Fitness Question & Answer
I opened a Q&A across my social media channels and am really pleased with some of the questions that I was asked! I love Q&A's as I find that its a chance for people to ask stuff that they wouldn't just ask out of the blue, its a safe space! I hope you enjoy my answers and if you have any of your own then just ask away in the comments or on my social media platforms and I will answer straight away!
What made you want to get into fitness blogging? Question by @physicalboss. www.physicalboss.com
A few years ago, I started to document a lot of my workouts via >> YouTube << whilst on my fitness journey and undertaking my personal training qualifications. This was a good way for me to show other people how to do exercises and to encourage others to weight lift, especially females! I then had a break whilst studying for my MSc degree in Strength and Conditioning so not to focus on something else, and I found that I really missed educating others. I realised while starting my own business called >>Torque Human Performance << within the motorsport industry, that although I loved educating drivers, I really wanted to share my knowledge with the masses. Hence the start of my new blog Lift Heavy Live Healthy. Although I still do the odd YouTube video, I much prefer to write things, and find this a better way to educate people.
How do you keep motivated to workout and what kind of workout would you suggest for someone who hasn't worked out in a while to get back in to it? Question by @everythingmissguided. www.everythingmissguided.wordpress.com
Motivation can be so hard! Especially if you have been out of the gym for a while. My top tip for motivation is to really think about why you want to work out in the first place, and then realise that to get your goals you HAVE to workout out. Then to keep motivated after I realise I need to go, I keep looking at my body goals, keep remembering why I'm doing it (aka. health, or fat loss, or muscle gain etc.) and I come up with a challenge. This challenge should keep you excited, on target and motivated. It also ties in well with getting back in the gym as it gives you a reason to go! A challenge can be something like, "looking 1.5lbs per week and every week that I succeed I put £5 into a pot. At the end of the month or every few months I can go on a shopping spree". It's money you probably would spend anyway but your rewarding yourself by realising how hard you have worked!
As for what workout to do for someone who hasn't worked out in a while; keep it simple. I'm a fan of training a different body part each session, but to start with, stick with simple body weight exercises such as - squats, lunges, planks, burpee's, mountain climbers. This will get your body back into the flow of exercise for the first week but you won't be waddling out of the gym on the first day with tons of pain!
Check out my poolside booty workout below for idea's if your wanting some leg/glute inspiration!
How many times a week do you do cardio? Question by @tammarabbud
Great question, and one that lots of people want to know the answer to! The amount of cardio I do depends on my goals at the time. If I am looking to lose a bit of body fat% I will do about 30mins of uphill walking about 5 times a week after my training sessions. If I am just looking to build lean muscle (my current goal) I will do one session a week of 30 mins up hill walking and then about 10 minutes, 4 times a week after training. I'm not a fan of running, nor am I of cycling so for me walking is as far as it gets! Many people who are looking to build muscle stray away from cardio as they feel it will 'burn their muscle', this is false. It will burn the fat that you have over the muscle and you won't loose size! I don't stress about cardio, if I don't feel up to it, I won't bother. I feel if I have done enough of a weighted workout, cardio won't be necessary, but more a choice.
What are my best leg day workouts? Question by @healthymamanz
When it comes to leg day I am a bit of a boring one because I have my favourite exercises and stick with them! This is really because over time I have worked out what suits my body and what works for ME! I have hypermobility and rotational malalignment of the patella and so some exercises just do not feel right on my legs. Take lunges for example, if I load too heavy I end up with my knee's twisting inwards big time! Below is a link to my blog post that shows photos and explanations of my leg day routine!
What's the best workout for lower abs? Question by Mark via Facebook
Lower abs is a hard one as there is a huge portion of people that believe by ab crunching alone, you will get abs. This is totally wrong. I've previously written a >> blog post << about abs, and I alluded to the fact that you have to lose the layer of fat above in order to see them, and unfortunately diet will become a huge part of this! However, there are exercises you can do to target the lower abs and I will explain my favourite ones to you! I will explain/name them and then put photo examples in a gallery to make it easier!
- The first is the hanging leg raise. This can be quite hard to start with especially if you are not used to doing this, so I would advise starting with knee raises.
- Next is flutter kicks. These are done lying down either on the floor on a bench. You want these to be small quick movements and your legs should be alternating.
- Finally the V-sit/reverse crunch I love. Hold the position for as long as you can and then bring your legs in and out 10 times! It's a killer!
See the photos below for examples. Please note: These are taken from google and I do not own the photographs!
What is your favourite muscle to work? Question by @kateemma_themuachoice www.themakeupartistschoice.com
I will have to say biceps, although I have genuinely had to stop training them so they don't look out of proportion! I used to only train biceps, and I mean literally train only them! I was obsessed! I sometimes treat myself to a decent bicep session and I just love it! It's something about lifting really heavy on arms that I love! My second favourite would be glutes/legs as Its my main focus at the moment so when I see results I just want to train more! I go through stages where I get obsessed with training one body part and have to really focus on following my schedule so that I don't give in! For example a while back I really wanted to improve my delts so I trained shoulders more than any other body part! This way of training is actually really great but you just have to ensure that you have enough recovery time!
Can you recommend some good exercises for limited free weights but no bench? Question by @sharemyyear https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClS2gNn0J7iYsCCTuIL2Kyg
There are so many things you can do with free weights. Lots of people assume that you need a gym to workout but working out at home is just as easy and far more cost effective! Aside from some of the exercises that I have already mentioned (flutter kicks, reverse crunches and the leg stuff in my youtube video and previous blog post) I will also detail some great ones below!
- Standing shoulder press (or kneeling on one knee so to keep your balance and form good)
- Lateral raise standing
- Laying on floor chest press and chest flys
- Oblique crunch with weight
- Standing bicep and hammer curls
- Standing overhead tricep push (just do not arch back)
- Burpees
- Mountain climbers
- Superman (lying face down)
- Stiff leg deadlift
The above are great and will give you a really varied work out. If you are unsure of what any of them mean either youtube/google the name of them or ask me and I will send you a good link!
What is the best way to get a bigger butt? Question by @belmodolars https://casecompany.world/artist/kaart-blanche/?c=EUR
Lift super heavy. Like any muscle, you have to lift heavy in order to achieve hypertrophy. The butt is no exception to that rule! I also think a great way to achieve a bigger butt is to think outside the usual go-to squat exercise. In order to get a round glutes, it is the same as any other muscle, you have to work the different parts of it. I also have a fab tip: Spend a few weeks on rep range 8-10 and then change to rep range 15-20. It is a big step, but by activating different fibres you are able to achieve the maximum results.
Have a look above at the YouTube video and at this glutes >> blog post << and between the two it will be the best way for you to grow it!
Thank you so much for your questions! I will be doing another Q&A soon so please send me over any of your questions!
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