When you make the decision to work out, what type of activity is your go to? Running on the treadmill? Taking a Body Pump class? Getting on the elliptical? Talking a walk outside? Of the four above options, most women will opt for the cardio options - treadmill, elliptical, and walk. Now, there is nothing wrong with a cardio workout - there are TONS of benefits, however, if the only thing you do when you workout it cardiovascular training, then YOU. ARE. MISSING. OUT! I totally get why you want to focus on cardio - I mean, when I look at my apple watch after a spin class and see how many calories I've burned, it makes all of the sweating, breathing hard, and jello legs worthwhile! I spent years working out and focusing on cardio. I would get to the gym, hop on the elliptical, place my book or magazine on the console, and go for an hour. Not only was I bored out of my mind, but I found that reading while working our really sloooowed me down. It was definitely a waste of time! After my 60 slow minutes on the elliptical, I would hop on a few selectorized weight machines and lift. I most definitely did not lift heavy enough or often enough to really make a difference. These 90 minute, long and drawn out and yet very un-challenging workouts had to come to an end when I became a mom! What mom has that much time or energy to dedicate to working out???? Definitely NOT me! After having my babies I knew I needed to continue to work out (it was the ONLY thing keeping me sane!) but I also knew I had to make some changes. I decided to focus all of my time on cardio and complete 3 challenging cardio workouts for 30 minutes each every week. Great idea, right?? NOPE. I was burning quite a few calories during my short workouts, but after the initial baby-weight loss, I stalled. I tried working out harder during those 30 minutes. I tried adding in additional workouts and was up 7 cardio workouts a week. Still no changes. Plus I was always tired again! Right around that time, one of my supervisors mentioned that there was a Body Pump training in the area coming up and she was looking for more Body Pump instructors. I thought, what the heck? I've never taken a Body Pump class, but I've seen them and they looked super fun, plus I'd love to add more classes to my schedule. This was one of the BEST decisions of my life! For those of you who aren't familiar with Body Pump, it is a full-body weight training class using bars and plates that is set to amazing music. I took the grueling 2-day training over a weekend and was hooked! This class was amazing! And my muscles - I felt my muscles working hard, REALLy hard for the first time maybe in forever! After the initial training, I had to practice, practice, and practice some more in order to film myself teaching a class. I would then have to submit my video and pass a rigorous rubric in order to officially get certified to be a Body Pump instructor. I worked my butt off and had a blast doing so! I submitted my video, passed, and started teaching a Sunday morning Body Pump class. A few months later, I started getting so many compliments on how I looked. I started paying more attention and realized that, yeah, they were right - I looked great! I could see muscle definition everywhere. Not only that, but I felt great too. With practicing and teaching Body Pump, I had really lowered the amount of cardio I was doing and I had tons more energy than I used too! Plus I was fitting better into my clothes, and the scale started moving again. No more plateau for me! Anytime someone new comes to my Body Pump class I tell them that this class out of all of the different classes I teach, created the biggest changes in my body, and I'm not lying. Ladies, we all NEED to do some type of strength training. I'm not saying every single one of you should run as fast as you can to a Body Pump class. There are so many different types of strength training we can do. It doesn't matter what kind you do, all that matters is that you build muscles. Even yoga builds muscle strength. Once we hit the ripe old age of 30, we start losing our muscle mass. WHAT?? I know - scary isn't it? We can lose 3-5% of our muscle every single decade. How can we stop this loss of muscle mass? Ding ding ding - you are correct - STRENGTH TRAINING!
The benefits of strength training are numerous:
You don't have to completely give up your cardio, because it too has many benefits and it's tough to beat the feeling of a runner's high, but grab those dumbbells, resistance bands, TRX straps, plates, bars, kettlebells, yoga mat, or hop on some equipment at the gym and start lifting - I promise you will not regret it! If you have any questions regarding strength training or cardio or how to fit this all into your busy schedule, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I want to help you find the time to get into the best shape of your life - even if your time is limited! Comment below with your favorite form of strength training! Stay healthy and active, Christina
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CategoriesAuthorChristina Brown. Mom. Personal Trainer. Fitness Instructor. Archives
September 2020
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