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Strong Curves: A Woman's Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body PDF

685 Pages·2013·22.49 MB·English
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BRET CONTRERAS & KELLIE DAVIS STRONG CURVES A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO BUILDING A BETTER BUTT AND BODY First Published in 2013 by Victory Belt Publishing Inc. Copyright © 2013 Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. ISBN 13: 978-1-936608-14-0 This book is for educational purposes. The publisher and authors of this instructional book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any adverse effects arising directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided in this book. If not practiced safely and with caution, working out can be dangerous to you and to others. It is important to consult with a professional fitness instructor before beginning training. It is also very important to consult with a physician prior to training due to the intense and strenuous nature of the techniques in this book. RRD 01-13 Disclaimer Strong Curves: A woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body was written with the needs of women in mind, but the Strong Curves workout program can also greatly benefit men. Women aren’t the only ones who have weak and underactive glutes—men do as well. I’ve used all of the methods in this book with male clients, and whether they were retirees or professional athletes, each one saw incredible improvements in strength, physique, and mechanics. The mainstream male workout programs do not adequately strengthen the glutes through their full range of motion. If you’re a man and you purchased this book, don’t pass it along to the woman in your life without giving the program a try. I believe that most men should stick to the Strong Curves Program as well. After all, it’s very similar to the way I regularly train. Table of content Foreword by Cassandra Forsythe Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Female Anatomy Chapter 3: The Important Muscles No One Talks About Chapter 4: Building Booty-ful Muscle Chapter 5: Nourishing Those Strong Curves Chapter 6: Where’d You Get Those Moves? Chapter 7: Ladies, Meet Your Strong Curves Programs Chapter 8: Become the Ultimate Workout Tracker Chapter 9: The Strong Curves Warm-Up Chapter 10: Strong Curves Twelve-Week Booty-ful Beginnings Program for Beginners Chapter 11: Strong Curves Twelve-Week Gluteal Goddess Program for Advanced Lifters Chapter 12: Twelve-Week Best Butt Bodyweight Program (At-Home) Chapter 13: Twelve-Week Gorgeous Glutes Program (lower body only) Chapter 14: Living the Strong Curves Life GLOSSARY Strong Curves Exercise Index Foreword by Cassandra Forsythe, PhD, RD, CSCS, FMS Since Lou Shuler and I wrote The New Rules of Lifting for Women in late 2007, women have finally begun to understand and embrace the fact that lifting heavy weights does not make us big and bulky and will not turn us into men. Instead, today’s women recognize that getting under the bar, so-to-speak, and lifting, pressing, and/or pushing heavier weights than they ever thought possible actually makes their bodies look the way they really want them to look—strong, sexy, and lean. Lifting weights gives us a feeling of empowerment and strength when so many parts of our lives are still minimized or weakened. So, women are now freely stepping away from the treadmill and moving into the weight room, which was formerly a taboo place for us. (As a teenager, I remember being the only woman in the weight room; I hated cardio machines but loved the feeling that lifting weights gave me. If I ever saw another woman in there, I made her my new best friend because we were the only ones aware at that time of this great secret.) With Strong Curves, Bret has moved past the need for convincing women to lift. Instead, he’s put together a book that shows women how to lift weights in a way that makes all of their curves stand out. And trust me, there’s nothing “pink” or “little” about anything in this program. Bret is one of the most intelligent, wise, and in-tune guys I’ve ever met. He doesn’t have to interview other people to get the answers he needs; he already knows it because he has the amazing ability to synthesize research and real- world information into something we can all use. And he does it with style. He may be a man, but he knows what women’s bodies need in order to look and feel great, and it’s far from guesswork. He understands the mechanics of the female body in a way that not many people will ever grasp, and he knows how to translate this information into directions and explanations that all women will understand, not just fellow science nerds. As you will read, Bret spent years building great glutes in women, and he As you will read, Bret spent years building great glutes in women, and he developed and marketed the hip-thrust and glute-bridge exercises. But then, he did something not many people could or would do: He tested it using credible scientific methods (EMG). You’d be hard-pressed to find any trainer who puts his or her money where their mouth is, but Bret did. This is why you should and will trust that Bret’s methods work and that this program isn’t just something he threw together to get his name on a published book. Bret also isn’t just some new kid on the block. In his 36 years on this planet, he has accomplished and learned more than most of us put together. He isn’t just a workaholic; he’s a “help-aholic.” His experiences in the real world and in the lab have helped hundreds, if not thousands, of women to transform their glutes to perfection and the rest of their bodies into something that other women envy and work to duplicate. The good news is that with Bret’s help, these inquisitive women can and do duplicate the results. Every woman can take part in the program that Bret has outlined in Strong Curves, which he co-authored with the lovely, talented, and outstanding writer, Kellie Davis. He and Kellie didn’t write this book only for the super strong, the ultra skinny, the childless, or unmarried. This program can easily be followed by your sister, your mother, your niece, and beyond. In fact, I’m taking on this program myself and loving every second of it. Why? Because it makes me feel strong, capable, and beautiful, and it’s written in a way that’s easy to comprehend, thanks to Bret’s extensive research and Kellie’s relatability. For me, a nice booty has been a long-time goal. I was a gymnast in my younger years (not anything spectacular, but I gave it my best), and I always admired women who had well-muscled bodies, including a fantastic, round butt. Thankfully, I was blessed with a backside (you can look at my mom to know what I mean), but without exercise, it wasn’t a backside I wanted anyone to see, especially not in a bikini. It was droopy and flabby, and it definitely produced some saddle bags in my jeans. So, I made it my goal to make my butt perky, pretty, and rock solid. Like Bret, I looked for all the ways to make my butt round and gorgeous. I squatted, I leg-pressed, I lunged, I stepped-up, I leg-curled, I deadlifted. In fact, I trained my legs and butt more than any other body part because I wanted and needed them to improve. And they did, but they still weren’t solid. It wasn’t until I started glute-bridging and hip-thrusting that my glutes started to look like the ones I admired in the fitness magazines. I finally realized that I was definitely missing these movements in my former training programs. Now, I’m training with Bret full-time (after all, he’s the glute expert), and I’m so impressed with not only his methods, but also his coaching. He’s an amazing coach who knows how to help a woman set goals, challenge herself, reach new heights, and, of course, build the body (and booty) of her dreams. You’re going to get all of this with the Strong Curves Program. You’re going to feel your glutes like you’ve never felt them before, and you’re going to love that the rest of your body will follow suit. In other words, you’ll see the body transformations that you’ve always wanted. Why? Because you’ll finally be training the areas that need the most attention but never get it. Trust me; I’ve been training for as long as I can recall, hitting the gym at age fifteen, and this program is the perfect complement to The New Rules of Lifting for Women. As Bret and Kellie state, they wrote this book with a long-term vision in mind. This isn’t meant to be a routine that you follow for only a month; it’s a way of training forever. They address everything women need to know about training, eating, and living a strong, healthy life. From cellulite, to pelvic floor strength (can you say Kegels?), to pregnancy, Bret lays it on the line. Both Kellie and I have had babies, and we both know how important strength training is for pregnancy and post-partum. And you’ll learn just how amazing the training is for not only your body, but also for your mind and your soul. Being strong in the gym brings strength to all areas of your life, including your job, your marriage, your role as a parent, and your friendships with others (with a strong booty to complement it all). You’re going to learn methods in this book that few other books even try to explain. There are some very advanced glute exercises on its pages because as Bret says, “While you might not be strong enough right now to perform these movements, you will continue to gain strength if you stick to the template and push yourself [and eventually will be doing these exercises all the time, for life.]” But the key phrase here is that you have to push yourself. You have to be willing to make grunting noises in the gym and leave sweat angels on the floor without hesitation. You can’t hold back just because someone (a guy) might look at you funny for pushing more weight than he might even attempt. Some of the strongest women I know are also the most curvy, sexy, and muscular in the most lean, feminine way. That can be you, too, as long as you commit to this program fully and give it your strongest effort. You can, and you will, and you’re stronger than you think you are! So, if you want a butt that makes women and men turn their heads when you walk by, plus one that helps move your body in ways it has never moved before, you’ll soon find out that Strong Curves is the answer you’ve been looking for. Take pictures, keep notes, and track your progress, because your body is going to change before your eyes, and you won’t want to miss it. In strength, and for a great booty, Live, Love, Laugh and Lift, Cassandra Forsythe, PhD, RD, CSCS, FMS Cassandra Forsythe holds a PhD in Exercise Science and Nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian. She’s also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN) and is certified in the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). Two of her books for women are, The New Rules of Lifting for Women and Women’s Health Perfect Body Diet. She has also been featured in major magazines such as Oxygen, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, and Delta Sky Magazine, and is an Advisory Board member for Women’s Health magazine, PrecisionNutrition.com and Livestrong.com. In Connecticut, Cassandra runs her own group fitness facility, Fitness Revolution Vernon, which has transformed the bodies of hundreds of women and men across the state through proven exercise and nutrition methods. You can find out more about Cassandra and her fitness facility at www.cassandraforsythe.com.

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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.