Back and Glute Training for Women's Physique

I spend a lot of time training every single part of my body, but the back view is what will make or break a competitor. 

I realized today as I left the gym, that I have only four months to go until my Women's Physique debut, I am just feeling some twinges of nervousness. That subsided quickly, but then other thoughts started running through my head about the upcoming preparations.

I am training, and I never stop. People always ask (trying to be polite) "Are you in training now?"....The training never stops folks! Ever! I have been practicing my posing and it is so much more difficult than Figure ever was. Everything needs to be flexed and tight, everything, it is strenuous.  So not only will the back win the competition, but if it's a tie between the backs- then the best Poser wins!

What does change is the eating!!! That's the hard and the fun part.

Soon I will need to start a diet. It really won't be too bad, but it tends to go on and on and I just get tired of eating the same old thing without much variation. I think, I am like most people. If there is something that is "illegal, immoral, or not within my reach", I want it! So, when dieting I want big spoons of peanut butter and thick, rare cheeseburgers.

But I am jumping ahead, I haven't started my diet yet and I have a whole month before I need to really buckle under, and then January is a slight "ease into it" so I can enjoy a week in Mexico in February- then all shit hits the fan.

I will soon start to take weekly pictures in my suit, so I get a better idea of where I am. I will modify my training slightly, but I am not sure how yet, I have to wait and see how things "look"

In the past I would start training my back twice a week instead of the usual once; but I am not so sure I need to this time. I believe that all of my pull ups and chin ups in the last several months have really paid off. My lats are huge, and have reminded me almost everyday of how much I am pushing them. I frequently need assistance undressing due to the soreness. 

I think my back looks stellar and I haven't even started dieting! Maybe you are wondering why a back would look different with a diet? Most women tend to hold a great deal of fat in their upper backs, along with their glutes and hips. As you can see, I am fairly "fat free" in those areas, I hold it in the abdominal area, so that's my area to concentrate on and there is no amount of crunching or exercising that I can do for the fat in my abdomen, it's completely DIET!

The glutes look great too- the "smileys" (the folds of skin where the glute meets the hamstring) are not too pronounced, and that will indeed disappear when I diet down too. 

My glutes tend to recruit with all of my leg training, I suppose I am lucky there. Unfortunately it means my quads won't grow as large as I would like, but there are trade offs in every physique. If I had to choose, I would choose better glutes over bigger quads. A flat butt is just an absolute eyesore! I can see a wonderful physique but if they have flat glutes, it just ruins the entire thing.

So what's the plan? Keep training and eating the same for the next month, through January, then assess where I am. I plan to enjoy the rest of my time off as I have been. This means sticking to a clean diet most of the time, but enjoying "normal" food on occasion (a couple nights a week).

I am going to track down Mike the BodyFat Test Guy and have hydrostatic body fat testing, I am not really sure how much I need to lose, but I know where I need to get to! If I know my starting point, then I can plan my dieting accordingly. 

I am (the day these pictures were taken) at 129 pounds. I aimed for 120 at my last competition but dropped to 118 due to water dehydration. I don't think I need to lose that much this time, I have added some muscle, it has been 6 months after all!

Oh, yeah. I need to start doing the dreaded cardio next year too! I did buy a treadmill so that makes it easy to knock out 20 minutes while watching a movie on Netflix (please send some suggestions, I only watch TV when I do this, so I know nothing about what's good on streaming these days).

I will probably start running stairs again at work, after vacation, so that means the last week of February.

Guess I better plan some great food for the next few weeks! 

Musings, Music and Motivation

A good morning, I love lifting weights, absolutely love it! It's funny how I was so angry when I had to stop squatting, and I turned to training my arms. Well just look at them now! They look pretty massive and it's only been a few weeks.  I am sure all of the chin ups I have been doing every week are also contributing, there is never just one factor at play.

When I refer to "arms" that generally means biceps and triceps, I always train deltoids and that is "shoulder" day....I would typically throw some biceps in with my back training, it's a natural to combine them, but when I sustained some injuries, I had time to fill, so I have been devoting two days a week just to biceps and triceps.

I'm really liking how my arms look, they certainly snapped to attention quickly. Roy said they would, I eat a lot and a lot of good, clean food. I also go to sleep early, so combined with some new heavy training- boom!

Today though was "Back" day, one of my favorites. I guess they are all one of my favorites, there is not a body part I don't like to train!

Friday I had been watching some video's that Roy told me about and heard a song, this would be great for chin ups I immediately thought, so onto the ipod it goes, then of course itunes suggested another and it led to another and I ended up with a lot of great new music. 

Saturday I was high as a kite, listening to my new music, cranking out my chin ups and I had to do more than the previous week (yet again). I had my dip belt on, and a total of 12 1/2 pounds and was well into my set, but sitting resting in between when a good looking guy walks over to talk to me.

"I'm not trying to pick up on you or anything, but you have a great body! I have been watching your muscles ripple as you do those chin ups!" 

Dayayum!

He looked at my stopwatch and apologized about interrupting me and I quickly said "It's ok, I'm nearly done..." LOL!

We talked for a while about diet and supplements, seems that's almost all I ever talk about these days, but I guess I know quite a bit at this point, at least what works for me.

He said "You just keep on, I will watch from back here" and so I started back in to finish the set.

5,7,7,7,6,7,7,7,7,6

66 chins

4 more than last week

I then went on to the Low Row, Barbell Bent Over Row and Pulldowns.

I think I was smiling and humming and singing, guys were smiling back (not many women at Gold's in the morning, and most that are there, are upstairs doing the dreaded "C" word....a couple guys I see everyday, but never talked to waved goodbye as they left. Obviously I was having a good time in my own little world and it was showing.

I practiced posing and then some stretching. My view from the floor, I could have laid there all day at this point but food was on my mind.

Just what were some of those songs that got me through the 66 weighted chin ups?

Here is 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues by the White Stripes, great for chin ups. (Email readers will need to navigate to the link at the top to go directly to the blog to view the video).





Other songs that helped me through the morning (and I ended up being there two hours!) Have a listen, it might help get you through your next workout with a smile too!

Top Yourself by The Raconteurs

The Sex Is Good by Saving Abel

S.E.X. by Nickelback

Go It Alone by Beck

Love Of The Loveless by Eels

T.M.S by Rhymefest

Back Day and Mind Games

Saturday I walked down the stairs from the locker room at Gold's, my dip belt in my hand, heading straight for one particular power rack. I see Steve and his training partner there, doing pulls ups, just what I had planned on doing.

One reason why I try to get to the gym first thing is to claim my space- see I need this cage for about 30 minutes. Sure I can share, sharing's not a problem for me, but it's also nice to have it on my terms the whole time, my rest periods are timed so I have only enough rest to recover and no more. I was about 10 minutes late today.

The guys looked up, big smiles on their faces and waved and said hi. They either knew what I wanted, read my blog, watch me on Saturdays....or I may have just looked like I was on a mission.

I asked if they would be there long and Steve said they only had one more set then the would move to another cage, they were going to use this to do bent over rows, but they don't have to. This is the only one with the different pull up bars, the rest are strictly squat cages. Bent over rows can be done at any of the cages.

I really appreciated their willingness to move and thanked them, and started stretching.

I told Steve I was up to 61 chin ups, but can't get past 7 at a time. Not bad, really, not bad at all. He asked if I was adding weight and I said "Yes, 9 1/2 pounds". He nodded his head. I told him that I am not sure if I should add reps or add weight, I can't just do chin ups all day and I need to change something! It takes me almost 30 minutes just for that one exercise.

He said "If you are looking for size, add weight" so I did. I threw on a 10 pound plate and started into my sets.

5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 5, 5, 5

I realized I had mad a mistake, but I kept going. See last week my total weight (belt and plates) was 9 1/2 pounds. This week I had neglected to add (in my head) the belt, so by throwing the 10 pound plate on, I actually had 12 1/2 pounds added!

So....I did one chin up more than the previous week, BUT, I had 3 pounds more added, the entire time!

The power of the mind! All I needed was Steve to tell me to add more weight and I did, not realizing that I added quite a bit more. If I hadn't talked to him, I would probably have plodded along doing the same weight, and maybe one set more. I never would have thought I could add another three pounds!

Our minds can convince us that tasks are too difficult, or our diet is too strict, our training too hard. It's important to remember this, that our bodies are designed to lift, push, pull, run, jump and generally be active. Our own minds can often be our worst enemies when it comes to training.

There is just no going back now, I mean, Saturday when I go in again, I certainly cannot lower the weight, I must add the 10 pound plate again, and do more reps, you see, I have already established that I can do it, and I will.

again

again

and again

Dip Belt

Helpless is not attractive. I see so many women who think that looking cute and helpless, along with dumb and incapable is the way to be. Really? Come on!

I like being self sufficient, resourceful, street smart and calculating. I lift that way too. 

That means chains, leather, big plates, sweat, scraped knees, chalk, callouses and loud music. While I love my friends and family, I pride myself in the fact that I can manage just fine on my own. OK...I have some issues. I won't go near a spider and I have no idea how to change a tire. But I don't need to know, I am a VIP at AAA! In fact, I got a letter from them saying I had called for their free towing and roadside service just a few too many times in one year, so I should just keep that in mind. LOL!

I do pull ups and chin ups a lot. They are one of the reasons why I have such a great back. Pull ups are a fantastic way to develop the entire physique, they are in the same category of squats, deadlifts, sleds, lunges and Glute Ham Raise. They must be done to create a killer physique. 

I recently started to use a dip belt to add weight to my bodyweight for pull ups. I don't use the "assisted station", I use a squat rack or the dual cable station, they both have various hand grips for chins and pull ups.  You will probably have to start with an assisted machine, but someday, you gotta learn to walk on your own.

Gold's Gym has one old, worn, heavy dip belt and I cannot always locate it. That's frustrating when I need it. It also happens to weigh 4 1/2 pounds, that's heavy! I was venting to Roy one day and he said he would order one for me. I picked a leather one because the fabric ones are scratchy on my hips. I had to call Harbinger to ask the weight of this belt, and the woman on the phone said I was the only person who had ever asked such a question, she had to call me back. This one weighs 2 1/4 pounds, perfect!

Roy gave it to me a couple weeks ago, better than flowers in my book! 

It was stiff though, no one wants to walk around in new jeans, new shoes or a new dip belt so I researched how to soften the leather. All the sites said to rub it well with alcohol, then rub in Vaseline. 

I laid it on the kitchen table and rubbed in the alcohol, the black started to come off on the cotton ball...David decided he would take over.

David is explaining his technique to Cooper- he is using a special cream to soften and condition leather, he just happened to have it in the garage. 

You  can see he is having a lot of fun with my dip belt! Probably more than I will.....

To the left you can see the espresso machine I got at the auction, the old World Gym in Santa Cruz. The grinder is hidden to the side. It's a lot bigger than I originally thought, it took me a couple weeks to find the right size island to put it on! 

He took so long I got bored and walked away and returned later, the smell was awful! 

Apparently he has done this before, not sure why, it certainly wasn't for a dip belt! I told him I should scratch off Harbinger and replace it with my name in pink with a  skull and crossbones and some rhinestones! 

But look! Look how soft and pliable it is now! David did a great job, I cannot wait to use it this Sunday for the first time, and if you see my belt on the floor at Gold's better ask before you try to use it!

Growing the Back

I've been off all week so I was cleaning out one of my closets. I do this a couple times a year, and I will go through and try on the clothes and get rid of what doesn't fit. This week I looked at my formal dresses, the last time I did it was a year and a half ago.


My back has grown, the dresses will go.


I love this one, but I cannot zip it so out it goes to Goodwill.

I have been working on my back for a long time, so I am not sad, it actually makes me happy!

I like red, I have lots of red, blonds look good in red. I have read that if you want people to remember you, wear red. I have a red car in fact it's my second red car. This dress looks fine from the front.

The zipper is supposed to go all the way up to where the back ties are.

Ah, one of my favorites! A hot little number, in red of course!

Can't even zip it up halfway!

The dresses are gone, I dropped them off on Wednesday. Sunday I train back again, and am working to get it wider and wider. I will just have to buy new dresses as I need them!

Back Training and Posing

Yes, I am still planning on competing in Women's Physique. I haven't talked about it much but it's there, on my mind every single day and every moment when I am in the gym. 


This picture was taken Sunday morning after training Back and Biceps, looking good huh? 128 pounds, big, muscular and not too much bodyfat....I am 10 pounds over my competition weight from May 5, 2012 and my legs are looking better than they ever have, ever.


I had some wine Saturday, I sat in the backyard with Mark, Virginia, David and Cooper. We talked and watched Sophie try to catch non-existant butterflies with the net David gave her. I went to bed early though, by 9:00 lights out, I planned a heavy lifting day.


I felt really good when I woke up, full of energy and ready to go. As usual on Sundays, I didn't set my alarm, I still hopped out of bed at 5:10 a.m.


At the gym I started with chin ups, then moved over to low rows, heavy. I like the low row at Gold's Gym, it's on the floor and old and beastly, there are two side by side. 110 pounds and I use the wide handle grip for three sets of 10 then the triangle handle grip. 


More chin ups, then the lat pull down, 100 pounds, three sets of 9 with the wide grip and then three sets with the triangle.


More chin ups then over to Bent Over Single Arm Dumbbell Row. 55 pounds, three sets of 10 on each side.



I finished with Barbell Bicep Curls and Reverse Bicep curls and some Facepulls.


I felt great, very strong and full of energy. I decided to practice my posing a bit. There is only one room to do this at Gold's Gym, the yoga and group instruction room. There were two men in there, but that's a good thing, it is really important to practice when people are around, you need to get comfortable posing in front of strangers.


Below is a short video of IFBB Pro Tracy Bodner, check out her routine, I love it!


Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view this.






I decided I would try to incorporate some dancing into the mandatory poses, so I turned on some upbeat music and just started dancing around the room, hitting a pose here and there, I am sure the two guys thought I was a nutcase, but who cares what they thought? 


I actually hit on some music that was perfect, I was able to move and dance and hit the poses and it all flowed quite well. The only problem is the music is Madonna, and she can really dance, not sure if I want to be up there comparing myself to her! Watch the following video and you can see and hear what I was moving to for my routine, which, by the way is starting to blossom! 


Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view this video.

6 Weeks to a Better Back

Ha ha Sounds like a commercial huh? But it's true- take a look at these pictures!

Above (the impressive picture) is my back on Sunday, April 8, 2012. 

Below (the slacker picture) is my back six weeks earlier. Quite a difference huh? Changes like this really excite me!

I am four weeks from a competition, so in the next month, my back will become even more defined, I will have less fat and my waist will come in a bit more. When I saw the first picture, I was kind of shocked, it just didn't look like my back, how could that be my back? 


The erector spinae muscles are so thick, almost like wide ropes running down my back, I don't remember those. But I have always loved backs, and especially that nice deep indent that runs straight up the middle, and you only get that with well developed muscles running up the sides.


I remember a few years ago, I had stopped training on a regular basis with SC, and I went in to see him, we must have been training that one day because when he looked at me (I had a bra top on, no shirt), he got this shocked sound in his voice and said "What the hell happened to your back?!"


My back...was gone, no well developed muscles, no thick like ropes running down the sides, no big indent, I had slacked off on my training. I don't do that any longer.


So what have I done?

Year round I train my back once a week, one whole morning is devoted to back, and a bit of biceps as they naturally get worked when I train my back (I won't be reviewing bicep training now). When I start dieting for a competition, then I start training my back twice a week. 

So...I double my training, I cut rest periods and I add more sets. I suppose its almost like quadrupling my workouts then! 

I vary the training, and I will change what I am doing every 3 or 4 weeks. I do not do the exact same thing on my twice a week back days, although I do some of the same things. Here is an example:

Sunday is my long day, I have more time.

Chin ups/pull ups

I will do 4 sets of 4 different hand grips. I typically do 6 to 10 of each depending on the grip. I super set these with dips, body weight 10 reps. So I do my chin ups then move to the dip station, do those then rest.


Lat Pull Down
6 sets of 12 60 second rest in between
2 sets wide grip
2 sets narrow grip (palms facing me)
2 sets triangle grip


Low Row on a Cable
6 sets of 12 60 second rest in between
2 sets wide grip
2 sets narrow grip (palms facing me)
2 sets triangle grip

Barbell Bent Over Row
4 sets of 10, (palms can be changed, supinated will hit the biceps more, pronated will hit the back more...I like supinated best)


On the shorter days I will eliminate the BB Bent Over Row and the Low Row and I will add this instead:


T-Bar Row
4 sets of 10 (squeeze those shoulder blades).


FacePulls
4 sets of 12


Always, always, always do chin ups and pull ups! They are one of the best things for your whole body. Keep your core tight, do NOT "kip" them up, you are completely defeating the purpose of doing them then. Don't neglect your back, not only are strong backs stunning, they are vital to your overall physical health. 


My back also gets worked when I perform the Glute Ham raise, Squats, and Good Mornings, since they require a strong, tight focused core, it just all fits. So, if you are not doing any of these big compound exercises, and then fail to do much of the back training that I described and rely solely on the lat pull down as most people do, you will probably never had these nice thick ropes. 


But! It's never too late to start- cause see what I did in only 6 weeks?

Nap for my Back

There was a time in my life when I thought sleeping was a huge waste of time. I had so much to do, so much to fit in, and sleeping just ate into that. 


I have since learned (a long time ago) that sleep and rest are just as important to building muscle as the actual lifting, in fact, without proper sleep, your efforts in the gym may actually be more detrimental.


In a world of "bigger is better, more is better" this is often forgotten- people go to the gym and train and train and neglect the other half that is necessary- the rest and rebuilding.


I needed to change my training split, I have to add a second Back day in since I have a competition coming up. I have found adding a second Back day gives me the wide back, impressive shoulders, and well developed rear delts and biceps that all help me place well.


I was discussing it with Roy and told him the only thing I think I can do is eliminate my second hamstring morning on Thursday and add in the Back. I hated to do it as we have been working on legs and really making progress, but I have to get that second day in.  


Then I had an idea and I sent him a private message on Facebook. "What if I trained back on Wednesday morning instead of doing my conditioning? I would still see you in the evening for my quad training. It's not unheard of in the Bodybuilding world to lift twice in one day - it's done all the time." 


He messaged back: "Yes, but in the Bodybuilding world Jay Cutler goes home and naps for a few hours before training again at night, I don't think you can do that."


I thought about it and decided I could easily do that. I cannot sleep a few hours, but I can get a good 30 minutes in. We decided to try it and see how I did.


Wednesday morning I trained back and biceps, my usual session. It felt good to add a second day in. Off I went to work and plotted my day.


I have my own office, complete with a door.  At 11:15 I shut the door, closed the blinds and everyone knows that means "stay away" (I change in my office to run stairs at lunch, so the closed blinds is nothing new).

I have a big, long body pillow that I laid out under my window, and although laying in the sunny window would feel great, sort of like a cat, I decided I needed to close the blind and make it dark.

I slipped the pillow under my desk, it would make it a bit darker and cozier; I had my light wool blanket too.

I set the alarm on my phone for 30 minutes, that is all I would really need, and all I could fit in. Much to my surprise, I fell asleep almost immediately (I did notice the wall clock is very loud though). 


I awoke suddenly- I had forgotten one key thing- turn my office phone off! Damn, someone called and needed to talk to me. Luckily my alarm would sound in only 5 minutes, so I didn't lose too much rest time.

I folded my pillow in half, tucked it under my desk out of sight and got back to work. I left at 5:00 and headed off to meet Roy. I told him I napped and felt great- I was ready for a brutal quad day. He seemed intrigued.

I killed it. I felt rested, I felt strong, and excited. I love new things, and this would allow me to fit all my training in and develop the legs and back simultaneously.

The only question now is how many days a week do I nap? I could really get used to this!

Swinging

I am sure some of you are not thinking the same thing I am when I say "swinging", but that's just fine, think what you like!


Sunday was back day and I decided to sleep in, I have been enjoying my Sundays lately. So...I woke up at 5:55 a.m. oh well. I had my meal replacement drink and headed off to the gym.


I felt good, rested for a change and was ready to attack the day. I started with my favorite, chin ups and pull ups, superset with dips. Not sure how many sets, I think 7 sets of 6 to 8 chin ups, and 4 sets of dips (10 reps).


Lat pull down, I didn't increase weight but I did increase reps. I also cut my rest time down. Low Cable Row, again no increase in weight but more reps and less rest in between. I did 5 sets of each.

Single Arm bent Over Row, 5 sets.


E-Z Bar Curl, 5 sets.

Then, what would I do for conditioning? I decided to use the kettlebells. I haven't used bells in quite a while, I have done a bit of swinging and that was it.  Although I love training with Roy, kettlebells are what brought me to SC, that's all we did for almost a year. I love the down and dirty of kettlebells, there is nothing sweet and pretty about them. SC taught me everything anyone needs to know, and I am darn good too.


I get dirty, blistered, bloody, sore sweaty. I love them.


I started with Turkish Get Ups. This is a slow, steady move that targets the whole body, but particularly the core. You start laying on the ground and one hand has a KB, held straight up in the air. You sit up then stand, and go back down again, all under a great deal of control. It sounds easy and it's not. I did three sets of 4 on each side. I hadn't done them in over a year, I will need to start doing more and work up to 10 on each side.


Then snatches, I loves snatches. A couple years ago I spent the summer doing Kenneth Jay's Viking Warrior Conditioning. SC helped me come up with the correct tempo and weight. You start with a small bell and a fairly slow tempo, everything is timed including the rest periods. You work up to 45 minutes of continuous snatches. That's why the bell needs to be so light.


I wear cut up tube socks on my hands, I have permanent blisters but this stops them from tearing and bleeding. Once you start bleeding you pretty much need to stop. I have several sets in my bag, they get dirty and I toss them out. Below you can see a short demo of snatches in my backyard. February in California- nice huh?


(Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video below).




At the gym I did 5 sets of 10 on each side, I walk in between to bring my heart rate down.


After the snatches I moved to swings. This is the classic kettlebell move and the one that most people don't perform correctly. I typically see people perform it in the "crossfit" method, which although may be useful for what crossfitters want it for, it is not what the move or exercise was intended for at all. This is not meant to offend anyone who loves Crossfit- I say do what you like. I am only trying to explain to those who do not know kettlebells, that if they see the 'crossfit" method they should not confuse this with the kettlebell swing. They are two completely different animals.


In crossfit it becomes more of an arm exercise, they swing it up with arm strength way up over the head; they may say that this is the "American Style".The swing is everything but that. It is designed as a  posterior exercise. It should hit the glutes, the hips, the hams, the quads, and the abs, and some of the back/shoulders too. Some crossfitters call this the "Russian Style".


The power should come from the hips, and the glutes. The arms are only an extension of the bell, they are attached and flowing with it, there is no effort coming from the arms.


(Again, if you want to do it crossfit style, that's fine, but I cannot offer advise, I am not into crossfit although I have plenty of friends who are.)


I did 10 sets of 10 with a 24 kilo kettlebell (that's 53 pounds). Again, I walk in between each set to bring my heart rate down. I knew I was doing them right, my breathing becomes very rhythmic and I could feel my glutes swelling after 5 sets! ha ha


I have my own bells, so can do these any evening in the backyard. I think I need to start this again.

Back Training

Sunday, Back day! Love it! For some odd reason I am holding my shoulders crooked in this picture, But I think you can still see the wideness of my back, which is what I wanted to show.


I think it is imperative to have a written plan every single time you walk into the gym. Now, that doesn't mean you need to adhere to the plan, and Sunday I didn't.


I decided I wanted to do lots and lots of chin ups. So after stretching I wandered down to my favorite power rack, I wanted to use that instead of the dual cable in the main room. The dual cable has an area in the middle with several different hand positions for chin ups and pull ups, but I wanted to listen to some really good Latin reggae and hip hop and just crank out chin up after chin up, watching in the mirror. I actually watch my abs, it helps to see them in the mirror, to maintain a tight core, make sure I don't use any swinging or momentum, and concentrate on the eccentric move. 


I listened to Orishas, I love them! 


Want to hear one of the songs that let's me do chin up after chin up? Here ya go! (Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to see the video below)








I did set after set after set. Then I did some back extensions in between. And more chin ups, over and over. The music kept me going.


I then did 4 sets of bent over barbell rows, in the same power rack. The off to the T-Bar row, with lots of weight. I came back for more chin ups. 


Up to the Low Cable Row.


Then I did barbell curls with the e-z bar. A male, much bigger than me was doing the same thing, with the same weight. He should have been using more.


Then triceps extensions with the same e-z bar.


I was done, my back was toast.

Arm training

I probably receive the most comments about my arms. Now, I realize that my arms are also the most visible part of my body, but when you walk around the gym like this, just about everything is showing anyway right?


I was recently attending a class for work- I have to maintain a certification that requires constant training. There was a woman working there who came up to me and asked how I get my arms to look the way they do. She explained she has been doing lots of bicep curls and doesn't feel anything and doesn't see any results.


After talking with her a bit I realize that I don't really do a lot of bicep specific training, I feel that my biceps and triceps get trained quite a bit with my back training. I do throw some bicep and tricep moves in, but not as much as people seem to think. 


When people ask about my arms, I automatically think my shoulders, but my biceps have gotten so big that I realize now they are talking about the whole arm, shoulders, biceps, triceps.


I think that most people think that the training comes all together, "the arm' but it doesn't, not at all. The shoulders require a lot of detail and love, a lot goes into big, broad shoulders. The biceps and triceps are easier, they get trained when other body parts get trained, if you do it right that is.


It is a rare day you will find me doing a bicep concentration curl, it just isn't necessary. let me put it this way, you can develop beautiful arms while working other body parts at the same time, how's that?


So what exactly is my training? It varies, as it should. I have always been known for having great, broad shoulders (at least in the last few years competing), but they really have popped since training with Roy.


An example of what I do for shoulders:


Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Dumbbell Front Raises
Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises
Barbell Press
Behind the Neck Barbell Press
Dumbbell Press
Arnold Press


But they get trained when I work back too. I always incorporate pull ups and chin ups, these are probably one of the best overall exercises you can do. They hit the back, triceps, biceps, lats, traps, abs, neck...need I say more? If you are not doing several sets of chin ups a week, you should.


Cables...


What do I do for my biceps and triceps? 


Most of it is my back training. It hits the biceps too!


The Cable Lat Pull Down, we all use that right? It hits your biceps too.
The Low Cable Row? That hits the biceps and rear delts also.
Again, the chin ups and pull ups.
Dips, they hit biceps, triceps and back.
Barbell Bent Over Row: Use a supinated grip (the palms towards your face), this targets the biceps, if you change the grip to a pronated grip, you target the triceps (I almost always use supinated).
Single Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row, it hits the biceps too.
T-Bar Row, hits triceps, back, rear delts, biceps


There are two "arm" specific exercises I do, that is the E-Z bar curl and skullcrushers.


The other consideration is the weight- everyone wants to know "how much is the right weight?"


Well that all depends on your goal- is it strength or hypertrophy or weight loss? I am assuming it is hypertrophy. So the weight would be as heavy as you can go anywhere between 8 to 12 reps.  That means you can do 10 reps with good form, but are struggling, that's a good weight. If it is easy to knock out 10, then it is way to light. It should be difficult.


I do change it up and sometimes I will use heavy weights with low reps then lighter weight with higher reps. It must always change.


So you can see why my shoulders and arms look so good- I devote two days a week solely to shoulders, then one day to Back, so the arms are getting hit three times a week, and close to competition I add one more Back day so they get hit four times a week!


So my advice to anyone who is trying to have killer arms (but not look like Jay Cutler), concentrate on your back and shoulders, the rest will follow.

Child's Play

I slept in on Sunday. On Saturday I had a wonderful day with David and Derek, we went to Santana Row. I had an appointment with Natalia at Atelier to have my bangs trimmed so the boys had a glass of champagne and waited. 

I said it would only take 15 minutes, but she was feeling creative or maybe it was the fact we were on display in the window, so she straightened my hair, it took a half hour but looked sleek and silky.


We then met at the bar at Left Bank and ordered a bottle of Champagne as we waited for a table outside, it was glorious weather. A waitress came up and started talking to me, asking me if I frequented another restaurant. I didn't, and she said she recognizes me. We chatted for a bit and she left all smiles. 


"Sister" says Derek, "She was flirting with you!" "Ha ha, yes I could tell!" I responded. We sat down outside, brought our champagne with us, and somehow she ended up being our waitress, and a darn good job she did too! I had a wonderfully healthy and delicious Salad Nicoise. Seared Ahi tuna, avocado, radishes, butter lettuce, anchovies, hard cooked egg, green beans, tomatoes, red peppers and a bit of tapenade and olive oil. I also enjoyed some of their wonderful truffled french fries.

Later David and I went out to dinner, so it was a long day and evening of good food and drink, so when I rolled over and looked at the alarm clock Sunday and it was 4:00 a.m. I realized I was only punishing myself by getting up so early, I switched it off and woke at 6:20, then headed to the gym for Back training.


I went up on all my weights, just as I predicted I would! I felt strong and excited. But my weights took me an hour and a half, and I wanted to get to the Farmers Market for eggs so I decided to skip my conditioning and I would do something later. Anyway, studies have proven that working out much longer than an hour is more detrimental than beneficial.


At 2:30 I decided to head across the street to run sprints on the track. I first hit the stadium stairs, running up and down several times for a warm up, then off to the track. I am a very fast sprinter, I can go like lightening, but not for long, I guess that's what sprinting is huh?


I sprinted the straight, then walked the curve. I did this four times and then at the beginning of the straight I see some kinds, they are trying to talk to me. I pull my earbuds out and say hi to them.


"Are you gonna run?" says the middle girl, she is about 9 I guess. I said yes and the little one, who appears to be about 6 jumps up and down "we wanna see you run!!!" I pop my buds back in and run the straight as fast as I can, then I walk the curve. I run the next straight and I see the girls run across to meet me at the end. I walk as they jump up and down beside me. 


At the start of the next straight is a boy now, along with the two little girls and big sister. I think the big sister is about 14 and the boy about 12. 


The 14 year old wants to talk, I pull out my earbuds. "We wanna see if my brother can run as fast as you, he wants to race you." "Oh, I am sure he can run faster, I am old." "No you aren't she exclaims." "I am 50." I say, and I hear them all gasp.


We line up. I tell them I will not be able to hear anything with my music in, so when he starts I will then start. I see her mouth the words "On your mark, get set, go!" and off he goes, I quickly take off and after 20 yards have easily passed him.  At the end of the straight I turn to look, he appears to have quit halfway through. I walk the curve and sprint the next straight.


Now there is another girl waiting with the other kids, she is older, maybe 16, so there are now five kids standing staring at me.


"You smoked my little brother." says the 14 year old. "Yeah, I did." 


"We wanna see if my older sister can run as fast as you." "OK!" Again, I tell them I cannot hear so I will start when I see her take off.


We start and it takes me 10 yards before I can pass her, then my adrenaline is surging through my body, I take off like a bullet. I end at the curve and look back, they are all jumping up and down, waving at me. I think they want to race more, but I am done, I have had enough fun.


I look at them and wave, and jog up the stairs out of the bowl, and home.


I had fun, it reminded me of what being a kid was like again. I will have to find some other kids to race again soon.