Brains, Brawn & Blonde

I can’t remember the last time my back was this sore. The middle of my back, mostly the part of my lats that are closest to my spine (clearly I haven’t taken human anatomy) are the most sore. Everything I did last night really focused on the inner lat, which will help pull that core together and get that “V” I am looking for. 

Biceps weren’t to bad. I did manage to do a personal best on hammer curls with 40’s! I felt pretty Bad-A for that moment :)

It’s that time again for a new workout schedule. I am now on a 6 day split!

The key points to remember with this routine is a slower tempo && pause between the eccentric and concentric phase of EVERY rep, and burn burn burn!!! That lactic acid build should be lighting my muscles up like fire!!!

Split looks like this for the next four weeks:

Day 1: legs
Day 2: shoulders and triceps
Day 3: back and biceps
Day 4: legs (glute work)
Day 5: shoulders and triceps
Day 6: back and biceps
Day 7: rest!!

LET’S GO!

I am still working on getting all the way down with my squats, but I am so much better than I was 5 months ago. I always hate my trainer on leg day, but then I remember I am allowed to have toast for breakfast…

Each circuit of 8 exercises are done for 3 sets x 12 reps, increasing the weight every set. 

I am most definitely going to look like a mad woman at the gym tonight, most likely the one with the funky limp… Everything is done for 12 reps in a circuit for 3 rounds! Hamstrings and Glutes have earned the right to their own special day :)

Crazy 8’s

- Leg Extensions

- Barbell Squats

- Leg Press Machine (Horizontal)

- Leg Press Machine (Angled)

- Hack Machine Squat

- Hip Abductors

- Step Ups (12 reps each leg)

- Stationary Lunges (12 reps each leg)

Legs were pretty brutal last night. Crazy 8’s takes 8 exercises of 12-15 reps back to back in a circuit making up 1 set. I did this for 4 sets, and I am pretty sure I felt an overwhelming feeling of crying more than once. That might of been a little awkward for the trainer :) 

This was pretty intense, but not the whole workout. Because of time constraints (my exhaustion), we cut calves and the rest of hammies out. The remainder will be incorporated in my next phase of workouts. Good news, I am able to walk. Bad news, I feel like my legs/butt were run over by a tractor.

I just have to remember every time I am sore, I am growing a little more. 

Shoulder is always fun and tough at the same time. I have mentioned IMS (invisible muscle syndrome) previously, this always occurs on shoulder day. 

Shoulders were so fun last night, I had my two best friends with me! They are wanting to get those arms toned and butts tight, so they are on a mission with me :) I enjoy having my friends join in on my “hobbies” and goals, it make me feel like I have some outside support other than my sweet husband (who does a great job supporting me). This is mainly because I keep a lot of my fitness goals private and only share them with those closest to me, outside of tumbler of course. 

This workout is pretty intense, it focuses on all parts of the shoulders with the intent to blast all three sections in one workout. I have gained a lot of strength in the past 18 weeks and can really push myself when it come to my workouts. I am starting to see my shoulders get rounder and bigger…which I LOVE!

We did back & bi’s last night and the hubs and I both agree, it is pretty darn hard. Last time I did this routine, I couldn’t touch my lats for days because they hurt so bad! 

I love this routine because I feel a good burn in my muscles from start to finish. In addition, the pull-ups are something I struggle with. My goal is to be able to get to 6 reps for all sets unassisted (I’m up to 3)!

I am in the middle of week 17. I honestly can’t believe how fast time is going, my days are pretty full of work, grad school and working out so I have lost all sense of time :) 

I am still sitting at 113 lbs, which is great because my lean muscle mass has gone up and my body fat % has gone down! I am struggling right now with the either putting on size or recognizing the gain if I have. I know I am getting bigger, but I feel at this time I definitely should be bigger. Can I get an order of MORE CALORIES PLEASE? 

Last night was chest a tri’s and man was it tough. I like the current workout, it keeps me moving and increasing my weight. I do have to say that the giant circuit is BRUTAL! 

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On another note, has anyone ever had a gel manicure! I am so in love with it! I think I have a new guilty pleasure every 3 weeks! :) 

I had the funnest time doing back and bi’s last night. Not only did I have my PIC/Hubby, I had my best friend K! The workout took about 2 hours, mainly due to three people working in with one another. K was a trooper and killed the workout like a champ, although she did kill me at 2 games of Horse! She will be joining us tonight again to hit legs, she has no idea what she is in for :)        

Good news, I am getting better at pull-ups - Bad news, I still can’t get multiple reps in without help…soon. 

Had a great shoulder workout last night! The new workout is so intense and really focuses on the all parts of the shoulder (post delt, interior delt and medial delt), it burned so good. I have a hard time keeping my elbows up, which helps with really focusing on isolating the shoulder. I am going to focus my attention on form instead of increasing my weight right now , in order to make sure I am really letting my shoulders do all the work :)

It is a good sign that you had a hard workout when you trainer ask “are we going to see your dinner soon?”. Man-Oh-Man! I am waddling today, but it’s ok, I got permission from the trainer :)

I would almost consider last nights workout as more a butt workout than legs…but I guess they are the starting point for awesome gams :) I didn’t write down the workout, but below is the exercises I didn’t suppress. 

• Reverse Hack Squat
• Barbell Squats
• Reverse Lunge with Step-Up
• Stiff Leg Dead Lift (dropped to toes)
• Vertical Leg Press (Rest-Pause)

This is probably one of the hardest workouts I have done yet, mixed with no A/C in 112 degree weather…it was definitely an experience. I needed to take 10 minutes before I drove just to get the feeling back in my legs…I try to workout to failure every time, but this definitely put the icing on the cake! 

Last night was chest and tri’s with my trainer. I see him every Wednesday and usually just go through the  workout he has assigned. However, the past 2 weeks we have switched them up and have either done his workout or one he has made up on the spot. It has been so fun switching the workouts up and really getting to test my limits. I love that I am not only surpassing my own expectations, but those of my trainer as well! We have now decided that instead of doing the assigned workouts together every Wednesday, we are going to continually try new things and push more weight in order to push my body. 

(Source: brainsbrawnandblonde.com)

I am still on the same shoulder workout I was on last week, however, I believe I will switch it up this coming week. Shoulder day is one of my favorite workout days, I love spending 1+ hours working out one muscle group. 

I took my pre-workout (Xpand by Dymatize, orange) and had a pretty good pump once I got started. My shoulders looked HUGE, which of course I had to flex over and over again in the mirrors surrounding the entire perimeter of the gym :) 

After I finished my shoulder workout, which took a little over an hour, we moved on over to cardio. I intended to do the stair stepper…but I noticed this new little gaget’y gem in front of me…I couldn’t resist and moved my happy little self over. I was actually sad my workout was over because I was so intrigued by the treadmill! I completed a 20 minute uphill walk with and average incline of 15% and pace of 3.1. 

(Source: )

I’m seriously wondering if I will ever not be nauseous when I do my leg work out? I think it is a combination of the moderate weight, high reps and….holding my breath!

The problem with holding my breathe while lifting is that it causes my blood pressure to increase and leads to lightheadedness, dizziness & nausea. So why do we hold our breath when we are lifting? I asked my trainer this and he had a pretty good answer. He said that we when we are lifting heavy weight (or exerting any type of crazy energy) our body turns to a fight or flight type mode, causing us to hold our breathe while trying to exert all our energy into getting that weight up. This is fine if you are only doing a few reps, but when I am doing seated leg curls for 4 sets, 40 reps at 40lbs it is a recipe for nausea! 

 I guess it is time for me to learn how to breathe!

I have posted my leg workout before, but here it is again just as a reminder :)

My back/bi workout last night was so intense! My trainer decided that instead of doing my normal routine, we would do his routine. Mind you, this guy is massive! Below is a pic to just give you an idea of what I am dealing with :)

 The routine consisted of pushing extremely heavy weight and a circuit (again with heavy weight). We started with the circuit, it was 4 exercises for 3 sets with 1 minute rest in between: 

• Dead Lift - 6 - 8 reps at 135#
• Training Rope - 25 reps (He gave me a different variation each time)
• Bent over DB Row - 15 reps at 15#
• Reverse Grip Lat Pull Down - 15 reps at 60#

After the circuit we moved to the T-bar row in which we lifted heavy for 18 reps for 3 sets. On the last set he loaded the plates on and at the end of 6 reps he would take a plate off while I was still lifting (talent?), until we reached 18.

Finally we moved to biceps, we did a lying cable curl with 35#, hammer curls with 35#, super-setting into traditional curls with 10#…it was tough!

This was one of the toughest workouts I have done yet, but I think it is a new fav. I seriously love the feeling of being at complete failure. Definitely excited to see what type of crazy workouts he pulls together next!