~Beginners Leg Day~

          This summer I am going to get certified and become a personal trainer. So my first official victim is going to be my mother-in-law. We had our first workout this last Saturday. I saved my Friday leg day for Saturday so I could show her the ropes. Our workout was fairly basic and we were in a new gym so I wasn't familiar with their equipment. We managed to get in a decent workout and I am feeling the effects today. I am going to be documenting her progress on the blog so we can see how this stuff really works in a real life (with her permission of course). So I am just going to include the workout that we did this last week and later we will post pictures and progression stats, etc.

• Warm up with 15-20 good, quick, deep lunges.  
• Smith Machine squats: 3 sets of 5 (heavy) then 3 sets of 15-20 (light)

*The smith machine is very helpful for those who aren't used to using the squat rack and the motion. However, this should just be a stepping stool to advance on to using the REAL squat rack. Don't get to comfortable with the smith machine, just use it to help you get the motion/form down then move on.

• After we went on to Kettle Ball Squats, do 3 sets of 20 for these. (holding a kettle ball with both hands, and lower it to the ground keeping your back straight and bending at the knees. Point your toes outwards to use correct form. Straighten your legs and repeat 20 times, you'll feel the burn.
• Next we did Leg Press. 3 sets of 8-10. These should be fairly heavy. Your last set push yourself and increase the weight. You may only be able to get 5-6 reps in, that's when you know you are pushing it good enough. If you can still do more add more weight!
• We finished off the day doing weighted lunges and calf raises. With the lunges I like them best walking and you can either carry a plate or dumbbells with lunges. We did about 40-50 steps
•  With the calf raises just get the blood in there good and focus more on stretching the calf out really good after doing all of the leg lifts (which has already stimulated the calf muscle considerably)
• I suggest you finish off with a brisk walk and get those muscles cooled down.