Michigan Muscle Boy

Squatting my butt off

To the left is a picture from Monday and an exercise analysis we did to see if our squats were finally getting down.  If you look at the middle of the leg, the answer is yes.  Still not making the top of the leg hurdle (though, we may have done that today).  Scott asked if it was the weight or flexibility.  The answer is flexibility.  I do better with heavier weight.

Today, we did heavy weight again, 80% of 1RM as we did on Monday.  This week has the first two squat sessions at 80% of 1RM.  Friday, we do 85% for 5 sets of 5 reps.  Astonishing.

Next week, we''ll do active rest.  Then, a mixed regimen with some hypertrophy and some max strength.

Pressing engagements — An overview of leg press machines

In response to a request from Scott, Nancy and I have started to produce a leg press series over on Muscle Ventures.  In a humorous side note, this comes after we had adopted Scott's general advice to abandon machines.  We had switched to doing squats and lunges instead of presses because they are more challenging.  That said, we have done leg presses in the past and are likely to return.

squataroo

Scott asks just how we are above parallel when we squat.  Well, we've been working at it.  The teaser pic shows Nancy on one of her efforts.  We've got more pictures and video over at Muscle Ventures.  We'd like your opinion.

The Big Girls Spreads the Floor with the Front Lat Spread

Nancy has posted another exercise analysis with insights into bodybuilding poses.  This time, it's the front lat spread.  What I find interesting in these exercise analyses are her descriptions of the mental images she uses to guide her posing.  It's all very physical and in the moment and yet still guided by imagery.

Also of interest are her descriptions of the physical challenges involved in poses.  The discipline is remarkable.  Posing hurts.

Reverse Biceps Curl (Freemotion)

The Free Motion reverse biceps curl gives you a great range of motion and is a fun substitute for the incline biceps curl that puts more stress on the core for stabilization. There is no back rest to stabilize against, and the separate handles force each arm to work independently.  Nancy and I provide a full analysis of this exercise with setup and potential cheats over on Muscle Ventures.

Smith Machine Behind the Neck Press

We just posted a video analysis of the behind the neck press (rear delt overhead press) over on Muscle Ventures.  We show two different styles of performing the exercise.  This is a good one for addressing the imbalances that often arise between the front and rear delts because the front delts get a lot more work.

Blast from the Past: Nautilus Wide Lat Pull Down

This is not a picture of The Big Girl after over-dieting for her bodybuilding competition.  Rather, it is an anatomical diagram showing the Teres Major, a muscle that is emphasized by the Nautilus Wide Lat Pull Down that Nancy analyzed over on Muscle Ventures today.

One thing I like about bodybuilding regimens is that they tend to generate a variety of exercises for you to try out.  It's fun to change it up.  This exercise can be a nice supplement to pull-ups or inverted rows.

[note:  I called this blast from the past because it has been in inventory for three months.  We sort of forgot about it.  Nice to see it complete.]

Overhead Leg Raises with Medicine Ball

Well, I might die of embarassment, but we've posted an exercise analysis of this rather interesting leg raise over at Muscle Ventures.  This thing gets your full abdominals with a side order of obliques.  You might think of it as a sort of reverse sit up with a twist at the end.

Bridge Plus Knee Tuck with Swiss Ball

Inspired by Blaine Moore's series on the bridge exercise, The Big Girl and I decided to video ourselves attempting this advanced version where you actually tuck your knees with feet balanced on the Swiss Ball.  Perhaps Scott Bird, newly arrived in the land of boxing kangaroos, and forced to resort to the Total Gym 1000 will find some inspiration in this as a low equipment exercise.

This exercise is fun because it is so challenging.  You feel as though you are always about to roll off the ball, and you really work your abs in the process.  Blaine mentions that he is going to try our variation.  I'll be interested to hear how it works out.

Bodybuilding Posing Analysis Series: Side Chest

Nancy is continuing her bodybuilding posing analysis from the point of view of someone who has been there and done it.  Her latest entry is side chest.  The thing I find interesting in these analyses is her detailed description of the muscle contractions and her awareness of her whole body as she does the pose.

As Nancy was preparing for her competition, the thing that amazed me was the extent to which things beyond just weightlifting played a role.  A number of resources give the technical details on the side chest pose, but this is the only one I've seen that gives such a personal account of what the poser actually goes through.