BuffMother! » Chest workout (triceps)

Pushup Progression

buffmother — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:00:11 +0000

BuffMother — July 06, 2009 — Michelle Berger, BuffMother www.buffmother.com shows how to do push ups from VERY easy to hard

Category: Howto & Style

Tags:

exercise legs abs hips drills running form speed arm flab weight training demo how to buffmother michelle berger

Outline

Wall Pushups
On Knees
Regular
Pike

Transcript: Pushup Progression

I’m going to tape a progression of pushups, from easiest to more difficult.

So first of all we have wall pushups. You stand about 2 feet away from the wall and you put your hands just a little wider than shoulder width. Bring your body into the wall and push back. Nice slow and controlled movements. To make these more difficult you can get a little further away from the wall, maybe 3 or 4 feet, put your arms out a little wider, then bring the body in and out.

Now the next most difficult pushups would be on the floor, on your knees, with your feet on the floor. So, keep your feet on the floor, hands a little wider than shoulder width, bring your body down, and up.

Next most difficult would be on the floor with your feet up toward your butt. You bend your knees, feet towards your butt, then up and down.

Then you progress to ordinary style pushups.

And then the next most difficult would be pike pushups. This is where you try to have your body nice and piked up, these will hit your shoulders really good. Come down and up.

So that’s a progression of pushups.

Bench Press Video

buffmother — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:11:52 +0000

BuffMother — September 04, 2009 — How to Bench Press by BuffMother, Michelle Berger. Michelle brings you through proper form, key tips, several workout sets of Bench press.

Category: Howto & Style

Tags:

how to bench press chest exercise muscle burns fat buffmother michelle berger demonstration video

Outline:

Equipment
Basic Form
Warmups
Alternate View of Form
Advanced Form
Muscles Utilized & Alternate Grip Options
Adding More Weight
Rest or Active Rest Between Sets
Different Equipment or Environment Factors
Spotters & Safety

Transcript:

Hi. I’m going to demonstrate bench press for you. This is a traditional bench press setup. You have a bar, a big barbell, this barbell weighs 45 pounds, so just for your reference most people when they start benching they need to start with just the bar.
So I’m going to show you first off to start, with that. So you just lay back, careful not to hit your head – get underneath the bar. Have your hands a little wider than shoulder width apart and lift the bar up. Now you want to make sure the bar is basically over, right over your neck, and as you lower it down you want to lower it down at an angle to down – to right to your chest or just below. I like to come right below my boobs, and then push back up. So it’s kind of an arc angle.
Now when you first start you’re going to be really wobbly. I always start with a warm up set, just to get my muscles warmed up so I don’t hurt myself. And I’ll do many reps. I might change the angles and just get the stretch going for that. So that’s a good way to start your bench workout with a good warm up set.
Hi, here’s a little bit different angle for you just so you can see the arc that I do with the bench press. So as you’re underneath the bench – like I said grab just a little wider than shoulder width apart – make sure your feet are planted on the floor, bar right above your chin and neck area. Ok, so that’s where you start. Now you lower down nice and slow, you want to come down just below your boobs, like on your chest, right in here, this is a great place. Then you push back up to right in line with your neck again. So you have a little bit of an angle. Now this utilizes your natural range of motion.
Now to accentuate this if you arch your back up just a little bit and get your back involved you’re going to have a much stronger bench by doing so. You can see I have my back arched, I’m utilizing some of my back muscles, my feet are still planted on the ground, my hips do not raise off the bench.
So as you get stronger you’re going to find that you use more and more of your upper body than just your chest. But this is mainly for your chest muscles, you’re also are going to feel it a lot in your front deltoids and your triceps. Now if you widen your grip you’re going to feel it more in your chest and your front delts. If you put it a more narrow grip you’re going to feel it more in your triceps – your triceps are right here – so that’s just a basic demo on how to do a bench press. I’m going to go ahead and put a little more weight on here and show you some of that.

Alright, now that I’ve gotten a good warm up by stretching and doing a couple sets of really light weight bench I’ll go ahead and add on a little more weight. Now 95 pounds for me is pretty much where I start off on my active sets. So this is 25 pound plates on either side, plus the 45 pound bar so it’s 95 pounds all together. Just want to make sure I get nice and set, arc my back up, make sure I place my hands nice and firmly, keep my wrists straight, weight up above my chin, and then lower down, touch my chest and push back up. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
Alright, so that was a good active set, I really started feeling it in those last few, but this isn’t a super challenging weight for me. I’m trying to do sets of 10 so I’m going to go ahead and put 5 more pounds on each side for a total of 105. And that should be good for another set, the next set of 10. So in between sets I’m going to rest about 1 to 2 minutes. Now it just depends on how hard I’m working, and whether I’m buffing or boosting on how long I take in between. And sometimes I’ll do some bench dips in between just to keep my heart rate up and to get in a little exercise especially when I’m buffing. Another thing that I like to do between sets is to bring my knees up to my chest on the bench. This is a great exercise for your abs called knee ups – bench knee ups. And another thing that I really tend to do a lot during my benching is stretching. A great stretch for you to do is just sit on the side of the bench, reach behind you on the bar and feel that nice stretch right in here. Make sure you do the other side also, stretch in here. Another great stretch to do between sets is just laying down and simply putting your arms down on the bench stand behind you and stretching – pushing into it and then relaxing and then pushing into it again. Then bring your arms down, grab them underneath you and shake it out there. Ok.
So I’m going to add 5 more pounds to each side here – lets see if I do have 5 pounds. I don’t have any 5’s. Ok, then I’ll just add ten. I don’t have any 5 it looks like, there are just 2 ½’s. So we’ll do this, this is 115 pounds. I’m going to try to do this 10 times. I don’t have a spotter, so I have to really know where my limits are. I’m very seasoned at benching, so I know where those are. One more.
Ok, one thing to point out is that I’m not used to this bench. I’m used to working out at the gym and the bench there is different than this bench. So whenever you’re changing a situation or environment with a little bit different equipment, know that you need to be prepared to not be as strong, or as confident or feel as good doing that exercise. So it’s all about adaptation and your body getting used to it. I’m used to a bench that’s a little lower to the ground and also a stand that’s different.
You might have noticed I bashed into the stand, you don’t want that to happen, because, you know, that’s a good recipe for disaster. So you really want to be careful, and that’s why you should always have a spotter, especially when you’re doing heavier weights. Like I said, I’m very seasoned at doing the bench press, I know where my limits are, I know when it’s time to stop. But even then I don’t lift with collars on just for that fact. If I was alone, the weight is stuck on me and if I have collars on I have to roll it all the way down my body. Without I can just dump them off on either side and then get the bar back up. There’s advantages and disadvantages to using collars. I honestly don’t use them except for on movements where I’m moving a lot – say like an explosive power move, or a lot times with lunges and stuff like that.
So really, safety is key when you’re doing bench. Always err on the light side. And have fun doing it. It’s a great exercise for your whole upper body. Without it I would be lost- I wouldn’t be in strength training like I am. I love the bench. It’s probably my number one favorite exercise at the gym. So have a good one, make sure you try this out. And let me know what you think and if you have any questions. Talk to you later!

~Michelle
www.buffmother.com

Mighty Monday +POA!!

buffmother — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:32:44 +0000

HI YA- My mighty Mothers!!! I’ve been going strong all day and love how much I’ve accomplished- It’s truly been a Mighty Monday!

my workout today went like this:

warm up
chest press 70×20, 90×12

bench
45×10
95×10
115×9
125×6
125×5
115×7

Standing lateral raises
10#plate ea handx20 repsx2sets

Hammer Strength seated incline press
90×10
110×6
130×5
90×9

knee ups on roman chair- 2 sets

Cable flys
30#x6 together+10singles
paired with
Posedown bicep curls
30#x15 reps

40x6togther+6singles x2 sets

Tricep push downs
80×15
95x10x2sets
90×10

Ab wheel
20, 12

Ab roller
2 sets straight
1 set to each side

Dips 7

+3 vacuums–more of these later!

no cardio yet…it’s finnally sunny here so we may go for a walk

This week’s POA- Keep lifting Boosting style, keep it sexy, keep taking pics and too keep vacuuming!!
M-Chest
T-legs
W-back
Th-chest
F-legs
Sa-back
Su- just 11 mins of something- pracitcally off

today is cycle day 23 and Boosting is going great for some reason…I really think my body loves me this month I love my body!! I show my love to it by treating it to workouts and good food!! LOVE YOUR BODY and it will love you back!

BE a MIGHTY MOMMA today!!

Love,

Mighty Michelle

SX70: Phase 2 NEW WORKOUTS!! PRE-Exhaust

buffmother — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:43:29 +0000

SX70: PHASE 2 NEW WORKOUTS!! PRE-EXHAUST

Well today is our first day of phase 2 for our”Sexy in 70″~ and if you look at the workout, the exercises are basically the same just in BACKWARDS order!! It’s amazing how doing a workout backward from time to time really creates some nice results. Typically though it’s best to do the BIGGEST exercises first, but for these 2 weeks we’ll switch it up! I call it “PRE-exhausting” your muscles

FUN, FUN!!!

Here are the details~

“SX70″ Workout Log~Phase 2 ( the second 2 weeks)

SX70 Ph 2	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Week 3	Lift Lower Body ABS	Lift Upper Intervals	Off	Lift Lower Body ABS	Lift Upper Intervals	Active rest- Walk?	Off or extra cardio
Week 4	Lift Lower Body ABS	Lift Upper Intervals	Off	Lift Lower Body ABS	Lift Upper Intervals	Active rest- Walk?	Off or extra cardio
Ph3 week 5	TBA!	STAY Focused	DO It!	MOJO	Believe	Bikini Body!!	SEXY!

“FCH” Workout Log~Phase 2 ( the second 2 weeks)

Exercise		DATE
	Leg Day		set 1	set2	set 3	set1	set 2	set 3
10 min	Warm up
Pre-	Walking Lunges	lbs.
Exhaust	2x30steps	reps.
abs	between sets of lunges	2sets
#1	Leg Curls	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps
abs	between sets of leg curls	2sets
#2	Leg Extensions	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of leg extension	2sets
#3	Dead Lifts	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps
abs	between sets of dead lifts	2sets
#4	Squats	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.

bonus		lbs.
		reps.
bonus		lbs.
		reps
Exercise		DATE
	Upper body Day		set 1	set2	set 3	set1	set 2	set 3
10 min	Warm up
Pre-	Push ups
Exhaust	2x15reps or failure	reps.
abs	between sets of Push ups	2sets
#1	Rows	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of Rows	2sets
#2	Flys	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of Flys	2sets
#3	Pull ups	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of Pull ups	2sets
#4	Bench/Chest Press	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.

bonus		lbs.
		reps.
bonus		lbs.
		reps.
20 min	INTERVALS

BUFFING PACE- Continual motion, keep hear rate high. Do a set of lifting, a set of abs, a set of lifting, etc…Little to no rest–FAST EXERCISE, but keep it as heavy as you can. Challenge= CHANGE

BOOSTING PACE- More relaxed but heavier. Do a set of lifting, followed by a short set of abs, plus take 1 min of rest, then do your next set of lifting…RECOVER between lifting sets and CHALLENGE yourself to lift heavy!

Abs ideas= knee ups on bench, vacuums, cats/dogs, walking/standing high knees, abs on a ball, crunches, decline cruches, ab machines, etc…

SX70- Phase 1 upperbody workout example

buffmother — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:47:50 +0000

Hiddy HO!! I woke up singing this beautiful morning, ”good morning, good morning, good morning it’s time to rise and SHINE!!!!”
I’ve had some questions about HOW TO do the workout detailed on this post:

http://blog.buffmother.com/2628/sexy-in-70-sx70-phase-1-workouts/

So….

Here’s a SUPER detailed

Phase 1 workout example: “Upper Body, ABS and Intervals”

Start with a warm up~ I like to do 10 min of the Recumbent bike(r-bike).

EXERCISE #1- BENCH :Then I head over to where I am going to do a little warm up for my first exercise. BENCH or Chest press: I start by doing a warm up set that I don’t count as a real set. Bar x20 reps and then stretch and maybe do a few more reps- It’s always good to be “lubed up”.

· Set 1 of Bench: 95# x 10 reps…then move right into doing my abs

· Set 1 of ABS: The ABS exercises are up to you~ I’ll do knee ups on the bench first: 30 focused in eccentric….then go right back to bench. Remember “I am buffing”, so I want little rest between sets and I want to keep my heart rate up.

· Set 2 of Bench: 115# x 10 reps

· Set 2 of ABS: 25 knee ups- 15 to the front 5 each side

· Set 3 of Bench: 115×8…I died, so I didn’t make 10 reps. BUT that’s okayEXERCISE #2- Pull ups: I like doing these a variety of ways… starting with the hardest way first- full body weight. Then assisted and then some inverted ones.

· Set 1 of Pull ups: 10 reps..YAY!! that’s a good number for me!

· Set 1 of ABS: Old School sit ups x60 reps

· Set 2 of Pull ups: 20# assited x10…slow and controlled full stretch lifting my chest to the bar (think Proud Rooster)

· Set 2 of ABS: Old School x45 reps

· Set 3 of pull ups: Inverted x10 reps really focused on biceps—MY PIPES! Exercise #3- FLYS: you can do them as flat bench, incline or cable

· Set 1 of Flys (incline for me): 30 # dumbbells x10

· Set 1 of ABS: Hanging sit ups x25 reps

· Set 2 of Flys: 35’sx10

· Set 2 of ABS: Hanging sit ups x15 reps

· Set 3 of Flys: 35’sx10 EXERCISE #4- Rows- An important tip when doing these keep your chest lifted and squeeze your should blades together at the end of the movement…if you don’t have access to this machine you can do bent over rows with DB’s or a weight bar.

· Set 1 of Rows: 100×10

· Set 1 of ABS: Vacuums (standing with hands on knees) 3 reps of 15 secs

· Set 2 of Rows: 110×10

· Set 2 of ABS: Vacuums (standing with hands on knees) 3 reps of 15 secs

· Set 3 of Rows: 110×9…I couldn’t do any more than 9. BURN OUT EXERCISE! Push ups 15 reps or to failure

· Set 1 of Push ups: 20 military style

· REST for about 1-2 min…do some stretching

· Set 1 of Push ups: 15 military style+ 3 on knees~ whew!! That burned!

NOW it’s time for intervals…doing your intervals RIGHT after a lifting workout is a good way to burn extra fat. You’ve used up most of your glucose stores from your lifting so your body is now set to burn more fat for fuel.

Here’s MY actual Workout- this was A BUFFING VERSION:

10 min
Warm up
r-bike

#1
Bench/Chest Press 3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)
lbs.
95×10
115 x10
115×8

abs between sets of bench
2sets
Knee ups
30
25

#2
Pull ups 3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)
Under hand x 10
20# assist x 10
inverted x 10

abs between sets of pull ups
2sets
Old school
60
45

#3
Flys 3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)

10 x 10
10 x 10
10 x 10

abs between sets of Flys
2sets
Hanging
20
15

#4
Rows (buffing); 3×6 (boosting)

10 x 10
10 x 10
10 x 10

abs between sets of Rows
2sets
vaccums
3 for 15sec
3 for 15sec

BURN OUT!
Push ups – military
2×15reps or failure
reps.
20
15+3 knees

Here is a breakdown of my interval run:

I took my time warming up then did 8 intervals all recovery mins were at 7.5 and the incline was at 2% the entire time:
4mins of warm up
9mph for 1 min: 7.5 mph for 1 min- repeated 8 times

cool down by walking for about 3-4 mins.

Starting week #2- SX70!!

buffmother — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:53:49 +0000

Hey HOT Mammas!! I am so ready to be sexy…just about another 64 days and I will be, lol!! I will also be 35….isn’t that a cool coincidence?! My birthday is on the 14th of June…the day after we complete the “Sexy in 70!”

Here’s my plan for the second week of the “Sexy in 70!” contest (BTW- you can join us during the entire month of April- it’s fun and free, simply sign up here: http://blog.buffmother.com/contest/sexy-in-70/)

Sun- off; Church; rest

M- run outside- am fasted; Lift chest, back, bi, tris, abs

Tu- lift legs

W- run

Th- upper body

F- run

Sa-lift legs

Sun-off

Today….I Ran hard outside and felt really good. I ran fast and hard and got some good lactic acid production at the end of the run
then I ate, did some stuff and then hit the gym for an upper body workout:

Chest press
70×15
90×15
Pull ups-10 (underhand)
Bench Press
45×15
95×10
115×7
115×6
105x10x2
Side Crunches- knees up on bar laying on bench– 1 set of 20 each side
Knee ups- roman chair-15 front, 15rt side, 15left side
Tricep Extensions one set with bench bar 45x10reps
cybex lat pulls
90×20
130x10x2
knee ups on bench
2sets 10 front; 10 each side
pull ups- 7 (underhand)
Lower back extensions 2 setsx30 reps

Hammer flat bench
90x10x3sets

Ab wheel 15x2sets

Pull ups- over hand- 6

Bicep Curls machine
45×15
50×10
50×7
50×5 + 45×10
lateral raises+front raises
10#platesx15+10 x2sets

After this workout I was BEAT! I can really tell that I am needing to “get into shape’…that’s the plan for this chick over the next 3 weeks. To INCREASE my fitness level!!

I also had a chance to spend a little time in the sun today~ boy was it beautiful out!! I just love this weather- no humidity, no bugs and not too hot!

Let’s kick some TAIL this week ladies!!

-Michelle

“Sexy in 70″ (SX70)- Phase 1 workouts

buffmother — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 03:46:09 +0000

Sexy in 70 Phase 1 workouts~

During this contest I’ll be providing you workout plans every 2 weeks for a total of 5 phases. The first 2 phases (4 weeks) are about gaining MOMENTUM!! If you workout MORE than you don’t workout you will be successful. your goal during this time is to workout 4 days a week. We are going to get you in shape to really get in shape the following 6 weeks!!

The Phase 1 workout plan is SIMPLE …

..It’s

4 workouts a week with

4 main exercises +

4 others (3 abs + 1 burn-out) per workout

Lot’s of 4′s~ LOL!

Phase 1

SX70

Just 4 days!
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Week 1 Upper Body

ABS Intervals
Lift Lower Body

Intervals
OFF Upper Body

ABS Intervals
Active rest- Walk dog? Lift Lower Body

Intervals
OFF

Week 2 Upper Body

ABS Intervals
Lift Lower Body

Intervals
OFF Upper Body

ABS Intervals
Active rest- Walk dog? Lift Lower Body

Intervals
OFF

“Sexy in 70″ Workout Log~Phase 1 ( the first 2 weeks)

Exercise		DATE
	Leg Day		set 1	set2	set 3	set1	set 2	set 3
10 min	Warm up
#1	Squats	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of squats	2sets
#2	Dead Lifts	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps
abs	between sets of dead lifts	2sets
#3	Leg Extensions	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of leg extensions	2sets
#4	Leg Curls	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps
abs	between sets of leg curls	2sets
BURN	Walking Lunges	lbs.
OUT!	2x30steps	reps.

bonus		lbs.
		reps.
bonus		lbs.
		reps
Exercise		DATE
	Upper body Day		set 1	set2	set 3	set1	set 2	set 3
10 min	Warm up
#1	Bench/Chest Press	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of bench	2sets
#2	Pull ups	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of pull ups	2sets
#3	Flys	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of Flys	2sets
#4	Rows	lbs.
	3×10(buffing); 3×6 (boosting)	reps.
abs	between sets of Rows	2sets
BURN	Push ups
OUT!	2x15reps or failure	reps.

bonus		lbs.
		reps.
bonus		lbs.
		reps.
20 min	INTERVALS

Hormonal Timing Adaptations:

BUFFING PACE- Continual motion, keep hear rate high. Do a set of lifting, a set of abs, a set of lifting, etc…Little to no rest–FAST EXERCISE, but keep it as heavy as you can. Challenge= CHANGE

Abs ideas= knee ups on bench, vacuums, cats/dogs, walking/standing high knees, abs on a ball, crunches, decline cruches, ab machines, etc…

Great day! Heck it’s been a great YEAR!

buffmother — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:12:41 +0000

Today has been a GREAT Day!! As a matter of fact it’s been a great year so far for me! I’ve just been HAPPY, Happy, HAPPY for the most part!

Jan 1-The year started on Friday with a great day spent with my DH~ we had spen NYE in a hotel and then the entire rest of the day together, thanks to Grandma Mary watching our little monkeys for us….
Jan 2- I went to workout and brought the girls shopping to target where I scored some much needed sweat pants and a few shirts!! Then we had another great day of family time and football and FIGHTS~ we ended up purchasing the UFC despite the card being really bad- Dana White needs to put together some better cards!! or he’s going to lose some of his fan base!
Jan 3- Super Football SUNDAY!!! I was so happy that the Vikinings played and KICKED tail!! then the Cowboys kicked the EAGLES tail so that the Vikings got a better playoff position- YAY!! (oh an it was cycle day 1)
Jan 4- I worked, got caught up on a lot of stuff, enjoyed it and even enjoyed the kids still being home from school due to the snow day- I went to the chiro and got my butt feeling better~ then I got in a good interval workout on the upright bike.
Jan 5- www.buffmother.com‘s GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY!! It’s been 5 years of AWSOME! I’ve loved being able to give hope to women all over the world ~ God has really blessed my life through my website! I also went to my MMA class~ It was another BLAST!! I love it~ we actually did some semi-live rolling and I feel like I did very good! IT WAS FUN!!! Then to the gym to get in a run and lift with chest…I am still dealing with my butt being weird, but it’s definantly better than before I went to the chiro.
Jan 6 – It’s almost 9pm and I just got home from the gym…my workout was way later than planned, but that is better than not getting it done.

My weight is up to 135 ….crazy but I feel good! I am not fretting my weight right now because I know a bunch of it is water weight from all sorts of things: salt, carbs, carbonation, wheat, dairy, hormones, creatine, etc…

cday 1- 131
cday 2- 133
cday 3- 135 (weight up from STEAK dinner and CARBS)

Okay…On to my to do list issues. Yesterday I planned to write a to do list, well….it really didn’t happen. I got a start on it and then i got “paralyzed” by it. My list is way to long! I need help!!! I think for the rest of today I’ll focus hard on getting a bit more “caught Up” with my e-mails and by tomorrow I may be ready to focus on a to do list. My hormones should be cooperating better on cycle day 4~ my mental HIGH days are coming soon, I can feel it!!!!

here’s a quick POA for my workouts the remainder of the week:

Thurs- MMA class at noon
Fri-Chiro appt @10:30; Back,sh, bi and run intervals
Sat-chest, tris, abs
Sunday- run intervals

Hope all of you are having a GREAT 2010, I sure am!!

Love and THANKS!!

-Michelle

Time for some chillaxin’

buffmother — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:10:34 +0000

workout is DONE!! Chest, abs and intervals!!! Now time for some chillaxin’!

here’s how it went:

Warm up- tanning
Bench
45×20
95x10x3sets -abs between- reverse crunch pulsese and crunches and
115x10x2 sets- abs between knee ups and leg raises on bench and bench dips also

Incline hammer press
90x10x3sets
abs between sets- knee ups on roman chair and hanging sit ups

Fly machine-
2 sets
45×20 reps
55×12
ABS between sets- Boxing drill- side to side shoulder movement

Tricep extension machine
55×10
60×10
Abs between- hanging sit ups

dips
11, 9

Incline flys
35x10x2sets
paired with isolation bicep curls
2 sets
and tricep extensions with BB
55×6
45x10x2sets

Run intervals- 15 mins total easy mins at 7mph hard mins at:
1x1min @8 mph
3x2mins @ 9mph

I started taking creatine again today to see if It’ll help me recover from my mma training~ OUCHIE!! I am sore in some weird places, lol!

have a TERRIFIC DAY!!!

Love ya,

Michelle

Totally Terrific!

buffmother — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:40:16 +0000

Life is Totally Terrific!! for me~ Except that…2 days in a row I’ve caused a computer glitch and lost my entire blog post! ACK!!!! I am saving this NOW before anything happens to it!!

I did chest/tri/abs on Mon with a pb of 155×1- the very very first time in my life I’ve ever benched that much all by myself!! 135x7times was another pb that day. I did abs really hard too and ran intervals on the treaddy. Weight was 132

Yesterday I did legs.

Today is Back/sh/Biceps and running intervals- my weight this am is 131 and it’s cday 5- I am down 4 pounds since last Wed– HORMONES!!

The sent the SSS2 entries are TOTALLY AWESOME!! Yesterday I forwarded them to the judges, so we should have the winner decided by next MONDAY!! Watch for the announcement!!

Have a Totally Terrific Day!!

Now is the time to Focus!

buffmother — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:45:19 +0000

Do you have ADD? I think I might…It’s induced by having children. I think God actually gives women ADD when they become mothers. We have to have it otherwise the daily interruptions, screams for help, “emergencies” and accidents would throw us over the edge! I embrace my ADD to a certain extent, but sometimes I’d like to SHUT IT OFF and just FOCUS! Now that my kids are all in elementary school during the day…i have time to myself, I have time to FOCUS! Now is the time for me to FOCUS!!

My current focus is a lot about getting CENTERED and RE-Ignighting my FAITH and Passsion for my God given purpose in life. I’ve had a rough year and life has battered me a bit. I believe it’s made me stronger, YET it’s caused me to loose FOCUS on why I do what I do. I’ve lost focus on my “WHY”…I need it again and plan to spend the remainder of this 2009 Focused on getting my FOCUS back!

That said I’ve decided I need to “wait’ on truly OPENING up for training until the new year. I have too much going on~ THE SLAVE DRIVER in me needs to allow myself THIS TIME to FOCUS more on ME!

My POA for today got a bit messed up becuause of my workout last nigth lackin proper SUPPORT- Support from 2 sports bras that is…I have to wear 2 sports bras when I run. AND I left for the gym with out my extra one last night~ I was PUMPED to run, but couldn’t do it BOUNCING all over tarnation! I did get in good intervals on the elliptical instead.

Here’s my workout from last night:
Tan for 9mins and r-bike 5 mins
Chest press
75×20
95z15x2sets

Lat pulls
135×10
150x10x2sets
one set of knee ups on bench

Bench Press
45×15
95×10
one set of push ups 12 reps
115×7
115×9
115×6
crunches on bench with feet up on bar

Dips
8, 7
incline sit ups

Incline Chest Press
90x10x3sets

Bicep curls
45×15
50x10x2

20 mins of even min intervals on the elliptical (7 HARD minutes)
Pull ups10

my diet was lower carb yesterday, but no greens. I’ll get some in today for sure!:
PPPPP- eggs, chicken, protein shake,
CCC-
FFF -sausage, sunflower seeds, oil

Today’s POA- fasted cardio- warm up on elliptical 10 mins; run intervals 20mins; steady cardio on u-bike 10-20 minsand MAYBE Legs in the pm…I may wait and shif them to tomorrow though

The extra Focus I’ve been putting on running/intervals and eating lower carb is paying off in the mirror and on the scale. This moring I was 126 on cycle day 8~ I expect to be under 125 by the time I take my pics and stats for the end of the SSS contest!! :whoohoo: I AM GETTING MORE FIT all the time!~!! I promise it does work if you work it and it’s worth the pain and effort!!!

NOW IT THE TIME TO FOCUS!!

-Michelle

Success Saturday!

buffmother — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:49:50 +0000

I feel Success Today!! My body is responding…are you feeling success??

Getting in shape takes patience, consistency and TIME!

If you feel like you aren’t getting there fast enough…

You have to find more measurements for your success:

* Do you feel a sense of accomplishment?

* Are you increasing your weights at the gym?

* Are you getting in better shape?

* Do you have more energy?

* Are you more mentally focused, less stressed?

* Are you learning new things?

* Are you sleeping better?

* Are your hair, skin, joints, digestive system, etc…more healthy?

* Are you being a good example to your kids, family and friends?

* Are you inspiring others to make changes themselves?

I’ve had a good few days of workouts

Wed- weight 130#-run 15 mins outside plus 5 mins bike, high knees, lunges, situps

Thur-cday 1: weight 130# Legs at gym plus 10 mins elliptical

Fri-cday 2:weight128# Chest/tri/abs and intervals on tready up to 10 mph for 2 intervals (15mins run total)

Sat- cday 3: weight 128#…workout planned for today~ BACK…lots of pull ups! and some bike intervals

I am liking my new shoes. I think my running plan is going to be to run M, W, F and Su…and shoot to do 2 of those outside each week.

Last night we watched “land of the lost”…It was disappointing. Too many gross sexual jokes! I don’t know WHO they make movies like that for?? It’s not really for adults, but It’s not for kids either…weird!

Anyhow…today Gunner is going to play football. He’s feeling better and their game starts at 12:45~ I hope he plays well!

Have a successful Saturday!!

Love, Michelle

Super Heroes Have MUSCLES!!

buffmother — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:07:20 +0000

Super Heroes always have Muscles! They are cut, ripped, shredded, fast and fit!! I love it!! Yesterday when I worked out I felt like a super hero~ did you?
here’s my workout from yesterday~

FIRST off I did quite a bit of a workout in my garage…Here’s a little proof of that:

Along with bench I did some shoulder presses, Arnolds and bicep curls.

Then a while later I went to the gym and did the following:
warm up r-bike~ 3 mins
Cybex lat pulls
paired with shoulder press machine (backwards)
And knee ups on bench

Shoulder press machine
paired with calf raises (seated)
AND walking HIGH knees

Incline Chest Press
paired with knee ups on bench

2 sets of pull ups
10, 6

Bicep Curls (machine)

Abs- ab wheel
lower back hyper extension machine- 1 set

Ran on Treddy :tready: Intervals – hard at 9 easy at 7mph
Knee ups on roman chair

Home~ and CRASHED last night rather early !! I had weak coffee yestday morning and I was pooped!

Today, I have been “making movies” on my computer with some of the video I shot yesterday and I’ve also been trying to respond to some of my e-mails~ whew!! that’s never done!

Hope you have a LOVELY Memorial Day weekend!!

-Michelle

40 Days to FIT!! Day 19~ Sometimes Rest is Best!

buffmother — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:05:32 +0000

I took yesterday OFF~ Sometimes Rest is BEST

~ BUT got back to it today…had a great Chest/Tri/Abs and running of intervals outside~ now off to do errands! TGIF!!

For those of you who missed your day 19 e-mail today here it is!!

Day #19-FIT tip-
“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall”…get some more mirrors! They will help you keep tabs on your progress, your posture and your overall appearance. Using mirrors during your workouts help you keep an eye on your workout moves to ensure proper form, maximize performance and prevent injury.

Day #19-Feature-
http://blog.buffmother.com/92/tgif-and-a-fabulous-friday-it-is/

Please comment for your accountability~ stay focused…22 days left to get FIT!!!

Be sure to smile at your reflection!!
xoxoxo~
BuffMother, Michelle Berger
www.BuffMother.com

40 days to FIT!! Day 15…Whoohooo x 3!!!!

buffmother — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:01:16 +0000

Today is Monday~ and the first day of School for my 4 kids, Whoohoo!!! The are in 4th, 2nd and 1st grades this year and they were all sooooo fired up for school it was GREAT! I don’t remember ever liking school, but it’s fun that my kids do Laughing

Right after I got them to school I went to the gym~ it’s really nice that I got it done first thing today! I lifted chest, tri’s, abs and finished off with intervals on the r-bike. Another Whoohooo!! for that!!!

And the 3rd Whoohooo~ is for our new and improved Rally Room Gallery!!! I am so pumped that my “Helper of Buffmother”/Darcie was able to get it up and working!!! Thank YOU!!! Be sure if you have any questions about it post them or pm one of us about it~ you’ll find it really nice for posting your progress pics etc. The gallery even allows for bulk uploads, comments and sub-albums. Whoohooo!!!

Let’s all have a super WHOOHOOO’rific week~~~!!!
-Michelle
p.s. here is one of my FAVORITE new photos from my last shoot:

40 days to Fit!! Day 8~ Another Productive Monday!!

buffmother — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:07:21 +0000

Monday is almost done and I had a PRODUCTIVE one!!

My workout was a quickie, but effective one:

Chest/Tris/ABS and intervals run
warm up r-bike 5 mins
Chest press- 3 sets for warm up
Ab machine- 2 sets
Bench
45×10
95x10x3sets
knee ups on bench
2 sets of 30

bench tricep dips
2sets of 10
Incline plate loaded chest press
50x15x2sets
70×10

Dips
10, 8

Knee ups on roman chair
30x2sets

Ball crunches- on big set of several varieties

incline flys
30′sx10x3sets

Overhead tricep extensions
20x15repsx2sets

Tricep kick backs
10x10x2sets

Run intervals- 20 mins hard mins between 9 and 10 mph; easy mins 7mph

We just got done watching “Confessions of a Shopaholic” as a family~ fun movie~!!!
hope your Monday was as productive as mine!!

have a great one!!
-Michelle

40 days to FIT! Day 4~ Buffing Begins!

buffmother — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:47:28 +0000

Well Yesterday, my 4th day of “40 days to FIT” was a great one!!…my brain is finally working and I am motivation is HIGH. It was cycle day 5 and time to BUFF my body!!! I am going to keep taking creatine through this buffing phase~ my weight is 130. Buffing began with a GREAT leg workout~ yay! Please note I am still in back “rehab” mode….so I am still not up to par with my leg workouts. BUT I am getting there slowly and safely!

warm up- Rbike 10 mins

Squats
45×10
95×10
95×10
115x10x2 sets

Sissy squats
3 sets of about 20 reps

paired with Dead Lifts
45×10
65×10+10conventional x 3 sets

45 degree hack- 2 sets High reps low weight- just machine
paired with Seated Calf raises
95x10x2 sets…started cramping here. I took Creatine pre-workout and I do better taking it post workout due to cramping. I need to remember that!

Smith lunges
50×10
70x10x3 sets

paried wit Butt Squats
50×10
70x10x3
inbetween a set her I did some abs on a decline bench- it irritated my back, so I had to take it easy the rest of my workout

Knee extensions
110×10
150x8x2
130×10

leg curls
70×10- my lower back hurt on these…so I called it quits.

Oh and here’s a quick summary of Wed’s- Chest, tri workout:
warm up bike and some chest press
Bench- I did a pyramid-
45×20
95×10
115×8
125×5
125×6
115×10
95×10

other exercises:
Incline hammer strength machine
Incline Flys
Skull Crushers
ABS

I also got to spend some time relaxing outside and watched some more of “24″ we are now on season 3 . It was a GOOD DAY!!

I’ll be back to post about today in a bit~ it’s FRIENDLY FRIDAY!! REMEMBER TO BE FRIENDLY TODAY!!!

your friend,

Michelle

p.s. if you are wondering here is a video of BUTT SQUATS~

Yummy Dinner Tonight!

buffmother — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:58:02 +0000

MAN! I’ve been craving a good burger for the past few weeks…well I tried to get a good one last week from room service, but it wasn’t “GREAT” so it didn’t fill the void so tonight we ate out after our workout and I “HAD TO” get a burger…and YES it was goooooooood! AND soooo worth it!
For our workout tonight we went across town to the “NEW” gym so the kids could do kids classes while Travis and I worked out…
Warm up
Chest press- 2 sets
Bench
45×15
95×14
115×10
135×4 (help on 2)
115×10–AMAZING how much lighter this is than 135!
dips
11
8
8
Plate loaded chest press
90x10x3
Incline flys
35′sx6x3
Bench dips for tris
15, 10, 10
Knee ups on roman chair 3 sets to failure
triceps push downs on free motioin 2 sets of 17.5# each arm
upright bike 10 mins
Walk 5 mins
that was it!
-M

Grabbin’ my MOJO today!

buffmother — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:33:21 +0000

www.buffmother.com
I am loving that today is a new day, that it’s Monday and that I have a bit of Mojo to grab!
I struggled the past 2 days with “something”…it could have been the flu, bad PMS or simply HIF…but it led to an utterly unproductive and HIGHLY restful day yesterday…I HATED IT, lol! It almost kills me to stay in bed all day~ so even though I like the results from rest, I still hate resting.
BTW- today is c-day 28 and I weighed 128 today–lots of CARBS over the weekend

Soooo…I’ve been GOING strong today~ determined to get some great MOJO going this week and to feel SEXY again!
I started my day by getting some work done then headed out to the gym…Here is my workout:
Bench
45×15
95×10
115×6
125×5×2

Incline Hammer Strength press
90×10
130×6
140×4
130×6

sit ups- 2 sets
Incline flys
35’sx6
45’sx6×2sets

preacher curl with DB one arm at a time- assisting with the other
25×10x2sets

Knee ups on bench
Skull crushers
55×8×3

bench dips finished at top by pushing hips up straight with body
10 repsx2sets

Knee ups on roman chair- 2 sets

Cable push downs
80×10
95×10
110×8
110×6

Cable fly
30×10x2sets

Last week I ended up lifting 5 days in a row– and took sat and sun off.
my poa for this week is to finish boosting–so lift heavy! and still not much cardio….I’ll start adding that in again with my buffing phase:

at least 10 VACUUMS daily! along with some dancing
M- chest, tri’s, Abs
Tue- Legs and my second synvisc shot at 3pm
W- Back Sh Bi ABS
Thur- Chest, tri
F- Legs ABS
Sat- Back Sh Bi ABS
Sun- off

I am off to get out of these workout clothes and into something much more SEXY!
See ya later babes!
-M

Workin’ it even on Friday!

buffmother — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:53:59 +0000

www.BuffMother.com

I’ve been workin’ it all day today~even on Friday. Fridays during the summer around here are interesting…many businesses here have summer hours and close offices at noon. What an awesome invention!!! Who ever thought of it must have had a lake cabin and valued FUN…
LIKE ME, I really value FUN! We all need to escape from time to time to kick back and have fun…I’ve been trying to remember to have fun even while I am working or cleaning.
Music seems to make things more fun- singing along with a song is fun- dancing or moving to the beat a bit is fun
talking to friends is fun– on the phone, in person lunch dates and talking to them at the gym,
e-mailing friends is fun when you get a response
Working out is FUN (sometimes, lol)!
Change/Adventure is fun!
Being an Encourager is fun!!
Laughing is fun~ like when I watch Dumb and Dumber!!
Kids are fun~ they say and do the silliest things~ like my kids are now obsessed with killing flys, spiders and ants~that’s FUN!

Since I know I VALUE having fun, I’m gonna think more about what is fun to me then go after it! Life should be fun!!

My workout today was good and FUN!!!~
I warmed up
then lifted chest
Bench
45×20
95×10
115×7×2
115×5

Cable flys
30×12×2

Incline Hammer press
70×10×3
paired with
Ab Wheel
15, 15

Incline flys
25’s x10
30’sx10×2

Tricep extensions
45×10×3

Tricep push downs
70×12
80×10
90×10

Then I ran again on the treddy~ intervals 4 hard mins @8 , 3@9, then 1 @ 10 and easy at 6– IT was a ton of FUN!!

Off to have some Friday night fun!!
xoxoxo~
BuffMother!
p.s. the B-day challenge tally with 8 days to go is:
weight workouts 4/10 (6 planned for next: sa, mo, tue, we, th, f)
runs 3/8 ( 5 planned for next: su, mo, w, th, sa)

So…It can be done~!! I need another really good week of workouts next week!!