Lean Eating for Women –

Seventh phase (4 weeks)

Lean, long and strong.
Tick another month off the list. Are you closer or farther away from the habits that will
take you to your end goal? If so, great! If not, wipe that mental scorecard clean and
begin with today.

In Phase 7, you’ll find the first exercise on each day is the same as that of the previous
phase. If at first glance you’re concerned about hitting a plateau, don’t be. Changing the
number of reps you use can be even more effective than changing the exercise itself.

We’re keeping this first exercise the same to help you further develop strength. To do
this, you’ll start by adding 10% to your previous best – using a weight you can perform
six “clean” reps with (and perhaps have room for one more). The exercise calls for a
range of 6-8 reps, so you will continue with this weight until you can perform eight reps
(with no compromise in quality). Once you’ve reached this milestone, you’ll add about
5% to your load and start the process back at 6 reps. Note how this process feels
because it’s going to dictate your weight selection going forward.

Pay attention to how your body feels with each rep. Take your time and feel it – don’t
cheat it. It takes the same amount of time either way. However when you pay attention,
you build your expertise. This awareness and knowledge will help you continue to make
progress with each workout.

1 LEAN EATING FOR WOMEN | PHASE 7 (4 WEEKS)

Calendar

MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN

Week Workout 1 Intervals Workout 2 Active Workout 1 Intervals Off

recovery
1
Week Workout 2 Intervals Workout 1 Active Workout 2 Intervals Off
recovery
2
Week Workout 1 Intervals Workout 2 Active Workout 1 Intervals Off
recovery
3
Week Workout 2 Intervals Workout 1 Active Workout 2 Intervals Off
recovery
4

2 LEAN EATING FOR WOMEN | PHASE 7 (4 WEEKS)

Warm-up

Foam rolling work

• IT bands (side of legs) Key points:

• Hip flexors (hips) Complete 5-10 passes of each.
• Quads (front of legs)
Keep your muscles relaxed (even
• Hamstrings (back of legs)
though you will feel moderate pain).
• Adductors (low and high; inside of legs)
• Glutes Keep duration under a minute for any
• Upper back one area.
• Lats

Stretches

• Pecs Key points:

• Lats From the list, pick only two of the
• Hip flexors stretches and hold for 60 seconds
• Hamstrings each.
• Adductors Choose the stretches that you find the
• External rotators (10 repetitions) most challenging.

Mobility

• Ankle mobility (middle, inside and outside) Key points:

• Wall slides Complete 5-10 repetitions of each.
• Hugging hip lift
Important: don’t simply go through the
• Scapular push-ups
motions. Take your time on each
• Assisted rear lunge
movement, concentrating on what
• Prone hip flexion you’re supposed to feel.
• Lateral squat
• Standing X-band abduction Your goal isn’t to achieve the greatest
• Assisted squat range of motion possible with any
• Shoulder dislocations particular movement, but to use the
right muscles and joints.

Note:
You can view the video of the entire warm-up sequence in Today’s Workout (from your Lean
Eating home page.)

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Workout 1
WARM-UP

Group 1
Week 1 – do 3 rounds of group 1
A) Rear-elevated split squat (6 to 8 reps) Week 2 – do 3 rounds of group 1
B) 3-point row from ½ plank (10 reps) Week 3 – do 3 rounds of group 1
Rest 60 seconds, repeat Week 4 – do 4 rounds of group 1

Group 2

A) Tall kneeling overhead dumbbell press (12 reps) Week 1 – do 2 rounds of group 2
B) Bent-over rear delt fly (12 reps) Week 2 – do 3 rounds of group 2
Week 3 – do 3 rounds of group 2
Rest 60 seconds, repeat
Week 4 – do 3 rounds of group 2

Group 3

A) Front squat (12 reps) Week 1 – do 2 rounds of group 3

B) Dumbbell scaption (12 reps) Week 2 – do 2 rounds of group 3

Week 3 – do 2 rounds of group 3
Rest 60 seconds, repeat
Week 4 – do 2 rounds of group 3

Note:
Exercises in a group are to be performed one after another. In the case of multiple rounds, the
grouping will be repeated in order. For example, someone doing two rounds would perform
Exercise A, Exercise B, and then go through Exercises A and B again before moving onto the
next grouping.
For exercises performed in a single-­‐sided manner, complete the prescribed number of
repetitions (reps) on each side. The exercise demonstrations and instructions will indicate
whether the repetitions are to be completed in an alternating or non-­‐alternating fashion.
For the first exercise in Group 1, choose the weight you can perform for six clean reps. When
you can complete 8 reps at that weight, increase the load by 5% and complete for 6 reps.

4 LEAN EATING FOR WOMEN | PHASE 7 (4 WEEKS)

Workout 2
WARM-UP

Group 1
Week 1 – do 3 rounds of group 1
A) Modified deadlift (6 to 8 reps) Week 2 – do 3 rounds of group 1
B) Alternating dumbbell floor press (10 reps) Week 3 – do 3 rounds of group 1
Rest 60 seconds, repeat Week 4 – do 4 rounds of group 1

Group 2

A) Inverted row (12 reps) Week 1 – do 2 rounds of group 2

B) Modified push-up (12 reps) Week 2 – do 3 rounds of group 2
Week 3 – do 3 rounds of group 2
Rest 60 seconds, repeat
Week 4 – do 3 rounds of group 2

Group 3

A) Front lunge (12 reps) Week 1 – do 2 rounds of group 3

B) Straight-arm band pull-down (12 reps) Week 2 – do 2 rounds of group 3

Week 3 – do 2 rounds of group 3
Rest 60 seconds, repeat
Week 4 – do 2 rounds of group 3

Note:

Exercises in a group are to be performed one after another. In the case of multiple rounds, the
grouping will be repeated in order. For example, someone doing two rounds would perform
Exercise A, Exercise B, and then go through Exercises A and B again before moving onto the
next grouping.
For exercises performed in a single-­‐sided manner, complete the prescribed number of
repetitions (reps) on each side. The exercise demonstrations and instructions will indicate
whether the repetitions are to be completed in an alternating or non-­‐alternating fashion.
For the first exercise in Group 1, choose the weight you can perform for six clean reps. When
you can complete 8 reps at that weight, increase the load by 5% and complete for 6 reps.

5 LEAN EATING FOR WOMEN | PHASE 7 (4 WEEKS)

 Active recovery

WARM-UP (OPTIONAL)

Mildly to moderately challenging work– preferably outdoors Week 1 – do 30 minutes

Week 2 – do 30 minutes
Week 3 – do 30 minutes
Week 4 – do 30 minutes

Note:
This activity is intended to be relatively easy. Your goal should be to find an activity (outside of the
gym) that will provide a change of pace and leave you feeling better than when you started.

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Intervals

WARM-UP

Perform 60 seconds of all-out work. Start with a rest period of 45 Week 1 – do 3 rounds
seconds, increasing the rest by 15 seconds each round. Week 2 – do 4 rounds
Week 3 – do 5 rounds
Week 4 – do 6 rounds

Note:
Choose a low-impact exercise, such as stationary biking, sled pulling or swimming. Your goal is to
work at peak intensity for each 60-second interval. The rest periods in between should be slow
and recovery-oriented.
Each week start with a 45-seccond rest period for round 1, adding 15 seconds of recovery each
round. For example, your Week 1 interval session should look like this:
Round 1: 60 seconds work, 45 seconds active recovery
Round 2: 60 seconds work, 60 seconds active recovery
Round 3: 60 seconds work, 75 seconds active recovery
As rounds are added in subsequent weeks, continue to add 15 seconds of active recovery to each
rest period.

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Phase 7 –
Exercise Directory

Workout 1
Rear elevated split squat .................................................................................................................. 9  
3-point row from ½ plank ................................................................................................................ 10  
Tall kneeling overhead dumbbell press .......................................................................................... 11  
Bent-over rear delt fly ..................................................................................................................... 12  
Front squat (or dumbbell front squat) ............................................................................................. 13  
Dumbbell scaption .......................................................................................................................... 14  

Workout 2
Modified deadlift ............................................................................................................................. 15  
Alternating dumbbell floor press ..................................................................................................... 16  
Inverted row .................................................................................................................................... 17  
Modified push-up ............................................................................................................................ 18  
Front lunge ..................................................................................................................................... 19  
Straight-arm band pull-down .......................................................................................................... 20  

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WORKOUT 1

Rear elevated split squat

Set-up
Standing on one leg, reach your opposite foot back as far as you can, placing the top of the rear
foot on a bench or equivalent. This will set the length of your stride. Try to keep all of your weight
in the heel of the front foot. Your feet should be hip width apart.

Movement
Keeping your weight in the heel of the front foot, drop the rear knee in a controlled fashion until it
gently touches the floor or a foam pad. Drive your weight through the front heel, focusing on
extending your hips as you come up.

Key Points
• Keep the weight in your front heel throughout – don’t let it shift forward
• Ensure that your front hip, knee and ankle are vertically stacked throughout; don’t let your knee
cave inwards
• Try not to let the rear leg “help”

When do I add weight?

You can increase the weight of the dumbbells as soon as you can perform the movement with all
key points in place. If you’re unable to perform the movement beautifully with bodyweight alone,
you will need to take a step backwards and perform the split squat as used in Phase 1.

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WORKOUT 1

3-point dumbbell row from ½ plank

Set-up
Take a ½ plank position on a bench with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and
hold a dumbbell in your free hand. The arm should be extended but some tension should remain
to prevent the shoulder from hanging loosely. The dumbbell will be in line with your body.

Movement
Draw your elbow up as high as possible without twisting the body or otherwise moving. Lower the
dumbbell with control back to the original position.

Key Points
• Ensure that you have a neutral spine and level hips throughout the entire movement
• Avoid rotating
• Avoid “shrugging” or otherwise elevating the shoulder

When do I add weight?

You can increase the weight as soon as you can perform the movement with all key points in
place.

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WORKOUT 1

Tall kneeling overhead dumbbell press

Set-up
Take a tall kneeling position with a dumbbell sitting on each shoulder (the dumbbells will be
parallel to each other at this point.)

Movement
Without allowing your shoulder blades to elevate, press the dumbbells upward, rotating them as
they approach the top position.

Key Points
• Engage the front of your core (as you would to initiate a crunch) in order to avoid arching your
back
• Keep the shoulder blades low. Check in at the top and bottom of each repetition to ensure that
this is happening.
• If you are unable to perform this movement without shoulder pain or excessive arching, revert
back to a high-incline dumbbell bench press

When do I add weight?

You can increase the weight of the dumbbell as soon as you can perform the movement with all
key points in place.

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WORKOUT 1

Bent-over rear delt fly

Set-up
Stand with feet hip width and feet parallel, grasping a dumbbell in each hand. Move your hips
back until your upper body is tipped forward approximately 45 degrees. Rotate the dumbbells until
they’re in-line with each other. Ensure that you have neutral spine and that your hips are level.

Movement
Pull your arms apart until they are raised at your sides, with the thumbs pointed toward the
ground. At the top position your arms should be slightly less than 90 degrees from your body.

Key Points
• Do not allow yourself to swing or use momentum
• Keep the shoulder blades down
• Focus on the contraction in the back of your shoulders

When do I add weight?

You can increase the weight as soon as you can perform the movement with all key points in
place.

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WORKOUT 1

Front squat (or dumbbell front squat)

_______

Set-up
Rack the barbell at a position slightly below shoulder height. Grasp the barbell with both hands
(placed slightly wider than shoulder width apart) and push yourself under the bar until your elbows
are pointing forward. The bar should be resting in the crook between your collarbone and your
shoulder (not supported by the hands). You’ll use between two and four fingers to grasp the bar.
With small, careful steps, back up into the proper width and angle for a squat (as practiced).
Important: Set the safety pins in the power rack at a height slightly lower than your lowest squat
depth. This will keep you safe should you lose the bar or fall.

Movement
Sit back (using a box is still an option) by moving your hips backwards, hinging from the hips.
Attempt to keep your upper arms parallel to the floor. The deeper you sit into a squat position, the
harder you will have to push to keep your elbows high. Once in the bottom position, ensure that
your weight is in your heels and drive your hips forward until you’re standing tall.

Key Points
• Always ensure that you’re stable before you move
• Don’t allow your weight to travel further forward than your heels
• Don’t over-arch your lower-back – just focus on bringing your hips up by squeezing your glutes
• Focusing on driving your elbows up during the squat will ensure that you keep a neutral spine
and do not round your lower back
• Any adjustments to your spinal alignment should be made at the bottom or top position – not
while you are moving
• Some discomfort in the wrists is to be expected but pain is not. If pain is persists even with
adjustment of grip/hand position, please revert to the dumbbell front squat.

When do I add weight?

You will only add as much weight to the bar as your wrists can bear without pain. With that in
mind, your first priority is to achieve a full range of motion (sitting to parallel) without any rounding
to the lower back. Only when this has been achieved should more weight be added. If you’re
unable to perform the movement with an empty bar without pain, revert to the dumbbell front
squat.

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WORKOUT 1

Dumbbell scaption

Set-up
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with good shoulder position (shoulders back and down)
and a slight bend in your knees.

Movement
Maintaining the same hand position, lift the dumbbells straight up at a 30 degree angle (ie. arms
aimed at the “10 and 2 position” of a clock). At the highest point, the bottoms of the dumbbells
should be more or less in-line with the tops of your shoulders.

Key Points
• Ensure that your shoulders stay down – focus on the low traps as an “axis point”
• Keep a tight core to ensure that your back doesn’t arch while you elevate the dumbbells

When do I add weight?

You can increase the weight as soon as you can perform the movement with all key points in
place.

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WORKOUT 2

Modified deadlift

Set-up
Using the pins in a power rack, boxes or any other serviceable tool, select a height roughly in line
with the bony ridge just below your knees (the tibial tuberosity) and place a barbell there. With the
barbell directly in contact with your legs, take a strong double-overhand grip with your arms just to
the outside of your legs. Ensure that you have a natural arch in your low back. Check it again –
there can be no rounding here. In this position, drive your chest forward and your heels into the
ground. Before any lift occurs, ensure again that there’s an arch in your lower back.

Movement
Continuing to drive your heels into the ground, drive your hips forward, standing as tall (not to be
confused with arching as far back) as possible. Do not allow your back alignment to change. At
the top of the movement, ensure that you feel the squeeze in your glutes, not your lower back. To
return the bar, squeeze your shoulder blades together and attempt to hold onto that position as
you move your hips backwards. The bar should travel as close to your legs as possible and your
knees should only begin to bend once the bar has passed them.

Key Points
• Your chin should stay in the same position (relative to your body) throughout. Don’t stick it out at
the bottom. Look upward, but only with your eyes. You should wind up looking up through your
eyebrows.
• Try to “split the ground” between your feet – pushing the sides of your legs into your arms
• Do not allow your weight to leave your heels.
• “Pressure test” the weight before you pick it up. Bear 25% of the weight (not enough to actually
move the bar) and check – yet again – that your alignment is correct.
• When the hips stop moving, everything stops moving.
• Always start with a double-overhand grip but if you are no longer able to hold onto the bar,
switch to an alternated (one up, one down) grip. Alternate sides from set to set.

When do I add weight?

Excellent alignment and movement are absolute requirements before adding weight.

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WORKOUT 2

Alternating dumbbell floor press

Set-up
Lay back on the floor, ensuring that your feet are flat and your knees are bent. Hoist the
dumbbells to sit on your shoulders (or just above) and squeeze the floor with your shoulder
blades. The dumbbells should be parallel to each other at this point.

Movement
Maintaining the shoulder squeeze, push one dumbbell up, rotating it as you go. Bring it down with
control and allow your upper arm to rest on the ground for a full second before repeating this
process with the opposite arm. You’ll be pressing from a dead stop each time.

Key Points
• Use your shoulder blades to squeeze the floor throughout the entire movement – even at the top
• Keep your shoulders as low as possible throughout the movement. Making sure that your lats
are flexed will help this
• You should have six points of contact throughout this movement: both feet, glutes and shoulder
blades. Do not allow any of them to come off of the ground.

When do I add weight?

Add weight when you can perform the movement with all of the key points – particularly keeping
the shoulder blades back and down– in place.

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WORKOUT 2

Inverted row

Set-up
Position yourself under a low bar (ensuring first that it’s stable and secure), assuming a palms-
down (overhand) grip. Walk yourself forward until you’ve reached an appropriate angle. At the
bottom position, you’ll still keep some tension on your arms and shoulders, avoiding hanging
passively. Squeeze your glutes (and keep them squeezed).

Movement
Pull your sternum to the bar with a brief hold at the top before lowering yourself in a controlled
fashion.

Key Points
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull your body to the top
• Squeeze your glutes throughout the entire movement – don’t allow your butt to hang down
• Change the angle to ensure that you can complete all of your reps with good form

When do I add weight?

You will increase your challenge by narrowing your foot width (hard), positioning yourself closer to
the ground (harder) or even elevating your feet (hardest).

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WORKOUT 2

Modified push-up

Set-up
Assume a push-up position, with your hands approximately shoulder-width apart and your feet hip
width apart.

Movement
Slowly, and with control, lower yourself toward the ground. Pause before gently touching your
knees to the ground and pressing yourself up. At the top, extend your legs to return to your
original position.

Key Points
• Keep the same alignment as you would in a plank – do not allow your lower-back to arch
• Keep the elbows within 45 degrees of the body – don’t let them flare out
• Always lower yourself with control – don’t just drop

When do I add weight?

Once you can complete all reps with strict form, you can challenge yourself by pressing up from
your toes, narrowing or elevating your feet, or by increasing your speed (only) while pressing
yourself away from the ground.

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LOWER BODY 2

Front lunge

Set-up
Assume a standing position with good posture and a dumbbell in each hand. Shift your weight
onto one leg while keeping your hips level.

Movement
Step forward with the un-weighted leg. Focus on decelerating and controlling the movement to
drop straight down – do not allow the knee to move forward. Once stable in the lunge position,
aggressively press away from the floor to step backwards, returning to a standing position.

Key Points
• Step forward smoothly and fluidly. Your landing should be soft. You should not step forwards,
pause and drop
• Do not, under any circumstances, allow your front knee to travel past 90 degrees. Use a mirror
on the side for a reference point
• Always establish stability before moving

When do I add weight?

You can add dumbbell and increase the load as soon as you can perform the movement with all
key points in place.

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WORKOUT 2

Straight-arm band pull-down

Set-up
With a resistance band securely anchored overhead, stand with good posture. Grasp a band or
equivalent with straight arms.

Movement
Without allowing your lower back to arch or your arms to bend, pull the band down until your arms
are in line with your body.

Key Points
• Keep the front of your core engaged to avoid arching through the low-back
• Keep your shoulders down

When do I add weight?

You can use a thicker band or grip higher along the band as soon as you can perform the
movement with all key points in place.

20 LEAN EATING FOR WOMEN | PHASE 7 (4 WEEKS)