Another post in the workout series. This time its all about legs. I know what your thinking, I HATE LEGS. Well everyone does, but it has to be done. The workout below is a great place to start that is going to get you serious growth in your legs. As always with these posts, form is key!
Main Exercise 1
SQUATS!!! 3 sets of 10 reps, pictures below (not me)
This exercise is great for growth as it stretches your leg muscles to the max. For those not used to squats then I recommend the grip above as the weight can be controlled with your bodyweight. For those with a bit of experience then try it with the bar sitting on your traps but make sure your muscles are stretched and warmed up first as you may lose balance. This targets your quadriceps or quads as some may know. start off light to get used to the form and within weeks you'll be seeing a real difference.
Main Exercise 2
Leg Press - 3 sets of 10 reps, pictures below (not me)
This exercise is fantastic as you can control the weight and choose the weight you want. This is the 45 degree leg press. Start with your legs slightly bent and then lower toward your chest or until you reach 45 degrees. The key with this is not to lock your legs, you do not want to hurt yourself! (gif below of what can happen). This again targets your quads along with your hamstrings and calves so an overall leg workout. You should be able to lift relatively heavy as your own bodyweight is not a factor compared to squats which requires you to squat your bodyweight plus the weight itself.
Accessory Exercise 1
Lying leg curls - 3 sets of 10 reps, pictures below (not me)
These 2 accessory exercises are great to isolate and work the separate muscles. This can either be done lying down or on another machine sitting upright. This is perfect to absolutely destroy your legs after your 2 main exercises. Start off light with this as you will probably be in agony already. As you move your main exercises up, move this one up too, but only when you feel comfortable doing so.
Accessory Exercise 2
Leg Extensions - 3 sets of 10 reps, pictures below (not me)
This is the final exercise you should do and by this time your muscles should be on fire! Raise your legs up until they are almost straight and then control your legs back down until your legs are bent again. Start off light with this again as you will struggle with anything too heavy.
This has been a basic leg workout and if you follow this plan, you will feel it in the morning! Stay tuned for more.
This is what you should be like leaving the gym!
Just thought I would let everyone know how I usually do my chest workouts for those who may be struggling to find workouts. For myself, its all about form, without form you may as well not even step into the gym. Don't try and lift the heaviest weights without having correct form - this leads to injury in which I know first hand about. When I first started going to the gym when I was 16, I would go in and throw around the weights, not knowing how to correctly lift.
Basic Chest workouts should comprise of 1 or 2 main exercises with a few other exercises to support it:
Main Exercise 1
Bench Press: 3 sets of 10 reps is a good baseline - See pictures below for form (not me)
- start off at a low weight and work your way up, make sure your bring the bar directly down towards your chest, no half reps, no throwing the weight up and down, controlled reps means the muscle is full stretched
- Basic advice is, always have a spotter if you are using a non assisted bench, otherwise just use the Smith Machine which assists in the movement of the bar.
Main Exercise 2
Dumbbell Bench Press - Again 3 sets of 10 reps - Pictures below for form (not me)
- With this exercise, its all about the stretch you feel, the further the dumbbells go down, the more your muscle stretches, which allows it to grow.
- The difference between using the bar for bench and the dumbbells is to do with the twitch muscles inside the shoulder for example the rotator cuff. It also targets your triceps as well which is a great accessory muscle.
- Switching between these two exercises or doing both means that your muscles never get used to the weight therefore you are less likely to plateau.
- If you feel that it is becoming too easy, then up the weight or the reps, but remember, one at a time to avoid injury.
Accessory Exercise 1
Flat Bench Cable Flyes - 3 sets of 10 reps, Pictures below (not me)
- This is an excellent finishing exercise, it stretches the chest to the max
- Try this with either the cables or even dumbbells
- It doesn't have to be heavy weights on this exercise as we're only trying to stretch out the muscle
- Again if it becomes too easy, up the weight
Accessory Exercise 2
Pushups - 3 sets of 10 reps or as many as possible, Pictures below (not me)
- Yes its one of those simple, everyone knows it exercises but it is one of the best exercises out there
- If you are beginner on chest exercises, then try this to start off with to build some foundation muscle
- Make sure you keep your body straight
- Arms slightly wider than your shoulders, directly down to the floor and back up
- This could be used as a finishing exercise to really tire out your muscles, you may only get a few but those few will push your muscles to the max
Stay tuned for other workouts, hope this has helped anyone who is struggling. Remember, keep that form perfect and you will see results!
First time ever making protein pancakes, I must say they are amazing. Credit goes to Joe Wicks (the body coach) for the recipe but with a twist
Recipe:
2 scoops of protein of your choice, mine being Myproteins' Hard Gainer Extreme
1 Banana
2 eggs
Coconut oil to cook with
Mix them all together and blend them up to make 8 small pancakes. Try it and let me know what you's think
Calories: 400 in protein powder
156 in eggs
90 in banana
646 total calories + around 30-40g protein
Perfect alternative to cereal for breakfast and only take minutes to make. This is definetly going to be my breakfast of choice from now on.
