Bret ContrerasStrong Curves: A Woman's Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body

Easy to follow exercises

I bought this book a couple of years ago, and thought the exercises looked too easy to start with, so put it away. I mean, how hard is a body weight bridge?A year later I completed the Lift Like a Goddess programme and looked for something new. I dragged out this book and decided to give level 1 a go. Yes, the amount of exercises were shorter than I was used to, and I didn't come home from the gym feeling smashed. I left each time feeling I could give more.However, don't be fooled by the shorter workouts! I found I could not do more than 6 bodyweight bridges without getting a cramp. To attempt even 1 holding a weight on my stomach was sheer impossibility. So I gladly stayed at level 1 and worked through it consistently. The day after each workout, was I ever sore.Within 3 weeks I found myself getting stronger. Then, so surprisingly, I managed a proper squat. I have severe scoliosis and a damaged Achilles' tendon due to surgery on my leg for the scoliosis and I have never been able to squat without falling over. Lunging - fine. Squatting, No. However, building the glutes muscles meant I was now stable enough to squat. And my knees no longer caved in. Now I can squat with a 35 kg barbell no problem at all. Next, I found that after 2 years of attempting chin ups, I finally managed one and now can do 12, with a brief break between every 2 or 3. I think the back strengthening work in this programme finally made it all come together for me, even though arm work is not big. The programme I was on was arm heavy (as most programmes are) but, as Brett has realised, most girls struggle with their butts, and arms will naturally improve as you use those bigger muscles more. It makes sense, but I was a bit worried stopping all that arm work. Until I finally managed chin ups which are out of reach of most girls, even those doing arm work daily.I have now done 3 of the programmes in this book, and in a few weeks, will finally begin the advanced programme. It said not to try it till you could glute lift about 60 kg. That's a joke, I thought at the time as I couldn't glute lift my own bodyweight more than 6 times. Well, I've passed the 60 kg goal weeks ago and now glute lift 75 kg. My jeans are smaller, my butt is no longer saggy, I have abundant energy, I spend less than 2 hrs in the gym a week, my legs are tight all over, I've changed shape all over and, wait for it - I'm 49 years old!!!Thanks Brett for the best programme out there!

This book is just what I needed to get started with free weights at home without a trainer. For anyone not aware, the basic premise is that men and women have different bodies and thus require different strength training routines to get the best and fastest results. Men focus more on building arms and chest, but since most women aren't looking to build their pecs and get a huge, ripped back, Strong Curves focuses more on building the legs and glutes while developing tone and strength in the upper body as well. The idea is that women tend to have the most potential for strength in their lower bodies, so we are strongest when we train those muscle groups hard and often. There is no leg day vs. arm day vs. chest day here, butt and legs are a big part of every routine and will be mixed in no matter which other muscle groups you are working on that day.The exercise plans are concise and well put together and I find the photos and descriptions of each exercise are descriptive enough for me to understand what I'm supposed to do. I did supplement with some Youtube videos for form, though. I am new to free weights but not a complete novice to strength training in general, so I found the first week of exercises to be below my abilities. Since the book has modified versions of several exercises that let you turn the intensity down or up depending on what you can handle, this wasn't a problem because I could just do the tougher version and still get a good workout in. That said, I think this is a great routine for beginning or more advanced lifters.One complaint I have is that the instructions for each exercise are way in the back of the book so you have to thumb around a bunch when following the routine, at least until you get things memorized. I found it easiest to keep a separate workout journal (there is one in the book) so I didn't have to go back and forth in the book as much. As others have said this will work best for people who are working out in a gym. I workout at home and I have had to swap out some moves for others when I don't have the equipment required. If you want to get the most out of this at home I recommend getting a home gym system (I have the Weber Total Body system which was reasonably priced here on Amazon) because a lot of the upper body workouts in this book require a cable/suspension system. At minimum I would recommend a bench, barbell set, dumbbell set, resistance bands (one with handles and a set of loops), and possibly a squat rack to get you started at home. It's only been a few weeks for me but I am already feeling stronger and having a great time. I can't wait to see where this routine takes me.