I’ve been needing some new motivation the past few weeks for my strength training. I have my go-to lifting routines and I rotate them depending on which body part(s) I want to work, but they were getting bor-ing.
Luckily I have bootcamp twice a week, so I don’t have to come up with those workouts on my own (thank you very much Jodi!). However, I try to do some type of strength training 2-3 more days throughout the week.
I decided I needed some new ideas so I got out all my old fitness magazines to pilfer through! I lift quite a bit differently then when I started getting some of these magazines so new exercises peaked my interest this time around!
I have issues from FitnessRX for Women, Oxygen magazine, and Muscle & Fitness Hers. I have a subscription for Oxygen magazine but I would pick up random issues of the other two when I traveled or if I saw one at the store and decided I had to have it.
Doing this really helped! I got a lot of new ideas and found a few new workouts that I want to try. I’ll let you know if I fall in love with any of them.
I happen to love lower body training. I try to hit the legs and glutes at least once per week, depending on my schedule. This workout has some leg exercises and also some exercises for your rear. Deadlifts and lying hamstring curls target, well, the hamstrings. The step ups and the leg extensions hit your quads, and the hip thrusts target your glutes. Then of course, the calf raises work your calves, which I tend to neglect. I do direct calf exercises about once every couple months. I need to do them a lot more frequently, but they are not something I think about. Well they were not neglected in this routine!
One of my absolute favorite lower body exercises are Romanian deadlifts (my hammies never get neglected!). They not only work your glutes and hamstrings, but they work your back as well. I wanted to lift heavier on the deadlifts so I chose to do them with a barbell. I sometimes do Romanian deadlifts with dumbbells, but I cannot lift as heavy with those because my grip cannot handle the additional weight. One thing Jodi taught me when your grip is failing while doing deadlifts with a barbell, is to use an overhand grip with one hand and an underhand grip with the other. It seriously helps. Obviously, I cannot do this with dumbbells, hence why I cannot lift as heavy with dumbbells.
This lifting routine is straight sets – no trisets, no supersets – just straight lifting. Try to go heavier with the weight so that the last few reps are hard to do. I kept most the reps around 10, so try to increase the weight a little more than if you were aiming for the 12-15 or even the 20 rep range.
I was also surprised how different four sets was compared to three sets. I definitely like it. It took a lot more time so if you need to be in-and-out quickly, try something different.
If you are not sure how to do one or more of these exercises, each one below is linked to the Exercise Guide on Bodybuilding.com. It is a great reference if you are unsure how to do a particular exercise or if you want to know what exercises target what body parts.
Well, Donny & I leave for our road trip to Florida on Friday! I’m getting really excited. So far our plan is to go to Wichita, KS to see my cousin, his wife and daughter! Then drive to Little Rock to stay the night. We need to be in Augusta, GA on Sunday to meet up with a friend of Donny’s. Then we are staying two nights in Savannah, GA. I am so excited! I’ve wanted to go to Savannah since we got back from Charleston, SC in 2012! We will then head to Naples, FL to see one of my best friends Kelsey, her husband, and their “kiddos” (aka their wonderful dogs). I haven’t seen her in forever and I cannot wait! We’ve had this trip planned for like a year and half, which is not typically our style. It is finally here…
I plan to pack a ton of clean-eating snacks for the road so I am not tempted with gas station picks and fast food. I’ll keep you posted on what I gather together in case you are going on vacation this summer and need some easy travel-food!
