Welcome to Week 4 Day 25 of our 4 Week Workout Program.

This is the twenty fifth day of our training program, and it’s shoulders, booty, legs and calves time.

I want you to really focus on the squeeze whenever your doing a rep, to really get the most out of every exercise. You’ll want to squeeze the muscle at the top of the movement (aka the “contraction phase”), as this will force more blood into the muscle fibers and result in significantly greater muscle growth.

It is also important for you to focus on the negative contraction of the rep (the “negative phase” of the rep), which is when the muscles are being lengthened or stretched. These “negatives” cause even greater degrees of micro-trauma than the contraction phase and will allow your muscles to grow even faster.

In summary, pay attention to both stages of your reps. The slower and more controlled each rep is, the better results you’ll get. Have fun at the gym, lovelies.

Today we’ll be doing:

• Side Lateral Raise
• Standing Front Dumbbell Raise Over Head
• Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise
• Leg Extensions
• Seated Leg Curl
• Seated Calf Raise
• Calf Press on Leg Press Machine
• Optional: Tabata (aka HIIT cardio)

Below you can find the number of sets and each exercise’s description.

SIDE LATERAL RAISE

2 warm-up sets, 3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Pick a couple of dumbbells and stand with a straight torso and the dumbbells by your side at arms length with the palms of the hand facing you. This will be your starting position.
2. While maintaining the torso in a stationary position (no swinging), lift the dumbbells to your side with a slight bend on the elbow and the hands slightly tilted forward as if pouring water in a glass. Continue to go up until you arms are parallel to the floor. Exhale as you execute this movement and pause for a second at the top.
3. Lower the dumbbells back down slowly to the starting position as you inhale.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

STANDING FRONT DUMBBELL RAISE OVER HEAD

3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing your thighs.
2. Keep your arms straight with a slight bend at the elbows but keep them locked. This will be your starting position.
3. Raise the dumbbells in a semicircular motion to arm’s length overhead as you exhale.
4. Slowly return to the starting position using the same path as you inhale.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

SEATED BENT-OVER REAR DELT RAISE

3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Place a couple of dumbbells looking forward in front of a flat bench.
2. Sit on the end of the bench with your legs together and the dumbbells behind your calves.
3. Bend at the waist while keeping the back straight in order to pick up the dumbbells. The palms of your hands should be facing each other as you pick them. This will be your starting position.
4. Keeping your torso forward and stationary, and the arms slightly bent at the elbows, lift the dumbbells straight to the side until both arms are parallel to the floor. Exhale as you lift the weights.
5. After a one second contraction at the top, slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

LEG EXTENSIONS

4 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. For this exercise you will need to use a leg extension machine. First choose your weight and sit on the machine with your legs under the pad (feet pointed forward) and the hands holding the side bars. This will be your starting position. Tip: You will need to adjust the pad so that it falls on top of your lower leg (just above your feet). Also, make sure that your legs form a 90-degree angle between the lower and upper leg.
2. Using your quadriceps, extend your legs to the maximum as you exhale. Make sure that the rest of the body remains stationary on the seat. Pause a second on the contracted position.
3. Slowly lower the weight back to the original position as you inhale, ensuring that you do not go past the 90-degree angle limit.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of times.

SEATED LEG CURL

4 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and sit on the machine with your back against the back support pad.
2. Place the back of lower leg on top of padded lever (just a few inches under the calves) and secure the lap pad against your thighs, just above the knees. Then grasp the side handles on the machine as you point your toes straight and ensure that the legs are fully straight right in front of you. This will be your starting position.
3. As you exhale, pull the machine lever as far as possible to the back of your thighs by flexing at the knees. Keep your torso stationary at all times. Hold the contracted position for a second.
4. Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

SMITH MACHINE CALF RAISE

3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Place a block or weight plate below the bar on the Smith machine. Set the bar to a position that best matches your height. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, step onto the plates with the balls of your feet and place the bar on the back of your shoulders.
2. Take the bar with both hands facing forward. Rotate the bar to unrack it. This will be your starting position.
3. Raise your heels as high as possible by pushing off of the balls of your feet, flexing your calf at the top of the contraction. Your knees should remain extended. Hold the contracted position for a second before you start to go back down.
4. Return slowly to the starting position as you breathe in while lowering your heels.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

CALF PRESS ON THE LEG PRESS MACHINE

3 sets of 15 reps
30 seconds of active rest in between sets

1. Using a leg press machine, sit down on the machine and place your legs on the platform directly in front of you at a medium (shoulder width) foot stance.
2. Lower the safety bars holding the weighted platform in place and press the platform all the way up until your legs are fully extended in front of you without locking your knees. (Note: In some leg press units you can leave the safety bars on for increased safety. If your leg press unit allows for this, then this is the preferred method of performing the exercise.) Your torso and the legs should make perfect 90-degree angle. Now carefully place your toes and balls of your feet on the lower portion of the platform with the heels extending off. Toes should be facing forward, outwards or inwards as described at the beginning of the chapter. This will be your starting position.
3. Press on the platform by raising your heels as you breathe out by extending your ankles as high as possible and flexing your calf. Ensure that the knee is kept stationary at all times. There should be no bending at any time. Hold the contracted position by a second before you start to go back down.
4. Go back slowly to the starting position as you breathe in by lowering your heels as you bend the ankles until calves are stretched.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

OPTIONAL (but recommended)

4 minutes of Tabata to finish it off strong.

 

IMPORTANT: You’ll notice that I recommend doing a quick 30 second active rest in between each of the sets. This is to keep your heart rate up at all times. I recommend switch up your active rest movements with every exercise you do, just to keep it from getting monotonous and to allow for different muscles to be worked. Some of my favorite active rest movements include: kettle bell swings, air squats, lunges, jumps and running in place. Get creative, but try to not use the muscle groups you are actually using on your lifting exercises, so that those are ready to go when the 30 seconds are up.

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Other Workouts You’ll Love:

• 4 Week Workout Program
• Tabata Training
• 7 Exercises to Get Killer Abs That Will Make You Proud

 

Disclaimer: I am a certified personal trainer, however, since I won’t be there with you physically to check on proper form and weight selection, do these workouts at your own risk. You should consult your physician or other health care professional before starting this or any other fitness program to determine if it is right for your needs.