Female Athlete Q&A

Way to go, Bron!!

DL opener was a smokeshow!

Congratulations on the win and your qualification for the Worlds! Your deadlift looked fantastic.

Nice way to go Bron! I should totally be DLing near those numbers aqfter so many years of lifting but nope lol and I canā€™t even blame the babies :stuck_out_tongue:

Thank you for the nutrition advice! I think I will try a split like that. I need some fats! Iā€™ve been doing paleo-ish for so long and been so lack with my fats I have so much trouble when I try to go back to a more typical Fitness type diet. And yes I cannot believe Iā€™ve made it to 6 months breastfeeding with gym and all.
Lucky you! My son is a super picky eater and I actually get kinda angry with him when he doesnt eat his meat lol Makes me wonder if heā€™s mine! Haha. Other problem is it turns out he has a milk allergy which sucks. So heā€™s off all dairy which is like you said a good go to thing. Ketchup does work miracles though lol. When I cook my meals I just make them bland because to me their just macros although I do like flavor sometimes its easier to just make simple stuff. So thats where my problem lies. My MIL cooks but the thing is Im super health concious especially when it comes to my babys and I avoid perservatives and MSG and thats stuff she cooks with because she doesnā€™t believe it has an affect on healthā€¦
But Im gonna have to figure something out. I donā€™t work so I try not to complain but Im in school part-time so thats kind of like work lol

I follow Bret Contreras I love love his work so I purchased his e-book called Strong Curves and I am on that program. Iā€™ve been doing lots of hip thrusting and barbell glute bridges etc because my goals now are more asthetics. All I care about is growing my glutes-for just once in my life I want an amazing bikini worthy butt!!! I have to say though since doing them I feel so much stronger in my glutes and its transferred over to my squats and DLs. Its truly an important move I will focus on from now on out. I squatted 135 the other day for 5-6 reps. My sumo DL is around 155-160 for 8 reps. And my bench was 90-100 so I think Iā€™m gaining back strength. I just donā€™t want to get stuck again and If I donā€™t diet Iā€™ll never see my hardwork :stuck_out_tongue:

Like I said Im super tempted to start a journal. I wish I had a workout partner too so I could film some of my lifts.
Well, Bron good luck! Oh and Bret also has a good e-book on getting stronger in those crucial lifts for your meets. I seriously recommend you check him out he really knows his stuff!

[quote]Mighty Matron wrote:
Way to go, Bron!!

DL opener was a smokeshow![/quote]

Thank you! My second lift was 330 but didnā€™t get a video unfortunately, and then I missed my last lift of 341 :frowning:
Iā€™ll get it next time.

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Congratulations on the win and your qualification for the Worlds! Your deadlift looked fantastic.[/quote]

Thank you :slight_smile: It was so much fun, I would recommend any girl who lifts to try a powerlifting meetā€¦ Regardless of how much you lift itā€™s an amazing experience. I am a very competitive person by nature and love to try any new sportā€¦ I absolutely fell in love with powerlifting and Iā€™m looking forward to November.

Iā€™ll be doing a mixed program now, targeting my powerlifting goals but not neglecting my training for figure competitionsā€¦ Itā€™s going to be fun!!

[quote]mma_girl wrote:
Nice way to go Bron! I should totally be DLing near those numbers aqfter so many years of lifting but nope lol and I canā€™t even blame the babies :stuck_out_tongue:

Thank you for the nutrition advice! I think I will try a split like that. I need some fats! Iā€™ve been doing paleo-ish for so long and been so lack with my fats I have so much trouble when I try to go back to a more typical Fitness type diet. And yes I cannot believe Iā€™ve made it to 6 months breastfeeding with gym and all.
Lucky you! My son is a super picky eater and I actually get kinda angry with him when he doesnt eat his meat lol Makes me wonder if heā€™s mine! Haha. Other problem is it turns out he has a milk allergy which sucks. So heā€™s off all dairy which is like you said a good go to thing. Ketchup does work miracles though lol. When I cook my meals I just make them bland because to me their just macros although I do like flavor sometimes its easier to just make simple stuff. So thats where my problem lies. My MIL cooks but the thing is Im super health concious especially when it comes to my babys and I avoid perservatives and MSG and thats stuff she cooks with because she doesnā€™t believe it has an affect on healthā€¦
But Im gonna have to figure something out. I donā€™t work so I try not to complain but Im in school part-time so thats kind of like work lol

I follow Bret Contreras I love love his work so I purchased his e-book called Strong Curves and I am on that program. Iā€™ve been doing lots of hip thrusting and barbell glute bridges etc because my goals now are more asthetics. All I care about is growing my glutes-for just once in my life I want an amazing bikini worthy butt!!! I have to say though since doing them I feel so much stronger in my glutes and its transferred over to my squats and DLs. Its truly an important move I will focus on from now on out. I squatted 135 the other day for 5-6 reps. My sumo DL is around 155-160 for 8 reps. And my bench was 90-100 so I think Iā€™m gaining back strength. I just donā€™t want to get stuck again and If I donā€™t diet Iā€™ll never see my hardwork :stuck_out_tongue:

Like I said Im super tempted to start a journal. I wish I had a workout partner too so I could film some of my lifts.
Well, Bron good luck! Oh and Bret also has a good e-book on getting stronger in those crucial lifts for your meets. I seriously recommend you check him out he really knows his stuff![/quote]

Thank you so much!! You should start a journal! Itā€™s a great thing to do so that you can track your progress and other people can follow it. If you donā€™t have a training partner Iā€™m sure there are lots of people in the gym willing to take a short video for you :slight_smile:

Iā€™m health conscious when it comes to the boys as well but I try to introduce them to a large variety of foods and they get treats here and there as wellā€¦ No food allergies for them luckily. Sounds like your training is going well and youā€™re right about the diet, you can only make so much progress if your diet isnā€™t on track. Have you used any of the Biotest supplements to help you with your goals? They are AMAZING! When you finish breastfeeding and get your regular diet back on track I would highly recommend to try indigo and Se7en (if you havenā€™t already), the fat will be melting off!! I am in love with these, I set a goal infront of my eyes in regards to fat loss and conditioning and Iā€™m reaching these goals so much faster than ever before.

Iā€™ve heard a lot of good things about Bret Contreras and I hope the program will work well for you, it sounds like you are definitely gaining strength backā€¦ Iā€™m sure youā€™ll be back in shape sooner than you think, just keep plugging away at it and youā€™ll reach your goal. Itā€™s not the easiest thing in the world when youā€™re a mother of two and I have major respect for you to be so motivated to get back at it. I canā€™t stress enough how you SHOULD take lots of pictures now because you need to see your starting point or else you wonā€™t be objective to notice the changes that are happening with your body. Youā€™ll want something to look back on. I wish I would have taken more photos but I didnā€™t like how I looked then and wanted to wait until I got back in shape so I regret this now.

Good luck and keep me updated with how everything is going! If you start a journal let me know, Iā€™d love to follow your fitness journey with you!

Looking for a great exercise to add to your leg day? Try elevator squatsā€¦ More like hellevator squats, these are amazing! It burns, it burns!! My legs havenā€™t been so sore in a long time and the extra time under tension is exactly what I needed.

Squat down to the bottom and come back up 1/2way, squat back down and come up 3/4 of the way then squat down and come all the way up to your starting position. (THIS IS ONE REP) Give it a try after you finish your heavy squats. Something like 3 sets x 6-8reps would work.

Looking to build strength in your lower body? Try this for a basic and efficient leg workout.

Video is a little bit long but itā€™s a good example of a leg workout you can try.
Back squat 5 sets x 3 reps and an all out set (I did 225 here which is roughly 85% of my max)
pause back squat with yoke bar 3sets x 8 reps (no hands on bar)
leg press 3 sets x 10 reps
superset: seated hamstring curls & weighted back extension 3 sets x 10-12 reps each.

Hi there,

So glad to see this topic on the site. Iā€™m an experienced lifter in terms of technique and years spent, but I recently graduated college track & field, which for my event was very limited in the kinds of lifts, reps, and the size I could achieve. Now that I can control the workouts I can do, I wanted to try lifting for physique as well as strength (previously I was limited based on body weight vs. level of strength). Iā€™ve been reading a lot about different lifts, but I have seen many conflicting claims about numbers of sets/reps and amount of weight to put on the bar. In addition, Iā€™ve seen only articles on one particular exercise and what combinations to use. Do you have any insights about what kinds of leg workouts to combine with each other in one day, or whether it matters very much what I do together?

[quote]Hoosthatgirl wrote:
Hi there,

So glad to see this topic on the site. Iā€™m an experienced lifter in terms of technique and years spent, but I recently graduated college track & field, which for my event was very limited in the kinds of lifts, reps, and the size I could achieve. Now that I can control the workouts I can do, I wanted to try lifting for physique as well as strength (previously I was limited based on body weight vs. level of strength). Iā€™ve been reading a lot about different lifts, but I have seen many conflicting claims about numbers of sets/reps and amount of weight to put on the bar. In addition, Iā€™ve seen only articles on one particular exercise and what combinations to use. Do you have any insights about what kinds of leg workouts to combine with each other in one day, or whether it matters very much what I do together? [/quote]

Hi there, thanks for posting! Iā€™ll be able to help you better of you can answer a few questions first so I can understand more about you specifically.

First of all, how many day a week are you training now? (And how many days do you want to train? )

what does your current training look like?

What is your main goal? Do you want more emphasis on strength or hypertrophy?

Making lots of PRā€™s this week! Squat 255lbsā€¦ Deadlift 355lbs (video is 345)

Iā€™ve never trained in low rep ranges before(1-10)so Iā€™ve been progressing every week since my programming has changed. I am also doing a lot of accessory exercises that I havenā€™t done before in order to help me with my main lifts.

Right now I am training in order to increase my strength for powerlifting but not neglect my training for physique purposes. I am planning on competing in a figure competition in the spring of 2015 so 2 days a week are still dedicated for my figure trainingā€¦ Mostly consisting of shoulder, back and arm work.

Hi ladies, I am new to this forum. I just wanted to know if anyone have any takes on Fahrenheit (The Metabolism Breakthrough for WomenĆ¢?Ā¢)? I notice that you spoke about the indigo-3G and how great it works, does Fahrenheit also works as great? is anyone taking it now?

[quote]sistab2 wrote:
Hi ladies, I am new to this forum. I just wanted to know if anyone have any takes on Fahrenheit (The Metabolism Breakthrough for Womenƃ?ƂĀ¢?ƃ?ƂĀ¢)? I notice that you spoke about the indigo-3G and how great it works, does Fahrenheit also works as great? is anyone taking it now?[/quote]

A great combo to use is MAG-10, Se7en and Indigo-3G. I do 2-3 protein pulses everyday with the MAG-10, 2 capsules 2x/day of Se7en and 6 caps of Indigo-3G 30min preworkout and my metabolism is through the roof.

I have a fast metabolism naturally but this has significantly increased it. There are a lot of great supplement combinations that I can suggest for you. Aside from increasing metabolism, what are your main goals?

I am not currently taking Fahrenheit but itā€™s also a good choice. If you combine it with a great training program and nutrition plan it can do wonders for your physique in terms of fat loss and overall hardness. It also helps a lot with trouble spots.

Hi Bron,

My nameā€™s Jo and Iā€™m based in London, UK.
Iā€™ve currently returned to weight training after a lengthy period away (3 years) and have started a training log in the forum. Would love for you to have a quick look at my numbers there for training and diet and see what you think. Itā€™s all under the ā€˜Warrioress Trainsā€™ entry.
Your lifts are incredible btw!

[quote]Warrioress wrote:
Hi Bron,

My nameā€™s Jo and Iā€™m based in London, UK.
Iā€™ve currently returned to weight training after a lengthy period away (3 years) and have started a training log in the forum. Would love for you to have a quick look at my numbers there for training and diet and see what you think. Itā€™s all under the ā€˜Warrioress Trainsā€™ entry.
Your lifts are incredible btw!
[/quote]

Hi Jo,

Thank you! Glad to hear youā€™re back to training, I can definitely relate with starting back weight training after a break. My longest breaks were after after having the kids but I felt good getting back in the gymā€¦ Weak and sore but it felt great to be back and everything came back fast.

I will go check out your training log and let you know my thoughts.

Managed to pull 365ā€¦ Goal for November is 405!!

Wow! Thatā€™s awesome! I have a long way to goā€¦

[quote]yesssy wrote:
Wow! Thatā€™s awesome! I have a long way to goā€¦[/quote]

Thank you.

You can do it!!! Just keep trying to improve in every workout and be on top of your diet and supplementation.

In another post you mentioned that youā€™re drinking a shake post workout and havenā€™t tried anything during the workout so I HAVE to suggest that you try Plazmaā€¦ It really is amazing! My workouts have changed dramatically since I started using it as my intra workout nutrition. My training is much more intense now and Iā€™ve made significant gains in strength. You can still have your post workout shake(I always have mag-10post workout), just make sure you calculate the macros so that it fits into your specific requirements.

Itā€™s hard to describe how youā€™ll feel when you take Plazma, I suppose ā€œsuperwomanā€ could work! You just have to try it and youā€™ll know what I mean.

A little video from my workout last night.

pull-ups 6 reps with a 45lb weight (neutral fat grip) & some pulldowns for my last exercise of the day.

As a newbie, I am having problems keeping good form as I add weight. Honestly, even at times when Iā€™m just warming up with the bar if my headā€™s not in the game. I am being encouraged to add weight anyways, but Iā€™m concerned about never developing good form if I do that. Or possibly injuring myself. What are your thoughts? Is it a cop out, or should I be concerned about my form?