Why Weight lift??
When I first started my journey to a new lifestyle I mainly did zumba and other various workout videos. I've always liked working out at home, plus with 3 kids and a hubby who leaves really early for work I don't have many other options. I also absolutely LOVE to dance. I did these types of workouts for about 6 months and was able to lose quite a bit of weight doing it, but it just wasn't getting my body where I wanted it. The progress I saw was very slow and I eventually hit a point where I was frustrated because I had hit a rut and I wasn't losing much weight anymore.
My hubby had been big into going to the gym and lifting weights for several years already, and he had been trying very hard for the last year to get me to try. I was always so scared to though. Lets face it.... I had no clue what I was doing and I didn't want to look like a man!! I thought that when lifting weights I would get huge and it would look ugly. But I finally after much coaxing and convincing, from my hubby, decided to give it a try. I told him if he wrote me out a plan of exactly what to do I'd give it a try. Within the first coupe of weeks of lifting weight I was already starting to see improvements. I was finally getting out of my rut and losing weight again. Plus I got to do it in my room from my bow-flex and watch my tv shows! Who doesn't like to watch their shows?
So I decided to keep at it and see what happened. I've been lifting weights now for about 3 months. I have lost weight and put on lean muscle at the same time. After having 3 kids I never thought I could have muscles again, but boy was I wrong. I have never done any other workout that has given me results as fast as lifting weights has. No matter what muscle your main focus is on you feel it in your whole body.
Now there are a few things I have to clear up. You can't just go into the gym and pick up the smallest weights and do a few curls. You cannot be afraid to go and lift so much that you feel like your gonna die. That feeling is what will get you the results you want. That AND eating a balanced diet at the same time!
If you have no clue what to do bodybuilding.com is a great resource. They have all kinds of articles and programs. You can even look at videos and print out logs to keep track of your workouts. They have programs for beginners all the way up to the most advanced.
Another myth women worry about is that weight lifting will turn your body fat directly into muscle leaving you looking silly. Actually it is quite the opposite. Since I started my new program "Jim Stoppani's shortcut to shred" 5 weeks ago I have dropped about 4% body fat. I went from about 22% to 16.5% in just 5 weeks! So you can lose the fat and gain muscle at the same time.
Some other benefits I've seen with weight lifting:
* Increased energy: This is something that will come gradually. At first your body will fight with you because it's something different, and it's not used to it. But after a couple weeks I noticed a huge difference. I wasn't dragging anymore and I only became tired when it was bed time and things were winding down.
* Increased Metabolism: It's amazing how fast my metabolism has gotten. I can just feel it now. Every week we have 1 cheat meal ( Something I will talk about in another blog). Having that cheat meal will reset my metabolism so I don't get sucked into the black hole of my body getting used to something. The next day I will weigh less even though I ate whatever I wanted for dinner the night before. The harder you work at lifting bigger weights, the harder your body has to work to rebuild those muscles. Hence the increase in metabolism. Building those muscles helps you to tone and be fit and not just skinny! There is a difference.
* Better sleep: I sleep so amazing at night now, barely waking up for anything. I'm not sure if it's because I'm so excited to wake up and lift or because lifting does it. Probably both ;-) lol But I sleep so much more sound and get more out of my sleep.
* Mood: I used to snap at every little thing. Little things bugged me that shouldn't have. Now I can just tell all of my hormones are balanced and in check and I'm a much happier person. Plus my period is SOOO lite now ( sorry guys) but it has made a huge difference when they used to be so heavy especially at night. That in itself can make a woman happy... am I right??
These are just a few things I've noticed since I started lifting. I know there's more I can't see, but I'm HOOKED now. I woke up today (Sunday my rest day) and by about 9 am I was falling asleep sitting up. I'm a completely different person when I don't get my workout in. I could go on and on all day, but I LOVE it!! I love how my body looks now! I love how I feel! I love myself more! And I love my hubby for getting me to this point! If it weren't for him and his support and pushing me to do it I wouldn't be where I'm at. He's helped me keep up with it all along the way.
You can do it too. But all this can only happen if you work hard to make it happen. You also have to eat right!! I can't stress that enough. You will not get the same results if you don't eat a healthy balanced diet along with the lifting (like in my last blog). I also take a few different pills to help along the way that have made a huge difference along with all of this, which I will talk about next time :-)
Thanks for taking time to read this! Let me know if you have any question. I really just want to help all women out there to have the results they want and deserve. If I can do it anyone can do it :-)
3 kids 5 years old and younger and 3 c-sections later. You can still have muscles. I know I'm just getting started and still have a ways to go. But I am making progress. It's so fun to see it happen too!
Now there are a few things I have to clear up. You can't just go into the gym and pick up the smallest weights and do a few curls. You cannot be afraid to go and lift so much that you feel like your gonna die. That feeling is what will get you the results you want. That AND eating a balanced diet at the same time!
If you have no clue what to do bodybuilding.com is a great resource. They have all kinds of articles and programs. You can even look at videos and print out logs to keep track of your workouts. They have programs for beginners all the way up to the most advanced.
Another myth women worry about is that weight lifting will turn your body fat directly into muscle leaving you looking silly. Actually it is quite the opposite. Since I started my new program "Jim Stoppani's shortcut to shred" 5 weeks ago I have dropped about 4% body fat. I went from about 22% to 16.5% in just 5 weeks! So you can lose the fat and gain muscle at the same time.
Some other benefits I've seen with weight lifting:
* Increased energy: This is something that will come gradually. At first your body will fight with you because it's something different, and it's not used to it. But after a couple weeks I noticed a huge difference. I wasn't dragging anymore and I only became tired when it was bed time and things were winding down.
* Increased Metabolism: It's amazing how fast my metabolism has gotten. I can just feel it now. Every week we have 1 cheat meal ( Something I will talk about in another blog). Having that cheat meal will reset my metabolism so I don't get sucked into the black hole of my body getting used to something. The next day I will weigh less even though I ate whatever I wanted for dinner the night before. The harder you work at lifting bigger weights, the harder your body has to work to rebuild those muscles. Hence the increase in metabolism. Building those muscles helps you to tone and be fit and not just skinny! There is a difference.
* Better sleep: I sleep so amazing at night now, barely waking up for anything. I'm not sure if it's because I'm so excited to wake up and lift or because lifting does it. Probably both ;-) lol But I sleep so much more sound and get more out of my sleep.
* Mood: I used to snap at every little thing. Little things bugged me that shouldn't have. Now I can just tell all of my hormones are balanced and in check and I'm a much happier person. Plus my period is SOOO lite now ( sorry guys) but it has made a huge difference when they used to be so heavy especially at night. That in itself can make a woman happy... am I right??
These are just a few things I've noticed since I started lifting. I know there's more I can't see, but I'm HOOKED now. I woke up today (Sunday my rest day) and by about 9 am I was falling asleep sitting up. I'm a completely different person when I don't get my workout in. I could go on and on all day, but I LOVE it!! I love how my body looks now! I love how I feel! I love myself more! And I love my hubby for getting me to this point! If it weren't for him and his support and pushing me to do it I wouldn't be where I'm at. He's helped me keep up with it all along the way.
You can do it too. But all this can only happen if you work hard to make it happen. You also have to eat right!! I can't stress that enough. You will not get the same results if you don't eat a healthy balanced diet along with the lifting (like in my last blog). I also take a few different pills to help along the way that have made a huge difference along with all of this, which I will talk about next time :-)
Thanks for taking time to read this! Let me know if you have any question. I really just want to help all women out there to have the results they want and deserve. If I can do it anyone can do it :-)
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