“Yay! I’m super excited to introduce the DFF workout of the week column by Moyo! We received such great feedback on his first post on Tips for Fat Loss, we decided to incorporate a weekly scheme. Get your barbell ready guys, its time to smash leg day” – Gbemi
In the gym, we breakdown the age-old design debate: Form vs function or style vs performance as Gym aesthetics vs Functional fitness. A lot of people step into the gym with the intent of looking good, with zero f*cks about how those looks translate into real world fitness. On the other hand, you have the strong power lifters that only care about lifting heavy weights – without much emphasis on how they look.
It often seems like one or the other, but that isn’t necessarily the case. As a newbie, or even an accomplished gym freak, it pays to determine what you want to achieve at the gym and gear your training towards that, keeping in mind that balance is key.
So far, we’ve focused on strength training, as this type of workout will get you looking good as well as build your functional fitness and strength.
We will kick off the WOW series with lower body workout which a focuses on compound lifts. Compound lifts are lifts that use multiple muscles at once, and they often form the base of strength training routines as they are super effective in building strong muscles. As a beginner, it helps to have someone watch you and critique your form until you are sure you are doing these exercises correctly.
The three compound lifts included in this workout are:
The Full Back Squat
How To Video by BodyBuilding.com
Tips
Your lower back should maintain a natural curve inward throughout the movement. Do not “bend over” and arch your back or you risk a back injury.
Go as deep as your flexibility allows. Ideally, you will squat until your thighs are below parallel to the floor.
Your knees should point the same direction as your toes throughout the entire movement.
The Walking Lunge
How To Video by BodyBuilding.com
Tips
Go as deep as you can while keeping your posture upright.
Power through your quads to raise yourself back up.
The Stiff Deadlifts
How To Video by BodyBuilding.com
Tips
Stay in control and keep your torso tight. Keep your eyes forward and chin down to maintain your posture.