Category: Exercise and fitness

Usually, chest day is a guy’s favourite workout but it is also important for the ladies. A good chest development not only creates a balanced look (you cannot train legs only!) but also will enable you to perform perfect push ups at BodyPump class! Besides, you will have killer arms if you train triceps regularly. Most compound chest exercises also recruit triceps, so you don’t need many exercises to target just the triceps. This program starts with low reps/heavy load to develop strength and moves on to higher reps/moderate load to work on muscle development and endurance.

Well, I enjoy training chest and triceps, and I like a challenge, thus this week’s workout;)

Developing the back muscles is as important for ladies as it is for guys. Strong back muscles protect your body from injuries, promote good posture, creates a ‘V” shape which makes your waist look smaller, among others. However most people don’t train back to its full potential. The truth is that many people under-exercise important back muscles such as latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and lower/middle trapezius while over taxing others such as upper traps. The result is muscle imbalances and a recurrent sore neck. In order to target the right areas, you must focus on good form and learn to activate the correct muscle groups.

Today, I’m sharing my new back/bicep program. It mixes strength, growth and definition, and endurance, by changing the rep range and number of sets. Here it goes:

Today I’m posting my new leg routine. I usually update my training program every four weeks in order to avoid plateaus. I don’t mean just changing the exercises, but also using different the training styles. This can be done by adjusting the number of repetitions, sets, tempo, and load of each exercise. The goal is to create a challenge that will elicit the adaptations you are looking for.

For this month’s program I am doing:

1. Barbell front squats – 8 reps x 5 sets; tempo 2:2
2. Wide stance leg press – 10 reps x 4 sets; tempo 4:1 (emphasis on the eccentric phase) CAUTION: this type of training can cause extreme soreness!
3. Suspended lunge – 12 reps x 3 sets; tempo 2:2
4. Bench single leg stand up – 16 reps x 2 sets; tempo 2:1

Rest about 30 to 60 seconds between sets and up to 3 minutes between exercises.

Today I’m sharing my current leg workout. I have two routines for legs every week: one quads dominant and another glute/hammy dominant. This is the quad dominant routine. In this program I’m using four exercises: front barbell squats, dumbbell deadlifts, stationary lunges with dumbbells, and leg extensions. I’m performing five sets of eight repetitions for each exercise. The goal is increase muscle size and definition, thus the high volume with moderate load.

Well-developed shoulders make any girl look great. However, the benefits of training shoulders go beyond aesthetics. A balanced program should increase strength, enhance mobility, promote stability, and improve posture. Today I am sharing my personal shoulder routine.

I start with Smith shoulder presses which is a great warm-up exercise because it doesn’t require a lot of stability from the shoulder girdle. Besides because the bar is fixed, you may choose to use a heavier load without compromising your form.

It’s the first week of the year and you may need some motivation to get you back on track after the holiday splurge. Today I’m sharing with you my current back workout routine. The one I’m using to prep for my bikini competition in May.

This is part of a 4-week program focusing on regaining strength after a couple of weeks off training. I will start with a high-rep moderate-load to prepare the muscles and avoid injuries,  and gradually move to lower rep ranges systematically increasing the load to improve strength. The following table illustrate the rep x set x load progression.

Stretching after an hardcore exercise session is not only relaxing but also fundamental to round up your training. However, not many people stretch after working out simply because they are not sure what to do.
Here I present a short routine in the form of a flow. For better results hold each pose for 10 to 20 seconds and repeat twice.

https://youtu.be/d1fNEUH8sWA