Heavy Hip Thrusting

[quote]Captnoblivious wrote:

[quote]wrx143 wrote:
Haven’t I seen you before? Oh yea, now I remember it was on the cover of several comic books…lol. Seriously, if you are happy with your body, that is all that really counts. I am a big believer in symmetry, so my only comment is NOT to try to go overboard on your upper torso development. To do so will make you appear even shorter up top and IMHO not as attractive. [/quote]

First post? LMAO So you created a profile just to post some weak compliments? This is why you will never have a woman that looks like the OP.[/quote]

Captnoblivious- I appreciate ALL feedback. Don’t be such a douche.

Also, wrx143, thank you for taking the time. Disregard the negativity on this site; there seems to be too much of it. Anywhoo, yeah I have to watch my upper body development. I’ve been becoming a bit obsessed with my delts (as you can see) but I don’t think I’m at the overboard stage yet. Haha.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[quote]johnsonsfd wrote:
Shwiiiing! Yes, very nice. Do one with a double rear bicep. I think your back is strong, but the delt heads really show off on the double-rear pose. I am being totally picky, but I bet you are pretty picky about your physique as well.[/quote]

I haven’t forgotten about this lol I just need to get around to taking some pics!!

I don’t want to sound like a prick but had this been a male, the rating would be 2 with more pictures required.

If this is a “would bang?” poll, then great - rate highly - but if we are rating physique quality then there is not enough shots here to make a determination, and certainly not enough to rate 8+. Look at the quality of male physique which get that score…

[quote]tsantos wrote:
I don’t want to sound like a prick but had this been a male, the rating would be 2 with more pictures required.

If this is a “would bang?” poll, then great - rate highly - but if we are rating physique quality then there is not enough shots here to make a determination, and certainly not enough to rate 8+. Look at the quality of male physique which get that score…[/quote]

So because of the fact that the physique I consider ideal doesn’t entail >8% bodyfat, blocky abs, or danna linn biceps I’m not deserving of a higher rank?? Do you know how hard I’ve had to bust my ass get this 14 inch hip-waist ratio? You obviously don’t, because if you did, you would have given me a little more credit instead of simply casting me into the same lot as every other ‘2’ because I’m not shooting to look like a dude with a wig. Thanks for being fantastic.

[quote]MissHarber wrote:
So because of the fact that the physique I consider ideal doesn’t entail >8% bodyfat, blocky abs, or danna linn biceps I’m not deserving of a higher rank?? Do you know how hard I’ve had to bust my ass get this 14 inch hip-waist ratio? You obviously don’t, because if you did, you would have given me a little more credit instead of simply casting me into the same lot as every other ‘2’ because I’m not shooting to look like a dude with a wig. Thanks for being fantastic.
[/quote]

I don’t think he was berating you or saying that you didn’t work hard or bust your ass for what you’ve done. Clearly you have done a lot of work, and you have made yourself happy with your figure. His point is that this forum is generally a bodybuilding one, and the general guidelines for what entails as a good physique and “deserving of a higher score” is different from what your goals were.

A guy who would be an 8 would be a show ready monster. I have a thread going on here that has a 3.7, I have worked my ass off for what I’ve done so far as well. I came here and received a ton of really good constructive criticism and since then have taken that and taken it as a means to improve. I scored low not because I haven’t put work in and I look bad, but because I haven’t yet met the criteria for what the other members would consider a higher score. So I wouldn’t take his comment personal at all.

[quote]MissHarber wrote:

[quote]tsantos wrote:
I don’t want to sound like a prick but had this been a male, the rating would be 2 with more pictures required.

If this is a “would bang?” poll, then great - rate highly - but if we are rating physique quality then there is not enough shots here to make a determination, and certainly not enough to rate 8+. Look at the quality of male physique which get that score…[/quote]

So because of the fact that the physique I consider ideal doesn’t entail >8% bodyfat, blocky abs, or danna linn biceps I’m not deserving of a higher rank?? Do you know how hard I’ve had to bust my ass get this 14 inch hip-waist ratio? You obviously don’t, because if you did, you would have given me a little more credit instead of simply casting me into the same lot as every other ‘2’ because I’m not shooting to look like a dude with a wig. Thanks for being fantastic.
[/quote]

What would you like? To be marked against the criteria of this forum and (trolls aside) how everyone else is judged to provide a fair and level playing field or by your own set of rules because you want us to be fantastic because you worked really hard? Plenty of guys have freaky biceps…

This ‘rate my physique’ forum was not under the bodybuilding category. It’s its own category altogether. Would I not be considered a bodybuilder regardless? My ‘physique’ goals might be different than that of everyone else, but I’m eating at a caloric surplus and busting ass in the weight room just like you are. Also, the forum rules were made my the members of this site. I see no stipulations in the ‘rules’ for females wanting to post. So, should I have been a ‘regular,’ blocky-ab wanting, shredded as hell female, I would have gone ahead and adhered to your pose guidelines.

The forum rules don’t state that I have to aim for a ‘Danna Linn’ physique (or have one) in order to post. I posted according to my own goals, and posted photos that served to show you how far I’m along with them. Since my goals don’t entail the ‘Danna’ physique, I felt it wasn’t necessary to post according to all the poses that would have been necessary should I have had such a physique.

Let me say that I’m not concerned with rank. I really don’t have much control over that anyway. I just thought y’all might find my different ‘ideals’ and physique interesting and a little bit of a change in scenery. Also wanted to show where my hard work has gotten me. I didn’t aim to prance in here and ‘show my stuff’ by trying to outdo anyone’s rank.

Perhaps there needs to a be a “Rate My Physique” strictly for females on this site. ?? :confused:

First off I wanted to say that from a female perspective I think you look amazing :slight_smile: I’ve got similar aesthetic goals, with an aim of increasing hip/glute measurement and decreasing my waist size. So far I’ve only managed to take an inch off my waist and put an inch on my hips, but the fact that your starting measurements were extremely close to my own has definitely given me some encouragement.

Thank you for posting, because I don’t know if I would have believed your results were even possible without having seen them! If you have any tips on diet or exercise for someone looking to achieve similar results, I’d be extremely grateful if you’d message me :slight_smile:

As far as the suggestion for ab work goes, it seems like you hit your core with the front squats. I’m curious, have you incorporated deadlifts into your program at all? They would similarly engage your core while still focusing on the posterior chain. Simple planks would be a good addition, and maybe weighted v ups since they focus more on the lower abs?

I would definitely place you in the 15-17% category; you’re very lean with some separation between muscles, and I noticed some vascularity in your forearms and obliques. Obviously the part about the hips, buttocks, and thighs having less shape doesn’t really apply in your case, though :slight_smile:

[quote]Knoxout wrote:
First off I wanted to say that from a female perspective I think you look amazing :slight_smile: I’ve got similar aesthetic goals, with an aim of increasing hip/glute measurement and decreasing my waist size. So far I’ve only managed to take an inch off my waist and put an inch on my hips, but the fact that your starting measurements were extremely close to my own has definitely given me some encouragement.

Thank you for posting, because I don’t know if I would have believed your results were even possible without having seen them! If you have any tips on diet or exercise for someone looking to achieve similar results, I’d be extremely grateful if you’d message me :slight_smile:

As far as the suggestion for ab work goes, it seems like you hit your core with the front squats. I’m curious, have you incorporated deadlifts into your program at all? They would similarly engage your core while still focusing on the posterior chain. Simple planks would be a good addition, and maybe weighted v ups since they focus more on the lower abs?

I would definitely place you in the 15-17% category; you’re very lean with some separation between muscles, and I noticed some vascularity in your forearms and obliques. Obviously the part about the hips, buttocks, and thighs having less shape doesn’t really apply in your case, though :slight_smile:

[/quote]

I actually stopped front squatting. :o Haha. I don’t really mention this a lot (I guess I don’t really think about it often) but the one thing that I have always done for abs is a constant stomach vacuum. Tnation has a pretty good article on it- The Best Exercise for a Smaller Waist …I’ve basically done this all my life, so I’m sure my tva is in pretty good condition. I don’t like to work my core because it just adds inches to my midsection, and I’m pretty happy with my current ab standing. About 6 years ago I used to do martial arts and would do ab work just about every day. My waist measurement was about 26, and I was probably a bit leaner back then. Since avoiding direct ab work, I’ve found that my waist has shrunk down. It’s up to you if you want the extra ab work. If your main goal is a pronounced hip-waist ratio, avoid it. If you’re okay with substituting a few inches on your waist for some better ab development, do so. Up to you. :slight_smile:

I don’t deadlift at all. I’ve tried just about every variation of deads, and I feel it in my lumbar with all of them (I have really long legs and a short torso, and it’s hard for me to get into the neutral position so I don’t lift with a rounded lumbar). I find that I hit my glutes and hammies a lot better with my other lift, so there’s no need for me to waste time and energy on a lift that’s semi-effective when I could be focusing on what I find to be the extremely effective lifts (like hip thrusts, ppt back extensions, kick backs).

As far as diet is concerned, I try to eat organic when I can. The less processed, the better. My main staples are organic peanut butter, raw honey, eggs, meat (chicken, beef sometimes), central markets organic cinnamon raisin bread, non-homogenized milk (for coffee only) organic coconut sugar (for coffee only, as well), fruits, veggies (get creative here, potatoes, kale, spinach, tomatoes, zuccini, etc.) and crushed up hemp seed. Of course I didnt list everything, but you get the idea. I don’t take any supplements or protein powder (that crap is so processed, and you’re getting a nice dose of estrogen with every scoop of soy protein isolate you take, and estrogen is bad news for hypertrophy, and just about every whey and creatine blend is also mixed with some awesome chemicals [check the ‘other ingredients’ list]).

Check out Bret Contreras for some good glute articles and info. He has a few articles on T-Nation but it would be best to go to his main site.

Very motivational Missharber. I was wondering if you could perhaps help me out a little bit?

I’m helping my girlfriend train right now, but I’m having a hard time as I’ve never focused on women’s training much before. I ask because her body structure is very similar to yours. she’s 5’4, has a short torso, and relatively long legs. Right now she’s doing Waterbury’s sexy female training to lean out as she’s currently somewhere in the 20-25% bf range, and then I pan to move her to Bret Contreras’ Strong curves routine in about 3 months. What kind of routine did you use to get to where you are, or got the best results from?! I know this is asking a lot to dive into your routine, but she’s just so damn motivated to make a change and frankly I’m struggling to keep up programming-wise.

[quote]TX iron wrote:
Very motivational Missharber. I was wondering if you could perhaps help me out a little bit?

I’m helping my girlfriend train right now, but I’m having a hard time as I’ve never focused on women’s training much before. I ask because her body structure is very similar to yours. she’s 5’4, has a short torso, and relatively long legs. Right now she’s doing Waterbury’s sexy female training to lean out as she’s currently somewhere in the 20-25% bf range, and then I pan to move her to Bret Contreras’ Strong curves routine in about 3 months. What kind of routine did you use to get to where you are, or got the best results from?! I know this is asking a lot to dive into your routine, but she’s just so damn motivated to make a change and frankly I’m struggling to keep up programming-wise.[/quote]

The fact that she’s so motivated is awesome. If I were her, I’d focus on progressive overloading with hip thrusts, posterior pelvic tilt back extensions, and kick backs (donkey kicks) on the smith machine. Make sure she doesn’t overdo the cardio or eat at a caloric deficit once she begins lifting. (Since she’s leaning out right now, she will be in the caloric deficit mode. Make sure she doesn’t stay in that mode once she hits the weight room). Since she has crappy levers for squatting like I do, I wouldn’t recommend them. (I usually wouldn’t recommend them as a glute lift anyway, but for someone with normal levers, I’d suggest executing a few sets here and there for muscle damage [soreness] since they stretch the glutes through a full rom. Now don’t worry- muscle damage has been shown to be the least important of the 3 indicators of hypertrophy, with the two most important being metabolic stress and mechanical tension [both of which she can achieve through hip thrusting and ppt back extensions {she will still stretch the glutes through a good rom with these, as well}]).

I’d have her focus on the three lifts I mentioned above, particularly the hip thrust. Progressions with this lift come quick since it’s a relatively easy lift to master and you’re not limited by your spine, as is the case
with squats and deads.

Let me just say that Bret Contreras is THE man. Without him I would probably not have my current physique. He knows his stuff, so don’t hesitate to follow his programs.

Also, tell your girl to keep her motivation. It has taken me a good year and a half to get where I’m at, so tell her to keep at it. I advise you to look up Bret Contreras and to read his articles. He has some good ones on progressive overload and things that beginning lifters should know. I personally think every lifter (even advanced lifters) should read them, as they contain some very good info. Also, sift through TNations articles. There’s some good bits of info there, as well. :slight_smile:

[quote]TX iron wrote:
Very motivational Missharber. I was wondering if you could perhaps help me out a little bit?

I’m helping my girlfriend train right now, but I’m having a hard time as I’ve never focused on women’s training much before. I ask because her body structure is very similar to yours. she’s 5’4, has a short torso, and relatively long legs. Right now she’s doing Waterbury’s sexy female training to lean out as she’s currently somewhere in the 20-25% bf range, and then I pan to move her to Bret Contreras’ Strong curves routine in about 3 months. What kind of routine did you use to get to where you are, or got the best results from?! I know this is asking a lot to dive into your routine, but she’s just so damn motivated to make a change and frankly I’m struggling to keep up programming-wise.[/quote]

I second MissHarber, Contreras has some awesome stuff. I just started trying out his Strong Curves program a few weeks ago and I’m liking it so far. I started with the advanced workout instead of the beginner one since I’ve been lifting for a little while now, but if your girl is just getting into it then the beginners workout would be a better place to start :slight_smile: The book has a lot of technical information regarding muscle activation and very good explanations of each exercise included. I highly recommend it.

Thank you very much for the advice MissHarber! I’ll have her slowly incorporate the exercises you’ve mentioned. Good call on squats, she’s always looked so awkward doing them. Are you typically using more frequency or volume in your approach? and is upper body more just accessory work? Looking at your results, I’m going to have her train her TVA very frequently, which seems to have really helped a lot in slimming your waist. Glad we’re going in the right direction w/ Contreras!

And thanks for the second Knoxout, it’s good to know that several people are having success with the path we have planned. I wouldn’t say she’s new to lifting. The problem is that I bought into the whole “women should train like men philosophy”, and we did the same routine, which gave us similar results obviously; which she wasn’t fond of. I realized she needed a routine designed for women. I may start her on the advanced routine d/o her progression, and if she seems to develpo a good enough mind muscle connection with the glute work she’s currently doing. The only possible issue I saw with strong curves is the sit-ups and side sit-ups? I was thinking of tossing those for some TVA work and more isometrics. Any thoughts?

[quote]TX iron wrote:
Thank you very much for the advice MissHarber! I’ll have her slowly incorporate the exercises you’ve mentioned. Good call on squats, she’s always looked so awkward doing them. Are you typically using more frequency or volume in your approach? and is upper body more just accessory work? Looking at your results, I’m going to have her train her TVA very frequently, which seems to have really helped a lot in slimming your waist. Glad we’re going in the right direction w/ Contreras!

And thanks for the second Knoxout, it’s good to know that several people are having success with the path we have planned. I wouldn’t say she’s new to lifting. The problem is that I bought into the whole “women should train like men philosophy”, and we did the same routine, which gave us similar results obviously; which she wasn’t fond of. I realized she needed a routine designed for women. I may start her on the advanced routine d/o her progression, and if she seems to develpo a good enough mind muscle connection with the glute work she’s currently doing. The only possible issue I saw with strong curves is the sit-ups and side sit-ups? I was thinking of tossing those for some TVA work and more isometrics. Any thoughts?[/quote]

If you haven’t bought the book yet, I would HIGHLY recommend it. As I mentioned, it has a ton of useful information on how to properly execute exercises and how to properly engage your glutes. It’s easy to substitute out exercises because he lists them all in an index at the end in different sections (ex. linear core, glute dominant, isolation, etc) and you can just substitute another exercise if you feel like it. Generally I sub out sit ups for something like weighted v ups, extensions, or rkc planks. There aren’t a whole lot of sit ups in the advanced program, though.

Gracias for the insight. I feel as though it will soon be on my bookshelf!

[quote]TX iron wrote:
Thank you very much for the advice MissHarber! I’ll have her slowly incorporate the exercises you’ve mentioned. Good call on squats, she’s always looked so awkward doing them. Are you typically using more frequency or volume in your approach? and is upper body more just accessory work? Looking at your results, I’m going to have her train her TVA very frequently, which seems to have really helped a lot in slimming your waist. Glad we’re going in the right direction w/ Contreras!

And thanks for the second Knoxout, it’s good to know that several people are having success with the path we have planned. I wouldn’t say she’s new to lifting. The problem is that I bought into the whole “women should train like men philosophy”, and we did the same routine, which gave us similar results obviously; which she wasn’t fond of. I realized she needed a routine designed for women. I may start her on the advanced routine d/o her progression, and if she seems to develpo a good enough mind muscle connection with the glute work she’s currently doing. The only possible issue I saw with strong curves is the sit-ups and side sit-ups? I was thinking of tossing those for some TVA work and more isometrics. Any thoughts?[/quote]

Yeah, I actually use a good amount of volume (with hip thrusting). I keep my other lifts at 3-4 sets of 8, but not with hip thrusting. I do that first and do 8 sets of 8. My hip thrusting sets usually looks like this-

Warm up set of 8 with no weight, just really focusing on form…

Heavy
8 at 315 (or 325, if I’m feelin it)
8 at 305
8 at 295

Mid
8 at 275
8 at 245
8 at 225

Light
8 at 185
8 at 135

Then, near the end of my workout, I’ll do another 3 sets of 8 of hip thrusts starting at 225, then 185, then 135. I really focus on form and time under tension with these sets. My ass is usually burning so badly that I can’t sit down.

PERFECT BODY GOOD WORK!!

Thank you very much for the look into your training! You’ve given me a lot to think about.

I suggest doing hip thrusts in different rep ranges to work all the muscle fibers. I believe the glutes are something like 55% fast twitch and 45% slow twitch.

I use a tempur=pedic like pillow in addition to the bar pad, otherwise it hurts too much.


Honestly you should try to be more like her