House of Glutes

Probably my favorite muscle group to work is my back! There's so much to do and so many options that it never gets boring. Plus when you sculpt and taper your back, esp the lower back, it gives the optical illusion of a smaller waist and rounder rump! (note the picture to the right) My fave moves for that are Underhanded barbell rows and hip extensions on the Roman chair, both listed in the work out I did today. I always make sure and go to the gym for back day because I lift pretty heavy, but for a person just starting out, many of these moves could be done at home with lighter weights. Seated close grip cable rows warm up set 70 lbs X 20 reps Then increase to 90 lbs 4 sets of 8 with 1 min rest in between sets   Floor Seated lat pull down warm up set 120 lbs X 15 reps then to 140 lbs X 8 reps X 4 sets   Underhanded barbell rows warm up set 65 lbs X 20 reps then to 95 lbs X 8 reps X 4 sets Burn out set 45 lbs X 30 reps   Dumbbell pull over / db single row su

I've been experimenting with some new food ideas and have been asked to share my recipes. So here goes! Cookies: There are several protein no bake cookie recipes out there, but this is the one my family likes! 4 tbsp. margarine, butter (or Greek yogurt) ½ cup skim milk 2 scoops chocolate protein powder ½ cup natural peanut butter 3 cups quick oats 3 tablespoons vanilla extract  1/4 cup Splenda or Truvia Melt butter, then add protein, milk, & Truvia Bring to a boil, then remove from heat Combine melted mixture with pb, oats and vanilla Mix this all together, shape into cookies and place on wax paper (I put mine in the fridge to set)   Turkey: I get the leanest ground turkey I can find (95-99%) and mix it all into a sauce pan with uncooked veggies (for example bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, spinach, kale, tomatoes, zucchini, etc) and any spices you want (I use garlic, salt, black pepper and some Italian seasoning). Mix this all into sauté

 Supplement stores can be very overwhelming! There are so many options to chose from, I suggest reading reviews on sites like Bodybuilding.com and know what you want before you buy anything. Sales people at a store will often try to push certain items.... like the ones they make the most profit from! Ah, the billion dollar industry of supplements…. With most of those dollars coming from false claims from weight loss pills claiming you can eat whatever you want, sit on your ass and still lose weight! I would like to preface this blog with a disclaimer: SUPPLEMENTS IN NO WAY REPLACE HARD WORK AND A GOOD DIET!!! Supplements should be used only as an aid for hard exercise and clean eating. Nothing will ever make you lose weight without making you pay for it in one way or another. Nothing! I'm going to break down what I take, what I have taken, what supps are good for various goals and what I would like to possibly try in the future. What I take daily for exercise: A f

I had a really good leg workout today!!! So I thought I would share it because I often have people ask me how I determine how much weight I do or how many reps and so forth. So here I breakdown the how's and why's of one of my workouts. I will preface this by saying that I don't gain muscle very easily, especially in my lower body! My legs are pretty lanky and I have no hips, so for me to have any curves at all I have to lift pretty heavy on my lower half. Also, I do legs twice a week. My upper body responds to exercise much quicker than my lower body, therefore I focus more time on building leg and glute muscles than some women may have to. It tooks me MONTHS over the summer to get this kind of size of my quads... And that's nothing compared to most women I  know! So here's a typical leg day for me: Warm= 10-15 minutes on the step mill; I do this to get my heart rate up and also to get my joints warmed up on my left knee, which I have issues with. First

Full body circuit = Ten min warm up with body weight: 30 seconds jumping jacks 30 sec high knees 30 sec mountain climbers 30 sec plank Do these all with no rest, then after one circuit is done, rest for 1 minute. Repeat 3 X My heart rate on this got up to 80% of my max heart rate, as measured by my heart rate monitor. First weight circuit: Bicep curl, overhead tricep pullover, reverse lunge, seated shoulder press Do one super set of 15 reps of each exercise. I used 20 lb dumbbells. Repeat super set 3 X Reached 90% of MHR Second weight circuit: Hammer curls, tricep dips on a chair, dumbbell squat, shoulder front and rear delt raises 15 reps of each exercise. I used 20 lb db on legs and biceps and 10 lb db on shoulders. Repeat superset 3 X Reached 88% MHR. Ab circuit: Medicine ball passover from arms to feet, 15 passes Then right side plank for 30 sec followed immediately by left side plank for 30 sec. Repeat 3 X Total workout = 1 hour and 10 min 551 calories bu

Arguably the busiest section in any gym in the cardio area, yet when I look into this god forsaken part of my gym I see the majority of people doing all kinds of crazy nonsense!!! If you don’t properly perform an exercise, you’re wasting your time as well as the time of the other people who are waiting to use the machines (*cough**couch* my friend caithilin lol)   .   So here’s my top do’s and don’ts, as well as how to get the most of your cardio sesh…. ·          Rule #1, #2 and #3: DON’T HOLD ON!!!! I can’t emphasize this enough!!!! When you are walking/running/stepping/whatever you’re doing , let go of the damn machine people! Here’s why: If you’re doing the step mill or a stair stepper and you rest all of your weight on the handrails, you’re taking ALL THE TENSION OFF OF YOUR GLUTES AND LEGS! If you have to hold on for balance, do it very slightly, or even just with one hand. But if you want the benefits of a stair stepper and want it to tone up your legs and butt, for g