Category Archives: Benefits of doing “man” exercises
Top 10 Leg Exercises (that Candy and I now hate)
So yesterday Candy and I did a leg workout. The last two leg workouts we have done have absolutely murdered our leg muscles.
Here are the 10 best (most tortuous) leg exercises (in no particular order because all can be equally dreadful):
1. Heavy Back Squat (Candy’s least favorite)- There is something about putting a heavy barbell on your back and having to squat down and stand back up that is just fear inducing. I’m always afraid I won’t be able to stand back up…which has happened before.
The Back Squat is a full leg workout, primarily targeting your glutes, quads and hamstrings as well as your adductors, abductors and calf muscles. Your erect0r spinae as well as your transverse abdominus are also engaged so you are working your entire core too! A great first exercise to do! Yesterday we did 5 sets of 5, increasing weight with each set.
2. Cocktail Lunges – Cocktail lunges are a front and back lunge combined. You lunge forward and then backwards, trying to not tap your foot down in the middle. A forward and backwards lunge is one rep. The front lunge and back lunge do both work your entire leg and the stabilizer muscles in your hips, torso and spine. However, your quad is the primary mover in both so you really burn out the quad by combining the two lunges into one rep!
For an extra burn, complete all reps on one side before switching to the other leg. Candy and I did 10 reps on each side before switching (one rep is one forward and one rear lunge). We added some weights to make it even more of a challenge!
3. Slider Side Lunges – Let the adductor machine gather dust and pick up a slider instead! Place one foot on the slider and one on the ground parallel to your foot on the slider. Slide the slider away keeping that leg straight as you bend the standing leg and squat down. When you stand, drag the slider back in keeping the leg straight. As Brian says, “It feels like my groin is ripping!!!”
4. Step Ups – I don’t know why…but I absolutely hate these. Like cocktail lunges, they always make me out of breath. They are simple. Pick a tall box (a challenging height) and step up. If the box is higher, it will also isolate the hamstrings more (but don’t make the box too high…you want it to be about knee height). And if you start farther away from the box, you will work your glutes more. When you step up, tap the other foot on top and climb back down. Isolate one leg first. Add some weight and increase the challenge!!
5. One leg squats (to bench or with TRX) – So the goal here is a pistol squat…no bench…no TRX…just a one leg squat as low as you can go. Candy and I both need a little assistance especially since this isn’t usually the first exercise we do. This is a great full leg workout. It makes you work extra hard too because you have to maintain your balance. AND by isolating one leg, you can make sure that each leg is doing the full amount of work instead of one leg dominating!
6. Kettlebell Swing – KB swings are supposed to be the absolute BEST exercise for your back side. After doing one round yesterday, I wanted to take the kettlebell and let it fly out a window. I usually like KB Swings, but yesterday they were brutal and today my butt is very very sore. So if you want a nice butt…do kettlebell swings.
7. TRX Hamstring Curls – We love to hate these. They destroy your hamstrings and you just want to be done with them. Ten times better than the leg curl machine for you!
8. Split Squat Jumps – We did these today. You start in a lunge position then jump up and land in a lunge on the other side. If you do them quickly and get low, split squat jumps are cardiovascular and really burn your legs.
Want some lean legs? Then definitely do these plyos.
9. Preacher Squats (aka Pitcher Squats, Bulgarian split squats or Balance Lunges) – Brian always wants to skip these. He has weak quads and preacher squats really really work the quads. Enough said.
10. Jump Squats -Squating and jumping. A plyometric exercise that will help you develop lean and powerful legs. What could be better?!?
Runners Up: Wall sit, Box Jumps, Air Squats, Front Squats, Plie Squat (Sumo Squat) and box shuffle.
Deadlift didn’t make the list because it is so much more than just a leg exercise. It is the Man Bicep Move!!! You can torture your glutes, hamstrings, traps, back and core with the deadlift!!!
Man Biceps at Work – Judy
Below is a testimonial for the Man Bicep way from Judy! Thank you Judy!!!! We love your biceps!
When I’m lifting, I love looking in the mirror and seeing the definition of my toned, strong muscles. I’m really not narcissistic; I just like seeing the payoff of all my hard work.
Oh yea! Definitely Man Bicep worthy!
And yes, it is hard work…all those sweat-filled hours on the gym floor lifting heavy stuff, ridiculous rounds of plyometrics, lots of heart-pumping cardio, etc. But never has something made me feel so good about myself, so alive.
I used to be totally intimidated by the “scene” on the weight room floor.
Now, I feel like I belong there and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t give myself high-fives when I compare what I’m doing on the floor compared to others, many of them guys.
It’s not always easy (nothing good ever is), and yes, there are many days I totally beat myself up over a less than perfect workout (sometimes those weights just feel too heavy), but in the end, all those heavy weights and pools of sweat pools on the gym floor have made me so happy with myself….and that is the best reward.
Plus, my “awesome arms”, “compliment-demanding calves” and quads that get used as the basis for pick-up lines by other cyclists are an added bonus!
She even has energy to spare after riding the PMC!
Prevent injuries by working out!
Do you have back pain from being inactive? Do you have knee problems from running all the time?
Lift weights and prevent injuries!!! Increasing your strength makes you less prone to injuries!
If you lift weights, you can correct the postural and muscular imbalances that can lead to injuries. Repetitive workouts, repetitive movements and/or inactivity (aka being a couch potato) can cause certain muscles to become over or underdeveloped and can cause bad posture. Hunching over a computer screen, which most of us do for most of the day, can cause certain muscles to be tight while others are over stretched. Weight training can help correct your posture and the pain you may feel in your back, neck and shoulders from hunching over!
You can also strengthen the muscles around your joints to make them more stable! Strengthening your bones, cartilage, tendons and ligaments by performing weight-bearing exercises can help sustain overall health. Some exercises will even help increase range of motion (ROM) and increase your flexibility, which will help prevent injury and will lead to a more functional life.
So all you marathon runners and long distance cyclists…start weight training! It will help your performance!
And if you are a couch potato who suffers from back pain…try some weight training! Rest isn’t the only thing you need to do to rehab an injury!
Thanks to Brian Castellucci for help with this post! 🙂
Man Bicep Mom
My mom is the ultimate testament as to why women should lift weights. I’ll let her prove it to you…with a few of my comments under some of the photos!
Below is the first post by the Man Bicep Mom!
My hot mama! Using my bowflex dumbbells haha
I read recently that fashion experts recommended that older women select fashions that show off their best feature.
I do that. I show off my arms and shoulders.
Showing off the man bicep!
During the summer I take great delight in wearing sleeveless outfits so that I can showcase my sculpted shoulders and arms. And I get compliments, too!
I’m 61 years old and people admire my arms and shoulders! I’m Cori’s mom and I’ve been lifting weights for over 20 years.
I have never bulked up or been accused of looking manly. I’m thin, very stylish and very feminine looking. In fact, I probably have weights to thank for that. I look good in clothes because I still have a firm, sculpted middle and a tight butt.
No muffin tops for me; no baby bump tummy; no sagging butt; and definitely no jiggly arms!
You’re probably thinking I’m deluded and very full of myself. She has muscles and she still looks good in her clothes, right!
Here are my stories.
I was trying on a linen suit at Talbots. The suit was unstructured but cinched in at the waist with a tie belt. I stepped out of the dressing room to look at myself in the three-way mirror. Another customer looked at me and said, “That suit looks wonderful on you! You have to buy it!” When I was paying for the suit, the saleswoman thanked me and said, ” I think you sold another one of these for us. The woman who admired you is trying it on right now.” See, muscles and all I look good in clothes.
I have another story.
I was at Anthropologie trying on a slinky, sleeveless dress with horizontal stripes. Again I came out to look at myself in the three-way mirror and another customer complimented the way I looked in the dress. She turned to the saleswoman and asked if she could find the dress for her. This woman was thin with a nice figure, but she didn’t have my muscle definition. She tried the dress on and said, “It looks good on me but looks better on you.”
The other woman was right...she looks damn fine in the dress!
Now the reason I tell you this is that, either because of my muscles, or maybe in spite of my muscles, I look good in my clothes. At the very least, my sculpted muscles have not detracted from the way I look in my clothes. I would venture to say that because of my muscles I look good in my clothes.
And isn’t that what we all want?
I am also going to suggest that I think women like the way muscles look on other women. Here are my stories.
A long time ago, probably a year or so into my weight workout regimen, I was at a dinner auction for my children’s school. I was wearing a long dress with thin, little shoulder straps. After dinner one of the teachers came up to me and said that she had been sitting at a table of teachers and that they had decided that I had the best dress. “We also love your shoulders. Do you work out?”
Just last week, I was meeting this woman for the first time. I was wearing a sleeveless dress. We were introduced and then she immediately reached out and touched my arms saying, “I love your arms. They are so sculpted.”
One more story. I was looking at pictures of female runners with a group of women. Except for me, none of the women lifted weights. A couple of the women ran. I can tell you that the women ooohed and ahhhhed over the pictures of women with defined muscles. They loved the women with shredded arms and shoulders, abs and legs. They commented on how beautiful they looked.
And so now I ask the million dollar question – why do women refuse to add weights to their workouts?
The only con I have ever heard is that they are afraid they will bulk up and that just won’t happen. You have to have testosterone to bulk up. I have girlfriends who workout and are in great cardiovascular shape. They know I use weights and love my muscle definition, but still they don’t add weights to their workout.
Why ladies, why?
It is a proven medical fact that weight training helps prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia. It is also a proven fact that it helps prevent sarcopenia, the age-related decline in muscle mass and function. We start losing muscle in our 40s and continue losing at a more rapid rate in our 50s. Losing muscle mass causes us to become weak and frail, less stable and surefooted. Losing muscle mass also causes us to gain weight in our 40s and 50s. Muscles are active tissue that burn more calories than fat. So it follows that as you lose muscle, you burn fewer calories and, unless you drastically change your eating habits, begin to gain weight.
So ladies, add weights to your workouts.
There is no downside to lifting weights. You will help prevent osteoporosis and sarcopenia and will feel strong and active and look beautiful.
Weights will also make your workouts more interesting, adding variety to the same old cardiovascular activities. I look forward to my weight workout days.
By the way, weight workouts come in a lot of “varieties and sizes”.
Cori enjoys power lifting twice a week mixed with circuit training on the other days while I have spent the last 20 years doing circuit training workouts from The Firm in the comfort of my home. I have a collection of 3, 5, 8 and 10 pound weights, and I do weight workouts three to four times a week. I love them!
I will take this opportunity to give kudos to The Firm. Throughout the years they have kept their workouts interesting and have always kept up with the latest advances in exercise physiology. I have The Firm to thank for the muscles and body that I have today.
But the real reason that I mention The Firm is to show that there are lots of different kinds of weight workouts. Experiment and find what you enjoy. Weight workouts are fun!
So, ladies of all ages, I implore you, lift weights! Stay healthy! Stay strong! Stay young! LOOK BEAUTIFUL!
Just do it! 😉
No grimace even though I made her hold the push up for awhile while I found a good angle!
A “Thank You” to my Man Bicep Males
I’ve loved lifting heavy weights since I was taught power lifting in college. But I do owe my current obsession with heavy lifting to Ryan and Brian.
Me in college when I'd just started the heavy lifting.
After college, I continued to lift. I did higher reps and challenging weights, but I never worked toward increasing my one rep max. I even threw in some P90x and Insanity (I highly recommend the P90x, but Insanity, I’m not a fan of). I was doing lots of cardio (not chronic cardio, but still cardio).
I shed all the weight I had gained since the end of my collegiate athletic career. I also shed a ton of muscle. I was just plain old skinny.
Ryan had also lost a lot of weight on the low-fat diet we did for 90 days and he decided he wanted to stop P90x and get back into heavy lifting. He invited me to tag along.
So Ryan and I began my first round of truly heavy lifting since college. My bench max went back up. My squat and deadlift got stronger. We were doing sets of 5 reps, and I was getting stronger and adding muscle. I gained 15lbs over the next 8 months of lifting with him. Part of it was definitely muscle and some of it was definitely fat. My diet had sort of gone out the window. And I had an excuse for that. I was bulking. HA!
So Ryan and I continued to workout until he hurt his back. He then needed to take time off, and I was left to lift on my own.
I continued our routine, but had hit a plateau and was making only the smallest of gains. It was hard lifting super heavy weights with no one there to spot you. That’s when Brian joined the staff at our gym and we began working out.
Brian worked on my lifting form. He changed the rep scheme. We did sets of 1-5 reps. We worked on increasing my one rep max. And boy did it increase.
Before I was stuck at 205lbs for deadlift. Now I’m up to 265lbs (and that is after reps). My squat and bench have gone up too. I’m at about 110lbs on bench (I’ve only gotten that once) and 205 on squat. Again both of those numbers are after reps so my max weights could actually be a bit higher! And I’m still working on getting those numbers up. I want to deadlift 300lbs, bench my body weight (120lbs) and squat at least 250lbs. I want to be a BEAST! haha
Brian also helped me relearn the snatches and cleans that I hadn’t done since college. Which I now love! There is something about mastering those explosive power movements that makes you feel so good. They are just SO COOL! Also, I’ve needed to work on them to pursue my other fitness passion…crossfit.
I got into crossfit because of Ryan. He introduced me to it when I visited him in California. We did a squat, pull up, push up, sit up workout in his backyard. It was hard and I liked it, but I didn’t fall in love with crossfit until I did the Murph. Yes, I’m a bit sadistic.
The Murph is: Run 1 mile, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 body-weight squats, run 1 mile. You do it as fast as you can.
That was probably the hardest workout I had ever done before. I got dehydrated and suffered a migraine, but I fell in love with crossfit because of that workout. Is there something wrong with me? Uhm..yes, probably.
But basically to sum up my ramblings today…I just wanted to say a big “THANK YOU” to both Ryan and Brian. Both of you have been such a big support. You two encouraged me to lift and have made me fall in love with heavy weights and grueling workouts. You two have inspired me to try to encourage other women to start lifting heavy weights!
So “Thank You Ryan and Brian, my Man Bicep Males!”
Realizing the benefits
It’s one thing for a client to see her weight dropping when she steps on the scale, and it’s a whole other ballgame when a client realizes how much stronger she feels performing day-to-day life tasks because of her workouts!
Yesterday Lois had that epiphany.
Over the weekend she went to see her granddaughter. She picked her up and carried her. She chased and played with her. She spent almost the whole weekend on her feet – shopping, hiking and playing.
And yesterday while she was warming up for our session, she says to me “It has never been as easy as it was yesterday to pick up my granddaughter. And I had no problem carrying grocery bags up stairs, and I even went for a hike on Sunday and walked faster than I have in a long time!”
The week before Lois had already seen her weight drop 9lbs, but that hadn’t yet convinced her of how much the workouts were helping.
She said she was excited about losing the weight, but felt disappointed that she always felt so out of shape during the workouts. I told her that I was constantly pushing her and challenging her limits, which was why she didn’t necessarily feel like she was doing “better” during the workouts.
I also pointed out to her that she had in fact made great progress during our workouts. She could now hold a full plank for 30 seconds when before she could only hold one from her toes for about 15 seconds. She could now also hold a wall sit for 3 rounds of 30 seconds when before she couldn’t even hold a wall sit for 5 seconds.
She nodded at me, but she said that while that was all wonderful, the first time she truly felt like she was in better shape was this past weekend with her granddaughter.
I can’t help but smile at her statements because I’ve always believed that you workout so that you can enjoy life more.
So what better reason is there to get in a workout today? Start lifting to live a better life!
Women’s fitness blogs – where are the weights?
Hmm....
So yesterday I set out to find some fitness blogs by, for and about women. What I found was not what I expected when I typed in “top fitness blogs for women.”
While I did find a few blogs I liked, I found a lot of blogs that really had nothing to do with what I consider “fitness.” There were posts about loving your body; posts about eating well for healthy hair; post about body dysmorphia (which was actually one of my favorites!). BUT there weren’t really any posts about women lifting and working out to develop beautiful lean, toned muscle. There weren’t very many posts about what women did to workout and improve their health.
I found a website called the 100 Must Read Blogs…By Women! and found that of the fitness blogs with descriptions only one had anything about resistance training in the blurb about it (and that blog was almost specifically for athletes). That is sort of sad don’t you think?
What do women have against resistance training? I mean I’ve heard the “I don’t want to get bulky excuse”, which is total BS. I’ve also heard women complain that they feel uncomfortable when they are in the weight room because all of the men are looking at them and judging them. This is BS too. I’ve stood and watched people in the weight room. The people who get looked at are the ones either doing something that looks absolutely silly OR people who lift an incredible amount of weight (which means…MOST OF THE TIME MEN ARE ONLY WATCHING OTHER MEN LIFT!).
Most female trainers who blog should know that women won’t get big from lifting weights. Most female trainers also know correct form so they shouldn’t be intimidated or worried about lifting in front of men or encouraging their clients to do so. So why are so few writing about weight training!?! I mean you female trainers who don’t promote weight training are part of the problem. I mean we can recommend that women experiment with their diet to find out what works for them, but no one seems to recommend that women experiment with all forms of exercise!
We want women to love their bodies and not be discouraged by the women in the magazines. I whole-heartedly believe that if we can get women to see weight training as something beneficial and not something that will make them manly that we will start to chip away at women’s body dysmorphia!
YES! I want this shirt!
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
Men and women may seem like they are from different planets at some times but we are all the same species. And since we are all the same species don’t we all have the same basic physiological make up? If our bodies still basically work the same shouldn’t we both need to exercise them in basically the same way? I found a great article about this on Mark Sisson’s blog. I suggest anyone who thinks women shouldn’t lift weights click here.
Paddle Boarding
Mark Sisson – you would be proud!
Mark Sisson (author of the Primal Blueprint) - our inspiration to go paddle boarding.
Ryan and I went paddle boarding yesterday which was AMAZING! We went to Kendall Square in Cambridge and rented two boards and paddles. I was a bit nervous about trying paddle boarding since it looked like it would be difficult to stand up and balance on the board (and I definitely had no desire to go swimming in the Charles River!).
To start, we both had to be on our knees to get out of the channel. Once out of the channel we had to cross over to the other bank of the river. We both stayed down on our knees to get across the river. Paddling and balancing from my knees wasn’t easy so I was super nervous about standing up . I was even more nervous because the guy at the rental place said that most people didn’t stand up till their second or third time out!
Once across we had to maneuver around the sailboats – sailboats steered by children learning to sail. YIKES! This made me even more nervous about the whole situation.
Once we had made it past the first sailboats, Ryan decided to stand up. He managed it easily and started paddling on. Since he stood up, I knew I had to try.
My heart started racing as I tried to push myself up. I felt the boat rock and I went right back onto my knees. I looked up at Ryan and said, “I can’t do it. I’m too nervous.” We both kept paddling on.
I passed a few more sailboats and looked at him standing up on his board and decided I had to stop being a chicken. Again I put my hands down in front of me and slowly pushed up. I stood up!!! Of course my board was then heading toward land and a flock of geese so I frantically had to start steering away from the shore.
Trying to balance and turn quickly wasn’t an easy task and I managed to chase the flock of geese a short distance and almost run into one. Sorry again about that mr. goose!
Finally though I made it away from the rocks and the geese and started cruising. It wasn’t easy though. You could feel all the little muscles in your legs working to keep you balanced as you went over the small waves. You could also feel your back, shoulders and core working as you paddled through the water.
It was wonderful though. So much fun and such a challenge. Paddle boarding ended up being both easier and harder than I expected.
I’m both surprised and not surprised that people don’t stand up their first time. THIS IS THE REASON TO WORKOUT PEOPLE!!! You workout so you will be awesome at any activity/sport the FIRST time you try it!
I can’t wait to go again or maybe even go kayaking next time! YAY for summer!
200lbs
I squatted 200lbs! A new personal best! Yep I squatted 200lbs and my legs are still stick thin. I wish lifting heavy weights meant I could get manly legs – maybe then I would actually have a butt!
I think this qualifies me to say, “If you lift heavy weights, you won’t get big!!!” Oh and muscle takes up less space than fat…so maybe if you lift some weights you will lose some fat and inches off of your waistline!
Anyway, just had to brag. I know there are lots of women who can lift more but this 5′ 4″, 120lbs woman is pretty proud of her accomplishment!
Man Bicep 