Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Zuzka's Guns & Pistols, BR Lean Day #9, More Booty Workouts, And what would you ask Lisa?

Zuzka has her Guns & Pistols #4 Posted. This was a beginners workout. I actually like it when she does her guns and pistols workouts as beginners because it's very easily modified to make it harder.
Though I'm going to start doing my pistols the way the Garage Warrior from my interview recommended starting in the new year.

Z's 5 minute workout comes tomorrow and I am looking forward to it!

Zuzka also posted a new soup recipe that looks super yummy and not so high in calories. I posted a question on her web-site about the calories in her meaty pizza. I mentioned that the crust alone was over 1500 calories, then the sauce, various cheeses, meat, eggs and oil..... Yikes! Seems WAY too much to me unless you eat once piece, but then you'd still be hungry so what's the point?

Z responded! She said that she doesn't count calories and "because it’s low in carbs, these calories are easier for us to burn with our workouts. Also because it’s high in fat, you’ll eat one small piece and be pretty much full." Maybe SHE would be full, but I wouldn't be - not by a long shot. I do know that higher fat foods are filling, but I think I'd eat the whole thing regardless. LOL. Not many of us have appetite control like Zuzka does. And besides, I thought we used carbs for fuel during exercise? Unless you are in Ketosis, and use fat for energy, carbs is what fuels your workouts. I'm so confused by that statement,

She did an interesting article on comparing types of milks:
https://zuzkalight.com/health-fitness/the-skinny-on-a-few-kinds-of-milk/

She should do the same on different kinds of flour! But here is an article on making your own gluten free flours and when it is best to used the various kinds.
http://marysbusykitchencom.blogspot.com/2012/06/homemade-gluten-free-flour-combinations.html

BR Lean Day #9 is here and I LOVED this day - the workout, the sequencing, the sandbag, the outfit! The only thing I did not like was the sandbag seemed super light. Did you see the way Kelsey cleaned the bag? and pressed it? It looked like a feather. I think she's stronger than that! :)
I loved the 1 legged burpees. She messed up a little with them and admitted it. It was a nice recovery and I'm glad BR didn't edit that out. The more real they come across the more seriously we can take them and want to be part of their community. IMO!
Also, the sandbag swings were not real swings. Swings are a hip hinge motion, not a squat!!!
On the other hand, I love watching Kelsey do her jumps - like the tuck jumps. She is so at ease with these explosive movements.



Freddy has posted on his FB page what we are looking for in the next series of workouts. If you have any thoughts, get over there and post! BR has been very good at bringing what we want. I want more strength, but I think the reason they don't do that as much is - 1. They are known for HIIT, 2. you can't get a lot of people to do heavy weights from home. Most need to go to the gym for that. But MAYBE Lisa or Sean or whomever could do a heavy strength workout from a gym? As a challenge? Maybe as part of Plus? Or maybe they can come up with another way to do it. BR is creative, they should be able to figure it out. :)

The Booty Series on BR continues. And it is stated - all you need is a 10 or 15 lb dumbbell.

I bet many of you can do this move with far more weight than 10 lbs. Not to mention that I can't imagine feeling a difference at all in this move with bodyweight vs. a 10 lb weight. Your glutes are the biggest muscles in the body and using light weights isn't going to stimulate the muscle very much.
But it is a very good booty routine. :)

OK, but then on the other hand BR posted this:

One Leg Hip Thrust 

Set two weight benches parallel to each other. Place your right heel on one of the benches and put your back against the other. Place a barbell across your lap, bend your left knee, and place your left foot flat on the floor. Lean your shoulders on the bench behind your back, and using the power of JUST your left leg, thrust your hips toward the ceiling. Lift until your upper and lower body are extended in a straight line.
The picture they used was not was the description says. I would NOT use weight in the described exercise. Try it and see how hard it is on your glutes and hamstrings without any weight. (Due to the fact it is single leg, the range of motion, the angle used and all of your body weight is used makes this much harder). If you are doing it properly you'd be lucky to get in 12 reps. Then imagine trying to balance a bar across your lap! The correct pic would look like this:

That is the top portion of the exercise, lower hips towards the floor for the bottom portion. Maybe using weighted chains or a hip thruster band could bring added resistance if needed, but I don't know how you would balance a weighted bar.

Last, but no least, on BR's FB page they asked us - if we had ONE question to ask Lisa, what would it be? I find that kind of interesting and pretty cool. What would you ask? I'd ask - WHY all the plastic surgery? Or what are your own workouts like? There were lots of questions about her diet, but if you have their first guide, it is supposed to be about her very own diet - 1500 calories a day. I eat double that! Especially this time of year. :) Even Zuzka said she was eating apple pie for breakfast and that she and Jesse let a little loose during the holiday season. 

Treat yourself this holiday with my eBook. Only 99 cents. :) 



6 comments:

  1. I need to get over my general dislike for burpee-esque exercises, and BR Lean Day 9 workout definitely helped with that... as in I still don't like them but I'll at least do them with a groan instead of not doing them at all lol.

    I have difficulty doing one legged bridges because of my hamstrings - they tend to tense up a bit and it hurrrrrrts horribly. Does anyone else have issue with this? I would love to reap the benefits of the exercise but don't want to hurt :)

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    1. I think I like burpees because I am a yogi and it is a fast version of a sun salutation in a way.
      It is VERY common for the hamstring muscles to cramp when doing bridging work. The stronger your hammies are the less this will happen, but it is hard to strengthen them if they cramp on you. Kind of a double edged sword. Foam rolling the hamstrings, doing some light hamstring work - like bodyweight deadlifts, walking lunges and hip flexor stretches will go a long way to prevent the cramping. Incorporate that when you know you are going to practice single leg bridging and see if that helps.

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    2. Thanks for the tips, Gina. I did some bodyweight deadlifts and walking lunges this morning and will do some stretching this evening. I honestly haven't stretched in a long, long long time so that might be adding to the difficulty. Much appreciated!

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  2. Thank you for introducing the one leg hip thrust thingy! Haven´t seen that before, and I tried it, and ooh-la-la, love! Amazing exercise. I have troubles to really feel my butt muscles when doing the basic hip thrust; I have quads domination, so I start to feel it too much on my quads, however, when I tried this one leg version, it was completely different! Hurray! (I usually do bridge lifts, those I feel always just in the butt area.)

    Lisa eats 1500 kcals/day?! I would not eat that less even though I was trying to lose weight. Noup.

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    1. 1500 calories a day as a ~normal~ intake feels a little too low for me; if I'm dieting to lose weight I try to eat between 1200 and 1500. And I find I go to 1500 because I'm lightheaded from eating only 1200! lol I dunno; I guess if one is eating mainly fruits and vegetables at every every every meal, then I guess 1500 kcals/day is possible... but long-term is tough. I try not to count calories, anyway; just go with what is in my food and eat as simply as possible.

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    2. Glad it helped your Glutes Irene! And I agree with both of you 1500 calories is low. I eat way more than that! :)

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