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Being a Butthead and a Quad Killing Squat Workout!
There are definitely times when we go against our better judgement and do a workout we know we shouldn’t – when we push ourselves harder than we know we should.
Like when we haven’t worked out for weeks….We all know we should go a bit lighter to ease back in.
Or when our nutrition hasn’t been on point and we know we won’t be able to push as hard but we still do.
And then we suffer the consequences.
Can’t…bend…to…get…it….
And I’m not talking about a little bit of soreness the day after…I’m talking about debilitating soreness for the entire week after.
Yea…
If you do that, you are a butthead.
And I…I am a butthead!
I am a butthead because I decide to do a heavy leg day on Monday and go heavier than I’d ever gone before.
Because even though I knew I hadn’t done a heavy leg day in about 3 1/2 weeks, even though my nutrition was just getting back on track after a week of vacation, even though my sleep was just getting back on track and my stress level was elevated after about two weeks away from work, I felt good when I started my workout so why not take advantage and push it right!?!
WRONG!
My body wasn’t ready to handle the stress of such an intense workout and now I’m still not able to walk like a human without super intense focus and pain.
And this isn’t something I’m proud of. I’m actually angry at myself because I ignored all the sides and pushed my body beyond what it was ready to do and now my workouts have been thrown off for the entire week.
By being cocky and stupid, I’ve hindered my own results. For what? For a little bit more weight!?!
AH!
This is one of those few times where I will say, “Do as I say, not as I did!”
Don’t be stupid.
If you are coming back from time off, remember your body will not be ready to handle the load EVEN if it feels like you could push harder during your workout. BUT remember you are building so that you can get back on track. You don’t want to make yourself so sore that you can’t get back into your workout routine!
Same goes for diet. Whenever you have changed your diet, remember your body may not have the energy to push as hard as you would like. And it may not recover as quickly especially if your nutrition hasn’t been on point.
BE PATIENT! Ease yourself back into things and you will find you actually get results faster!
Anyway, that is my little rant about my own stupidity and why you shouldn’t do the same.
Don’t let cockiness get in the way. BE SMART and EASE YOURSELF BACK INTO YOUR ROUTINE!
And in case you want a quad killing workout (but one that shouldn’t incapacitate you the entire week), try the one that murdered me on Monday…Just use an appropriate weight or even start with bodyweight!
Quad Killer
WARM UP
Roll out and dynamically stretch
Calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, glutes, low back, core and thoracic spine
STRENGTH:
Front Squats:
1 minute on, 1 minute off for 5 rounds
I like to pyramid down. I start with the heaviest weight I can handle and must complete at least 20 reps. If I don’t, I drop to the next weight. I stay at that weight for as many rounds as possible as long as I complete 20 reps in the minute. I drop down as needed, completing all 5 rounds. If this is your first time, START LIGHT and focus on completing more reps instead of doing more weight. I also like to use kettlebells for the front squats although you will find you are limited by how much your upper body and core can handle (which isn’t a bad thing!!!)
Circuit:
4 rounds:
10 reps each side Single Leg Squats (Can squat to bench if a beginner. Can use TRX or XT to advance)
10 reps each side Walking Lunges with weight (keep your chest up tall and do not swing the weights. Step from one lunge into the next lunge, driving off your front heel)
20 reps Jump Squats
COOL DOWN
Stretch and roll out quads, calves, hips, hamstrings and any other tight spots.
Enjoy!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
First off, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a tenacious young woman, Fern! Happy Birthday!
Now onto the good, the bad and the simply stupid!
The Good
I LIKE IT!
- I like this quote from Michelle Obama,”You wouldn’t think of watering a plant with soda.” No you definitely wouldn’t.
- Interesting research about dietary fat and cholesterol absorption.
- I’ve discovered that I love designing workouts that ask you to do as many rounds as possible in under a certain time limit (usually 20 or 30 minutes). If you push hard for 20-30, you will probably get more out of the workout than steady-state cardio for an hour. Actually I GUARANTEE you’ll get more out of it!
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
5 Dips
10 Inverted Rows
15 Burpees
20 Front squats with weight
Your quads definitely burn a bit between the burpees and using a challenging weight on front squats!
The Bad
- Ryan and I watched a Restaurant Impossible, in which Robert helps upgrade a community center. While they do create a garden and make the place super nice, the thing that bothered me the most was the prepackaged food the kids were being served. IT WAS ALL CARBS AND IT WAS BEING PASSED OFF AS HEALTHY! When seriously will the low-fat diet fad pass!?!
- If only they ate Primally, they wouldn’t have to suffer. They could bulk up or slim down easily and healthily! Celebrities and stupid diets…BLEH! Of course I do understand that some roles demand extremes but still…I mean especially Anne Hathaway! You want a catwoman body!?! Eat Primally!
The Simply Stupid
- Silk Pure Almond milk – According to their commercial people preferred the taste over regular milk. Of course the flavor they show in the commercial isn’t the Original, which has very little sugar – they instead show chocolate and vanilla! Of course people prefer them! They have more sugar and more CRAP in them!
- Yesterday while at the gym, there was a guy who walks in and starts doing bicep curls. He definitely looked like one of those guys who follow the Muscle and Fitness Bodybuilder workouts. He was definitely one of those guys that thought he was “big” because he had lots of muscle. He was definitely one of those guys that annoys me. BUT the best part of this story is what Ryan told me when we left, “So you know that guy who was doing all the bicep curls? I thought he was reading a Muscle and Fitness since it seemed like that is where he was drawing his workout from, but no…he wasn’t. He was reading a People magazine.”..For some reason this made me laugh…
Front Squats
I haven’t done heavy front squats since college.
I’ve always sort of dreaded them. I traded them in for back squats partly because I like to lift as much weight as possible and my numbers are bigger in back squat and partly just because I hate them.
But front squats are super good for you. They really work your quads AND your core. So I’ve started doing them and hope one day I will love them…
Till today, I’d done front squats as an auxiliary lift. Higher reps with lighter weight usually after a nice heavy round of deadlifts.
But for some reason today I decided it was time to tackle heavy front squats.
5 sets of 5 repetitions of heavy front squats.
I was nervous. 5×5 is usually a killer workout no matter what lift you are doing. And to be doing 5×5 on front squat…Uhm what was I thinking!?!
I was thinking…”Gosh I hope I can even manage to do one rep at my college max of 130!” (And by the way, I do still hold the Boston U. Women’s Tennis front squat record…I’m both proud of this and a bit disappointed that no one has beaten it.)
And today…even though I still hate front squats…I was very happy at the results of my workout (and Candy did super well too! She has a VERY strong core!).
We started with 95lbs for 5 reps. It definitely didn’t feel like a warm up set like it does with back squats. We then put on 115. That wasn’t a picnic either, but it was manageable.
So I decided we should attempt 135lbs. Yep, I decided that we should attempt more than my max in college. I mean 135 is a warm up for back squats so I should be able to easily do it….right?
Uhm…easy? NOPE! Doable? Yes!
I managed 5 very nice deep front squats with 135 although I do think Candy wasn’t sure if I was actually going to make it up on the 5 one.
Candy then repped out 5 with the weight and I was a bit jealous of how easy she made them look. Her core is gnarly!
Of course, what I didn’t consider was the fact that we had two more rounds of 5 reps…sweet….
Both of us stuck with 135 and busted out two more rounds of 5 although my depth was questionable at the end and my core was struggling hard to keep me up straight.
BUT…I DID IT! I repped more than my college max! YAY!
Of course, I then still had to do conventional deadlifts and snatches, but hey…I’d done heavy front squats!
I still don’t like them though.
Man Bicep 