by EM2WL | Nov 4, 2014 | Fitness Cycles (Periodization)
Tips for Increasing Deadlift and Squat Strength
Let’s face it – that beast feeling on a certain lift, or killing a new Personal Record (PR) at the gym just feels good. The first time I was able to bench/squat/deadlift my body weight will always land somewhere in my top 5 all time “beast moments” (right next to hitting double digit pull-ups). For women especially, strength is empowering, and getting stronger is a sense of accomplishment like no other. If you’ve been lifting for a while and are ready to start pushing your maxes to the next level, it’s good to know a few basic tricks of the strength trade. Understanding what could help you to blast through your strength plateaus, will have you adding more plates to the bar, more often.
Today, let’s look at two basic compound lifts for the lower body – the deadlift and the squat.
Deadlifts:
Grip Strength– One huge component to increasing deadlift numbers is to increase your grip strength. If your back and legs can pull a certain weight but the bar is slipping from your fingers, it’s a no-go. In order to get a stronger grip, try things such as farmer walks and hanging from a pull up bar (arms extended) for as long as possible. The key is that endurance of the smaller muscles is required in order to put up big numbers. So in addition to adding these types of exercises into your routine, be sure to use a periodized rotation that phases in lighter weights/higher reps from time to time, for the sole purpose of building that endurance.
Grip Positioning– Some people prefer to grip both hands overhand, both hands underhand or a mix of both. It’s important to start with what feels most comfortable and adjust as you become more confident in the lift. If you grip both under and overhand for example, you may find that switching which hand is over and which is under gives you a better and stronger grip. Try all three methods to see which works best for you.
Stance Styles– Some people deadlift sumo-style (very wide stance) and others do so conventionally (shoulder width). If you’re struggling with deadlift as you currently do it, change up the stance. You may find you are stronger in one than the other, as often is the case. If you have long arms and a short torso, conventional style is recommended. If your torso is longer and your arms are shorter, try sumo.
Using hooks, straps or other accessories can and should be a last resort for when you are A) an intermediate to advanced lifter, really trying to break a plateau on an all out lift, and/or B) at the end of a workout when your smaller muscles have been fully fatigued — but you need to press on for whatever reason. These tools can be extremely helpful in those scenarios, but can easily cause a dependency in newer lifters who truly should be developing proper grip strength and forearm endurance before attempting to lift very heavy weight. There are always exceptions to the above (such as having carpal tunnel, or other issue that inhibits grip abilities for longer periods of time), but generally most recreational lifters can leave the accessories to vet bodybuilders and powerlifters. Gloves are another accessory that may be of great assistance to one person but a hindrance to another. If gloves help you, it’s perfectly fine to use them throughout your workout. If they seem to be obstructing your lift, try using chalk instead to assist with grip without the bulk.
Squats:
Increase Flexibility– As beginner lifters we, ironically, tend to skip out on the most fundamental areas of strength training. We place all the emphasis on the actual lift — and not what is surrounding it (warmup, cool-down, stretching) — creating a nasty habit as time progresses. As a result, we get tighter and tighter over time, eventually bringing our results to a screeching halt. If there’s one thing that vet lifters know is that flexibility is the cornerstone of any great lift. You’ll need sufficient flexibility in your ankles and hips in order to squat safely and properly, especially with a good bit of weight. Work on increasing your flexibility in these areas. Try hip flexor stretches, tennis ball rolling on your feet/ankles, knee hugs, and side to side leg swings. Always remember to do a proper warm up and cool down before lifting.
Deloading – if you have a problem with flexibility (you’ve hit a plateau, can’t squat past parallel, or feel the lift in your knees), then it’s likely time to deload. Take a break, decrease the load on the bar and work on endurance, flexibility, and form. If you can’t perform a full range-of-motion (ROM) squat without weight, there’s no reason to go loading up the bar again just yet. After some down time, slowly start increasing the weight again, stopping whenever you reach a weight that you does not allow you full ROM. Work through any inflexibility and move on only when you can do the move properly with the intended weight amount. Practicing any lift with only partial ROM will compound the problem. Deloading every 4-10 weeks and placing some much needed focus on flexibility and bodyweight ROM can go a long way in improving your PRs when it’s time to hit it hard again.
Experiment with Grip Width– Some people do better (especially on heavy squats) with a wide grip versus a narrower one. Depending on wrist strength too, some grips work better than others. For example, some people find they have better control of the bar when they are gripping really wide on heavy squats. If your legs can handle the weight but the bar is slipping off your back, what’s the point? Find a grip width that works for you and helps you execute the squat properly and safely.
Compound lifts are all around excellent exercises as they require the engagement of a ton of muscles in order to execute. Our bodies love the benefits of compound lifts. By being able to pull or squat even more weight on these lifts, you’ll be seeing the results in no time. Not only will you be hitting new PR’s, but you’ll be rocking a more tight, lean and strong LOOKING physique, too!
Focusing on strength has taken Cheri mentally and physically to the next level (click for her story!).
Photo cred: Drew Stephens, Isafmedia, photostock
by EM2WL | Oct 9, 2014 | Cardio, Fat Loss / Cutting
How to Maximize Gym Time
Let’s face it, life is busy. Whether we’re single, married, have ten kids, have no kids, in school, working, you name it- we’re always racing the clock! Although our schedules are hectic, many of us realize the importance of finding time in our day to squeeze in some exercise. When working with a limited slot of time, we want to find ways to optimize that part of our day so we can be efficient, work hard, and get results. There are certain things that we can do to maximize our gym time and get more bang for our buck.
Have a Plan
Unless this is your first time ever reading this blog or hearing from me, you know that my biggest pet-peeve (and with good reason!) is to see (or even HEAR) about people wandering aimlessly about life – well, at least the fitness side of it – with no plan. Ack! I mean, unless you are completely new to working out, or testing out gym equipment is your hobby, get a plan – and work that baby. Not only is following some sort of plan best for maximizing gym time, but it’s best for maximizing RESULTS! In other words, if you want to workout with purpose, having a plan is non-negotiable.
Random workouts – especially once you move past the newbie gain phase – often equal random results. You may ultimately desire to move to a more intuitive style of workouts, but when time is of the essence and you’re not quite familiar with how certain things fit – just stick to the plan.
Trust me, I’ve been there, and I know how easy it is to get sucked into the “atmosphere” and completely lose 2 hours of your day before feeling like you’ve done enough to warrant leaving. I also know that amount of time is completely unnecessary, and is typically a contributing factor to why many of us will totally scrap our workout if we’re running short on time. If you have a plan (preferably created by a professional, unless you are familiar with periodization and putting together effective workout combos) you have an accurate measure of how “done” you are at any given time increments. Let your trainer know that you are time crunched, or search out specifically, workout plans that fit with your goals and available time slots. Don’t follow some random 6-day, 1hour/day, workout split if you only have time to hit the gym 3 days/wk for 30-45 min, tops.
Have a Plan B
Your gym not this big OR empty? Have a Plan B!
This is where the OCD-plan-follower can relax a bit, and the ADD exerciser can rejoice. Yes, an overall, solid, plan is first and foremost, but remind yourself that it’s OK (and often necessary) to be flexible. Why? Because there will be a time that you get to the gym, totally pumped to hit the squat rack. You’ll head in, struttin your stuff with your Converses and new beasty, striped knee-high socks, and bam – all squat racks taken. Argh! This happens a lot in busier gyms during peak times. Don’t rely on one particular piece of equipment for your exercises. Have an idea of what you want to do, but don’t be married to it.
For instance: If it’s leg day – and you’re scheduled to do squats – you’re good no matter what, because you have a backup plan. Full squat racks aren’t stopping you, it’s off to the hack squat machine or an empty area to do squats with dumbbells. Bench day and no rack available? Head for the Smith machine (add extra weight to make up the bar weight difference), or take a set of dumbbells or even the straight curl bar (many gyms have up to 120 lbs) over to the free weight adjustable bench area.
Now this does NOT mean that you should take a professionally written program and chop it up by doing your own take on EVERY move, but you should know how to if you ever truly needed. Take the time on a less busy/off day to get to know alternate pieces of equipment that can generally get the job done (or ask your trainer if you’re working a plan they’ve given you). Often there are pieces of equipment that look completely different, yet perform similar functions (like the seated vs lying leg curl machines)
Superset
Total Body Supersets Workout Plan
When pressed for time, supersets can be a godsend.
Supersets consist of doing two exercises back to back with no rest in between. You can do exercises for either the same or different muscle groups. For example, you can use the rope attachment on a cable machine and do overhead tricep extensions, one set, and then move the rope down a little and do regular tricep extensions, one set, and repeat. Minimizing time between sets not only does the obvious- saves time- but it really adds a burn to the muscles, as it works muscle fibers differently than normal-set weight training.
Tri-sets (three exercises done back to back), and giant sets (four or more exercises done in a row) also fit into this category. With all supersets, you perform the entire set of two or more exercises, then rest as instructed in your program. If no rest period is indicated, typically 30 seconds is appropriate.
Word of caution for the ladies. Many ladies who are drawn to more endurance style workouts will enjoy supersets because they will feel like they are truly “working” – but I would be cautious of falling into the superset trap of thinking that every thing is better when superset. Sometimes longer rests are called for, and necessary, even in shorter workouts – depending on the phase. So if you are always short on time in the gym, be sure to switch up the types of supersets you do (one month superset the same muscle group, the next month group opposing parts, etc), when the supersets are performed in the workout (on every set one month, on every other set the next, etc), and from time to time put supersets aside altogether for an entire phase or two.
Do High Intensity Interval Training
HIIT is praised mostly for two reasons – one, it is a huge time saver and two – the intensity level leads to quicker results than regular cardio and puts your body in a calorie burning state for hours after. Imagine swapping that twenty minute trek on the dreadmill with a quick eight minute sprint session. Suddenly, you’ve gained twelve minutes that you can use to do strength training, ab exercises, stretching, etc. This means that if you were used to splitting up your strength and cardio work to two separate workouts of an hour or so, you can now condense them both into ONE workout that is an hour or less.
Try adding true HIIT or Tabata finishers to your strength workouts, rather than dedicating an entire day to each. What do I mean by “true?” Well, because HIIT has become all the rage, we are now bombarded with HIIT workouts popping up left and right ranging anywhere from 10-60 minutes. While they may all be hard in their own right, true HIIT brings the intensity like no other. Intensity meaning that if you can do any interval for longer than 30ish seconds, or any workout lasting longer than 20ish minutes (not including any warmup/cooldown)…it’s not hard enough. You need super intense intervals where you are going at a crazy, all-out (RPE 10+) effort for 20-30 seconds (and absolutely can’t go longer even if you wanted), and then resting for another 20-30 before repeating. This type of training is short and to the point, making it perfect to tack on to the end of you workout.
A couple words of warning with HIIT. 1) It’s not for everyone, allow yourself to work up to it if you’re newer to working out (perhaps with one of the HIIT-like workouts with longer duration or intervals mentioned above). 2) If a 20 minute HIIT workout early in the AM leaves you worn out and more sedentary than usual for the rest of the day – you are negating the benefits of the afterburn. You may want to stick to 30-40 min of a different cardio activity that will still allow you to get in normal amounts of daily activity/productivity every day.
Stay Focused
Above all, the most important way to maximize your workout is to have laser beam focus. Don’t stress over having to shorten your gym time for a season. Be fully present, engaged in the workout, giving it your all, and knowing that it’s enough. If you head into a workout feeling obligated, and like you just have to get it done to get it out of the way, you won’t be as efficient as possible. If you practice negative self-talk and feel that working out serves as a form of punishment for bad food choices, you’ll have a hard time finding yourself getting in a good sweat (or being satisfied with a less sweaty workout). Remembering why you choose to be active is important, encouraging part of your journey. While physical benefits (toned muscles, smaller waistlines) are a nice perk of working out, living a healthier and happier life far surpass them all.
Photo Cred: Danilo Rizzuti
by EM2WL | Sep 24, 2014 | Building Muscle, Fat Loss / Cutting, Motivation
You may have noticed, since beginning weight lifting, and feeding your body properly, that some clothes still fit your new shape while others fit, well…differently. You look great in yoga pants, yet you can’t seem to get your jeans over your butt. You look great naked, but when you put on those shorts your thighs look like… “quadzilla??” Perhaps you weigh the same as you did before, or maybe you’ve gained a few extra pounds. A quick measurement check reveals that though you have lost inches in some areas, you’ve actually gained inches in others.
Is this supposed to be happening?
The answer is: Yes. It is because your body composition has changed, in a good way! Body composition is the proportion of fat, muscle and bone that make up the body. It is measured by the percentage of body fat and the percentage of lean body mass that you have. Resistance training along with an appropriate calorie intake, and proper macronutrients is the foundation of these amazing changes.
When I decided to make fat loss my ultimate goal — by adding resistance training to my workouts — I assumed that meant I would automatically fit into a smaller size. I slowly saw the changes to my body in the mirror and I loved what I was beginning to see. I embraced the slimming in some areas and the new curves in others. But when I went shopping for new pants, I would get discouraged. The sizes and styles that I tried on, thinking they should fit…didn’t. The smaller sizes were a little too tight in the hips, the larger sizes were too big in the waist! When I tried on shirts, some were tight around the biceps while others were tight across the back and chest.
But I didn’t give up.
As I continued to try on different styles, sizes, and designers, I finally found a rack of designer pants that made classic, straight, and curvy fit. Yay! I chose one of each cut, in 2 different sizes. The curvy pant was made just for me. I turned from side to side admiring how awesome I looked and felt. But soon reality hit…
It was one size larger than what I thought I should be in. I found myself depressed over a number some guy put on a label inside a pair of pants. Shame on me!! I loved the way I looked and felt. I decided that it was time for me to ditch the number on the label in my pants like I did the scale!
So don’t fret when your old wardrobe isn’t fitting like it was before you began strength training. Look for a designer that makes clothes for your female figure. We really need to stop buying clothes made by designers who think women are shaped like 12-year-old boys. It may mean going up a size, looking for “curvy” figure clothing like I did, or trying on different styles of shirts, but finding clothes for an athletic build is a must.
If you have been in the department stores lately you will also see beautiful long skirts and palazzo pants in gorgeous fall solid colors and prints that are perfect for figures between sizes. Many of these have elastic waistbands that will fit as you continue to lose fat, so you won’t have to buy smaller sizes! It’s important to choose clothing that not only looks fashionable, but also feels comfortable!
Remember, there is no perfect size 6, 8, or 10. The perfect size is what looks good and feels comfortable on you.
Embrace your new curves and love your body, and yourself, today.
by EM2WL | Sep 19, 2014 | Consistency
How consistent is your consistency?
Let’s face it. You’re probably working out regularly (or at least plan to most of the time). Most of the fam have the workout game down. Whether you’re a yogi, runner, barre class fanatic, or fellow sister-in-iron — chances are you have a pretty set schedule of when you work out or hit the gym. You may be on a 3-4 day schedule — whatever works for you — and get to the gym “when you can” most days of the week. You’re probably already “eating protein at every meal” (or close enough), and for the most part stay “on track” while allowing only the occasional indulgence. Even if it occasionally throws your macros off. You even shout “trust the process!” from the rooftops, and truly believe it…most days. ;)
But have you ever wondered how different your results could be if you were more consistent with your workouts, eats, and mental commitment to staying on track? How often do you measure your definition of the words occasional, consistency, and trust?
The reason that consistency is so important — and subsequently gets regurgitated every other post — is that it matters the most, yet is relied upon the least!! If you feel like you’re getting nowhere on this journey, it’s time to check the Consistency Trifecta: food, workouts, mindset — to see what’s holding you back from taking your results to the next level.
“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”
-Anthony Robbins
Food: How are your eats? Are you getting in enough protein and fiber? Are you eating according to your goals? Or just eating what you think (aka hope) is “enough” to get the job done? Food matters in every way. Striving for fat loss, but eating whatever you want (and thinking that the macros don’t matter) is a recipe for no (or superrrrrr slow) progress. As is running your body into the ground without enough surplus calories to build muscle, yet hoping to look like someone who has.
We all want to do what WE want to get the results, rather than what it takes. Human nature, I guess. But when it comes to your eats, remember that this is where working your consistency muscle will count the most. This is what helps you to create habits that will carry you throughout your journey. Many ladies will complain that they aren’t seeing results, despite “doing” EM2WL for X amount of time. As I like to ask my clients, “Yes, but how consistent have you been during that time?”
I love my chocolate as much…ok MORE…than the next girl. But, I still place major focus on getting enough fiber from fruits and veggies ;)
Try this ~ Remind yourself that though the occasional (even daily!) indulgence can fit into your lifestyle, it’s up to you to make sure it FITS, and is not totally skewing your macros each time. Though, at first this may mean taking a hard look at the numbers, the goal is to wean yourself into a balanced lifestyle that ultimately can support both your needs and wants. This means that your eating decisions need to also be cognitive, intuitive, and purposeful. Learn to hear what your body is really saying and understand the difference between a binge and chosen indulgence. A binge is an indulgence that just transcends from one meal to the next with no rhyme or reason. A chosen indulgence is just that, a choice. You decide to eat something, and you move on. Learn to make one of two simple statements: “I’m going to have this” or “nah, not worth it today.” An indulgence eaten at every meal…is no longer an indulgence, but the norm.
Consistency always wins. Some days you’ll decide to indulge, other days you won’t. But the key is in deciding to do one or the other. And if deciding to have it, ENJOY it thoroughly. No guilt. No penalty exercising. Just moving on at the next meal, balancing the previous out as best you can.
But keep in mind that by rationalizing that you’re “close enough” every day can lead you further away from your goals. Being “consistent” only 3-4 days (aka half) the week actually doubles how long it will take you to see the results you crave. If your biggest issue with consistency is in not understanding what to eat, or not having enough time to plan for healthy meals, try investing in a nutrition coach to help you to understand how to eat in a way that works for your lifestyle and goals.
Workouts: While we may see temporary changes from doing something extreme for a short period of time, permanent results are a by-product of doing one thing over and over with commitment, and regularity. Period. It’s called the compound effect, and it applies to EVERY area of life.
Just as with your eats, if you are only putting a couple days of challenging workouts each week, it will take you nearly twice as long to reach your goals. If you have the time, and that’s all you can do…then you will have to accept that timeline. On the other hand, if you’re able to commit to 4-6 days a week, of course you’ll reach those goals much faster. Think about when you started school, or even a new job. If you only attended or trained a few days a week, chances are it would’ve taken you much longer to learn everything you needed to — and become familiar with the material — than it would if you attended/trained all five days of the week. The same principle applies to exercise habits and commitments. Your body responds better when continually being trained and conditioned.
Leisure riding w/my guys is my fave Sunday activity, but it doesn’t replace my priority — consistent time with the iron.
Try this ~ Now, I’m not saying that you need to turn into an exercise-obsessed-gym-junkie in order to be consistent. If you choose 6 days a week to be active, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at the gym going hard every single day. You can schedule active rest days (read: take a walk, go hiking, go bike riding) in between weight lifting sessions. Although you are not throwing weights around every single day, you’re doing more than just taking the day off to sit on the couch, eat nachos, and watch the game with your hubs (save that for after the bike ride :P).
If you truly only have a few days to dedicate to working out, then it is what it is. You may not be able to create more hours in your day, or more days in your week. But if you only have a few days, then you need to get serious about those days and develop some laser beam focus. It’s not always about increasing time or amount of workouts (although the time may come when you’re a vet), yet the intensity should be there. The leisure “feel good” workouts are nice for…feeling good, lol. But if you’re short on time, not new to working out, and want results, each workout should be intense and to the point for the goal that you’re shooting for. Increase weight, be diligent/precise with rest periods, make sure it’s always challenging. Save the leisure workouts for when you have leisure time. And even your leisure workouts should be prioritized (i.e. Pilates/yoga for more core/flexibility focus, over recreational jogging or whatever according to your goal)
Mentality: This really should’ve been mentioned first, because without thinking the right thoughts, consistently, the rest doesn’t stand a chance. If all we ever think about is how “nothing ever works,” and we only weigh, measure, or snap pics to prove our negative thoughts correct…then we can only expect to reap what we sow. This also gives us an excuse to veer into blame game territory (no-THING ever works, leaves no room for user error). We have to hold our own feet to the fire, and EXPECT results. IF they don’t happen, we can cross that bridge and troubleshoot when necessary. But if we allow ourselves to dwell on negativity, we will only reap negative results.
By nature we want everything to happen on a massive scale, or change overnight (even when we truly understand how impossible/temporary that concept is). But if we refuse to consider all progress to be progress, we’ll sabotage ourselves quicker than we can snap that myotape back in place. We scoff at any seemingly small progress — like only losing one inch in an entire month. Such an insignificant change for SO much work, we think. So we get discouraged, and then slack in one area or another (usually while researching or trying something new…again) because we “knew it wouldn’t work anyway.” This slippery slope type of mentality is what leads to the infamous wheel-spinning, half-week (or month), low/no consistency levels. I mean, why try so hard for something that doesn’t seem to be working?
It doesn’t happen overnight! Angela’s secret to her 1 1/2 year journey: “Don’t be discouraged (progress is progress, no matter how small)…” Check out her story!
This spawns even more negativity — “I just must not be one of the lucky ones…”, “seems like others can eat whatever they want…” “It shouldn’t be this hard” — we land at the place of “Ugh!! I’ve been on this journey for (fill-in-the-blank-amount-of-time) and its just NOT working.” But…if we keep our mentality in check, and take an honest look at our sporadic eating and exercising schedules, what journey have we really been on? One of consistency AND trust? Or one full of one too many “occasional”, “when I can”, and “almosts?”
Try this ~ Religiously set aside a certain day each week to acknowledge any NSVs from the previous week. Give this activity as much — preferably MORE — weight (excuse the pun) than your scale weigh-in, and take it just as seriously. Write it down, announce it to the fam on the Forums, MFP, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram — just as you would if you lost 5, 10, or 20 lbs — it’s that big of a deal, and keeps you mentally focused on all aspects of the journey.
Try to remove words like “only” (or phrases like “not really expecting any changes…”) from your journey vocab, especially when used in the negative. If you lose “only” an inch one month, keep a progress-minded mentality and remind yourself that clothing sizes are based on inches. There’s only ONE inch difference between most clothing sizes from 0-10, and around 2 inches difference between sizes 12-24. So only an inch this month, could become 3 sizes smaller if you kept at the exact same rate of progress, for only 8 more weeks. THAT’s the power of consistency in mind, food, and workout.
As in many areas of life, those who put in more work tend to have more success and better results. It’s really quite simple. Put the Consistency Trifecta to work for you. Dedicate yourself to the process, believe in it, stick to it, trust and you will reach goals you’d before never imagined possible.
by EM2WL | Sep 17, 2014 | Metabolism Reset
Are you having difficulty dealing with family and friends who don’t understand, or aren’t supportive of you doing a metabolism reset or a bulk? They may respond: “You said you wanted to lose weight, so why are you eating so much??” Or you tell your mate you’re going to gain muscle by doing a bulk. “WHAT? Gain weight on purpose? Are you crazy? Others may say more cruel, and even hurtful words. Before throwing your hands up, try to understand their perspective. Then you’re able to work on how you can help them understand yours.
Metabolism Reset – Support from family
Think back to when YOU first heard about Eat More 2 Weigh Less, or when someone recommended that YOU do a metabolism reset? Or try to remember when you were lifting like crazy — eating at a deficit — yet trying to build muscle. One day a fellow lifter finally told you that in order to gain muscle you’d have to eat over your maintenance calories and lift even heavier? What were you thinking? How were you feeling at that moment? The moment you realized that everything you were doing to lose weight wasn’t working. That you now needed to do the total opposite of everything you thought you knew about building muscle.
Now imagine that times 10. That’s how your loved ones are probably feeling.
Just as you remember all the fad diets and the weight yo-yoing up and down, your family and friends remember also. Your husband remembers your reaction when you could fit that little black dress on one occasion and the next occasion it wouldn’t fit! They know how emotional you got when those “new diet” ideas became bad ideas fast!! They are just trying to protect you from another failure, from what they think is another fad diet.
We want those who love us to support us even when it really makes no sense to them, but that can be difficult. So for those in your inner circle, you may need to explain exactly what this is and that this will be part of your life. The fact that you’ll be eating normal foods and not be restricting calories should give them some relief. And also knowing that you’ll be building a body that is based on healthy standards and not based on a number on the scale should have them doing back flips!
Having loved ones who are concerned for your well being and your happiness is a plus and should be embraced. Most of them do not understand the philosophy behind EM2WL let alone what a bulk or reset is. Do they deserve an explanation? Maybe they do or maybe they don’t. But your journey will go a little smoother with the support of the people around you who understand what you are trying to do.
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Let’s face it – that beast feeling on a certain lift, or killing a new Personal Record (PR) at the gym just feels good. The first time I was able to bench/squat/deadlift my body weight will always land somewhere in my top 5 all time “beast moments” (right next to hitting double digit pull-ups). For women especially, strength is empowering, and getting stronger is a sense of accomplishment like no other. If you’ve been lifting for a while and are ready to start pushing your maxes to the next level, it’s good to know a few basic tricks of the strength trade. Understanding what could help you to blast through your strength plateaus, will have you adding more plates to the bar, more often.
Grip Positioning– Some people prefer to grip both hands overhand, both hands underhand or a mix of both. It’s important to start with what feels most comfortable and adjust as you become more confident in the lift. If you grip both under and overhand for example, you may find that switching which hand is over and which is under gives you a better and stronger grip. Try all three methods to see which works best for you.
Increase Flexibility– As beginner lifters we, ironically, tend to skip out on the most fundamental areas of strength training. We place all the emphasis on the actual lift — and not what is surrounding it (warmup, cool-down, stretching) — creating a nasty habit as time progresses. As a result, we get tighter and tighter over time, eventually bringing our results to a screeching halt. If there’s one thing that vet lifters know is that flexibility is the cornerstone of any great lift. You’ll need sufficient flexibility in your ankles and hips in order to squat safely and properly, especially with a good bit of weight. Work on increasing your flexibility in these areas. Try hip flexor stretches, tennis ball rolling on your feet/ankles, knee hugs, and side to side leg swings. Always remember to do a proper warm up and cool down before lifting.
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