WORKOUTS I LOVED THIS MONTH

Again not another lengthy Workout Corner but an interesting one (at least I think so). Before I get into it I would like to state my intentions for my next posting. I am such a ceature of habit. I find what I like and...its a wrap sometimes. For the past few months I have been taking the same classes - mixing up of course but...this city has so many new places popping up. So, I Denise intend to take at least 5 new classes and write about them for next time.

Ok so here we go. I am obsessed with my legs - I may have mentioned it already but...it’s an ongoing thing with me. By no means am I unhappy with my legs but I do have a idea in my head of what I would like for them to look like. Upper body is no problem for me to work on and get results but for some reason the lower body is a little more difficult. As obsessed as I am it’s amazingly hard for me to get motivated to work on them (Oh yeah I too am human). I tend to also do the same things - which is ridiculous because if I am not seeing results then...what the hell am I doing. And I also have a few limitations when it comes to doing legs - I have bursitis in my hips (some exercises can be painful but I know how to modify).

If I had the time (and money) to hire a trainer to help me meet my goals I know I would see changes. For now that’s not an option (but its something I am gonna make happen soon) so I reached out to Niv Zinder to see if he would let me tag along and workout with him on his leg day. Now I realize that he is a man and I’m a woman, our body types are obviously different, metabolism, genetic etc are not the same - I will never have the legs that he has - EVER! Working out with him wasn’t about that - it was more about seeing what other peoples goals are, how they achieve them and to also get some new leg exercises. The workout was great! Very stripped down workouts - nothing fancy - just basic moves. It was kinda awesome.

*Only describing moves that I have never done before and will give a little commentary. I also will only be mentioning the amount of weight I lifted (bar weighs 45lbs) and if I dropped off in the number of reps I did.

NIV ZINDER

www.nzfitness.net

Barry’s Bootcamp, Krav Maga Academy, Personal Training

Reason I wanted to work out with Niv: I take his clases at Barry’s whenever I get the chance and he (and a few others) have one of the most challenging classes - both portions - the floor and especially the treadmill. You can tell he enjoys and is extremely knowledgeable about what he does by his teaching style and also by the way he himself looks.

NIV’s goals: Building mass and getting stronger

WORKOUT: Low reps and high volume of sets. Sometimes Niv includes a stripping set (drop set) at the end of a exercise to shock the muscles - we didn’t do it in this workout though. Workout included 6 exercises - 2 performed back to back - 6 - 8 sets - 10 -12 reps. We also did 2 rounds of a plyo exercise.

Group 1

Front Barbell Squat - barbell stabalized across the clavicle and anterior delts in a clean grip, front rack position with arms parallel to the floor (alternate version: cross arms in front). Heels are elevated onto 10lb plates.

*Most weight I have squatted in a looooooong time. Loved that there was no real way to cheat (not that I would) while doing this version of the squat - felt like my form was on point! Knees sometimes bother me when I do squats - not at all with the Front Barbell Squat. Only thing that bugged big time was my wrists didn’t like this exercise at all. Niv said that it takes a good deal of wrist flexibility and soreness or awkwardness was normal for your first time.

Set 1 - 4 - 55lbs

Set 5- 8 - 65lbs

Calf Raises with hand weights

Set 1 - 8 40lbs

Group 2

Dead Lift with Barbell - Stand with feet about hip width apart. Hold barbell about shoulder width apart. Hinge forward at hip - keeping legs straight (slight bend in the knees if your hamstrings are tight). As you lower flat back forward the barbell should stay realtively close to the fronts of your legs. Once barbell passes the knees bend the knees slightly - let weight plates touch the floor - then extend thru the hips to return to a neutral stance.

*I don’t do Deadlifts all that often but I have never done this version. Wow! First off the Deadlift is one of those exercises that people tend to think only really works your hip extensors but...false it targets multiple muscles - lower back, upper back, abs, forearms, quads, hamstrings and glutes to name a few, Definitely need to start incorporating this exercise into my workouts more often and now I have a new version.

Set 1 - 6 - 65lbs

Knee tucks with bands and Valslides - Wrap band around a pole. Place feet into handles of the band and place feet onto the Valslides. Get into a plank. Draw knees into chest - hold and pulse 3 times - then extend legs back to your plank.

6 sets 10 rep

*Okay totally an ab exercise but I welcomed the break at least for the first 3 sets - the last 3 sets my abs were on fire!!!

Group 3

Reverse Lunges with Barbell

Set 1 - 4 65lbs

TRX 1 Legged Hamstring Curl - Lie on your back facing TRX. 1 heel in the TRX handle - bend at knee. Other leg extended and hovering above the floor. Extend thru the hips to lift the glutes off the floor. Lengthen TRX foot out and then draw heel back to the glute.

4 sets 15 reps each leg

Plyo Set

Broad Jumps and Squat jumps in place - Niv created a harness like contraption out of 2 long bands. Broad jumps forward - 8xs and then Squat Jumps in place - 8xs. 2 rounds of each.

*I so appreciate when trainers/teachers get creative with the equipment that they are given. Even though there weren’t that many reps and we only did it twice - what??? What a way to end. Seriously brutal!

Things I walked away with: Well I already knew that I would walk away with a few new exercise idea - Niv is good for that so...check! The main thing I learned is sometimes you don’t need fancy exercises - keep it simple, keep it basic, so that you are able to focus on form and concentrate on the movement and the muscles that you are using. Also if you trip it we did a total 7 exercises - that was it. We weren’t working out for hours either. So again simple yet effective exercises. I felt good the next day - slightly sore but good - aware of my legs and that I had an awesome workout. The day after that though??? What!!! Thanks so much Niv for the workout, the new exercises and most all for helping me realize that sometimes you gotta take it back to the basics to achieve your goals.