OK, so I realized from all of my posts that I've not issued any form of a workout routine for anyone to follow. Until now...!
If you've read any of my other material on fitness, you shall know that I am a huge proponent of focusing on leg and back strength. For when you do, you be well on your way towards a great deal of physical stability and power. Why? Because your legs and back are the two largest muscle groups in your body.
What I would like to do here is sort out one possible 30-minute weight training routine that will get your lower body and lats very well-conditioned. And, I'll illustrate an option for you to look at it two ways: strength/stability, or vanity. In all honesty, there will be a lot of overlap between these two notions. However, one will really attack the fine details of athletic performance, the other focusing on body building/sculpting.
Here is the routine:
→ Squats (3-4 sets, 5-10 reps)
→ Jump Rope (50-150 skips)
→ Pull ups or Lat Pull downs (3-4 sets, 5-10 reps)
→ Planks (30 seconds to 1-minute x3)
Follow the links for a detailed descriptions for each exercise.
And that's it in a nutshell. Certainly doable in 30 minutes. If you're new to weight training, some trial and error will be needed in the beginning. Ideally, for each exercise you should work with a weight such that the last rep of the last set shall be just doable, but almost not.
For squats your initial target should be your own lean body mass for 4 sets of 10 reps. Or, if you are a relatively lean person shoot for your total body weight. For men of average height this will be 160-170 lbs. Ladies of average height shall come to 110-130 lbs. Give or take respectively.
When you are resting from a squat set, hit the jump rope. Doing both will give your lower body a comprehensive workload.
Figure on spending 15-20 minutes for you lower body in total.
For the pullups, or lat pulldowns, the same applies. If you follow the link to my back exercise post, I address that not everyone will be able to do pullups which is fine. So if you choose to use a lat pulldown machine at your gym, the weight guide mentioned above still applies. The last rep of your last set shall be just doable.
Overall, the amount of weight you train with shall be sufficiently difficult enough such that when you are performing the lift, the only thing on your mind shall be said lift. If you find yourself having conversations with people, or having thoughts other than the lift, you're not going heavy enough. One major reason weight training is so great for your mental health is it forces your mind to temporarily expunge all thought. Rather, all your mental energy will be geared towards completing the lift and nothing else. It honestly is beautiful.
For those that are going for strength listen up. Try to do squats without looking into the mirror. This will force your brain to have a self awareness beyond any exterior perspective. If you think about it, when you perform any physical task in normal life it is not in front of a mirror (sports, chores, dancing with friends, etc). If you cannot perform a pullup, work your way up to these. Lat pulldown machines are easy to cheat by rotating about your hips to aid in the pulldown motion. Any athlete should avoid muscle isolation machines (such as a lat pulldown apparatus). Following this routine with this philosophy will give you a powerful and rock solid foundation indeed.
For all those that are more vanity focused you may disregard the above paragraph. I mean, you can still follow the above but body builders in general are obsessed with their physiques and form, so they like mirrors. It's just that without mirrors, your body will naturally converge on proper form by way of executing a lift sans any discomfort or pain that you'll naturally feel with poor form. The muscles your training will be in pain, sure, but that is the intention. Bad form will cause pain in unintended areas so listen to your body.
Either way, you should expect the following performing this routine as you wish: Your butt, thighs, calves, and lats will grow in size. Whatever distinct shape you have before employing this routine will be more pronounced, ie there will just be more of it. And since you butt and back will become larger, your waist will appear much smaller from all angles. If that's what you’re going for.
Ladies can include adduction and abduction exercises to their leg routine if they like. Adduction means towards your bodies mid-line. Abduction means away from your bodies mid-line. This boils down to, basically, working the inner and outer thighs/hips. This will make these portions of your lower body larger over time aiding in an hourglass shape. Most gyms have machines for this, and you'll predominantly see ladies using them so they're hard to miss. But, adding these exercises will also add time you this routine.
And ladies, on top of this you can get on top of your nutrition by eating foods with phytoestrogens in them. When you consume these foods, the so-called phytoestrogens will act like estrogen in your body. Therefore these foods will aid in keeping your hormone levels in check. And if you are deficient in estrogen, you may find more body fat being deposited in your hips, thighs, butt, and chest. Once again, aiding in the hourglass effect. Fellas can improve their buffness (yes I just made that up) by eating foods rich in zinc which will raise testosterone levels. Actually, this last paragraph is going to be its own post so I'll leave this here as a teaser.
The money is in the detail’s folks. Doing a routine like this three to four times a week is time well spent. You'll be stronger physically and mentally in all areas in life. Athletes will be more stable and rock solid. Those aesthetically obsessed will see a bump to their physiques. Both types of folks, and everyone in between will see a jump in their strength, stamina, self-confidence, and self-worth. All this from just as little as 1.5 hours per week. Not bad if you ask me.
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