Julia lookin jacked!

We’re back again with the the “5 Questions with the Girls Gone Strong” series!  This is February’s editions with Julia Ladwski.  Julia is a Sports Performance Coach and former Division I Strength Coach. She currently trains athletes from 7 years old through college. A trainer, consultant and expert on all things women’s fitness. Co-founder of the movement Girls Gone Strong. In 2006, Julia was the #1 ranked powerlifter (132 lbs). She won APF Senior Nationals in 2005 and 2006. After having 2 kids in the past 3 years, she is back to training and competed at the SPF Pro/Am in Cincinnati in August 2011 where she totalled 975!  Check out her website (www.julialadewski.com) and her Facebook page.

1. For those who don’t know Julia isn’t just an amazing lifter, she’s also a busy mother with 2 young kids! How do you still find time to work and train at such a high level and what advice can you give to the other mothers out there about finding or making time to train?

Part of my success comes from having a supportive husband. There are times when I go to work an hour early, or stay an hour longer to get my training session done.  Another big component is having a gym that has a playroom where I can take my kids for 2 hours so I can train.  So finding a gym that is conducive to your schedule and your lifting can help tremendously.  The other piece of advice is to actually have a schedule.  I train Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.  If I know that Tuesday is jam packed, I move my session to Monday. Because if I try to push it back to Wednesday, then something else comes up and it messes up my whole schedule.  But knowing what days I train and what times I train help me stick to my schedule as much as possible. That way I can plan my work and kids accordingly.

 And finally, there will be times when you’re short on time.  Sometimes, I’ve done 2 exercises and had to call it a day because something came up last minute.  I don’t beat myself over missing the last 3 exercises, I just continue to move forward.

2. I find that the more women I talk to about training the more I see that they are very hesitant to break out of any routine or comfort zone they are already in. 99% of the time it’s a complete and utter lack on confidence in themselves both in and out of the gym. Has your training had any effect on your attitude or confidence in or out of the gym?

Are you kidding me? My training has GIVEN me the confidence for anything in AND out of the gym!  When you train hard on a daily basis, you sorta feel like a superhero… like you’ve just accomplished something that not even SuperMan could’ve done . So you walk with your head a little higher.  And that confidence continues when you go to work or at home.

We don’t like change.  It’s easy to just continue to do what we’ve always done.  Even if we’re not getting results.  I run into the same scenario, with women saying that they just do what they continue to do because they either just don’t know what to do, or they’ve tried to do their own research and there’s too much for them to comprehend so they just go back to their old routine.  I train several women who can do “cardio” any time, any day on their own, so they come to me for their weight training program. It’s a good compromise.

3. I always program in some hip and upper back mobility and activation work during my clients warm up to get them functioning properly prior to lifting. What muscle groups/joints do you think most women need to activate or mobilize to get the most out of their training? What exercises do you like to use for activation for those areas?

Hip mobility is a definite. Fire hydrants, forward and backward knee circles and an iron cross stretch are a few mobility exercises. For glute activation, bridges, single leg bridges, fire hydrants, and some band hip exercises. We also focus on the upper back as well, doing exercises like face pulls, scapula pushups, TRX Rows for some basic warmup exercises to get those muscles firing.

I also spend some time on my clients’ hip flexors, glutes and hamstrings. Dynamic stretches and foam rolling start and end our session.

4. For the other mothers out there who are looking to get their stomach flattened out again, or for the first time, after having kids what sort of abdominal training do you prefer?

What do they say… “80% of how you look comes from your diet?”  So first, I’d suggest cleaning up their diet.  Get rid of the processed junk. And don’t try to tell me that a 100 calorie pack of Oreos is ok!  It’s junk. Replace it with almonds, natural nut butters, fruits or veggies, or cheeses.  Walking is a great way to get back into some low intensity cardio post-partum. If you’re kids are older, some High Intensity Intervals a couple days a week is good to strip off some body fat.  And of course, the heavy weight training.  But honestly, think about it… your skin and abdominals were stretched out for 4-9 months. Be patient. But I guess that also goes to say that if you are thinking of getting pregnant in the future, start training now.  Get your abdominal muscles strong and it’ll make bouncing back a little easier.

5. What type of training splits do you typically prefer for female fat loss clients?

Depends on the person.  I know, I know… but it is hard to say without knowing their schedule, goals, etc.  Here are two options I typically employ.

#1. 3 days weights (Upper, Lower, Total) with 2 days of interval/sprint work.

#2. 2 days weights (Upper, Lower) with 2 days of metabolic/circuit work (total body exercises, body weight, etc)