Bringing up the Rear Check-In

Hi everyone -
Didn't get to work out yesterday - I had to get my propane stoves serviced [ another thing I love about Fall , sitting in front of the fire ! ] But I think I caught up today ...
Julie -
It's funny because when I decided to get it all Dick's had were the Olympic ones and the EZ Curl . I knew from watching Cathe that she was using much smaller ones but I'd never seen those anywhere . Which one do you use ? With the weight your lifting , you would have no problem with the olympic at all !
Carolyn -
I think you'd really like Strong Curves , especially if you need any extra help in the glutes . In only 2 weeks , I feel them now in all my Cathe w/o's , even when I'm not thinking about using them . I think I notice it so much because it's a totally strange and new sensation ! My flat butt was also causing back pain , which I didn't realize until I read the book - and thats gotten better too .
Amanda -
That's so exciting that you got those dvd's ! I have CTX but haven't done it yet . Do you really feel like you don't push yourself enough ? I think it's fine to stay working with a certain weight until you're sure it's not challenging anymore . I know I push too hard and get so frustrated because I don't make the weight increases that others seem to . I have a tendency to get scrawny which is the polar opposite of what I'm going for .
Today was All out Hiit , GG Str. #3 . Amer. HT 65 Lbs. 3x20 , Front Squats 60 Lb. 3x10 Glute Bridge 65 lb.[ sub . for Gliding leg curl ] 3x20 , RKC Plank 3x30 sec. Dumb. incline press 3x10 20lb , invert. row [ got under my desk and did pull-ups 3x10 ] side plank 2x30 sec .
Have a great night !
 
Hi everyone,
I didn't get a workout in today; DH has a cold and couldn't sleep last night so he went in to watch t.v. in my workout room (AKA living room) then fell asleep out there and I didn't want to wake him up by working out and had too much to do tonight to get one in :(

I guess I did start GG a little earlier then you started the challenge Julie. I have one more w/o for month 1 to do this week so I should be getting month 2 this weekend.

I think I just get comfortable with a weight for some exercises and automatically grab for it when I probably could increase it. Doing STS I definitely gained strength and started using heavier weights but I couldn't up the weight each w/o. Maybe it takes me a little longer to increase my weight so then I get too comfortable with the weight I'm using??

Carolyn Bret has had some really good posts on his blog the past week or so (actually most of his posts are really good!); I just read that the HT was best for glute hypertrophy.
This article Growing glutes without growing the legs | Bret Contreras talks about growing glutes without growing legs and Bret says that GB and hip abduction exercises are best for the upper glutes, among some others.
 
This morning I think the only reason I got up is because of the hip thrust challenge. Today was 3 sets of 20 glute bridges. I used 115 lbs. The first set was tough but then it got a little easier. After that I did Cardio Supersets including the Step Bonus portion.

Kate I have a standard bar like Cathe but not the same brand. Mine is 6’ long and weighs 15 lbs. Standard bars use plates with a 1” hold and Olympic use plates with a 2” hole. Someday I may replace my standard set with an Olympic set but for now I am fine with it. Right now I have a hodgepodge of plates and bars. I have bought plates from Walmart and Dicks and I got my bars (I actually have 2) from Amazon. I think they are Cap brand.

Carolyn I am excited for you starting the SC program. I think you will notice a difference in all your workouts. Ever since I have been thrusting and bridging on a more regular basis, I feel my glutes all the time. I also am more conscious about just squeezing them throughout the day but not in front of people!

Amanda That was nice of you to not wake up your DH. I definitely think upping your weight slower is better. I know that some trainers/coaches push increasing your weight or reps every week but I find that leads me down the path of overreaching for what my body can handle. I much prefer to have at least 2 sometimes 3 workouts were I feel comfortable at weight before I up it again.

Have a great day!
 
YAY Carolyn ! I'm so glad you're starting GG . I know exactly what you mean about the ,' shelf ',
because I don't have one either . I have noticed lately that if I move up on the bench during the HT , I get much more activation in the glutes . Brett shows this variation in w/o#3 and he calls it the American HT . Instead of leaning against your bench and it hitting your upper back , you would move up until you can rest your elbows on the top of the bench . I hope that made sense !
Amanda -
Wow - You get the new w/o's soon ! I'm just in the middle of week 2 , so I can't wait to hear about them . I understand what you mean in terms of upping the weight - I just don't seem to improve that quickly either . I'm almost done with Xtrain and while I do have more definition , I've gone up very little with my upper body . My lower body is better , but of course that makes sense . We will get there , I promise !!!
Julie -
Okay , now I get it . It just goes to show you how impulsive I can be - I just figured ,' Oh boy , a barbell !' and got one . THEN , I start to research and notice different weights and sizes . Anyway , I still love the monster and it's sort of cool to think I actually manage to lift it !

I did Tabatacize today instead of Chest, Back , shoulders . My chest was really sore from the supersets in w/o#3 so I subbed . Last few days of Xtrain , YAY !
Have a great night !
 
So today I came home to a little brown box from Cathe YAY!!! Tonight I did Leaner Legs that's a great w/o, the abs too!! It is definitely deadlift heaven! Those step-ups were killers. I was going to do Tabatacise tomorrow but I have a feeling my legs are going to be sore/tired so I'll probably end up doing an upper body. :D

Kate I like American HT better too; it's more comfortable and I feel like it burns a little more.

Carolyn I bet you'll really like SC; I haven't done it :D but I like GG.
 
This morning I woke up about an hour and half before my alarm went off and could not get back to sleep until about a half hour before it went off. That is the worst because then you wake up in deep sleep and it is so hard to get out of bed. But I did it, mainly because it is Friday. I did my hip thrusts of 3 sets of single leg ht with a 5 second hold at top and then did Cardio Leg Blast.

Carolyn I love Cycle Max but I usually do the scrambled premix because I hate hover squats and the scrambled mix has those done and over with in the beginning. That’s good to know that HC can hit your back muscles. I always thought of them as mainly chest. I would not worry about going below 90. Go to what is comfortable and really concentrating on squeezing those glutes. I know in one of the SC workouts, Kellie shows a high step up and it is way too high for me so I lowered the height to more what I do with Cathe and just really focused on squeezing my glutes and pushing my hips forward when I got to the lockout at the top.

Kate I love how you call the barbell a monster! Olympic ones certainly are beasts but they are great for the long haul lifters.

Amanda So now you found out why it is deadlift heaven. Let us know how those legs are doing.

Have a great day!
 
Carolyn -
I know it's frustrating - I did Cathe's 100 rep. HT for most of my Xtrain rotation and felt it more in my lower back and quads . I kept thinking that the weight I chose wasn't high enough or that I should add more reps - I just could not imagine that I could do 100 reps of anything and not feel it ! I really think Bret's glute activation exercises are what started to make the difference for me . Still , I think it's a good sign that your glutes are locking in even for part of the HT set . The next thing I would try is elevating your feet slightly - that seems to help as well . Don't worry - it will happen !
 
PS Carolyn ,
Don't even THINK about squats beyond 90" ! I can't even watch Bret doing those [ or listen to the cracking in the demo .] Your PT knows your knee , so trust them .

Major purchase guys !
I got an adjustable squat rack for 99.99 . It was on Amazon and almost 5 stars with 40 reviews - but most importantly , it'll fit in my office and it's really sturdy . It's pretty bare bones [ I'll get a bench later ] but now I can take the barbell off the floor , store it on the rack and squat my little tush off !
Have a great night !
 
Saturday I did my hip thrust challenge done, made meals to put in the freezer, and did some major and much needed cleaning. I was even able to shampoo the carpet. Sunday was more hip thrust challenge and then Maximum Intensity Strength. I have so much going on at work over the next 2-3 weeks that I had trouble sleeping last night as I could not shut my mind off. I was able to get up and get my hip thrusts in and then Circuit Blast.

Carolyn I feel you on the crappy sleep. I couldn’t believe it when my alarm went off this morning. I think I cried a little. I totally agree with Kate that if you felt your glutes the first two sets, you are doing it right. Your glutes probably got fried and couldn’t keep up the last set so your more dominant muscles took over but do not feel like an idiot because I think you are doing great by hanging in there. I suggest doing the glute activation exercises daily and then slowly add weight. Sometimes you have to move backwards to progress forwards. Oh and if you still see your PT, ask her to give you tips on activating your glutes. I bet she is a wealth of knowledge.

Kate I am so excited for your new purchase. Squat racks are awesome. I have had one for a few years and I love it. It has really helped me increase my squat weight and I use it for bench presses too. You are really building a great home gym! When you look for your bench, I highly recommend an adjustable one that can go decline, flat, and several varying degrees at an incline. I got this one but you can probably find a cheaper one without the preacher curl attachment.

Have a great day!
 
Hi guys!
Sorry I haven't posted for a few days; my back was bothering me last week so I decided to take a few days of rest all I did over the weekend was glute activation. I haven't gotten my GG month 2 yet; I guess I will tomorrow since I ordered it 9/1.

I did have some DOMS after LL in my upper hamstrings and glutes, my quads felt a little tight too! :D

Kate that's great you got a rack; I would love one someday. It will definitely come in handy if you do decide to do STS. I really felt like I needed it for the bench press; I thought I could go up in weight but it was hard to roll down into position with a heavy barbell so I stayed around 50 lbs.

Julie you had a busy weekend!

Carolyn I bet your pelvis may be a clue to feeling it in your glutes. Mine is out of whack too because I broke my femur bone when I was young and my one leg is shorter then the other so that throws my hips off and tends to make my pelvis tilt forward. Does your tilt forward? I really have to concentrate on having my tilt right when I do the HT and bridges and then I feel it much more in my glutes. I've been doing the hollow body position and RKC planks like Bret recommends to try and correct it somewhat. I think it's helped.

I got my new Cathe's today!!! I don't know what to do tomorrow...so many choices.

Have a good night!
 
In addition to my hip thrusts, 3 sets of single leg ht isohold for max time of 45 seconds each, I did Great Glutes!! Last night I downloaded Great Glutes so I could do it this morning. The servers were extremely slow but I got it downloaded in only 3 hours. X10 took almost 7 to download! I am hoping the rest download faster tonight. I should get my actual DVDs tomorrow. There wasn’t a lot of new moves in GG, maybe 2. But I will say that the floorwork section with the pizza presses made me cry.

Carolyn That’s great that you felt the HT in your glutes. Even if you don’t get DOMS today, knowing you felt it there yesterday is what is most important. My legs were still very sore today from Max. Int. Strength on Sunday so I was having a hard time really getting into Great Glutes this morning. I think it will be good but I will have to do it again when I have the leg strength.

Amanda I am glad your back is doing better. Hopefully it wasn’t LL that bothered it with all those deadlifts. You and Carolyn must live on the East Coast if you got your DVDs already. I am curious to see when you get access to the 2nd month of GG. Seems like they should give it to you a few days early so you can prepare but maybe that is just me wanting everything now!

Have a great day!
 
Amanda -
Sorry about your back - that pain is some of the worst and I'm so glad you had the sense to rest it . I'm really excited about the rack - once I got the barbell I realized how limited I was not being able to lift a lot of weight over my head . Boy , do I know what you mean about the presses ! Doing the roll down, even with my two 20's db's there's always this moment when I wonder if I'm going to pull it off . Which of the Cathe's will you do first ? Mine are coming today !
Julie -
That bench is a beauty ! Just exactly what I want ... soon ! I know what you mean about not being able to shut you mind off at night - I've always had insomnia but after I went through menopause it went through the roof . I keep buying herbal crap for the symptoms from the health food store but nothing really works . Wasn't all of our working out supposed to help us with this ???
Carolyn -
I think it sounds like you're doing great ! It's true , sometimes you have to drop down a little in weight to make gains - I really learned that doing Cathe's Pyramid w/o's . She makes a point about that and doing it helped me lay a better foundation to lift heavier . Which extensions did you do ? I haven't seen those in my w/o's so far ...

Have a great day - can't wait to look at the new dvd's later !!!
 
Hi guys!
I'm skipping working out again today ugh; I have to get back at it tomorrow. I got a new job offer today and I'm nervous/excited and can't really concentrate.

I was thinking as I was watching the clips for all the new w/o that a lot of it seemed similar and used a lot of moves from other series....oh well I'm sure there will be enough variation and plus it's Cathe so I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Eeek pizza presses.

No, I didn't hurt my back with LL it was hurting off and on from the weekend before; I think maybe I twisted weird or something when I was cleaning....hate that!

I don't know which new one I'm going to do first; I'll see what I feel like tomorrow maybe X10 or FlexTrain. Did you get yours today Kate?
You crack me up...the video demo almost made you click add to cart...I'm going to have to check this out!

I got my GG month 2 today; I thought they would let you see it a little early too but they wait 1 month exactly. I looked at it quickly; looks good all new exercises.

Carolyn I think you're doing great and like Julie said if you felt it in your glutes while you were doing the w/o that's what's important!

Good night!
 
[/QUOTE]Julie, I skimmed through some of the glutes dvd and was bummed (giggle giggle pun) [/QUOTE]

LOL :D
 
Julie, I skimmed through some of the glutes dvd and was bummed (giggle giggle pun)

LOL :D

I don't know how to do the caption like other people...clearly it didn't work above :(
 
[/QUOTE]Julie, I skimmed through some of the glutes dvd and was bummed (giggle giggle pun) [/QUOTE]

LOL :D
 
Haa haa I was trying to edit and see if I could get it to work and I keep reposting.....okay I'm shut off :p
 
This morning I did my hip thrust challenge, 3 sets of 8 reps with 215 lbs. the 1st set and then 210 for the next 2. Then I tried to do some of X10 using the downloads on my computer. I got all of the step portion done and I think most of Low Impact. It was freezing up on me and kept rewinding on itself. I finally gave up at the start of the 2nd set of staggered pushups. I don’t get my dvds until tomorrow afternoon so I hope it goes better tomorrow morning because I want to try Lean Legs.

Kate You will love having a bench once you get it. Uh oh! If my insomnia is going to get worse with menopause, I may be in trouble. I am still a few years away from it but I can’t imagine it is going to get any better. The only thing I have found that works for me is ZzzQuil. I know that is terrible. I don’t take it every night or even every week, only when I have had several really bad nights in a row and need a good one.

Carolyn I didn’t do the bonus section of Great Glutes so maybe that has some hip thrusts or bridges in it. I am really surprised because she has done bridges and hip thrusts before. I was looking through Strong Curves and in the section that has the back extensions he only shows 2 other exercise, straight leg pull through and straight leg deadlifts. Maybe try one of those instead of the extensions.

Amanda How exciting to get a new job! It really is a nervous/exciting time. I bet you are up for the challenge though. I am a little nervous that a lot of the moves are pretty much the same. I am hoping they are sequenced differently enough that it makes a difference. I am excited to see month 2 of GG. Of course, I need to start month 1 first!

Have a great day!
 
Morning -
My dvd's came last night , but Greatest Hits wasn't in there - I thought it was included with the pre - orders . Oh well I emailed customer service ...
I watched Rockout with my coffee this am , and will do that one today - it looks like a lot of fun !

I did Gym Style legs yesterday , which I hadn't done in awhile and the difference in my glutes from GG was crazy ! I didn't even use heavy weights , 45 for the barbell and my 10's lbs. - but the burn was off the charts ! I was whimpering all through the static lunges and even felt the burn during the body weight only moves - that has never happened before ! I've always had to add weight to those to feel anything . YAY !
Amanda -
Congratulations on the job offer ! I know it's nerve racking , but it sounds exciting ! Also it's always good to rest a little longer once you've hurt you back - I always feel like my back takes longer than almost anything to heal up .

Carolyn -
It sounds like your DOMS are totally in the right place ! The glute / ham tie - in is what you want to work - I'm not sure if I ever feel DOMS in just my glutes . Anyhow , if I ever needed proof that those glute activation exercises work , I have it now - I think you'll feel the difference really soon .

Have a great day !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top