Three Killer Sets

Glutes, grit, and one hour that can change everything.

PUSH: Stronger Stride, Bigger Booty

In this final stretch, I’ve been leaning hard into strength-based cardio. With six weeks to go until my next bodybuilding competition, my focus has turned to . . .cutting weight without sacrificing muscle.

My usual go-to for this phase is the stepmill (a.k.a. what my teammates lovingly call the Stairway to Hell). It’s effective but monotonous, and with the weather this good, I’ve been craving more time outdoors.

That’s where rucking comes in. It’s been a game changer. I’ve started doing my big, hilly walk with a 25-pound plate in a backpack. By the end of the hour, I’m wrecked. I can’t wait to rip that thing off. I’m drenched, my heart’s pounding, and honestly? I feel great. (Does that make me sound like a lunatic?) Big thanks to the team at Go Ruck for sending me a pack to trial—I'm hooked.

I’ve also been mixing in sessions on the CLMBR, a stepmill-meets-climbing-machine hybrid. It activates the whole body and hits my obliques in a surprising way. The resistance feels a little different from traditional stairs, but it’s been a solid switch-up from my usual grind.

These days, I’m all about the base: trying to hold onto every bit of butt mass during this cut.

In bodybuilding, of course, glutes matter on stage—but they matter even more off it. They’re not just about aesthetics. Your glutes are the engine of your posterior chain—the powerful network of muscles along your backside that drives strength, movement, and stability. They serve as shock absorbers and stabilizers, keeping your spine and knees safe.

Fun fact: the gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body. It makes up a huge portion of your lower-body muscle mass and is key to posture, walking, running—pretty much everything.

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PULL back the curtain: Women, muscle and endurance

There’s been concern this week that the Army’s new “sex-neutral” fitness standards will disadvantage women. For background: starting June 1, 2025, all soldiers in combat roles, regardless of gender, will be required to meet the same physical benchmarks. The new Army Fitness Test includes five events: deadlifts, push-ups, planks, a two-mile run, and a sled drag/kettlebell carry. It eliminates the widely disliked “ball throw”.

What this means: women ages 17 to 21 in combat specialties will now have to deadlift at least 140 pounds (up from the previous 120 pounds) and run two miles in under 22 minutes (down from 23 minutes and 22 seconds)—the same as men.

But here’s the thing: uniform standards don’t mean women can’t meet them. While men generally have more upper-body strength, research shows women often outperform men in fatigue resistance during isometric exercises. Because women tend to have a higher proportion of fatigue-resistant Type I (slow-twitch) muscle fibers, they may actually have an advantage in exercises like the plank—where studies show they often hold the position longer on average.

And as researcher Ron Maughan, who has spent decades studying gender differences in strength, put it in an interview with me for my new book LIFT: “Everyone says men are stronger than women, and it’s complete nonsense. There are an awful lot of women who are stronger than most men.”

The bigger issue? Most of what we think we know about strength is based on male-focused research. As science starts catching up, so too might our expectations.

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LIFT more with less

Two important pieces of research this week make a case that you don’t need to kill yourself overtraining to see important benefits.

Researchers Ulrik Wisløff and Atefe Tari from Norway's Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG) are challenging current fitness guidelines, arguing that small doses of high-intensity exercise—even as brief as brisk walking where you can’t sing—can yield powerful health benefits, especially for the brain.

Their research, published in The Lancet, suggests that short, intense bouts of activity can reduce the risk of dementia by up to 40 percent, even if people fall far short of the current Norwegian recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week.

With at least half of people failing to meet current activity guidelines, the researchers are urging public health authorities to update their messaging:

Another powerful example of less-is-more: A new study led by Brad Schoenfeld, professor of exercise science at Lehman College, found that moving quickly through nine exercises by doing a single set of each–rather than the more customary two or three sets – twice a week for eight weeks was enough to produce significant gains in muscle and strength in healthy adults. The takeaway? You don’t need much—just an hour a week.

In this vein:

Ahead of Mother’s Day, I’ve signed up my mom and me for some mother-daughter live exercise classes that can be performed at home through Team Vivo. My mom, 75, has been struggling with mobility and it’s bumming her out. I’m hoping this app will give us some guidance and help her feel better. Stay tuned!

Love,

AMC

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