Friday Fitness Questions Numba 2

Hey Friends!

So I want to keep this thing going so here’s coming atcha with the second instalment of fitness related questions for ya’ll

In true Chelsea fashion it seems, this post is comin’ in a day late… 

I didn’t get any suggestions for last week, so I’m going to post about something random. Since it’s spring-ish weather as of lately and that means that people go nuts and pull out their summer clothing because they get too excited..

Lets do one about legs shall we?

So here we go.

What are some of the best legs exercises for strength OTHER THEN squats?

Oh the mighty squat. It gets all the love and attention when it comes to the leg and booty gainz, and for good reason. It utilizes a huge number of lower body muscle groups including the quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, and the gluteus maximus (Gullett, 2009). Additionally, it also uses muscles around the ankle joints, your core and the many muscles of your lower back as well. Overall, it is quite the king for sure.

 Despite it’s overall practically and supreme benefits, there are some other important lifts when it comes to a strong lower body that deserve some loving too. With regards to muscle activation, there are a number of alternatives that ring very close, and if not, at par with squats.

We all hate them. Admit it…

Lunges.

See too many people doing heavy weighted lunges? Nope. Shall I dare even go into how many guys I have seen do lunges at all…Maybe my hands worth.

Why?

Because they hurt. Many people would actually rather suffer through gruelling squats then to do a lunge. Unfortunately, by avoiding the suffering, you are also avoiding all dem gainz. Here’s some research:

Keogh (1999). This study talked about the performance benefits of adding lunges into your lower body training as they help to work on single leg movements (which can help detect imbalances, improve ankle, hip and knee flexibility and improve overall balance) in addition to having the added benefit of being able to work in more then just one single field. Different lunge variations enable you to work in the lateral and horizontal planes, where as squats are simply lateral movements.

Farrokhi et al (2008). Similar to squats, different variations of the lunge may help to activate slightly different areas. Therefore, you can use variety to your advantage to infiltrate different areas as you need them.

Statsny (2015). There is even research to suggest that the way you hold the dumbbell in your hand during various lunge variations can affect muscle activation. Specifically they looked at the effects of ipsilateral (holding a dumbbell on the other side of the lunging leg) and contralateral (holding the dumbbell on the same side as the lunging leg) on muscle activation during both walking lunges and split squats.

So looking to try some out? Here are some variations to check out.

Walking Lunges

Stationary Lunges

Split Squats

Front-loaded Lunges (hits the quads more)

Movin on…

Another big man on campus is the…

Deadlift.

Known for it’s utility in strengthening you’re entire backside, this lift is a strong contender for anyones training routine.

Fischer (2012). This provides a great overview of the lift, variations, muscle activation and why it should be incorporated in everyones training regime.

Robbins (2011). This study found did not find any significant differences in muscle activation between the deadlift and the back squat, showing how comparable they are with respect to which muscle groups you’re stimulating. I’m assuming this was the conventional deadlift, as it was not specifically mentioned the particular variation. 

Deadlift Variations:

Conventional Deadlift (bar touches the ground following each rep)

Romanian Deadlift (bar never touches the ground, more glute/ham focus)

Stiff Legged.

Sumo Deadlift (glute focus).

Note that the sumo DL is the new cool kid on the block. This was a adopted by powerlifters but now it seems that everyone is trying this version out. There are some thoughts that this is easier on the hips and feels better for many people.

Heres a great article showing some of the variations.

One exercise that is often overlooked (maybe because of how it is done..) but deserves more attention is the:

Hip Thruster.

These guys are known for building that booty up.

Contreras (2011). Brett summaries many aspects of the barbell hip thrust for you in a very easy way. Some of the benefits of the hip thrust include full gluteal activation and they also help to prevent hamstring injuries by building up those glue muscles to help the hamstrings out during hip extension movements. This exercise builds up the strength in the glutes due to having a greater range of motion at the hip then things like squats.

Eckert (2014). Evidence to support the utility in gluteal strengthening exercises such as these for athletes requiring the use of hip extension including sprinters, basketball, powerlifting, etc

If you have weak glutes this exercise is great for you. In addition, it does help to work your lower back as well so even unloaded bridge exercises (mimic the basic movement) can help be therapeutic for those with back pain.

So there are the three big compound (multi-joint) movements that I think everyone should include in their routines to help build those leggies. Of course, I’m not saying to ignore squats, as you definitely should do them as well because they are talked about the most for good reason, but I just wanted to note those other big lifts that some may shy away from or not be aware of to the same extent.

Also, just because something isn’t a compound lift per say, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it’s place. Accessory work (often those exercises that recruit less muscle groups, but may hit one or two more directly and help with other lifts) can help not only build up those larger lifts and make you progress faster, but they are also something to include for balance, aesthetics and overall development.

Some of my favourite accessory movements include:

Leg press (different foot positions) –> I consider this an assistance lift, many may use this instead of squats if they have issues squatting. 

Glute Kickbacks–> Don’t limit yourself to just straight behind you. Also try kicking back at 45 degrees. 

Hamstring Curls

Single-leg Leg Extension –> Great for burning out the quads (do drop sets!)

…and my newest favourite…

Vertical or Inverted Leg Press w/ a Pulse using the Smith Machine. 

This is the basic inverted leg press movement. Add the thrust at the end for the added glute burn! 

So good! It not only acts as a wide stance leg press but the vertical position really activates the glutes and hamstrings because you can get your legs really close to the chest (it forces a better range of motion). The additional pulse is like adding a hip thrust component for even more glute action. PLUS you feel this in the lower abdominal region because of the upward thrust.

So there ya go. Strong legs means you have to put in the work. Suffer a lil bit with these tough (physically and mentally) lifts and gain all of the benefits.

Hope this was helpful!

-Chelsea

 

Suga’ Built Quads

Hey Friends!

So I’m just typing up this post waiting for my ‘Every Leg Day Friday Ice Cream’ cheat meal to crash my lil body into a suga coma. I had to travel alllll the way to Guelph to pick up my digestive enzymes (annoying lil things are disappearing from stores for some reason and so I have to drive 30 minutes to now pick them up now that I’m with my parents at home -_-) from GoodnessMe!.

It definitely wasn’t all bad though as I got to snag a date with a McMaster friend of mine who now lives in Guelph, Gabriella, and she indulged my typical Thai+ Baskin Robbins cheat meal with me.

Perils of Praline + Gold Medal Ribbon

This shop didn’t have Salted Caramel (sob) but they had a new to me flavour…

Perils of Praline (bottom). Vanilla Frozen Yogurt with Pralined Pecans, Chocolate Cookie Pieces, and Caramel Ribbon throughout.

It was super nomz (so much caramel!) BUT it melted so fast because it was frozen yogurt I guess and you know how I feel about soft serve. MUST BE FROZEN! But it had so much caramel in it. I got a lil bit nervous because it had cookie bits in it (gluten + dairy..?) hopefully I don’t regret that decision tomorrow morning but I’m trying to put that out of my mind.

On the top was..

Gold Medal Ribbon. Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream with a Caramel Ribbon

I have to say that this flavour is meh for me. It’s too chocolate-y for my liking (ie. plain). I get it more for the caramel and it never has enough. I also like my bits and bites of stuff in my ice cream, ya feelz?

I shoulda stuck with my plan to get added caramel sauce (did you know they have peanut butter and caramel sauces you can add to your ice cream?!?) but I chickened out to be honest.

Challenge failed.

Wait…Reframe. Will try again next week.

I always pray that a different Baskin Robbins will have the flavour I have been lusting for …

Made With Snickers. Why am I not eating it yet you ask?

BECAUSE YOU NEVER HAVE IT!

Sigh…

Anyways, this post wasn’t supposed to be a review of ice cream, I came to actually share with you the Death By Legs legs workout that makes up the morning of my cheat day.

It is my quad focused leg day (my hams/glutes is Monday) and while both leg days really take it out of me due to the size of the muscle groups being worked, hello zombie all day + need a nap + cannot stop hanger, quad day seems to be worse.

So what better day for ice cream eh? Especially when ice cream is still such a guilt-triggered thing for me so I need a ‘reason’ to focus on at the moment still.

#StraightToTheQuads. #EatToGrow.

Anywho, brace yourselves but don’t be afraid. Take it at your own pace if you wanna try it out (which I would love to hear how you like it!) and don’t give up 🙂

Have I mentioned I like volume and crawling out of the gym when I’m done?

Leg Day, July 31st.

Core Warm-up Superset (do back to back).

1. Oblique Mountain Climbers with feet elevated and hands on Bosu Ball. Added 35lb plate on my back and would ‘climb’ for a minutes. 4 total sets + held plank for extra 30 seonds for the last set.
2. Weighted (35lbs) Situps. I sit on the lat pull down machine for this one. You get a greater range of motion on the down. 3 total sets + double drop set (25lbs)(no weight) for last set.

This is the idea of the OBLIQUE Mountain Climber, mountain climbers with knees out to the side BUT I have the ball the other way around (round part on the ground for greater instability) and hold onto it with my hands. I have a plate on my back (35lbs) and my feet are elevated on a bench behind me rather then being on the floor. Go with with a level you’re ready for.

Working Super Set 1

1. Squat Dropset. 5 working sets of 115lbs with an immediate drop to 105lbs.

I warmed up with the bar first, then did one set of 105lbs. I also finished with a final set of just 105lbs again. Total number of weighted sets = 7.

2. Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts. I used 30lb dumbbells and did 5 total sets. Go to failure and go as low as you can with proper form to feel the stretch in your hamstrings.

Check out the workout video and description on this one on bodybuilding.com. Take care to keep the chest up, shoulders rolled back (don’t slouch them forward!) and reach reach down. Pull back up using the hamstrings and glutes. Lastly, don’t swing up and hyperextend your back backwards. You don’t need to have your back bending backwards to feel this exercise.

Core Super Set 2

1. Leg Raises with 5lbs with drop set to Knee Ups with that 5lbs on the Captains Chair. 4 Total Sets
2. TRX Oblique Tucks

Working Super Set 2

1. Front Squats. 95lbs to failure. 5 Total Sets, final set was a drop set to 75lbs.
2. Laying Hamstring Curl. 4 Total sets with final double drop set.

Working Super Set 3

1. Leg Press (feet together). 5 total sets with final drop set.
2. Walking Dumbbell Lunges with a 35lb dumbbell on each shoulder

For the lunges I have been focusing on trying to not pause between lunges. Instead, just keep pushing up and walking constantly. It’s harder, but worth it.

Working Super Set 4

1. Isolateral Quad Extension. 4 Total Sets with triple final drop set.
2. Goblet Squats with a 55lb dumbbell and a drop set with a 25lbs plate with raise onto the toes. 3 total sets with a final drop set of 10 jumping or ‘pop’ squats. <- trust me just those 10 are hard after all of that.

For the goblet squats, I stand on the assisted pull up machine stand so that I can hold the dumbbell by my hips rather then up on my chest as my arms get too tired with the weight I want to use before my legs tire. Go all the way down ladies for that booty boost! Immediately after you do the goblet, grab you plate and do more squats until failure once again.

Final Burn Out Set

1 final set of dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts ‘run the rack’ style. This means that you start with one weight and go to failure then pick up the next weight down and do the same. The idea is to go for the rest of the rack or just a massive drop set, but I managed 3 rounds.

35lbs -> 30lbs -> 25lbs

Done and I’m dead to the foam roller.

I hope you enjoy guys and post any questions you have!

Yes I know there is a lot of hamstring work here too for a quad focused day. I like supersets and I don’t want to kill my main (or first lift) by supersetting with a second quad exercise so I try to keep the 1st exercise to more quad focus and heavier while the second is the quad+ham or ham/glute exercise for in between.

-Chelsea

Progression Is A Wonderful Thing

Hey Friends,

Yesterday morning was one of those mornings in the gym…

You know, those mornings where you’re tired. You’re achy. Your mind just isn’t in that #BeastMode and you are feelin a bit low on motivation.

Yesterday morning was all of the above for me.

Now normally when I’m really tired I can snap out of it once I really get going in the gym but unfortunately that mental fuzziness just did not let up and I was thankful by the end of my lift that I was done for the day. Yes, I have those days too.

So those days are frustrating yes BUT I have to stop myself from coming down on myself because you know what…?

I’m a human being. I’m not a machine. At least, that’s what one of my spotters told me when I complained that I wasn’t lifting to my standards.

It’s true though. We all have our off days and we have to push back that negative self talk and accept the fact that EVERYONE has these days and that it’s not the beginning of a downward spiral of crappy workouts. Plus, be proud that you pulled through the workout despite not feeling up to par!

#RealTalkPeeps!

You know what else helped to reassure me that my strength was not magically disappearing?

Starting a new workout log.

You see, I track my workouts in a lil notebook every day so that I know how my lifts are going. I write down my routine with all my weights and reps so that I can…

1. Remind myself what weights I’m using
2. Use those weights and/or reps to compete with myself and see if I can do better
3. Check out the routines of the past few weeks worth of a given body part so that I don’t end up placing lifts in the same order
4. Track new PR’s

That last point is what I wanted to share with you today and what gave me some pride after a tough workout, mentally and physically.

Whenever I finish a notebook and start a new one, I always look back at the previous few weeks and write my personal bests (reps and weights) on the first page so I know my starting point in that book and figure out what new goal weights I’m looking to hit that are reasonable given my current lifting status. After completing this current notepad and looking at my PR’s that began that book, I was amazed by the progress I had made in some of my major lifts.

After a substandard workout, this was a nice change of pace for me.

So, I decided to share with you my progress not because I want to boast about strength gains but because I want to always be open and honest with you guys about myself and these kinds of things are truly what make me proud of myself and keep that passion burning in the gym. It’s also a great log for myself too because if I’m ever in that ‘lack of motivation’ state as it shows how hard I have worked and where it has taken me.

So I started the book that I just finished on December 15 2012, which was midway through my final year in undergrad. Now, this seems like a long time ago (this book was quite large as you can probably tell) as it has about a year and a half worth of workout logs in it, but hey, progress is progress and any increase in strength is a win for me.

So without further ado, here are some of my major lifts and the corresponding progression from Dec 15/12 to now.

Squats. This one is quite a difference for me. I started off using dumbbells for squats because I was afraid of the barbell. I mean come on, I’m five feet tall and I’m pretty sure the bar is greater than that. So yes, I was scared. After making my way up to using 55lbs on each shoulder, I kept being asked by my spotters why I didn’t just go over to the squat rack so that I wouldn’t always need someone to help me with the weights. First response: I would be wobbling all over the place because the bar is so long. Second response: Because of said wobbling issue, I would have to drop my squat weight dramatically and I would loose what I had gained. After a few more weeks of being stubborn about it, I decided to be brave and go on over just to ‘test the waters’ with the bar and you know what? Said wobbles I was so afraid of lasted for only a few sets and I was able to throw a few plates on the bar that first day. Since then, lookee where I have worked up to! I will say that I enjoy being able to easily squat the bar with a 45lb plate on each side because I’m so lil and the weight looks huge. 😉

 Overhead Barbell Press. Okay this one is meh BUT shoulders are my lagging body part, or that area on my body that seems to respond the slowest to training stimulation. It doesn’t gain muscle or strength very quickly. At some point, I did isolate shoulders out into their own workout because I wanted to work on them and I have really been loving this decision. In fact, shoulders have actually become my favourite workout of the week now.

Walking Lunges. This is another proud moment for me. I have gone from lunging 100lbs to 130lbs for 5 to 6 reps. A 30lb difference is quite a good jump for someone of my size I think. Okay, so size shouldn’t matter but hey, I can be proud that I’m 5 feet tall and can be lunging with these babies on my shoulders!

Bench Dips. Huge progress here! Weeeooo. This is one of the lifts I’m known for in my gym (along with lunges and wall sits). I’m super proud of where I have gotten with this lift and now I’m really focusing on slower and lower contractions to hit those tri’s even more.

Dumbbell Chest Press. I have enjoyed seeing my weights going up for this lift in particular because these weights look massive when I’m lifting them. I’m super proud that I can now rep out about 8 good quality reps with 40’s on decline bench press with no spotter. Chest press makes me feel really strong probably because I have always considered my upper body to be weaker and slow to progress in comparison to my legs (hello captain obvious, legs= bigger muscle which should tell me that they will be faster to see progress, but you know we are all irrational when it comes to critiquing ourselves).

Weighted Wall Sits. Now this is not within the same time frame as the other lifts but I wanted to show it because of the HUGE gains I have made with it. So I first started doing wall sits as a super set to another leg exercise back in October of last year as a way of burning out my hamstrings and wow 1 plate to 6 is quite the difference. My spotters now have to put these on my lap in 2 additions, amirite Dean?

So that’s it guys. Those are the major lifts that I had progression stats for and I have to say that I’m pretty happy with my gains. I have also put together a new lil list of new lifts that I have begun to incorporate in my training….

…and hopefully I can work at these ones as well and see some good strength gains over the duration of my new (much smaller) notebook.

 

To end off this post, I wanted to share with you all the death day lovely leg workout I pushed myself through this past Wednesday. As per usual, it was a doozy and I definitely felt it for the next few days. My body also told me loud and clear that I did not stretch long enough with my clicking hip flexors and tight calves. Opps. Do yo stretches peeps! Don’t be stupid and lazy like me.

Warmed up doing weighted planks with a 45lb plate on my back for 1:30 for 3 sets. I have added some dynamic movement into these as well through either stepping my feet one by one off the platform OR doing mountain climbers. I super set these planks with weighted (40lbs) decline situps. The situps include a 35lb drop set. ~15 mins to complete.

For the barbell squats, a normal stance was used and I did the last 3 sets with 155lbs for 6 reps, with the final set being a drop set with 135lbs. Due to the focus being on my squats and me just wanting to activate the hams and the glutes, I kept the hip thrusters a touch lighter at 105lbs for 6-7 reps with a final drop set at 95lbs.

Weighted wall sits were at my max of 6 total 45lb plates on zee lap for a whole 1:30 minutes. These were really tiring that day for some reason. I thought perhaps it was because I hadn’t done hip thrusters in a while and because I did glute cable kickbacks during my second working set, my hams and glutes were getting mighty tired at that point.

Lastly, the leg extension burnout round was set at my usual 145lbs for 7-8 reps with a final drop set at 115lbs until fail. I think I got like 3 at this point. These are done in conjunction (super set, no stopping) with goblet squats using a 60lb dumbbell. The goblets also have a final drop set where the goal is to really just die….err I mean burn out the booties through doing both pop squats and pulses.

I then crawled my way to the locker room, ate my post workout muffin, foam rolled, stretched and biked my sorry lil tush home to prep for 8 hours at work. Yeah, fun times. 

The end.

Do you track your progress?

Which body part progresses the fastest for you?

-Chelsea

Blood, Sweat, And…Tears? Almost. Legs May 8/14

Hey Friends!

Just poppin in with a workout routine for ya! Let me tell you, I felt like I was going to die during this workout no joke. You have heard it before, but I like to murder my legs during my Thursday stem day and well today was no exception. I literally collapsed during wall sits today when Vince (one of my ‘professional’ spotters) told me to do a drop set for my last one. Legs D.E.A.D.

Oh and the tears part of this post’s title? Do you ever feel as if you loose control of your face muscles when you are straining super hard? I call it my ‘squeamish face’ (yes it happens often enough I have a name for it). That face you don’t want to see. That face that is just spasming all over the place (great image eh?). On top of that, today uncontrollable tear duct filling occurred after the completion of those wall sits as I sat on the ground. Good thing was the fact that the fluids stayed put in those ducts rather than trickling down my face. I really wasn’t crying I swear! There ain’t no crying in the gym! Even if tears had occurred, it would have been completely out of my control. Weird.

….and that’s why you don’t wear fancy-shmancy make-up to the gym folks!

Train insane?

Anywho, here she is:

A Few Notes.

• Warmed up dat core (as usual, it was upper/lower core day) with some weighted knee ups (+drop set for each one) super set with weighted decline sit-ups (+final drop set). Three total rounds
• Still workin with the 60 and 65lb DB (alternating sides) for walking lunges. I warm up with no weight, then 30lbs and then complete 5 sets with the 125lbs theeeennn finally finish my last set off with a drop set using 40lb DBs
• For my wall sits, I’m workin with 5 45lb plates on my lap for about 1-1:15 minutes for 4 sets. Today, I decided to be crazy and super set those in with regular barbell squats (still heavy-140lbs). Mistake? We shall see tomorrow…
  • Oh and that dropset of death...So I have 5 plates on me. Vince took one off after 30seconds, then another after 20 more seconds, same with the next one and I was trying to make it to 2 minutes total (I would have had one plate left by that point) but I failed. Basically this is what happened: 2nd last plate came off. I’m starting to cave. “Vince GET THIS PLATE OFF ME!” Leg’s gave out and I proceeded to slide down the wall onto my butt. Leg fail. Literally.
• My final burn-out of quad extensions and cable kickbacks (one leg at a time) were completed in about 8 minutes tops.
• Foam rolling and stretching followed after I crawled my way to the change room to eat my post-workout protein muffin.

DONE and DONE!

I’m going to be sorry tomorrow me thinks.

But, before I leave you. I will show you some fuel. Normally I show you what I ate before (ie. my beautiful proats) BUT today I will show you my lunch that I used to fuel up afterwards.

NOTE: This is my second meal following my workout. Immediately following training I have my protein muffin. Carbs and protein in that one, lil to no fat to slow down the absorption of those first two macros as they need to get into your muscles FAST! Post-post workout, or lunch in my case, is still high on carbs, good amount of protein and lower fats.

Big ol’ bowl of gluten-free red jasmine rice pasta (Explore Asian brand that I mentioned in this post) with tons of veggies, roasted turkey/chicken breast meat, a uber simple spicy tomato sauce and my homemade basil pesto. Sprinkled with a bit of nooch.

Cuz Carbz were required.

Oh and on a side note. It took me a bit of time to try out this pasta as I was scared how my tummy would react to it. So far it has been fab! I have been eating it quite a bit because it seems to sit nicer than anything else right now (no gas/bloat/etc…TMI sorry). Maybe this is because it’s more processed? I’m still eating only brown jasmine rice (like I always have) and water, as those are the only two ingredients, but my tummy seems to accept it more than even just the rice. Perhaps the process of making it into pasta makes it easier for my to digest…? I Dunno. Don’t care. It’s good. 🙂

Have a terrific Thursday night friends!

What’s your favourite leg exercise?

Are you a pasta fan?

-Chelsea

Fueling Ma Crying Stems With….

Hey Friends,

Quick drop in for a workout post after my grueling Thursday Leg Day. As for the title, and I know I say this a lot BUUUUTT… I was hurtin and all I wanted was a MASSIVE plate full of …

….none other than ….

Kabocha. 😀

What else is new right?

Roasted to crispy perfection, I have orange kabocha, some green kabocha pieces and acorn squash (can’t have allll kabocha. I wish. Acorn contains no sugar so I generally do a split) that were seasoned with a lil olive oil and a lot of rosemary (love it!). This pile was served with baked chipotle (Mrs Dash) seasoned basa and my usual rainbow swiss chard saute filled with mushrooms, onion, garlic, chili flakes and powder and curry powder. #TheAddictionIsNeverEnds.

Omnomnomnom…

So now that you saw what I re-fueled with (this was lunch about 2.5 hours after my workout. Directly following I chow down on my post-workout banana oat protein muffin), here’s the workout that killed my legs in the first place:

The faces I made during this workout….They get worse and worse every week. Amirite Dean?

I swear I have a posse now. I’m not bragging or anything but I have like 5 spotters that give me therapy help me through my sets with lifting weights onto my shoulders (lunges), plates on my lap (wall sits) and just distracting me from staring at my timer (again…wall sits. Deadly those things!). You guys are awesome! 

Oh and just so you know…

I’m up to 4 plates (yes that 4 45lb plates) on my lap for wall sits for 1:15 minutes…

…and that’s directly following (so supersetting) heavy leg pressin..

Okay..

Now I’m bragging. 😉

What’s your favourite post workout meal?

-Chelsea

Leg Workout- Feb 27th

Hey Friends,

Quick lil workout post for ya. Here’s some leggie inspiration from my workout this past Thursday and let me tell you it was a brutal one! I must have been out of my mind to superset heavy goblet squats with my 5×5 lunge set. Ouch. Still hurtin today from that one (2nd day syndrome). As a matter of fact, last night while I was trying to simply relax on the couch with my snack I couldn’t lean on my left side fully because my glute (aka butt) was so tight. Apparently I need my own personal foam roller. Anyone wanna help a lil one out on that one? Ha. 😀

Burn’em out I tell ya!

Weights:

Round 1: Lookin for 5-6 reps for the main lift (ie. the lunges).

Lunges: 125lbs total (1 60lb DB and 1 65lb DB). Yup still going strong on that mixed weight combo. Yeah, I get weird looks and I’m okay with that. Warmup for lunges is using 30lb DBs and drop set is using 35lb DBs.  Goblet Squat: 50lb DB. Leg Raises: 10lb DB with a 7.5lb DB drop set for each one

Round 2: Lookin for 7-8 reps (hypertrophy range) for the main lift (the squat)

Back Squat: started with 135lbs, made it to 145 lbs for 7 solid reps. Mountain climbers: 25lb plate on my back and my feet are elevated, hands are on bosu and I ‘climb’ for a minute for each set.

Round 3: Same as round 2, about 7-8 reps for main lift (leg press)

Leg Press: 270lbs + sled. Cable glute kickbacks: 27.5 (kgs?).

Round 4. The Burnout! Go as fast as you can through these two. Burnin out the quads first on the leg extension (with final drop set) and finishin off with the hams. About 8 reps are hit for the leg extension for each round.

Leg Extension: 145lbs with 115lb drop set. Wall sits: 3 45lb plates + a 35lb plate (170lbs) on my lap and held for roughly 1 minutes each.

Comments.

Shoutout to Dean for trying to kill me helpin me out with my wall sits (putting the weights on my lap + removing them). By taking them off one by one you are definitely pushing me that lil bit harder. 😉 #JelloLegs #CantStandUp

By doing the goblet squats in between my lunges I did notice that my rep range for the lunges suffered a wee bit. I only got 5 whereas I might be able to push through to 7 normally. No pain no gain right?

Do you like leg day?

Do you push to your maximum?

-Chelsea

Oh Thursdays…

Hey Friends,

Just droppin in for a quick hello and a workout post as I haven’t done one of those in a while and I have a nice fresh session to share with ya.

This is what I would like to say following leg day…

but I know that in reality it’s going to look a lil like this…

Yup. That 15 minute walk in the Arctic Tundra (hello minus 30 with the wind chill :-() we have going on here in Hamilton back to my apartment following my leg demolition wasn’t pretty. Don’t you love when basic functions such as walking becomes a challenge? Body why you failin me!!

Leg day…

Love-hate relationship if you ask me.

Anyone with me?

Despite the pain and suffering I endure for the 2-3 days following this blessed day in the gym, I continue to ‘train insane’ with legs every Thursday. I don’t know what it is about legs but I’m uber competitive with myself and always want to come out feeling basically dead.

Initiate zombie face for the rest of the day…

Oh and lucky me gets to then go to work and haul baskets upon baskets of milk, jars of peanut butter, etc up a freakin stupid lovely flight of stairs as part of my closing duties.

Okay okay enough complaining. Those stems gotta grow and get strong and so you have to train them hard. No pain no gain.

Here was my workout from this morning that left me shakin.

What’s nice is that after 2.5 weeks of sickness, my strength is finally starting to come back around. Don’t you hate how even after you feel better you’re still lifting below your max? SO FRUSTRATING! #GymRatProblemz

I managed to hit 150lbs for barbell squats today which is only 5lbs under my previous max. Lunges are still going strong at 55lbs per shoulder (total of 110lbs) for 8-9 reps a side. I did manage to do 60’s still when I was sick so those weren’t really affected. I drop to 55 pounders when lunges are not my 5×5 set to get out a few more reps as they fall into my hypertrophy sets. Tried out single leg hamstring curls on the ball for the first time today to burnout my hammies a lil after leg pressin (workin with 3 plates a side for 8 reps). I have really been liking glute hamstring raises lately but I wanted to try something different today. Lastly, I got a spotter this week (thanks Dean!) so I could do my wall sits again following my quad extensions as my final burnout set. Up to 3 45’s on my lil lap for 1:15 to 1:30 minutes total per set. Wooo for leg endurance….and screaming.

Phew! Gotta love volume and heavy weights 😉 Some foam rolling and stretching and then I was done and done.

Are you a leg day lover? Hater?

Favourite leg exercise?

-Chelsea

WIAW…Fuel Those Stems

Hey Friends,

Just dropping in for a quick WIAW with the gang over at Peas and Crayons. Thanks Miss Jen for hosting once again this week! Today’s post will feature the eats that fuel my big Wednesday Legday. Shall we begin?

Im up nice and early when I workout to eat my big ol’ bowl of proats. Gawd I love my oatmeal every morning. For leg day, my carbs shoot up and my fats drop slightly to give me lots of quick energy.

This bowl was made from a base (which was soaked overnight as usual) of 1/2 cup oats, 1/5 scoop Cellucor Cookies and Cream whey, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1/3 cup each water and unsweetened almond milk and a shake (or 10) of cinnamon. In the morning, 1/4 cup of egg whites are added during the cooking process (pumpin up that volume!) and my lovely add-ins include: 65g of melted banana chunks (quick carbs!), 1/3 of a Double Chocolate Chunk Questbar (ooooohhh the melty chocolate goodness!), 1/2 a tbsp of cashew butta and 1 tsp lucuma powder (superfood). Cue faceplant. So good!

After a lil digestin, I pop my first 2 BCAA’s (Branched Chain Amino Acids) and head off to the gym. It’s around 7:20ish am by now. The BCAA’s are there to protect my muscle mass while working out. Especially because I’m currently not where I should be weight wise, these are super important as they give free amino acids to the body ensure that it doesn’t start feeding off my muscle for fuel.

I hate swallowing horse pills. Ick.

I then went and murdered my legs with this workout

First Set

5×5 Barbell Squats. Started with a warmup (not included in total sets) of no weight then 50lbs + the bar (95lbs total). I started my set at 135 and worked my way up to a new PR of 155lbs for 4 unassisted reps. This was followed by a drop set at 135lbs for 5 reps. Super set that with weighted (25lbs) oblique mountain climbers using the bosu (feet are elevated) x4 sets of 1 minute each.

Second Set

4×8-9 Weighted Walking Lunges. I use 2 55lbs dumbbells on my shoulders for these. Yes I need a lot of spotters for my workouts. 😉 I super set this with side plank rotations with my elbow on a bench and my feet on a stability ball for 4×1:30minute sets.

Third Set

4×8 Leg Press with Super Set Calf Raises. I use 6 45lb plates for this one and immediately do calf raises following each set. I super set this one with weighted (25lb) isolateral hip bridges for 4×9-10 sets.

Fourth Set (Burnout Set)

3×8 Quad Extensions. I do 145lbs for 8 reps then immediately went into wall sits with 2 45lbs plates + 1 25lb plate on my lap. This was held for 1:15 minutes for all three sets. KILLER! I did this 3 times in just under 15 minutes. Yes, another spotter needed to get all that weight on my lap for me 😀

I then booked it to the change room (I was ready to eat my hand off) to choke on take two more BCAAs and had my post workout cake/muffin

This is simply:

• Heaped 1/4 cup oats
• 40g melted banana
• 1/2 scoop Chocolate Probiotic Whey
• 2 tbsp liquid egg whites
• Shake of cinnamon

Combine in a small cup and pour into a sprayed ramekin. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until firm to the touch.

After some much needed foam rolling and stretching, I biked my way home to shower up, grab some lunch and then head off to work at GoodnessMe! Lunch was a new standard post-post workout meal since my brussel sprouts are still off the table for my tummy.

Still delicious nonetheless!

Baked basa fillet seasoned with Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning, sauteed red swiss chard leaves and stems with mushrooms, onion, chili powder and flakes and curry powder AND rosemary roasted kabocha squash and purple sweet taters. Love it all!

Around 3:30 I had my lil snackie mugcake that I tend to make when I’m on the go to get my fuel and fish oils in me:

My digestive enzymes are taken with EVERYTHING!

In a cup combine:

• 3 tbsp peanut flour
• just under 1/4 cup oats
• cinnamon
• 2 tsp Barlean’s Omega Swirl fish oil
• 2 tbsp liquid egg whites
• lil bit of peanut butter extract

Sprayed a ramekin and bake at 350 for ~15 minutes or until the top is firm and it has cracked in the middle.

Dinner was also eaten at work while pulling forward.

Today’s Flexbowl contained organic brown basmati rice, lil bit of leftover protein (barramundi fillet and grilled chipotle spiced chicken) and a saute of kale, zucchini, asparagus, onion, cajun and chili powders. Fuel up!

Finally back at home to relax a lil bit, chatter with you guys (oh hey WIAW partiers and fellow blog readers!) and make some healthy peanut butter and jelly muffins for some snacks to go. Hopefully they turn out! Experiment in process.

Before bed, as always is my peanut butter filled, frozen casein pudding (Optimum Nutrition Chocolate Peanut Butter Casein+almond milk+ cinnamon + 1tbsp+ 1 tsp my crunchy pb)and half a baked Questie. I’m thinking banana nut tonight. 😀 BEST SNACK EVAR!

On that happy note, I think I will go eat that now 😀 Have a great Wednesday nite all!

What do you eat to fuel up for a big workout?

Do you use pre-workouts? Nope, all food all the time friends!

-Chelsea