstrings, butt, lower back and traps from holding the bar, so they cover a lot of muscles. :) For those of you who work out at the gym, use the most weight that you can! Really challenge yourself, and check to see if the gym you workout at has hexbars, they are much easier to hold then a barbell for deadlifts. For those of your who are at home like me, and might not have a ton of weight, compromise, and add more reps. I normally deadlift around 145lbs for 3 sets of 12, but since I only have 95lbs of weight, I compromise and up my reps to 3 set of 20. So once you get your weight and reps set, squat down low enough to pick the bar up. DO NOT BEND AT YOUR BACK. Bend at your knees to pick the bar up. Then.... 

Stand up!

That is one rep. Now squat back down to the ground and stand up again. Finish your set. :) 

Next are Physio Ball Hamstring Curls! These are awesome for your hammies and butt! ;) 

Start out with your calves on the ball and the rest of your body raised, balancing on your shoulders and arms.  This pulls in your core for stability too! Once you get balanced.... 

Pull your feet towards your butt, rolling the ball. Make sure to keep your core tight so your back stays straight. Then push your feet away from you, going back to the position in the first picture. That is one rep. Too easy? Switch from double leg to single leg curls. Get those hammies and bum burnin'!! :)

Last ones I'll show you are Split Squats! 

Also great for quads, hip flexors, and butt.

So for this exercise, again, pick a weight that challenges you, and get it on your shoulders. Take a step with which ever leg you want to start with first, and get a nice wide stance. This is almost like an exaggerated lunge, but instead of walking forward, you just keep squatting in that stance for all your reps, then switch legs and do it again. Keep in mind, unlike lunges, both of your legs will burn doing this, no matter which leg is forward, they both will burn like crazy. This can be done with dumbells in each hand if you do not have access to a barbell. Get after the Split Squats guys!

So that was just a few things I did for my workout, hope they are something you can incorporate into your workouts. :) 

Squats and PR!

Okay, so I'm a little late, but I'm super stoked because in April, my 3 rep max was 155lbs, and my 1 rep max was 185lbs. For my last workout, I did a pyramid, and for the last two sets (on the left) I did 185lbs for 4 reps, and (on the right) I did 205lbs for my one rep max! Hard work really does pay off! After tearing all the ligaments in my left ankle a couple months ago, I was worried that I would never be able to play or train the same again, but now I'm stronger than ever. So even through injuries, keep your head up and push through!
As for squats in general, they are great for you posterior chain! On leg day, make sure to include these in your workout. Either do a higher weight that challenges your for low reps, or like I did in a pyramid (10,8,6,4,1), or you can do lighter weight for lots of reps. Sometimes I'll do only 95 pounds, but I'll do that for 3 sets of 20. So make sure you pick a weight that really makes those last couple reps a burn and a struggle, and get after those squats! Have a good workout! :)