One Year to a Thinner, Leaner, Stronger You

How many of you have heard of Mike Matthews “Thinner, Leaner, Stronger” program for women? It’s a fitness program involving weight training and eating right.

This  book, “Thinner, Leaner, Stronger. The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body”, has a wealth of information on the science behind Matthew’s program as well as form, training plans, no-hype supplementation advice, and diet. It’s a great read and not over complicated.

I have the first edition of this guide and see now that there is a second edition that talks about will power and self control. From personal experience, I can tell you that these two points can make or break your routine.  It took will power and self control for me to change the way I eat and get myself to the gym 3 to 5 times a week.   After a few months of initial exercise and weight training it became a habit.

Now, you may wonder how I came upon this program from Matthew.  Well, I had been working out each week and lost my first 12 lbs through change of diet and light weight training. But I got stuck and plateaued, which also meant I got frustrated and upset that I couldn’t move that number on the scale any lower and my muscles weren’t peaking the way I wanted. Hello muscles?! Where are you?! So, I started searching.

I searched bodybuilding.com and although they have a wealth of information, I couldn’t seem to put it all together into a cohesive program. The majority of the programs they do have on there either require equipment I didn’t have access to or it was a beginner program which left me just as stuck as I was before. I racked my brain. How did I do it in my early 20’s? I ate like a horse and was at the lowest weight I had ever been in my life and from what I remember, my exercises were simple but I continuously increased the weight I lifted… As  side note, all I knew about weightlifting was what my ex had showed me and he was still learning.

My goal was to find that key again. Someone who wouldn’t fill my brain full of fluff and call it a real workout. I searched fitness model workouts only to be bombarded with cardio cardio cardio….and a little weight lifting. I hate cardio, but I do what I can to squeeze it in.  Many fitness models hide their true workout design like a carefully guarded secret.  Their how to is a lead into costing you more and more money. So, where to go?

I took me weeks of research before I finally came to Mike Matthews website. Yes, it was a lead into spending money. However, I always check amazon.com to see if they have the book or a comparable product for less money.  (I am frugal and will try just about anything to save a dollar.) The reviews of Mike’s book were very favorable. So, I bought it. I read it from cover to cover absorbing the information within.  I liked the book so well that I bought the companion book, “The Year One Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months” The Year One Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months.

I started this program earlier this year (2017) and I am about half way through. Truthfully, I have  skipped a week here and there because of commitments with my daughter and of course illness but I have been faithfully  going back to it, sometimes repeating weeks over to get the full program.

The good news is, I broke through my plauteau and lost another 8 lbs.  It has been a blessing for me in the fitness department.

There is one complaint I have.  Before I started the program, I was not lifting heavy and I have weak areas that have caused me injury to stronger parts of my body.  Yes, it’s also because of not completely knowing proper form.  However, the mindset of this program is compound movements to reach more muscles at once instead of isolation exercises, touting the isolation exercises as not necessary.  When you have weak areas in your body, isolation exercises can build up those weak areas to assist your strong muscles in the compound lifts. I’m not saying that Mike is incorrect in his ideas that compound exercises are the best but that it’s incomplete information.

I have been working with a physical therapist because of hip pain and through the sessions she has taught me that proper form is vital but that it is also vital that you strengthen weak areas with isolation exercises in addition to the compound exercises.

Case in point: I have weak glute muscles. So, when I do squats, lunges,  etc., my glutes aren’t engaging like they are supposed to and my hip flexor muscles are taking over.  This has caused me a problem with my illiopsoas muscle and causes me pain to walk. As my PT has explained it to me (in laymen’s terms), it’s caused my hip bones to pluck the muscle when I walk instead of staying in line.  There is an imbalance and she has given me isolation exercises in addition to the compound movements to build up my glute muscles and has asked me to stay away from movements that involve the hip flexors too much.

This is where I feel that Mike’s program falls short.  Isolation exercises are beneficial in “isolating” the weak area for better muscle performance when you are doing compound movements.

I will be taking you with me through my fitness journey. I will be continuing with Mike Matthew’s Thinner, Leaner, Stronger program. In addition, I have purchased a book called The Strength Training Anatomy Workout II by Frederic Delavier, Michael Gundill. So, far I can see that it talks about the muscles that work when you are performing various exercises and it agrees with Mike Matthew’s idea of compound movements but also makes a case for isolation when a muscle is weak.

Anyway, stay tuned and stay with me. I’ll let you know what I learn!

Have you started a fitness journey? Having trouble getting started? Comment down below and we’ll talk!