Lift Like a Girl: Be More, Not Less
My goal with this article is simple: to thoroughly prepare you for one of the best workouts of your life. To make that happen, I'm going to share some critical "do's" and "do not's" when it comes to lifting heavy stuff. As you read through this list, please remember . . . I'm only looking out for your best interests. How to Properly Prepare to Lift Heavy Stuff 1) Make sure you pee before lifting …
[Read more...] about WARNING! How to Properly Prepare to Lift Heavy Stuff, for Your Enjoyment
Last week was Part 1 of 5 Training Techniques to Shake Up Your Workouts. We covered two - Rest/Pause training and Ladders - out of the first five in that article. Let's get to the last three methods you can use for a change of pace, to get off the boredom-train, or to break through a plateau. Total Reps Based on Speed I'm not sure if there's a more formal title for this method, but I first read …
[Read more...] about 5 Training Techniques to Shake Up Your Workouts – Part 2
By "shake up" your workouts I'm in no way referring to the infamous "Shake Weight", so don't even think about it. That's not a valid exercise or training technique, no matter how you do it. Anyway . . . I love the basic barbell and bodyweight exercises and their variations. These basic exercises have been staples of my workouts for months: Squats TO a box (pictured above) Kettlebell …
[Read more...] about 5 Training Techniques to Shake Up Your Workouts – Part 1
Today is a guest post courtesy of my friend, Mike Whitfield, of WorkoutFinishers.com. He is the ultimate jedi-master of "finishers", and I've been playing with many of them lately in my own training since I'm all about keep things simple, short, but very effective. Also, he's lost 105 pounds! How awesome is that? And finally, he has as special offer exclusive to the readers of NiaShanks.com, but …
[Read more...] about The Ultimate Workout Grand Finale (Guest Post)
We're gonna have some fun today. It's time to bust (or, hopefully, absolutely demolish) six popular female strength training myths that just won't die. There are dozens of myths about women and weight lifting, but below are six of the most common myths. It's time to obliterate these once and for all. Myth #1 Weight Lifting Makes Women Big 'n Bulky It's no surprise that this is still the most …
[Read more...] about 6 Female Strength Training Myths That Won’t Die – Busted!
There's been a rise of what I'm terming fitness and nutrition insanity. On a daily basis I'm bombarded with emails from women who are frantic, confused, frustrated, and stressed out from their nutrition and workout regimen. Their intentions are good - they want to improve their health, performance in the gym, and physique. But, they're revolving their lives around eating and working out. They …
[Read more...] about How to Rid Your Life of Fitness and Nutrition Insanity
