neaneacc Member

I would try to add calves, traps, and abs to complete this plan. I try to hit calves and legs twice a week. Otherwise your plan is good. I think most progressive plans have two days on and one day rest then repeat. This is a 4 day strength training plan, but if you keep at least two days for recovery per muscle group this…

OMG I wish our gym had this sign. For some reason it seems that the guys are more likely to leave the weights. This may be do to the fact that there are only like 3 to 5 girls that lift at my gym. I find myself weekly reminding my "gym friends" that I have no interest in unracking like 200 lbs to use the bench or squat…

Once I did this I stopped having this calf problem. I think that we unintentionally use the calf during this hamstring exercise. Try focusing on what your feet are doing and see if this helps. I bet that it will.

Odd but effective stress relief: sleep, petting animals, writing positive thoughts in a journal, setting up a do-able home project, and playing video games that have a set goal/achievement emphasis. Try to just "shake it off" and focus on the next step to your journey. Like any good adventure there will be some detours…

I agree with all of these. I would like to add frog jumps to this too as they are a full leg plyometric style exercise.

Squats are good exercises (mostly legs and some butt work) when done correctly. However, if you are strictly trying to target your butt try weighted hip thrusts. These will have your butt sore after just a few reps if you use enough weight.

Bench press, box jumps, lat pull down, side step on the tread mil, weighted Russian twist on the decline bench and mountain climbers

You can try different oils that are calorie dense (like olive oil) in your protein shakes to add more calories.

I love the deadlift! This exercise is great for the butt and hamstrings when done correctly. I think the single most important thing I learned about doing the deadlift is to own the weight both on the way up and also on the way back down. Unfortunately, it seems that a good amount of people don't own the weight on the way…

I will admit that I was a junk food junkie when I started. Soda, candy, and other high calorie foods were part of my lifestyle causing me to be overweight. I felt that the first 3 weeks or so were very hard for me to break these habits. However, one question that helped me stay on track was could I be satisfied with…

Lots of people swear by diet drinks, but I know that I couldn't do it. Although the diet soda itself doesn't cause weight gain I think that it leads to other negative behaviors that do cause weight gains. I know personally that I was more likely to over-indulge in sweet stuff after drinking diet drinks. I am not sure why,…

I am just northwest of Houston in Copperfield. Feel free to add me and I will help any way that I can.

They actually sell mass gainer that body-builder type guys use to bulk because it adds a lot of calories. The nice thing is that it come as a powder so you could sneak it into smoothies or shakes (or even things like pancakes if you wanted to). Basically it is really calorie dense (like 1200 calories in a serving) but that…

mountain climbers, spiders in plank formation, high knees, and even jumping jacks also work.

I know that lots of people love diet soda. However, I don't have it because I can't control my need for sweets once I've had it. I know it seems strange, but lots of people find that they are more likely to cheat on their diet after consuming diet foods.

Eating at a calorie deficit is the only way to lose the weight, and unfortunately it will feel like you've lost weight everywhere else first. However, to gain ab strength you can do almost any exercise where your knees come up to your chest for lower abs. High knees, mountain climbers, spiders in plank formation, standing…

I have learned the hard way that the following habits lead to success with weight loss. 1) weigh or measure most food and log it asap in MFP 2) drink enough water consistently throughout the day. Current research suggest that we should aim for 1/2 our body weight at least in oz. I weigh 152 /2 = at least 76 oz. 3) get…

Friday is leg day! Oh nothing like leg press, squats, deadlift, hip thrust, leg extensions and laying leg curls to get you sore for the weekend!

you could always do a front squat to OHP in one motion. You may need to lessen your normal front squat weight, but you get an excellent workout without all the stink eye from the haters.

I know it may not be perfect etiquette, but I keep an apple or orange on hand for this exact reason. I am not sure why, but I will go weeks without an issue and then all of the sudden it hits mid-workout. I get that weird low sugar shaky feel that makes me feel crappy all of the sudden. However, the cramping may be more to…

I agree over head press needs the space and the smith machine doesn't give you the same type of workout. I would be considerate of other people but if you are like many people with OHP you can't do a ton of them so it shouldn't take too long.

I have had great success using www.bodybuilding.com. They have tons of video help so you can see how the exercises should be done properly. Also, they have an app for most phones so you can keep your workout and the helpful video with you at the gym.

Don't forget that you may have inflammation there and try 20 min icing to see if that helps too. The ball roll out trick works too. The best I have found are those hard solid rubber bouncy balls found in the quarter machines ( the ones that are just smaller than a baseball work best). Then find a wall and self massage by…

I was told by a doctor once that there should be at least 2 hours for digestion before bedtime. He explained that if you are not giving your body enough time to digest the food you are at a significant increase for reflux/gerd where the stomach acid actually damages your tissues because it can leak upward in a resting…

I guess the last thing I expected was how much younger I both look and feel lately. I guess I'm not the only one noticing now as I have had quite a few admirers at the gym lately. My Mastercard like priceless moment is the look they give me when I let them know that I'm turning 38 this June. So no Mr. I'm only 25 you can't…

Try not to stress! Stress triggers all sorts of hormones to be released which may be delaying your period. The OTC pregnancy test are accurate if you follow the directions (ie. you can't really test before you miss your period for accurate results). Therefore, most likely you are not pregnant. Another odd but interesting…

The best advice I could have given myself would have been to "lighten up" both literally and figuratively. After several frustrating starts and stops at dieting I had and epiphany that my own negativity was keeping me from reaching my goals. Looking back I can clearly see now that I would set unrealistic goals and then…

I am a bit OCD about my gym time. I normally workout almost every day for about 2 hours. In my defense I am a stay a home mommy and I need the break from my 3 yr old son. Additionally, he loves the kids he gets to play with at the gym daycare.

Have you tried laying on the floor and holding a bridge position for like 10 seconds at a time. After a while this will become easier and you can add time like you would with planking. Also stretching is very important. Try laying on the floor and bringing one leg at a time to your chest and holding for 10-15 seconds and…

Mostly bicep and tricep exercises for me today. I did 3 sets of 10 outer, middle, and inner with the fixed 40 lb bar. I also learned a new cable exercise for my triceps that really was challenging. It was like a single handed skull crusher movement that I am certain will make me sore tomorrow. I also completed a decline…