Ever since I hung up my figure competition heels, I have put a ton of emphasis on variety in my training. I added circuit/body-weight workouts into my regime about once a week, and every so often I will participate in something different like a Muay Thai class to shock my system. I still aim to strength train at least 4 times a week in the gym because well, I love it.
Here’s a little insight as to what it’s like to train with me in the weight room: first, clear your schedule. It’s going to be a while. Unless it’s some sort of cardio circuit (which I will be sharing many of on this site), I actually don’t know how to train ‘quickly’. I’m addicted to volume. I like knowing that I am going to be completely spent at the end of my workout; that I’ve pushed myself to the absolute brink.
I have had many people offer to train with me and no offense, I know most of you would hate it. I brush off many of the “oh we should totally train together sometime!” I am 90% business, 10% girl-next-door. I am somewhat chatty-jokey in between sets as I like to keep the mood light. I reserve all the intensity for the set at hand. I often train with higher reps than most, but that’s because my intent is to go to failure- with as many repetitions I can possibly execute with proper form intact. I have been told many times that I have ‘resting-bitch-face’ at the gym, and I’m at peace with that. I’d rather be known as the intense, hard-working chick than the flaky, 10 lbs of makeup, texting-on-her-phone the whole time, walking on the treadmill slower than I walk to the fridge kinda girl. Oh and I do take gym selfies, but only pre or post workout… timing is everything 😉
This is an example of what I call a ‘muscle confusion’ workout: super-setting two muscle groups that have nothing to do with each other. For those of you that don’t know: a ‘superset’ is performing 2 different exercises back to back as one set. It’s a super efficient way to cover two major muscle groups and burn a ton more calories than a typical workout. You could also categorize this as a ‘pull’ workout since although you are training upper/lower body simultaneously, both muscle groups involve a pulling motion. It is lengthy, but the less you rest in between supersets the quicker it will be, and the more you will get out of it.
And here it is… Give it a try 😉
Back and Hamstrings
superset (x 5 sets including warm-up)
- Straight-legged deadlifts x 15 reps
- Straight bar pull-ups (bodyweight- to failure)
superset (x 3 sets)
- Reverse lunges on Smith Machine x 15/leg
- Reverse grip bent over rows (on Smith) x 15
superset (x 3 sets)
- Sumo squat (Using T-bar: stand facing T-bar, holding bar between legs) x 15
- T-bar rows x 15
superset (x 3 sets)
- Cable side lunges x 15/leg
- Cable straight arm pull-downs x 15
superset (x 3 sets)
- Single leg lying curls on balance ball x 15
- Reverse hyperextensions on balance ball x15