When it comes to the larger muscle groups like back and legs, you see too often people going through the motions, not training with the same intensity that they do for their chest or arms for men or women getting too creative thinking some different exercise they saw on IG from a fitness influencer is going to be the difference they never knew about. I do think sometimes changing your routine could be a shock to the muscle that you need but most importantly especially when people are increasing the weight I think they lose form and control. The number one thing I preach is to force the contraction and control the resistance because if the muscle isn’t engaged the whole time, you are losing tension and losing stimulation! I always say if it’s burning it’s working and really the only way to feel the burn is to control the eccentric portion of the exercise. I feel I remind people of this daily and we (myself included) are all guilty of forgetting this at times and just moving the weight then I remind myself to ”SLOW THE F DOWN” if I don’t feel it where I’m trying to then it’s not working! So, stay focused and controlled making sure you are squeezing the muscle as hard as you can before controlling the resistance and I promise you will get sore in the muscle but the aches and pains in tendons and joints from just heaving weight up and down won’t be what you are feeling, so as you get older you can thank me later.
I know it gets confusing with all the information out there now adays but the tried-and-true exercises that have been around forever will always be the main staple of any routine so focus on those and when adding in a new exercise make sure to focus and see if it’s a beneficial exercise for you as an individual.
For leg/glute development especially for women sure it’s alright to do your glute kickbacks and glute bridge/hip thrusts but don’t neglect your squats, Bulgarian split squats and single leg lunges which bias the glutes a lot more through more of a full range of motion. I always like to start off leg day with a hamstring exercise which makes the squatting a lot springier and more comfortable with some blood in the hamstrings.
Stay tight and controlled focusing on every rep, squeezing and resisting
Remember when training it’s not always about getting creative with exercises that makes the most difference it all boils down to effort, working and feeling it as hard as you can, focusing on the muscle and the area of the muscle you are trying to develop and then making sure you are taking in quality nutrients and supplements to aid in recovery and growth until you beat that muscle up again! Every workout should benefit you for the next workout and if you aren’t progressing then lighten things up, focus on the feeling again then increase weight when you can, it’s all just a vicious cycle on your road to your best gains and your best body possible!
Other things to remember that can help with recovery and growth is intra workout nutrition. Sipping on nutrients that your stomach doesn’t have to digest therefore not pulling blood from the muscle to the kidneys to aid in digestion is very important.
Here is my intra workout stack from Allmax Nutrition that has made a world of difference in my endurance, pump, growth, and recovery.
I mix all of these ingredients in about 40 ounces of water and sip on it throughout my whole workout which tastes amazing and keeps my energy 100%!
