Squat and Lunge for a Bigger Butt…Myth or Reality?
So a friend of mine posted a pic of a young woman who was a volleyball player and said: “Squats and Lunges.. Oh My!” My first response was that squats and lunges will not help a woman gain a bigger butt. THIS IS A MYTH!!! The issue is that women are being told by other fitness professionals, friends, men, etc. that if they do a bunch of squats and lunges that their butts will grow.
A WOMAN’S BUTT IS GENETICS PURE GENETICS THERE ISN’T ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY ABOUT IT!!
I have come across women who have even said that eating cornbread will help them get thicker in all the right places.
NOW let’s get down to it. Every woman wants a nice, tight, lifted, somewhat firm butt but the only way to achieve that is with a few exercises and my favorite one is the squat which is a compound exercise. Not only does the squat target: glutes and hamstrings BUT you can actually help your core and develop abs. Believe it or not but squats causes you to activate your core to help stabilize you throughout the entire range of motion.
NOW onto lunges. Lunges are a great exercise. I personally hate them at times because after training legs I don’t like to do these last. The lunges target: glutes, quads, hamstrings, hips, and abs ALL AT ONE TIME. The good thing about lunges is that you can do them various ways: lateral, reverse, forward, walking, single leg, etc.
So to those knuckleheads who keep telling you that your butt will get bigger laugh at them. Don’t be discouraged because it won’t grow but you better work with what you have and get it right and get it tight.
Here are some BASIC exercises that you can do to help your butt:
Leg Press
Leg Lifts
Lunges
Dumbbell/Kettlebell Squat (progress to free weight squat)
Cable Squat
Jump Squat
Walking Lunges
Time to face the facts it was all a MYTHTweet
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THE BIG ONE………
After this competition I have decided that I will be taking a break. A much needed break. One of the main reasons is to rehab my knee. The pain is only getting worse. Another reason I am taking a break is because competing is expensive and when you don’t really, truly have a disposable income you have to look at the bigger picture which is for me to find another job or 2 which would turn into 3 jobs. Yes, I know it will be hard but it’s something that I have to do.
I’m also taking a break to try and focus more on marketing myself better. I know most of you are like: “Why isn’t she sponsored?” Well companies look at marketability. If you aren’t marketable they don’t really care. Sad, but TRUE. I wish I was sponsored because it would take a lot of load off of my shoulders. But those of you that compete know how expensive things can get.
So the next mission I may take on is going back to track and field and sprinting again. Track and field has always been my first love and I miss it a lot. I haven’t completely given up on competing but at this moment in my life it’s not something that I can continue to afford to do.
Don’t make that face just know that I need this time to get better and make things better for myself. So with all of this being said I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT, WELL WISHES, THOUGHTS, PRAYERS, ETC. None of it goes unnoticed just continue to pray for me and stay tuned cause I’m not finished yet.Tweet
Crunch Time
Since I have less than 4 weeks to go til Contra Costa Figure. I figured I would let you all in on the playlist I use to get me through the last few weeks of my training and those LONG, BORING cardio sessions.
In no specific order:
Ace Hood- My Speakers
Ace Hood- Check Me Out
Young Jeezy- Nothing
Young Jeezy- Supa Freak
Young Jeezy- Waiting
Young Jeezy- Way Too Gone
Young Jeezy- Mr. 17.5
Young Jeezy- Put On
Young Jeezy- Flexin
Young Jeezy- Win
Ace Hood- Yuup
Ace Hood- Free My N****s
Ace Hood- Check Me Out
Jadakiss- Allergic To Losing
Jadakiss- Stay Hatin’
Young Jeezy- Ballin’
Young Jeezy- Count It On The Floor
Young Jeezy- Trap Star
Young Dro- Shoulder Lean
Young Dro- Presidential
Wale- Ambition
Wale- Slight Work
Petey Pablo- Get Low
Tyga- I’m Faded
Tyga- Heisman
Travis Porter- Chevrolet
Travis Porter- Where My Money
Travis Porter- Bring Yo Team
Travis Porter- I Put On A Show
Travis Porter- Sunshine On Me
T.I.- Amazing
T.I.- Pissin’ On Your Ego
T.I.- Who, What, When
T.I.- What Up What’s Happnin
T-Pain- Motivated
Slim Thug- Thug
Rick Ross- 9 Piece
Rick Ross- Push It
Rick Ross- Stay Schemin’
Paramore- Born For This
Linkin Park- New Divide
P2TheLA- Chicken & Waffles
Outkast- Chronometrophobia
Outkast- Elevators
Maino- All The Above
Locksmith- Little Bunny Rabbit
Locksmith- Rare Form
Korn- Coming Undone
Joe Budden- Pump It Up
Joe Budden- 10 Minutes
Future- Name Hold Weight
Future- If You Knew What It Took
Waka Flocka Flame- Hard In Da Paint
Fabolous- Wolves In Sheep Clothing
Berner- Yoko Ono
Billy Blue- When You Hood You Good
Big Sean- F**k My Opponent
Big Sean- Meant To Be
Big Sean- Desire, Want, Need
Big Boi- Shutterbug
3X Krazy- Hatin On A Playa
3X Krazy- Big Body Benz
3X Krazy- Keep It On The Real
RBL Posse- Blue Bird
OK, OK, OK, this list can go on and on because it is about 80+ songs total that I go through. But here is just a little bit.Tweet
REVIEW: 8 Hour Energy
So I had received an email in regards to a product called 8 Hour Energy and mind you I’ve never even heard of it before until I received the email, so I figured I would give it a try. When I received the package inside I received 8 Hour energy shots and 8 Hour Energy pills. So one day I tried the shot and it had the worst taste EVER!! It tasted like medicine and I’m not really a big fan of Acai either. But to be honest I didn’t really have the energy that I thought I would have if anything I was tired and I thought I would get an extra boost but nothing.
Now the 8 Hour Energy pills didn’t really do much for me either. I had a quick boost but that fizzled off fast. Me personally I wouldn’t try this again because I didn’t have one ounce of energy.Tweet
Time To Stretch Out
I know you’re constantly hearing about how important stretching is. Well stretching is an important part of training because it helps with your recovery. But I’m not going to get into the scientific part just yet. This is ALL ABOUT the different types of stretching. I will list them and then go into detail about each one. Hope you’re ready 
- Active
- Dynamic
- Myofascial
- PNF aka Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
- Static
ACTIVE STRETCHING means to hold a stretch with no assistance from anything other than the opposing muscle/s. Active stretching allows the tension of the agonists in an active stretch to relax the muscles that you’re stretching by reciprocal inhibition. I know you’re thinking what is reciprocal inhibition. Reciprocal inhibition is when the antagonistic muscles are inhibited from contracting. Active stretching is usually seen in yoga.
DYNAMIC STRETCHING is when you are moving parts of your body that allow you to reach your limits in your range of motion. It’s perfect for warming up for an aerobic workout. Some examples of dynamic stretching would be: leg swings, butt kicks, high knees, arm swings, etc. You usually see this type of stretching in sports or in aerobics classes. You don’t have to be in aerobics classes to perform this type of stretching. I prefer this type of stretching when warming up for my training sessions.
MYOFASCIAL STRETCHING is defined as: Of or relating to the fascia surrounding and separating muscle tissue. To make this easier to understand we will just call this “foam rolling” because in a sense that is basically what it is. You can use lacrosse balls, tennis balls, softballs, tennis balls, etc. INCLUDING the foam roller as a way to roll out your muscles. You can do this anytime. I do this preferably after I train because I used dynamic stretching to get me started. Once you’re able to give yourself your own deep tissue massage you feel so much better. I know I do I even get crazy looks when I’m moving up and down a wall because of the lacrosse ball that I am running across my back. It hurts but it’s worth it in the end.
PNF STRETCHING AKA PROPRIOCEPTIVE NEUROMUSCULAR FACILITATION is a combination of passive and isometric stretching. This type of stretching requires a partner. I personally like this type of stretching because at times I get lazy and would rather someone stretch me so I can get the type of stretch that I need. Example: Hamstrings..I will use hamstrings because mine are usually so tight you can strum them as if they were guitar strings. So what happens is I will have someone take either one of my legs and have them take me to my first limit which sometimes isn’t even 90 and what happens is I will push my leg into their hand for about 10 seconds and when I finally relax they move my leg a little bit further and I will repeat the first step. I enjoy PNF stretching because after it’s all done IT FEELS SO GOOD!
STATIC STRETCHING is just how it sounds. Stretch a muscle to the point of feeling the stretch but you’re still comfortable. Hold it for 5-10 seconds then relax and repeat. Static stretching is used after a workout, the reason being is that it helps the muscles recover in an elongated state and helps increase flexibility.
I hope that I didn’t bore you just wanted to give you some information on the different types of stretching and just keep you all in the loop.
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Want Tips for the Perfect Midsection???
I follow Jamin Thompson on Twitter: @jaminthompson He’s funny and knows his stuff. So when he tweeted a link to download: “The 6 Pack Secret” I couldn’t resist. So I downloaded this free pdf as well as read it while doing cardio the other morning. And to be honest I agreed with the majority of everything he said about how to get that sexy defined stomach. Unfortunately he doesn’t have the magic pill and neither do I BUT these tips were very helpful.
My favorites were:
#5 Don’t Put Abs on a Pedestal
#9 Avoid Starvation Diets
#12 Frequency, Intensity, Rest
#13 Prioritize by Goals
#18 Don’t Kid Yourself
#20 Train Your Entire Body
#66 Do Squats (I tell people this all the time!! It really works)
#94 Train Abs 2-3 Times Per Week (Train abs like the rest of your body! You don’t train legs 7 days a week why train your abs the same way? Abs need rest too!)
#95 Drink Water (I drink 1- 1/2 gallons a day)
Below is the link to this amazing book full of tips and I recommend this to anyone.
http://perfectbodyrx.com/2012/01/22/101-tips-to-get-six-pack-abs-pdf-bonus/
Also check out his website: www.perfectbodyrx.com
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Today the Stairs Were NOT My Friend
I was finally able to do legs again today after giving my knee some much needed rest. So today I tackled it head on maybe a little too fast lol. Here is what I did today. Try it if you like
Deadlifts from a deficit with rear foot elevated: 4 x 15 @ 205
Lying Hamstring Curl: 4 x 15 @ 65
Good Morning: 4 x 15 @ 75
Leg Extensions (warm up set): 5 x 25 @ 40
Goblet Squat: 4 x 20 @ 55
Leg Press: 4 x 20 @ 365
Walking Barbell Lunges: 4 x 20 steps @ 65
Finished that off with some stretching to help the process! OMG let me tell you that my legs were completely DONE!! So done that I should’ve taken the elevator but I didn’t lol
Time for bed I have 5:30am Cardio and back to back clients in the morning!! Tomorrows training will consist of Shoulders, Calves, and Abs #BoulderShoulders #TeamMouseTweet
EPIC FAIL and It’s Only The First Week of 2012…
The reason for my EPIC FAIL is because I said that I would only have caffeine once a week. WELL I was almost there but I gave in and had a Rockstar…HUGE MISTAKE because my stomach hurt so bad after drinking that crap. What I don’t understand if the serving size is 8oz. WHY are you selling it in a 16oz. can? I can’t close the can once it’s opened.
I swear I have got to kick this whole caffeine thing. Don’t get me wrong I miss my 3-4 shots of espresso in my Caramel Macchiato but I can’t allow myself to rely on that for energy all the time. I would love to try a new pre-workout but I haven’t found one that isn’t CRACK IN A CUP!! I don’t want to feel like I’m Tyrone Biggums while I workout. *insert corny laugh here*
Any suggestions on a good pre-workout? If it has beta-alanine that’s a HUGE PLUS!!!Tweet
MY G-D KNEEE!!!!
UGH!!! I rest and get back into it and I’m back on my butt. Some of you know that I have this nagging issue with my knee called: Synovial Plica
Synovial Plica is basically when the plica is inflammed due to irritation caused by repetitive movements such as for me: leg extensions, running, etc. This is basically an overuse injury.
What I honestly hate about dealing with this is that my knee swells up and it hurts. *insert sad face here* I have to use KT Tape on my knee and it stays on for 5 days and I can even take a shower and it stays on.
This injury can keep me sidelined for about a week because I’m constantly on the go and never really sitting down so me resting is almost a thing of the past. But I can’t let this stop me from getting ready for my next show.
So all I can do at this point is take Tylenol, ice my knee, and keep it pushing. Time waits for no one and time isn’t really on my side at this point.Tweet
New Year and NEW GOALS!!!
We all talk about having resolutions but I have goals! So I’m going to share with you my goals for 2012 and as I accomplish them I will cross them off the list and keep you all updated….
- Coffee and/or Caffeine once a week
- Get to the Arnold for my 26th Birthday
- Compete in the Ronnie Coleman Classic March 31
- Compete in the Contra May 5
- Have a cheat day/meal no more than 2x a month
- Get a web designer
- Purchase 2-3 figure suits
- DODGE CHALLENGER SRT-8 aka My BATMOBILE
- Train more people
- Upload more videos to YouTube
- More photoshoots
- Travel to different states and countries
- Workout with some of you
Just because it’s a new year don’t continue with the same habits that you had last year. Leave last year’s habits behind and create new habits that will benefit you in the long run. What are some of your goals for 2012?Tweet
