Thursday

by WP Plugins Pro

by WP Plugins Pro

This week is going very smooth as far as diet and exercise. I started taking a product called Prograde Metabolism and I think it's helping immensely to control my appetite.

I had debated and gone around and around about whether or not to get it but after reading about it for the 100th time I decided it sounded too good not to give it a shot. Any help I can get to reach my body goals by summer. I will stop at nothing.

You are supposed to limit caffeine intake while on it because it can cause sleeplessness, nervousness, irritability and rapid heart rate. I didn't read this until after my first day taking it. I was drinking coffee as usual and I had quite an interesting evening/night. If you can imagine how I've been feeling the last month or so, dealing with pretty much all those symptoms anyway, it was just amplified and it wasn't pleasant. After reading the bottle, I decided to cut out coffee and tea while I'm on this stuff and since doing so I have felt great. I'm hoping to see some changes to my body within 6 weeks.
Fingers crossed.

Yesterday I had a morning appointment so I got to the gym later. And mom had a lunch date so she couldn't go. I didn't mind flying solo yesterday. I tried the glute/ham raise machine again. And after watching serveral videos on youtube, I think I was able to perform the exercise correctly. It is tough! And I think that reassured me that I was, in fact, doing it right. I found another really interesting way to do this exercise. People are so creative!

I want to try it this way next time.

If you are a sprinter or a runner, this is a good one to incorporate into your routine. Read on:

"Many athletes are what is called “quad dominant,” meaning that their glutes and hamstrings are too weak and inactivated to contribute their full share of strength to movements like sprinting and jumping. As a result, the smaller, weaker quads are forced to take over.

No muscles are more important to running and jumping than the glutes and hamstrings. Some experts estimate that for sprinting and jumping, 40% of the power comes from the glutes, and another 25% comes from the hamstrings.

The glute ham raise directly targets these muscles together with the important spinal erectors. Unlike the common hamstring curl and back extension, this exercise works the hamstrings from both ends – extension at the hip and knee.

Training with this exercise has been shown to dramatically improve speed. The NFL’s Adam Archuleta went from running a 4.85 sec to a 4.39 sec 40 yard dash in part by incorporating GHRs as part of his training program while in college.

For me, I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my sprinting speed since I started doing the GHR. Now I often feel like I am smoothly gliding along, my feet “clawing” at the ground like a cheetah!"

That was taken from http://homeworkoutblog.com/improvised-glute-ham-raise-run-faster-on-a-budget/

Now I'm not looking for speed necessarily, although I do incorporate sprints into my workouts because sprinters, in genera,l have some pretty rockin' hams. And that is what I want. Oh, and a lifted booty. *wink wink*

Anyway, I think these moves can't hurt!

Oh, and before I forget, I also read that since hamstrings are mostly fast twitch fibers, adding weight to the eccentric movement is great for development. But since this is a hard exercise to do on it's own, adding weight might prove to be impossible (at least for me). I'll give it a whirl.