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Planking – Not the exercise
So yesterday night, Candy Ryan and I watched the new Office episode. It talked about the new trend of planking in random places. Of course I was upset to realize that by planking they didn’t mean this:
But this:
This second version could, I guess, really work your core depending on how and where you decided to plank, but still…I was sad to find out people weren’t exercising in random places.
I’ve decided Man Bicep should start a new trend…push ups in random places!!! haha Maybe we will try to start this one today…. 🙂
I want man biceps…just not man pecs
The other day Candy and I were working out on the weight room floor and Nancy (one of our gym members) said to Nick (one of our trainers) that she wanted to get “man biceps” like the man bicep sisters (me and Candy). Nick didn’t understand the joke (for an explanation of the joke click  “man bicep” ). I had though overheard the comment, and I turned to Nancy and told her that she was well on her way to developing man biceps. She seemed pleased with the comment.
She then complained to Nick that she hated doing push ups (the exercise he was just then telling her to do). I then jokingly said that the push ups would help develop her man biceps and she said, “Yes but I don’t want to develop man pecs!”
It was a funny comment but it also took me back. How could she love the idea of “man” biceps and not the idea of “man” pecs!?! Had we just made lifting weights for your biceps acceptable?
It shocked me how deeply rooted women’s fear of weight lifting is. Even a woman who seems to support our weight lifting is afraid to lift heavy weights herself. It is exactly what the poll from an earlier post said – “it’s not for me but there’s nothing wrong with it.” That honestly seems to be the response I’m getting from most women.
Women’s logic works like this when it comes to weights:
Women don’t want to look manly. Men lift weights to get bigger and more manly. Hence, we see weight lifting as the way to get more “manly.” Of course we don’t consider the fact that weight lifting is only a portion of the equation and that what actually makes men pack on the manly muscle is TESTOSTERONE.
I mean hey I know heavy lifting isn’t for everyone. But try it before you knock it! You never know…you may end up loving the “man” pecs you develop! I know I do!
BLEH
Today I woke up and I really didn’t want to go teach spin. I’m just exhausted. SEE! Even I don’t want to workout everyday! So don’t try to use the excuse that you don’t like working out because sometimes I don’t either BUT I still do it! This last week of working out was intense:
Monday
2k rowing
Chest, back and arms lift
Tuesday
30 minute tabata plyometric and weights circuit
20 minutes incline walking
Wednesday
Kettlebell circuit
Burpee-push up pyramid (1-5-1, 2-10-2)
Elliptical 15 minutes
Thursday
Morning Spin/Core class
Lunch Spin class
Leg lift
Friday
Deadly push up/pull up pyramid (1-10-1, 2-20-2) – Perform 1 pull up with 2 push ups going up to 10 and 20 and then back down
500m row
Saturday
NOTHING
Sunday
Spin/Core class
Ok so Wednesday was kind of a goof off day but Thursday and Friday really did me in. And I just am exhausted! There seriously is nothing harder than rowing or doing push ups and pull ups as fast as you can. And two hours of spin on Thursday plus lifting…maybe not the smartest idea. I thought my body was used to teaching two hours of spin but my butt was seriously sore on Friday (and it wasn’t from the saddle either!)!
Try the push up/pull up pyramid and see how long it takes you to finish. I manage to do all the pull ups and push ups (from my toes!) without assistance but it takes me about 25-20 minutes. I’m hoping to get to a point where I don’t have to rest during any of the sets of pull ups!
Push Ups, Pull Ups and Weights
Why do all three of these things tend to be lumped together as fitness activities that women don’t want to do?
Almost every man I see at the gym does at least two of these in any given workout, but rarely do I see women ever even doing one of them! AND on the rare occasion a woman is doing weights or pull ups or push ups, it is always MODIFIED!!! Why are women so afraid to grab double-digit weights? Why won’t they attempt push ups from their toes. Why won’t most women even go near an assisted pull up machine?
It honestly baffles me that women won’t do weights, won’t do push ups, won’t do pull ups. Those are seriously three of the best things you could ever do! Below I list a few reasons why each is good.
Push Ups:
- Are a compound movement using almost all of the muscles of your body. They work your chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abs.
- AND There is NO WAY you will get bulky doing push ups
Pull Ups:
- Are a compound movement using almost all of the muscles of your body. They work your biceps, triceps and shoulders. They also work almost all the muscles in your back and your core!
- AND There is NO WAY you will get bulky doing pull ups
Pull ups and push ups compliment each other well. If you do a compound set of push ups and pull ups you will destroy your upper body and get the lean, toned look most women want! If you aren’t doing these two exercises you are missing out on two of the best ways to get the bikini body you want! Next time you are in the gym, try a push up from your toes. If you do, you will work your abs more!!! Next time you in the gym, try a pull up. You’ll be able to feel just how hard your core is working. Do these two exercises and an extra ab workout each week will be a thing of the past!!!
WEIGHTS!:
It should come as no surprise that I think weights are probably the most wonderful weight loss and fitness tool there is out there. I mean simply put, more muscle equals higher metabolic rate equals you can eat more food and I love food! And a higher metabolic rate is also very helpful if you are trying to lose weight!
Most women turn to cardio to lose weight but weight training is just as important if not more so in being able to get the weight off and KEEP it off.
Women turn to cardio because they are afraid of bulking up. But what makes women look “bulky” is actually having a high percentage of body fat . If you have a high percentage of body fat, your muscles will actually look BIGGER! Fat takes up a lot of space in the muscle making it look bigger. When you lose body fat that intramuscular fat will begin to vanish. So even if you add muscle mass — which is very difficult for women to accomplish — your overall muscle size is probably going to be smaller because the weight lifting will help you lose the fat you have stored in your muscles.
Women are much more likely to “tone up” from the process of strength training than bulk up. Research has shown that women can add 30% (or more!) lean muscle mass to their bodies and end up looking much thinner, feeling much stronger and appearing much firmer than they were before. So you could add 30% more lean muscle to your body and look even more beautiful and feminine than before! So why aren’t you lifting weights?Next time you are in the gym, steal the squat rack from the men, load on the weight to that 45lb barbell and bust out 10 deep squats. Just think about the inches you are losing!
Man Bicep 