Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Monday and Tuesday workouts

Monday was chest and back and today was shoulders and bi's and tri's.
Jeff said I should share my info and maybe you already know all of this but in the event that you don't I'll explain my plan. Don't fall asleep.

As you all know the best way to burn fat is aerobicaly but to reshape your body you need to weight train. I noticed that the people in my aerobic classes that were faithful lost weight but basically looked like a thinner version of themselves. BUT the ones who added weight training reshaped themselves.

I believe that muscle, when it is healthy and worked correctly has a nautral shape. If that is confusing visulaize this, a perfect leg is a round leg. The growth of the front of the quad is equaled to the growth and thickness of the hamstring. The leg appears round. When the knee is healthy and worked correctly it will appear alot smaller and the tendons and ligaments will be strong.

Sometimes the funny thing in the gym will be the guys who pump up their chests with repeated chest excerises and their legs look like toothpicks. I used to get great entertainment from the ones who could barely drag the weight up. That didn't matter just as long as someone saw them heaving the heavy weight.

The weight should not be so heavy that you cannot squeeze at the contraction. That contraction is where the muscle lives, Not the dragging the sloppy weight up and letting it flop. It is the squeeze at the contraction of a bicep curl that is doing the reshaping. The squeeze, then the slow negative when you return to the starting postion.

Ok OK what I am doing is 4 sets of 15 reps at about 65% of what I can do. I can probably curl 15 lb. curls but not for 60 reps! So I use 12lb dumbbells and the last 2 sets are a bit of a struggle to maintain form. FORM IS EVERYTHING. Once you lose form you might as well stop.

I was trained for free for 2 years by a guy who owned my gym and he could squat 500lbs for reps. I can hear his words all the time...Make them pretty. Make them pretty.He meant keep the form pretty..perfect. It doesn't matter about how much weight it is if you cannot achieve the contraction and the SLOW negative.
Ohh I need to stop.
Well my two workouts were wonderful and I feel great for old lady. I made all my sets and worked my abs. I'm done for now and Legs are next..whu who!!!!

1 comment:

Aaron said...

Mem, you have a lot of perspective and experience that makes this transformation especially interesting...I have images/memory in my mind of you at your most fit...when I think of you, THAT is the way I visualize you...

Before you know it, the LUNGE QUEEN will be holding court in the gym...LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!